A stone’s throw from the upmarket Hampstead Heath, Kentish Town is famous for its colourful houses, top-notch pubs, and diverse restaurant scene.
But it could be set to become the UK’s answer to Hollywood, as plans are underway for a £1,000,000,000 quarter dedicated almost entirely to filmmaking.
And now, in a major milestone for the regeneration process, a planning application has been submitted to Camden Council to start building the aptly named Camden Film Quarter.
Spearheaded by real estate investment company Yoo Capital, the blueprint has been developed in partnership with the National Film and Television School and the London Screen Academy.
It envisages a ‘mix of creative space including film studios,’ as well as soundstages, workshop spaces and even studio tours for the public.
There’ll be green spaces galore too, with the vision aiming to ‘support local biodiversity and enhance the area’s natural environment.’
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Plus, there will be 485 new homes built, 50% of which will be affordable, as well as new pedestrian and cycle-friendly connections connecting Kentish Town to Gospel Oak and Hampstead Heath.
New images show what the switch neighbourhood could look like, with public parks, and chic homes and spaces for film production.
It’s no secret that the neighbouring Camden Town already has its roots firmly in the creative scene. After all, it was famously the home of Amy Winehouse, The Clash shot the cover of their debut album there, and Pink Floyd played their first-ever gig at The Roundhouse.
Plus, to this day, The Hawley Arms – favoured by Amy as well as Pete Doherty, Kate Moss and even Noel Fielding – is still plastered in various pieces of signed memorabilia, including from Amy herself, who would often serve up customers behind the bar.
In 2024, Lloyd Lee, managing partner at Yoo Capital, told Deadline of the plans: ‘I think that you could see a family coming to do a studio tour, see how movies are made and going into spaces where someone was filming, seeing golf carts go back and forth. They should feel like they’re in the film and television corner of London.’
It’s no secret that Kentish Town is already a lovely place to live.
Over on the r/London Subreddit, Kentish Town local @wmgregory notes that they love living in the area because it’s ‘not Camden Town (quieter),’ and has ‘nice pubs, cafés and shops’ as well as decent transport links in the form of ‘trains, tubes, overground, and buses.’
@Tubo_Mengmeng lived in Kentish Town for a year and a half, and ‘definitely rate[s] the area personally.’
‘[It’s] just [a] low key chill nice north London neighbourhood which floats my boat a bit more than somewhere trying too hard, def has overspill/seeping of the surrounding areas into it too which helps give it a bit more of an identity,’ they add.
And in @mejogid’s opinion, Kentish Town has ‘some of the best pubs in London,’ citing local watering holes The Pineapple, The Southampton Arms, Tapping the Admiral, The Rose & Crown and The Lion & Unicorn.
A version of this article was published April 1, 2025. It has since been updated.
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