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The Hampstead Neighbourhood Forum wrote the Hampstead Neighbourhood Plan 2025-2040, which is expected to be ‘made’ or adopted by Camden Council in July 2025.
It will then supersede the previous Hampstead Neighbourhood Plan which was adopted in 2018 after being supported by 91% of voters in a public referendum.
The Neighbourhood Plan sits alongside the Camden local plan as part of the statutory structure that sets policies governing land use and development.
We are a group of volunteers, established in 2014. The Forum depends entirely on donations to meet its small running costs.
Following the adoption of the 2018 Plan, we adapted our mission towards bolstering and monitoring its effectiveness. We comment selectively on planning applications.
In addition, we carry out projects that are related to the Plan and will help shape policies in the future. We facilitate community discussions on relevant local topics.
In 2022, we began consulting residents on updating the Neighbourhood Plan. The Plan that takes effect in 2025 is the result of that effort.
Both Neighbourhood Plans have derived entirely from extensive public consultation, beginning with public meetings in 2014. Each draft has been subjected to formal rounds of public consultation, and inspection by an independent examiner. The examiner determined that the 2025 Plan did not require a referendum vote, because the revisions, while significant, did not alter the fundamental nature of the original document.
Our goal, in line with the views we had obtained from the community, was to create policies that would encourage good planning, and would retain and improve Hampstead’s unique character, streetscape and natural environment. Hampstead should offer a welcoming environment to businesses, and the area’s development should be sustainable socially and environmentally.
The Plan’s policies apply within the Forum’s designated area, which was set in 2014. It includes most of Hampstead Town ward, about one-third of Frognal ward, and a small part of Gospel Oak ward. Details of all neighbourhood forums within Camden, and all related documents, can be found on the Borough’s website.
If you would like more information about the Forum or would like to get involved, email us at info@hampsteadforum.org