Who we are and what we're doing

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BRAG's core principle is that Residents' Matter.

 

The Bloomsbury Residents' Action Group (BRAG) was founded by a group of residents in May 2016, due to a growing concern that decision-makers in Camden and TfL seemed unaware of (or didn’t care about) the tens of thousands of people who live permanently in streets south of the Euston Road. 

 

South Camden is regularly defined as a 'commercial and entertainment district', when is it is in fact a mixed-use but predominantly residential area - a reflection of its original character as London expanded northwards towards the Euston Road in the late 18th/early 19th century.

 

The presence of a large transient population of students and tourists does not negate the fact that residents need a Council that will listen to their concerns and actually do something which correlates with the purpose of listening.

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BRAG wants:

• A culture where residents are respected and listened to

• Meaningful consultations to involve residents at an early stage 

• Consultation should be open to difference and debate, not a way to endorse what has already been decided behind closed doors

• Refusal of planning approval for developments which cause indirect and direct harm to residents’ health and wellbeing 

• Heritage assets and their setting to be properly respected – once it’s gone, it’s gone

• Particular care for people with disabilities and special needs for transport

• Crime prevention to be given higher priority – more CCTV on the streets and an appropriate response from police officers. ​

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Working together

 

There are a large number of Community, Amenity, Tenants & Residents and Friends groups within South Camden that care about the well being of historic squares, local neighbourhoods or specific housing blocks. BRAG feels that greater links between these individual groups could be beneficial as residents tend to share similar concerns about crime, getting around, traffic management, noise nuisance, over-development and other issues.

 

An example of the unity of community purpose resulted in the decision by the Evening Standard not to progress their proposal for (in our view) a far too large / too long Festival of Culture in Russell Square, the historic and well used open space that lies at the heart of our important residential area.

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Following extensive research and analysis of crime statistics, we have been working with other local groups, such as the Bloomsbury Association, to campaign for more police resources in the three wards of South Camden.  The pressure seems to have resulted in additional police resources being allocated to Bloomsbury and Holborn & Covent Garden wards.

 

We are connected with both the Bloomsbury and Kings Cross Safer Neighbourhood Panels and have been lobbying TfL (in association with Camden) for financial support through the Safer Streets Fund 2021. A properly monitored network of CCTV on the streets could reduce the very high level of crime against the person that takes place in Bloomsbury,   We are nevertheless concerned that a lack of reporting (due to apathy or a feeling of ‘will it make any difference’) might affect the crime figures released for the South Camden wards. We therefore encourage anybody unfortunate enough to be a victim of crime or witness an incident to report it to the police.

 

A Voice for Residents
 

BRAG is a member of several Community Liaison Groups and Construction Working Groups which have been set up to ensure residents have a voice during the construction of large developments in south Camden.

 

When requested, we support residents who are objecting to planning applications that will impact negatively on residential amenity. ​

 

We endeavour to pass on news and relevant information about consultations via the BRAG website and occasional newsletters.  

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BRAG campaigns for developments that do not undermine residents' quality of life.