Highbury Community Association September 2019

Join the HCA online at highburycommunity.org and receive this newsletter by email COMMUNITY NEWS highburycommunity.org | @HighburyCA | facebook.com/highburycommunity Consultation on ’s transport strategy to 2041 By DIANE BURRIDGE Action is certainly needed in attributed to air pollution. Islington is Islington when: only two of the 16 a borough of through traffic – how do Clean air; no barriers to walking, tube stations are fully accessible; 16% we control this? cycling and public transport; all roads of residents have some kind of The HCA emphasised these points to be 20mph; no deaths or serious limiting long-term illness or disability, when responding to the Greater injuries on Islington’s roads; and every and 55% of residents do less than 20 Authority’s Transport school being on a ‘school street’ Strategy, in 2018: we will with traffic restricted during Artist’s impression of the part- highlight these and other drop-off and pick-up times. pedestrianisation of Highbury Corner concerns to Islington, including: How can one object to these 1. The need for public toilets, and targets for Islington by 2041? more staff including cleansing We all want clean air and a safe personnel and police officers, at environment, yet it is the imple- large transport interchanges, mentation of policies that is key. such as at Highbury & Islington Why have 20mph speed and Park stations. limits when this is not enforced? 2. The obstacle course that many How can there be no deaths or of us have to manoeuvre when serious accidents when there are crossing roads, such as Seven not enough police, or physical Sisters Road, Holloway Road and and other measures, to ensure – due to cars this? Why have large reductions blocking pedestrian crossings, in air pollution caused by traffic insufficient pedestrian crossings, when polluting barbeques are and the little time before green allowed in our green open lights turn red. spaces? And what about the 3. The importance of main- noise pollution due to the taining markings on roads increasing number of home - where these have faded, e.g. at delivery motorbikes? the junctions of Monsell and By 2041, the aim is that there Ambler Roads. will be 2,500 fewer cars owned To give your own feedback on by Islington residents (6.9% reduction minutes walking and/or cycling per the consultation, please see: on 37,372) - despite the population day. And despite only 26% of www.islington.gov.uk/ increasing by an expected 30.2% households owning or having access transportstrategy; o r e m a i l between 2011 and 2041- outpacing to a private vehicle, 125 people in 2017 [email protected] the growth of London overall - even were killed or seriously injured in The deadline for responding is though the borough is the most traffic collisions; 39 of our 58 schools Sunday 29 September 2019. densely populated in the country have pollution levels above EU limits; with the least amount of open space. and 7% of deaths in 2016 were See page 3 for more information

Highbury Community News is printed by www.absoluteprint.com, printing for Islington and beyond since 1996

Issue 112 highburycommunity.org 1 Highbury Community Association September 2019 Tackling drug related crime and anti- social behaviour in By Cllr ANDY HULL, Executive Safe Havens; and specialist targeted reporting crimes in detail to 101 (or to Member for Finance, Perfor- support for children at risk and their 999 in an emergency). Without mance and Community Safety, families. specific intelligence from the London Borough of Islington community, making real headway (@AndyHull79) There is still more to be done, and will take much longer. future plans for the area include: Islington Council and Islington’s For more information on what police are leading a concerted multi- • retaining an enhanced level of is being done to tackle crime in agency, tri-borough drive to tackle police resources and mounting the borough and on how you can drug-related crime and antisocial targeted police operations; help, please visit: behaviour in the Finsbury Park area, • robust enforcement against crack www.islington.gov.uk/ including the north end of Highbury. houses; community-safety The most recent pair of police raids • enhancing the support provided in the patch, in August, uncovered a to people suffering from drug crack den; seized a stash of Class A addiction; drugs; took a dangerous machete off • addressing families where crime our streets; and saw a man arrested on and antisocial behaviour are ACCOUNTANTS suspicion of dealing. entrenched and persistent; Over the past 12 months in the • identifying young people at risk FOR SMALL area, eight crack houses have been and providing them with closed; over 1,000 knives have been wraparound support. removed from the street; and over 35 BUSINESS rough sleepers have been rehomed. Following feedback from residents, We specialise in supporting small businesses Measures that have been put in we are also working harder to and can help with: place include extra uniformed police communicate what the authorities are • Self Assessment Tax Returns • Bookkeeping & VAT officers on patrol, based at Blackstock doing to keep the community safe. • Business Accounts • Payroll & HR Road police station and on the beat Over the summer, the council • Corporation Tax • Company Formations around the Blackstock Triangle; hand-delivered a joint letter from the • Business Start-ups ...and much more increased use of police dispersal and police borough commander and me to For your free, no obligation meeting call us today on 020 7354 2661 or visit us online at stop-and-search powers; a knife bin 15,000 local households, laying out www.taxassist.co.uk/islington-N5 installed outside St Mellitus Church; our understanding of the problems; new CCTV cameras in crime hotspots; what we’re doing about them; and disabling the free-calls-to-mobiles what’s being planned for the months function on BT Inlink booths; ahead. The letter also reminded expanding the borough’s network of neighbours of the vital importance of

