K-Town Studios, a by-musicians-for-musicians rehearsal space in Kentish Town, faces demolition under the proposed £1 billion Camden Film Quarter (CFQ), a development that will include almost 500 new homes, film and production studios, and a cinema. The project, approved by Camden council over the summer, is earmarked to begin work in around 2028, placing the studio's future in doubt.
Martin Ashton, 59, and Paul Garfoot, 54, founded the studio in 2002 after meeting on London's music circuit. They moved the business to a former clothing warehouse in Kentish Town in 2014. Today, K-Town Studios employs six people and works with local bands and international artists. Ashton told the London Standard: "The studio is full everyday with thousands of bands and is an essential creative hub for the area and beyond."
A Creative Hub at Risk
Ashton expressed uncertainty about the business's future. "Our future is uncertain at the moment," he said. "We would love to stay in the same location but it may not be practical. Personally, it would be a huge disappointment if a business we have put all our own money into and spent years building were to close and we're sure the multitude of our clients would be devastated."
The eviction reflects a broader trend. Housing consultant Molior calculates London's housing need at 88,000 per year. Both local and national government support repurposing industrial spaces, which cover about eight square miles of the capital. The government now allows developers to convert light industrial units into homes without specific permission for change of use, though regular planning permission is still required. The Greater London Authority's draft new London Plan will, for the first time, encourage under-utilised or badly performing industrial estates to be reused as housing.
Industrial Land Loss and Its Impact
Over the past two decades, the Centre for London calculates that London has lost almost a quarter of its industrial space. This has pushed up rental costs, squeezing out businesses and costing jobs. "London cannot afford to lose any more industrial land," it concluded. "Jobs in traditional industrial activities such as manufacturing, repair and warehousing are worth more than £78 billion to the city's economy — but the true figure is likely to be even higher as this excludes creative industries."
Paul Cocksedge, now 48, experienced displacement firsthand. After graduating from art school, he moved to Hackney in 2004, renting a Victorian stable block-turned-carpentry workshop as his studio. Shortly before the pandemic, his landlord informed him the building would be converted into luxury flats. "It was a real head spin," said Cocksedge. "Your studio is really connected to your creative identity. I felt very unsettled." He turned the eviction into art, excavating three tons of concrete from the studio floor to create furniture titled Excavation: evicted, shown at Milan Fashion Week in 2017.
Developer and Council Response
Cocksedge, now based in Bethnal Green, worries about creative spaces being eaten up by developers. "There is no big thinking or understanding of what a creative city does for the economy — it is crazy," he said. "What London has that other places don't is its creativity." He noted that younger generations often can't dream of having their own studio space, leaving them to leave the capital or work from cafes. "It takes away the idea of making, building, throwing paint on a canvas," he said. "London is going to become just a bit bland."
Back in Kentish Town, Ashton is scouting for new sites without success. He hopes Camden council or the developer, Yoo Capital, might help him find another space. "We understand housing is needed but hope it is not at the expense of small businesses in the area and that the film quarter does bring film industry to the area and not just a giant housing estate," he said. A spokesman for Camden Council said part of its agreement with Yoo involves support to all existing companies on the site. A spokesman for Yoo said it was liaising with those businesses and would work closely with them as the project progresses.
Costs and Market Challenges
Displacement is not the only issue with recycling ex-industrial sites. In 2023, Quad Projects bought a former petrol station site near the River Thames, rechristened Surbiton Waterside, to build six houses and two offices. The work will finish by Christmas, with three-bedroom homes priced from £1.5 million. More than a dozen old petrol tanks had to be dug out and disposed of, along with contaminated water and soil. Nuggy Lianos, director of Quad Properties, said this added about 30 per cent to the cost of the build. "But these things always cost more than you imagine, and we did overrun," he said. "Many of these industrial sites are just unviable. We are a small developer and contractor and we wish the Government to take a more proactive approach and really stump up some money to assist with the cost of bringing these sites into residential use."
Other large developments face similar hurdles. The Charlton Riverside Scheme plans to replace circa 300 acres of industrial riverside from the Greenwich Peninsula to Woolwich with 8,000 homes plus workspace. First announced in 2012, Greenwich council has only just reached agreement with developer Hyde New Homes to build the first 3,000 properties. A spokeswoman for Greenwich blamed the slow progress on the site's complexity and lack of local transport links. Another 8,000 homes could be built around the new Old Oak Common Station, announced by Boris Johnson in 2015. Eleven years later, progress includes some new apartment blocks and the start of work on the station, destined for the HS2 rail link but not scheduled to open until the 2030s.
The property market adds further pressure. Around 4,600 newly built homes are currently sitting empty and unused, as affordability deters house builders from executing consented projects. "Recent analysis by our research team identified a minimum of 77 sites across London, totalling almost 30,000 homes, that are now unlikely to be delivered despite having a residential consent," said Rob Pollock, head of London development land at Savills.
