Why is Vincent terrace canal-side walk still closed?

There has been much public outcry about the closure of the Vincent Terrace canalside open space.  Many residents have said forcefully that they use and enjoy the space, and that in a borough with so little green space it is highly valued, and a great area for children and dogs to go exploring.

Many people want to know why, when there is such significant support to reopen the gardens, that the Council has not re-opened them yet.

The space belongs to the Canal and River Trust (CaRT).  Islington Council held it on a 42 year lease which expired 2 years ago.  Negotiations to renew the lease stalled, and CaRT locked us out earlier this year.  Council officers believed (wrongly) that the space was little-used, and thought it best to relinquish the space.  I circulated this view to residents, which generated the outcry.

Since officers understood that the space is used and needed there has been some dialogue with officers over what the costs would be to carry out any repairs to the space to make it safe for the public to re-enter.  These costs are now at an acceptable level.  This was followed by negotiations with CaRT to agree the terms of a new lease with them.  There were a number of contentious issues that needed to be discussed, relating to which elements of the space the Council would be responsible for maintaining, and also some planning issues. 

We have now reached agreement with CaRT on these terms, which include a new long lease on a peppercorn rent, with the Council responsible for maintenance, including trees. 

We need to lease to be signed, in order for the Council to get access to the area to carry out the necessary repairs, after which the space will be re-opened. 

In the mean time I have heard it reported that the gates have broken open and trespassers entered the site.  The Trust are aware of this, although I’m not sure what action they have taken to secure the area. Some local residents are also trying to keep the place tidy, and trim back some of the overgrown shrubs.  It would be good to get some proper community gardening going in the space once it is reopened.

UNION SQUARE REOPENED

Union Square next to the Packington Estate had been a bit of a dive for years.  It had been one of Islington's original Garden Squares, but when the Packington Estate was first built, the road on the Packington side was swallowed up into the estate, and Union Square became somewhat overshadowed by the Estate, overgrown and underused.

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.

Interview with London Hospitals Campaign

I was recently interviewed by the 'London Hospitals' campaign, which attempts to keep track of hospital reconfiguration across London.  I think they are doing important work, as the pace of change in the Health Service at the moment is hard for anyone to keep up with.

The interview can be found at the other end of this link:

http://londonhospitals1314.wordpress.com/2014/03/30/exclusive-interview-with-islington-councillor-martin-klute/

Thanks to Jenny McCall for the time she took to give a thorough and balanced interview.

Is there an election on?

Actually there will be.  On May 22nd.  And St Peters Ward Councillors are already out on the campaign trail.  We had an excellent weekend's sessions on Saturday and Sunday afternoon, with support from  (l-r) Cllr Paul Smith, Jenny Kay (aspiring Mildmay Ward Cllr person), me at the back, Cllr Alice Perry (the human dynamo), Newell from Holloway, MEP hopeful Lucy Anderson, and Cllr Richard Watts, Leader of the Council.  You can't see Cllr Gary Doolan, because he was holding the camera.

Support on the doorstep is very good, but we also met several people who are being hit by the bedroom tax, who just don't know what to do, and are afraid of being driven out of Islington altogether, where they have lived for most of their lives. We referred them to Islington's Benefits Advice Line which we set up to try and give the best possible experienced help to people in this kind of situation.  It is hard not to see the Tory Government's benefit reforms as pretty vicious social cleansing of our inner city areas.

Cycle safety on the New North Road

The new improved cycle lane access into Arlington Avenue

It has been a long-standing campaign of mine to persuade cyclists in a hurry to use alternative routes to the canal towpath, where it is well-known that a small number of speeding cyclists are terrorising more peaceable users of the towpath: Pedestrians, parents with kids and buggies, older people, and recreational cyclists.

There are good cycle routes all the way through Hackney, and the Arlington Avenue area in St Peters ward is quiet and safe.  The big obstacle is the New North Road.  We need traffic signals outside Gainsborough Studios, which is in Hackney, and we need better permeability into St Peters side streets.

This week I have finally succeeded in getting Islington’s highways department to improve the turning into Arlington Avenue. Previously, the turn into the cycle path was so sharp that cyclists were forced to swing out into the middle of the road to make the turn, pushing them into the path of speeding cars and lorries coming up behind them.  At my request Islington Highways have now installed a smoothly curving kerb to the cycle lane, making it possible to turn into Arlington Avenue safely, and without having to swing out.

This is one small, but important part of the jigsaw to create safe alternative routes for cyclists, so we can restore safety,  peace, and tranquillity to the towpath.  Now we need Hackney and TFL to install traffic signals at Gainsborough.

Chicanes on the towpath

I don't know how long I have been arguing for chicanes on the towpath that actually slow cyclists down - and in response the Canal and River Trust have been saying they would rather 'educate' cyclists to slow down.

So imagine my surprise, when exploring the Camden side of the tunnel, to find that there already is a chicane that does exactly what I have been saying they should do.  And here it is.  3 prongs, and a tight enough dimension between them that you have to seriously slow down to get through it, but it doesn't stop wheelchairs, or buggies, or tricycles.  You just can't physically pass through it at any speed on a bicycle.

If CaRT can provide this on the Camden side, why can't they do it on the Islington side, where cycling pressure is at its greatest?

Motion to Islington Council on Canal Management

Below is the text of the motion to Islington Council identifying the canal management issues that impact negatively on the Borough of Islington.  This motion was passed unanimously, supported by all elected members of the Council across the chamber.  