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Issue 112 highburycommunity.org 2 Highbury Community Association September 2019

carve up the 24 hours between users Consultation on Islington’s differently. In Florence, for instance, deliveries to central city shops and transport strategy to 2041: markets have to take place during the night up to about 5.00am; no private wider issues cars are allowed into the city till the evening, and it is really only public transport, taxis, cycles and walkers during the main part of the day.

Road pricing Eventually the congestion zone boundary may need to be extended outward, or some other pricing system introduced.

Thinking issues through at the appropriate scale Highbury Corner is a classic example of thinking too small, without analysing the bigger picture. Traffic from the New North Road avoiding Highbury The excessively local focus on cycling Corner by cutting through Lane and Islington - at the expense even of buses – Park Street to Liverpool Road. Photo credit: Tony Saggers cannot mitigate the larger problem at By GILL SHEPHERD flow through the borough currently. all. Vehicles are simply dispersing So, logically, London-wide - or at least onto other roads to avoid the Islington’s location is difficult from North-London-wide - solutions need bottleneck at Highbury Corner. (See the Transport management point of planning for, with Islington consulting photograph). view. Routes from outer London all with other boroughs, and with the home in on London’s central hub, and Mayor. Indeed, until changes are made to Islington is very close to that hub. Part how London’s roads as a whole are of the borough’s traffic has come from Halting a proportion of the used, Islington’s goal of carbon- much further north, north-east or inward bound traffic from neutrality by 2030 looks naïve. It will east, on routes too long for cycling and outer London be impossible for the borough to originating in suburbs with a much The provision of much more address the issue on its own turf when thinner public transport con- parking at outer London tube stations so much of the traffic that passes centration. Secondly, home-delivery and railway stations would eliminate through it comes from Barnet, Enfield, traffic, often from outer London some traffic, just as Park and Ride Edmonton and East London, and headquarters, criss-crosses all over Schemes do for cities like Bristol. demands proper joint planning with North London. And then thirdly, laid other boroughs. over all that non-local traffic, are the ‘Staggered road-space’ We hope that these broader transport needs of those who live in schemes approaches will also be considered in Islington and nearby. The three very For deliveries to Central London Islington’s new Transport Strategy different kinds of traffic all have to shops and businesses, we have got to alongside the intra-borough issues. Advertise in HCA News Go digital! The HCA relies on advertising income to The HCA is encouraging our readers who enable us to print 5 editions a year. receive a hard copy of the newsletter to switch to email delivery. This reduces our The HCA charges a very reasonable £50 running costs and the use of paper. per advert for three issues, and £20 per advert for a single issue. We will include one charity advert per edition free of charge. To make the switch, please contact us at [email protected] Email [email protected] for details

