24/12/2025
Happy Christmas Eve 2025!
Belsize Village is getting an uplift thanks to Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) grant funding arranged to the Belsize Village Business Association (BVBA) by then-Hampstead Town Cllr Oliver Cooper in 2021 (thank you!). The goal of the program is to restore some of the shopfront character Belsize Village had in the late 1800s and early 1900s. This means wood over plastic frontages and painted signs over plastic signs. The more beautiful Belsize Village is, the more uplifting and inviting it will be.
This would mark Phase 3 of Belsize Village’s revitalisation started by the BVBA in 2018 which follows Danish architect Jan Gehl’s community revitalisation rubric: “First life, then spaces, then buildings – the other way around never works.”
During Phase 1 of 2018-2020, we used social media to promote social cohesion and community pride to help halt our persistent shop closures by boosting local demand and attracting visitors from neighbouring communities. For Phase 2, we beautified our village square (notably we got rid of the recurring rubbish mound that sat on the village square for many years!) and sparked the UK’s “al fresco dining experiment” with the Belsize Village Streatery in 2020. Now onto our buildings for Phase 3!
Yesterday, December 23, 2025, our restoration of Holistic was completed.
Roni’s Belsize’s recent renovation has been fantastic but was fully funded by them. However it was undertaken in coordination with the BVBA to ensure it was consistent with our overall vision to restore Belsize Village’s historic character.
Our first restoration was Crescent Fruiterers in 2023.
Our next focus frontages are Village Pharmacy, Late Late, Pyramid and TETA’s.
Belsize Village keeps getting better and better!