How can council-led estate regeneration deliver genuinely affordable, sustainable neighbourhoods at scale? Join us for a field trip to Agar Grove in north Camden to find out.
Agar Grove is a wholly council-owned estate regeneration and the UK's largest residential Passivhaus development, replacing a 1960s modernist estate with over 500 new homes, built around the principle that liveability, affordability, and long-term sustainability are not trade-offs.
Event details
When: Tuesday 21 July, 2pm to 4pm
Where: Agar Grove, Camden
Why visit Agar Grove?
The field trip will explore Camden Council's phased regeneration of Agar Grove. The project is wholly council-owned and council-led, with no private development partner. All existing tenants have been guaranteed a home on the regenerated estate, and the council has bought back leasehold and freehold properties.
At the heart of the scheme, the original 19-storey Lulworth Tower is being retained and refurbished rather than demolished, with embodied carbon a key factor in that decision.
You will hear from the project team about the challenges and opportunities of council-led regeneration, including how they have navigated key tensions around cost, speed, quality, and long-term stewardship, including:
- Designing for liveability through streets and squares, while accommodating higher density on a constrained site
- Keeping communities together through a single-decant phasing strategy, and the impact this has on programme and delivery
- Taking on a long-term stewardship model, and the implications of higher upfront cost and risk for the council
- Retaining and retrofitting Lulworth Tower rather than demolishing, balancing embodied carbon savings with design and delivery constraints
- Delivering Passivhaus at scale and what it takes to certify across multiple phases
What to expect on the trip
- On-site presentations from key members of the project team
- Insights into Passivhaus delivery, resident involvement, and council-as-developer models
- A closer look at how thoughtful phasing, design quality, and long-term thinking can redefine what estate regeneration looks like
Image Credit: Hawkins Brown
About the Placemaking in Challenging Times programme
This field trip is part of our Placemaking in Challenging Times programme, which examines how the places we build and regenerate shape the communities that live in them, particularly in a context of increasing demand, limited resources, and difficult trade-offs. (Read more about the programme.)
Through research and events, the programme explores what it takes to create neighbourhoods that are rooted in local context, designed for long-term resilience, and built around the needs of the people who call them home.
Please note: registration is essential for this event.
Thanks to Arup, Countryside Partnerships, Montagu Evans, Pollard Thomas Edwards, Trowers & Hamlins for sponsoring the Placemaking in Challenging Times programme.
RSVP
This event is free to attend thanks to our supporters, but places are limited and registration is essential.
Click ‘Register now’ and fill out the form.
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