Issue 112 highburycommunity.org 3 Highbury Community Association September 2019 Reviewing the impact of the Finsbury Park Wireless concerts By DIANE BURRIDGE •There were particular traffic problems along Gillespie Road: this was used as a taxi/uber pick up area, with the no- After many complaints in 2017 and 2018, Islington entry point causing jams and ill-temper. Council met with the HCA to mitigate the negative impact •Arsenal station was used more this year but there were of this major event on the area. Building on Hackney no security staff present. One suggestion was to close this Council’s work with their residents, many measures were station, but this is a contentious matter for local residents. put in place this year, including more noise monitoring and •The loss of buses to Blackstock Road, and the lack of complaints lines; road barriers between Seven Sisters Road advance warning, caused much inconvenience. and Gillespie Road (only allowing residents and their •The nature of Wireless is inappropriate when some of visitors through); patrols by community enforcement the music glorifies violence, and uses derogatory language officers and more cleaning of streets. in an area which is a crime hotspot. At monitoring meetings held during the Wireless Event •Some local shops were threatened, and stolen from, by in Finsbury Park on 6 and 7 July, and later on 19 July at the event goers. Shops need more police protection. Town Hall, feedback was given. Overall, people felt that the •Noise levels were lower than in previous years but situation had improved this year, but some issues for future noticeably picked up towards the end of Saturday and events include: Sunday nights. •Moving the site in Finsbury Park to a location where •These major events result in a substantial loss of the access / egress and the transport focus is in Haringey. Most Park. And, why can’t they take place in a purpose built people who suffer from these major events are Hackney arena away from residential areas? Such debates are and Islington residents – although the Park is owned by vociferously being held in other forums, involving the Haringey Council. Highbury Community Association and led by the Friends of Finsbury Park. •Extending the clean up to all of Highbury West Ward during and after events. Islington is holding a public meeting for feedback •The need for more police and enforcement officers in on Thursday, 10 October 2019 at 6pm at the Town the vicinity of St Thomas’s Road/Prah Road/Rock Street/ Hall in Upper Street. Please come if you want to Blackstock Road. influence what the Council will do next year to try to •The noise from crowds hanging around in the area late protect residents. in the night created great disturbance to residents, including children having to go to school the next day. •The stewards need more clearly-defined roles, Clay Time Pottery Place C.I.C. including the right to disperse groups causing anti-social Drop into the community behaviour. pottery studio in Finsbury Park

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Issue 112 highburycommunity.org 4 Highbury Community Association September 2019 Celebrations to mark Gillespie Park wins Finsbury Park’s 150th prestigious Green anniversary Flag award By SAIRA BANO

On Saturday the 10th August 2019, a whole day of activities were planned to mark the 150th anniversary of the park. Zorbing (rolling about in a huge ball) was a popular choice among the sports on offer along with tennis, football and other activities. Many had fun on the climbing wall. Horse and carriage rides (see photo below) brought a nostalgic sense of Finsbury Park in the past. Unfortunately, bad weather forced the cancelling of some of the other activities, such as boat rides. Near the Finsbury Park entrance, the space was given to a buzzing place called ‘Further Field’, full of highly engaging activities. Here, I encountered a Pink Robot called ‘Doxbox’. It asked a few questions, and then revealed how much information the Tech Giants held about you. At the Citizen Sci-fi Future Fair, Planet Cashless pointed out how much our privacy is invaded by the government, banks and others, to the point where the economy will be controlled by the few. By GILL SHEPHERD The supporting show ‘Parklife’ provided at the Park Theatre was well attended. Performed beautifully by the A much-loved nature reserve tucked away behind artists involved, it had everything – singing, dancing, the Arsenal Tube Station was presented with the prestigious evocation of sorrow, pleasure, and anger along with Green Flag Award in July. messages about integration and world peace. The award, organised by the charity ‘Keep Britain Tidy’, All in all a wonderful celebration of the Park was given to Gillespie Park, which is home to an ecology centre along with ponds, meadows and woodlands. Volunteers from Friends of Gillespie Park, who spend an estimated 2,500 hours maintaining the park each year, joined council environment chief Cllr Claudia Webb at the park to celebrate the win. The flag will fly at the entrance. Sue Jandy, chair of the Friends of Gillespie Park, said: "We hope that this award will encourage more people in our community to discover and enjoy the park."

