Now the Packington redevelopment is well under way, the new design for the estate has reinstated the road all the way round the square, and even includes a terrace of pastiche georgian houses which look so much like the originals on the other side of the square that you have to blink hard to see the difference. There was also included in the redevelopment agreement a chunk of money to refurbish and improve Union Square.
A lot of people were asking me what was going to be done about the square, and when and how the money would be spent. So I contacted the Council's Greenspace department, and set up a meeting with as many local people and stakeholders as I could find, to try and find out what people wanted in the park. There were some interesting and wide-ranging discussions, including whether the water feature should be retained, whether there should be gates along the sides of the park, whether dogs should be allowed in, whether there should be childrens' play equipment, and whether there should be a central activity space. Several consultation events were held, and the views of everyone who attended were fed into the brief.
Greenspace tendered the design work, and local Landscape Architects 'Breeze' were selected. I attended briefing meetings with Breeze, and fed back to them views that I was receiving from residents as the design process progressed. Further consultation events were held, where three design options were shown by Breeze. There was strong agreement amongst residents about which option was best, and that is what has now been built.
And on 12th April, the Mayor of Islington reopened the square, with a community planting event following on after (ably assisted by the advanced trowel-handling skills of Gordon McArthur of the Arlington Association). It was a bit of a bumpy ride getting to the final design, and getting agreement on what was in and what was out, but the outcome is quite extraordinary, with a whole new spacious, light, airy garden square open to residents, and loads of kids playing in there, using the paths for scooter racing.
A very satisfactory piece of teamwork between Residents, Local Councillors and Greenspace officers. The Picture shows the Mayor of Islington, Cllr Barry Edwards, St Peters Ward Councillor Alice Perry, myself, and a number of local residents who were actually doing the hard work of planting the plants.
