King's Cross Central and Regent's Canal

A stroll around the multi billion pound redevelopment
King's Cross, London NW1 [map], 10th April 2012

Everything is changing north of King's Cross and St Pancras mainline railway stations as work on the multi-billion King's Cross Central mixed-use property development continues apace.

Extensive construction work is underway on a large chunk (65 acres/25 hectares) of former railway land owned and controlled by London and Continental Railways (LCR) and Exel.

The developer for this brownfield site is Argent King's Cross Limited Partnership, whose plans will see at least a third of the site (25 acres/10 hectares) being dedicated to new public routes and open spaces, including ten new public spaces, five of these being described as major new squares; Granary Square, Station Square, Pancras Square, Cubitt Square, and North Square.

New buildings across the site will range in height from one storey to up to 19 storeys, which will leave protected views of St Paul's from Parliament Hill and Kenwood House unaffected.

Here's some photos from our stroll around the area.



Heading north from St Pancras station.



Looking back at the magnificent St Pancras trainshed.



There's large billboards flanking the road offering information about the proposed development.









Eat Street is collection of food stalls, describing itself as a 'thrice-weekly 'micro-market' of rotating traders to satisfy all tastes and budgets'. Check out their website here.



Crossing the station entrance to Kings Cross station - the new station concourse is all shiny and high tech, but you can see that there's still work to do on the Victorian train sheds.



Regent's Canal, which provides a link from the Paddington arm of the Grand Union Canal to the Limehouse Basin and the River Thames in east London.



Old wharf building.



We walked a little way along the canal towards Camden Road.









Along the tow path were artists impressions of the development. A passing critic has added their own personal observation to this one.



Canalside graffiti.



Kings Cross was famed for its gasometers, and various ideas have been put forward to incorporate them into the new development. I can't say this one looks particularly elegant.

Here's how the gasometers looked before the development.





St Pancras lock.





St Pancras lock, looking east.



A head disappears below the lock as the barge descends.



Lock keeper at work.





Another glossy redevelopment billboard.



We turned around and headed east, passing York Way and Albert Dock.



The canal goes into the 886-metre (969 yd) long Islington tunnel as it heads towards Angel.



At the eastern end of the tunnel.



Grand Junction wharf.



Leaving the canal to visit the Victoria Miro and Parasol Unit contemporary art galleries on Wharf Road, London N1.




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