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Issue 112 highburycommunity.org 5 Highbury Community Association September 2019

Local government boundary Should the road across the review proposes end of middle of Highbury Fields be Highbury’s East & West wards closed permanently?

By GILL SHEPHERD By DAVID BRAINE & GILL SHEPHERD

Islington Council are asking local people and The top end of Highbury Crescent is currently occupied organisations to comment on its draft recommendations by TfL as a work site for the Highbury Corner scheme, the for new ward boundaries across Islington, and are open to works will be partially complete by October 2019 followed further suggestions from residents to improve these by Urban Realm planting, snagging and defect works for recommendations. All submissions will be considered. the scheme. TfL plan on keeping the area closed up until The website shows current proposals for new ward early December 2019. Following this the Council will need boundaries (in red) compared to existing boundaries (in to undertake inspections and remedial works to the area blue). It is possible to click on any ward to find out how which includes drainage and highway works. Currently many voters are included in it and how many councillors it there are no plans to close this section of Highbury is proposed should represent it. It is possible to draw your Crescent permanently, however the Council may need to own boundaries and annotate the map online. review this as part of the post implementation surveys for In our area, Highbury East and West go, and become the Highbury Corner scheme to minimise potential part of new Highbury, Gillespie and Finsbury Park wards. adverse impacts. (Karen Agbabiaka, Head of Public Realm, This stage of the consultation closes on 7 October 2019. Highways). Richard Watts, Leader of the Council, See the link at the Boundary Review website by clicking commented, ‘I have asked officers to look at options and here (online edition only) funding routes to see if the road can be closed permanently’. There are other issues which will need to be considered Cinnamon Village Café in making the decision whether or not to close the road. Firstly, there are now only two ways of reaching roads Blackstock Road in the north west corner of Highbury Fields (Battledean, Framfield, Highbury Terrace, Highbury Terrace Mews) Café - Bakery - Ice Cream Shop from A-roads. Southbound on the Holloway Road, entry is possible via Fieldway Crescent; northbound from Local honey Highbury Corner, drivers have to go up Highbury Grove, produced by Cinnamon Village left into Baalbec Road, left into Highbury Place, and right round the edge of the whole of Highbury Fields to reach WiFi home. 7 days a week, 8am to 6pm Tel: 020 7226 8777 Secondly, and more importantly, the removal of the 160-162 Blackstock Road, London N5 1HA roundabout at Highbury Corner means that traffic is now stopped for much of the time at sets of lights, instead of flowing smoothly. As a result, traffic backs up Highbury Place because of the lights by Barclay's Bank. Drivers MAC McCABER wanting to turn right into Highbury Crescent from Handyman and window-cleaner Highbury Place become frustrated and jump the queue, mobile: 07960 037485 which is dangerous for pedestrians. [email protected] There would be far less traffic if the top end of Highbury Crescent were to be reopened. Hard-working and trustworthy, living locally Recommended by several HCA members - references on request Go digital! The HCA is encouraging readers of the I do painting, decorating, small electrical and paper edition to switch to email delivery. plumbing jobs and gardening at £120 a day pro rata I also clean windows inside and out - £80-90 for a 3-storey Victorian house To make the switch, please contact us at [email protected]