"This Council notes:

Under Government reforms, British Waterways became the Canal and River Trust (CaRT) – a charity that owns and operates England’s inland waterways and infrastructure. The Regents Canal and towpath run through the borough of Islington, passing through St Peters and Caledonian wards, and in these urban areas the towpath passes very close to people’s homes near the canal. Access to the canal and towpath is controlled by CaRT and is not a public right of way.

Since the Trust took over the running of the canal, there has been a sharp increase in problems with speeding cyclists on the towpath, failure to keep the bins emptied, from noise and air pollution coming from Canal boats moored on the banks of the canal, and congestion from double and triple mooring in built-up areas. The CaRT has been very slow to respond to these problems, and when they have, they have largely failed to make any difference, or they allow different standards to operate on different parts of the canal for no obvious reason.

We call on the Council:

• To work with CaRT, TFL and London Borough of Hackney highways officers to achieve safe alternative cycle routes for cyclists in a hurry, and to introduce cycle calming measures on the towpath that force cyclists in a hurry to slow down.

• To bring legal pressure to bear on CaRT to ensure that the Towpath is kept clean, the bins emptied 7 days a week, and an acceptable standard of public hygiene maintained.

• To bring legal and moral pressure on CaRT to enforce higher environmental standards on the owners of canal boats, to reduce noise and air pollution from noisy generators, and to require boaters to burn only smokeless fuels, and to set up mechanisms to enforce these standards.

• To lobby for changes to the Clean Air Act to include the waterways.

• To bring pressure to bear on CaRT to enforce their own mooring rules.

• To cooperate with CaRT to erect new joint CaRT/LBI signage on the towpath making clear what are the environmental and mooring rules.

• To commence joint working between the Council and CaRT to establish ways of legally enforcing compliance with these rules.

This council further notes:

• CaRT is the owner of the canals, and needs to take full responsibility for the behaviour and actions of people using the canal and the towpath, and for the environmental impacts of that activity. "

Remembrance day gets bigger and bigger

Islington Green was packed with people this morning for the annual Remembrance Day multi-faith service.  There were war veterans, councillors, our local MPs and GLA member, police, cadets, scouts, guides, brownies, and the wonderful tightly-drilled drum-core, which I could hear as soon as I left my house.  The event was superbly well organised, and as it gets bigger, it generates a stronger and stronger sense of community in Islington.  It would be nice if the Police could stop the traffic for more than just the 2-minute silence, an hour say, or even for the day. Councillors were also there in large numbers.  After the service St Peters Ward Councillors met up with the Pearly King of Finsbury and one of the surviving veterans.  See below:

We then went on to Spa Green War Memorial for the Clerkenwell and Finsbury service, which was attended by several hundred people, including drums, a brass band, and incense from the Holy Redeemer Church.  A huge increase from when I first started attending in 2006, when there were about 30 people, and a tape recording of a brass band.  The most poignant moment was the Last Post being played by a real trumpeter, with a great deal of feeling.  A striking contrast to the rather hurried recorded version used at Islington Green.  Overall though, a very good event.

Partnership working between COLAi and Hyde kicks off

I was invited last Monday to speak at a small prize-giving ceremony for art students at the City Of London Academy Islington (COLAi).  The prizes were for pupils who had won a place in a competition to produce a community artwork to be hung on the ‘old’ Packington buildings to liven it up until final demolition of the last phase takes place.  This was the first time that Hyde and the School have jointly delivered a project, which has to be a good thing for the local area.  Much more partnership working is promised, and I am particularly keen to see the building project used as a way to whet the appetite of pupils who may be interested in construction work

 

I got the job of handing out the prizes to the pupils, and I have now lost the piece of paper with everyone’s name on, for which I humbly apologise.  The photo shows the prize-winners, Rebecca their art teacher, in the middle at the front, Bernice Ramchandani from Hyde 3^rd from left, head teacher Clare Verga 5^th from the right, and yours truly lurking at the back.

The occasion was also an excellent opportunity to congratulate Clare Verga on the quite remarkable improvement she has made in the results at COLAi this year, almost doubling the number of 5 GCSEs with English and Maths from 33% last year to 61% this year.  This just goes to show what a huge difference a good head can make to a school in a very short space of time.

The artwork was hung in the wrong place in my view.  You can barely see in the distance in the photo.  It needs to be rehung where people can see it. Anyway, a good time was had by all, and the team made short work of the sausage rolls afterwards.

The Canal Festival goes from strength to strength

St peters Ward Councillors had another excellent day today on our stall at the Angel Canal Festival.  We met lots of people, many of them local residents, and spent time talking about the Canal, Labour policy for the next election, the hidden underground theatre on the corner of Essex Road and Islington Green, and trying not to get drawn into talking about Syria, amongst other things.  We were supported by Nick, Felix, David, Sue and Ian, all of whom worked hard throughout the day to make it a success.

Our petition this year was to make the canal and towpath safer.  We are lobbying the Canal and River Trust (CaRT) to introduce cycle calming measures on the towpath that force speeding cyclists to slow down, to enforce their license conditions against the small minority of boaters that cause a nuisance, either with noisy smelly generators, or by holding noisy late-night parties and events that disturb residents and other boaters, and to keep the bins emptied. The response to the petition was very positive, and we collected over 100 signatures.

We had a visit from the chief executive of the CaRT, and we had an interesting and useful discussion with him about ways in which we can work together between the Council, the Police and the Trust to try and resolve some of the towpath issues, but we also stressed to them that residents want to see a real difference in the levels of nuisance and disturbance that they experience from the minority of disruptive boaters, and other disruptive persons that are currently being attracted to the canal.

We were also visited by the Angel of the festival, who blessed us (in a rather modern way), and who within the same blessing also damned the Tories, for which we were most grateful.