Design & Access Statement Page 15 Garages on Corsica Street, Highbury, N5 Design & Access Statement Page 16 Garages on Corsica Street, Highbury, N5 5.0 Analysis: Local Amenity 5.1 Local Amenity Spaces Corsica Street is located within easy reach of generous amenity facilites, gardens and parks within the Highbury area. Image A: Paradise Park Paradise Park is approximately 10 minutes walk to the west of Highbury Fields, providing a variety of family and play facilities: • Children’s playground with water • Peace Garden play feature • Chess tables • 7-a-side floodlit astroturf pitch • Perennial meadow & grass meadow • Outdoor gym equipment • Paradise Park Children’s Centre Image A: Paradise Park Image B: Newington Green Image B: Newington Green Newington Green is a busy park to the east of Corsica Street with a community event space, also featuring: • Children’s playground • Wildlife areas • Accessible play equipment • Mature plane trees • Cafe • Community event space • Shrub beds Image C: Compton Terrace Gardens Compton Terrace itself is two rows of villas built in the early 1800’s flanking Union Chapel. A linear garden in two sections, Compton Terrace Gardens feature: • Nice trees and some pleasant lawns • Shrub borders • Well tended flower beds • Herbaceous beds • Anchor-shaped annual bedding Image C: Compton Terrace Image D: Arundel Square displays Image D: Arundel Square Arundel Square is a 10 minute walk to the west. Among its recently reorganised layout are: • Children’s playground • Woodland walk • Table tennis • Shrub beds • Tarmac ball court with football goals and basketball hoops Image E: Highbury Fields Highbury Fields is the largest open green space in Islington. Its features include: • Avenues of plane trees • Large sand pit • Large grass areas • Childrens’ playground • Highbury pool and fitness centre • Wildlife area Image E: Highbury Fields Design & Access Statement Page 17 Garages on Corsica Street, Highbury, N5 B. Newington Green E. Highbury Fields A. Paradise Park St. Mary Magdelene Gardens 200m 600m D. Arundel Square Laycock Street C. Compton Terrace Gardens Image F: Map of Map Local Amenity Spaces Design & Access Statement Page 18 Garages on Corsica Street, Highbury, N5 5.0 Analysis: Local Amenity 5.2 Activities A variety of recreational and family-based activities are available throughout the year in nearby parks and green spaces. In recent years, Islington Council has developed a vision for the future of Highbury Fields following consultation with local community groups. Amongst its strategic aims is the further upgrade of playground facilities as well as improvements to trees, furniture and street lighting. Improvement works are also currently underway to replace the hard playing surfaces at the north of Highbury Fields with floodlit all-weather pitches. Fun fair and other events are also held during summer months in Highbury Image A: Newington Green event day Image B: Paradise Park play area Fields. Image C: Highbury Fields tennis courts Image D: Highbury Fields play area Image E: Highbury Fields slides Image F: Highbury Fields football pitch Design & Access Statement Page 19 Garages on Corsica Street, Highbury, N5 5.0 Analysis: Local Amenity 5.3 Social and Cultural A small number of local shops can be found at the corner of Corsica Street and Calabria Road, just to the north of the site and these feature protected shopping frontage. Highbury Park is a 5-10 minute walk further north which includes street frontages formed by locally-owned shops, pharmacies, restaurants and pubs. To the south of the site, St Paul’s Road, Highbury Corner and Upper Street offer a wider variety of cafe’s, furniture stores, local council offices and church services at Union Chapel. Image A: Local store on Corsica St. Image B: Highbury Park shop Image C: Highbury Corner coffee shop Image D: Camden Passage markets Social and cultural amenity in the local area includes the redeveloped Emirates Stadium, home of Arsenal FC, and the Grade II listed Union Chapel to the south which stages a variety of more intimate musical performance throughout the year. The Screen on the Green cinema at Islington Green presents a programme of independent and international films, while the larger multiplex at the N1 shopping centre provides a wide choice of popular films. The renowned Almeida Theatre, just off Upper Street, presents a diverse range of drama performances as well as offering an innovative education and community programme to make theatre more accessible to young people. Image E: Match day at the Emirates Stadium Image F: Union Chapel concert Image G: Screen on the Green cinema Image H: N1 Shopping Centre Design & Access Statement Page 20 Garages on Corsica Street, Highbury, N5 6.0 Analysis: Historic Context 6.1 1827 Map The earliest map studied, dated 1827, shows the site on a minor unnamed road running parallel to Highbury Place. A few buildings are shown intermittently along the western side of the road on plots that are separate to the rear gardens of Highbury Place town houses. Highbury Fields is yet to be developed as an open space. 6.2 1871 Map The 1871 map shows the rear gardens of Highbury Place properties extended back to Corsica Street (then named Highbury Mews). The North London Railway Line is to the south and London Fields has become more defined. 6.3 1908 Map The current street layout of Baalbec Road, Calabria Road, Liberia Road and Corsica Street has been developed. The railway tunnel to the north of the site is now in place. A short terrace of buildings in the proximity of the site is evident. Map A: 1827 Map Map B: 1871 Map The changing in character of the street by the presence of larger buildings is reflected in its change in name from ‘Mews’ to ‘Street.’ 6.4 1971 Map The garages layout has been in place since some time between 1946 and 1954. An electricity substation borders the site to the south and a car servicing garage was located approximately 35m further south. By 1962 the site immediately to the north of the site was developed with a builder’s yard, although this was no longer present from 1971. A large ambulance station occupies the full street block from the corner of Corsica Street and Calabria Road to Highbury Fields. By 2001 the site to the north was redeveloped with a three-storey terraced housing block fronting Corsica Street and a second four-storey terraced housing block fronting Calabria Road. The site has remained in the same layout through to the present day. The welfare centre opposite has since been demolished as part of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link development and a four storey residential development has recently been constructed in its place. Map C: 1908 Map Map D: 1971 Map.