Issue 112 highburycommunity.org 6 Highbury Community Association September 2019 Arsenal Football Club planning application 2019: the HCA’s response Using of local roads for supporters’ coach Permanent use of sites parking on match days With respect to AFC’s permanent use of the remaining In this planning application, Arsenal Football Club seek sites, Steer presents no evidence concerning likely future to make permanent their use of the following sites for trends for the number of supporters’ coaches beyond supporters’ coach parking on match days: stating that an increase is unlikely given the recent decline • Queensland Road – 18 spaces (pp. 21-22). • Hornsey Road – 13 spaces Data from other clubs should have been provided to • Sobell Centre – 12 spaces indicate how far the downward trend of coaches at • Hornsey St. – 11 spaces (not to be used more than Arsenal is duplicated elsewhere, or whether fluctuating twice per season) numbers can be expected in future. It is not reasonable to • Finsbury Park – 90 plus spaces (exceptional make current provision of coach parking permanent on the circumstances only) evidence provided, since the need may diminish. We recommend a review every three to five years. On the following grounds, the Highbury Community Association opposes : The Highbury Community Association also opposes 1.the continuing use of two of the above sites for coach making current parking arrangements permanent on the parking grounds that changing technology may enable the safe 2.AFC’s application for permanent use of the sites parking of large vehicles under the stadium in future. In the past, HCA secured an undertaking from the Islington Continuing use of existing sites Planning Committee that the use of new monitoring It is clear from Steer’s evidence, that the number of technology, used for example on vehicles crossing the coaches parked has declined. In the 18/19 season, the Channel, would be explored with the police, to allow coach average number of coaches on match days was 14, and the parking under the Stadium. But the issue was never maximum 27 (Steer, p. 17). Queensland Road and Hornsey addressed as far as we know. It should continue to be Road together have capacity for 31 coaches. addressed, since changing technology may permit efficient •Hornsey St. can only be used twice per season, and was and economic searching of vehicles in future. We strongly not used at all last season, so it is clearly reasonable to urge that as soon as possible any such new security checks discontinue its use since it is a very narrow road. available should also be used on the coaches parked on •It is also clearly reasonable that coach parking at the Queensland Road. The very high buildings and dense Sobell Centre should be discontinued. Its use is no longer occupancy so close to the Stadium are clearly at the same justified by the number of coaches, and we also feel risk on match days as that hypothesized for the Stadium strongly that users of this sports centre should be able to itself. We recommend a review of current coach parking rely on full access to the car parking there. arrangements in the light of technological change every three to five years.

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Issue 112 highburycommunity.org 7 Highbury Community Association September 2019

A major historical theme noted by Hayes is the long record of local campaigns for the park. A Select Committee of 1833 noted the need for parks in east, south and north London for the recreation of the poor, to complement Regent’s Park in the west. Yet it took local groups until 1869 to open Finsbury Park in north London. From the 1990s, the park’s HCA News | Issue 112 | September 2019 funding from Haringey council was © HCA 2019 | Editor: Gill Shepherd | Published by the HCA under severe pressure, resulting in a decline of its infra-structure and ‘A park for Finsbury’ - a celebration increasing anti-social behaviour. The council relied on festivals for income, of Finsbury Park’s 150 year story by and Lottery money from 2002 for improving the park was used for a Hugh Hayes road to enable festivals to access the By SARAH POTTER opment of the park from its opening site. In 2017, the Friends of Finsbury in 1869, Hayes draws on its Board Park took Haringey Council to the To mark the 150 th anniversary of Minutes, which record 30,000 visitors High Court challenging the exclusion the opening of Finsbury Park on 7th to the park on Whit Monday 1876, of local people from the park during August this year, The Friends of and the building of a bandstand and festivals and securing the use of Finsbury Park have published a new exhibition of chrysanthemums in festival income for the benefit of the edition of the park’s history first 1881, which became an annual event park. published by their previous chair visited by “thousands upon Hugh Hayes in 2001 (ISBN thousands” according to the Pall Mall See page 5 of this edition to 978-0-9540637-1-9). Its distinctive Gazette of 5 October 1883. The read about the celebrations that feature is the range of historical Gardeners’ Chronicle of 1889 took place this summer source reproduced in the book to reported that the park had 60 illustrate Hayes’s story. Maps, plans, “well furnished” flower beds, water colours, articles from the press, including a Rosery. London official reports, petitions, acts of County Council records for parliament and postcards all provide a 1902 show that Finsbury vivid accompaniment to the text, Park was the third most bringing the historical context to life. expensive park under their Valuable oral history accounts from management after local residents also feature in the Victoria Park in East book. London and Battersea To trace the successful devel- Park in South London. BOURNE’S FISHMONGERS Bourne’s Fishmongers supply only the fnest sustainable seafood and shellfsh. We offer a friendly service and competitive prices. All enquiries welcome, including any orders. 10% OFF with this voucher

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Issue 112 highburycommunity.org 8