Camden plans advisory group

The London Borough of Camden is linking up with its local design community to form the Camden Design Advisory Group.

It is the brainchild of Design Council chairman John Sorrell, co-chairman of Camden consultancy Newell and Sorrell. He says: “I feel passionately that the [Camden] council’s commitment to design will lead to other UK local authorities setting up their own design advisory groups.”

The group will assist the council at a strategic level to promote a strong design culture throughout the borough. Camden’s environment committee chair Councillor Deborah Sacks says the group can “confirm and enhance Camden’s unique potential to be the design capital of the UK”.

Members of the CDAG include: Bill Cumming of 20/20; Stephen Greenberg, associate director of DEGW; John Herbert, managing director of John Herbert Partnership; Kate Killeen, public relations officer of Springett Associates; and Terry Trickett, director of Trickett Associates.

“One of the rather special things about Camden is that it contains all these design consultants, more per square mile than almost anywhere in the country, but none of them are having an impact on where they work,” says Terry Trickett.

“This will enable us to knock heads together and get a process going,” he adds.