Shreya Nanda becomes Islington’s newest Councillor after a by-election victory in Hillrise Ward
Voters in Hillrise ward in north Islington, elected Shreya Nanda as their new Councillor at a by-election on Thursday 15th August. The by-election saw a 4-way contest between Labour, Green, Liberal Democrat and an independent. Standing for Labour, Shreya secured almost twice the votes of the nearest candidate.
In her acceptance speech Shreya praised “the huge difference that a Labour council can make, from fixing our broken housing market, to working with community police to make our spaces safe, to investing in community centres, and supporting the most vulnerable people in our community.
“I’ve spoken to hundreds of people in Hillrise over the course of this election, who have taken the time to tell me about the problems that they face, from crime and antisocial problems in the area, to cramped and overcrowded housing. As your local councillor, I promise I will do everything I can to be an active presence in the community and work with my fellow Labour councillors to tackle these issues.”
Unexpectedly, the Lib Dem candidate pushed the Greens into 4th place. However, in the absence of a Conservative candidate, the Lib Dems may have picked-up some Tory votes. Hillrise ward had also been represented by Lib Dems between 2000 to 2014. By contrast, the Green party considers itself to be the main challenger to Labour in Islington North but fell short in Hillrise.
| Labour | 968 | 43% |
| Indy/Corbyn | 539 | 24% |
| Lib Dem | 350 | 16% |
| Greens | 322 | 14% |
| Parr-Reid | 54 | 2% |
Cally Councillor, Paul Convery said “we’re delighted that Shreya has been elected very convincingly in a by-election that was unusually held in mid-August. The contest had become quite tightly focused on the qualities and personalities of the candidates and Shreya personally convinced the hundreds of Hillrise voters that she spoke to. She is going to make her mark on the Council very quickly, especially on the planning committee where Shreya will be strongly backing our goal to have delivered over 3,000 genuinely affordable homes in the next 2 years.”
The Islington Council by-election official result can be read here.
Islington Councillors have given planning permission for a landmark 9 storey life-sciences building. The site at 176-178 York Way is located on the corner of Randall’s Rd and will be the latest addition to the King’s Cross “knowledge quarter”. The building will house 12,000sqm of research and laboratory space, 1,200sqm of affordable workspace, a flexible community and events space, and flexible makers’ space. The planning department’s report to Councillors can be read here (item B1).
The developers say this science and technology building will house research organisations helping to solve the world’s biggest medical challenges. It will also support growing businesses in Islington, and provide skills and jobs for residents. Part of the building (10%) will be low cost “affordable workspace” in line with Islington Council’s policies. There will be a 5-year social value plan – aligned with the We Are Cally Community Plan – which will engage Islington schools and residents to improve skills and access into science and technology jobs.
Islington Council has also helped the scheme go ahead by releasing some land which will ensure a new walking route is opened up from Caledonian Road to York Way through Bingfield Street. The entire public realm around the site will get a massive upgrade too.
Cllr Paul Convery said: “We’ve been trying for over a decade to get this site developed and have rejected several unrealistic schemes. This project by developer Delancey is going to make a huge difference to the Cally. Our neighbourhood is located at the eastern end of Europe’s largest life-sciences cluster stretching along the Euston Road corridor, through Kings Cross and into Islington. This is already bringing thousands of good quality jobs and the Council has a recruitment “pipeline” with employers making an inward investment to our Borough; and our local schools are building great relationships with new knowledge intensive businesses.”
The racist and Islamophobic violence we have seen in different parts of the country in recent days has been sickening. Here in Islington our diversity is our strength. You can add your support to Islington Labour Councillors’ statement here: https://islington-labour.org.uk/standing-up-to-racism/
Too many gambling venues on the Cally high street
“Why has Islington Council given permission to all those new gambling shops on Cally high street”? People often ask this question. And the simple answer is that Islington Council hasn’t. The Council opposed and refused gambling licenses and refused planning permission to all 3 of the recent opened gambling venues. But in every case, the gambling companies appealed to Inspectors appointed by the last Government. And they got Islington’s refusals overturned.
As a result, we now have 3 betting shops and a 24hr adult gaming centre all within about 150 yards of each other on Caledonian Road. Here’s an explanation about what happened with the last 3 venues which have secured gambling licenses and planning permissions.
Jennings Bet, 309-311 Caledonian Road
The Council’s licensing committee refused a gambling license in February 2023 – click here to see that report. However, Jennings applied to a District Judge in the Magistrate’s Court to overturn the decision. Islington Council defended its refusal but the Judge ruled in favour of the license being granted.
Jennings Bet also had to get a planning permission for change of use and hours of operation. In April 2022, the Council refused this application too. In August 2022, a planning inspector over-turned Islington’s refusal. The decision notice can be read here. Astonishingly, the Inspector said “the proposal would not result in a harmful over-concentration of betting shops”. Despite the location being “close to primary schools, a children’s centre and a community centre” she said it would not exacerbate “antisocial behaviour and crime rates”. To make things even worse, the Inspector attached a condition “requiring the glass of the shopfront to remain unobscured.” The windows are now filled with large format advertising screen with high light intensity at night.
City Gaming, 310 Caledonian Road
Although this was once a branch of William Hill, City Gaming were required to get a new gambling license. This was strongly opposed by many residents and the Caledonian Ward Cllrs. It was also opposed by the Licensing Authority. See the report from 2021 here.
The company also had to get planing permission notably because they wanted to operate 24 hours a day. Again this was opposed by residents and the Ward Cllrs. Planning permission was summarily refused by Islington Council in May 2021. The report which authorised refusal can be read here.
However, the owners appealed this refusal. The Council robustly defended its decision and its statement of case can be read here. However, the appeal Inspector over-ruled the Council in December 2021. Astonishingly, he thought that 24 hour operation would be OK because the premises are located on “a main arterial road with associated traffic levels … I am not therefore persuaded that it is necessary or reasonable to prevent 24-hour opening to protect the living conditions of the occupiers of nearby residential properties.” He self-evidently didn’t visit the site and see that the high street has numerous residential properties above and adjacent. The Inspector’s decision can be read here.
The Council is closely monitoring the 310 Caledonian Rd and there is a planning enforcement case which has been opened because the premises began operations before it had met pre-commencement conditions which the planning inspector required.
Paddy Power, 325 Caledonian Road
Caledonian Ward Cllrs opposed a license for the Paddy Power premises and a planning application was refused by the Council’s planning committee in January 2016. The decision notice is here. However, Paddy Power appealed this decision. We campaigned publicly after Paddy Power’s appeal to a Government Inspector was held in July 2016. Islington Council had refused planning permission The Inspector accepted there was a strong grounds for refusal – the detrimental effect on the high street from over-concentration of betting venues and the negative impact on sensitive community facilities within an area of high economic deprivation. The Inspector listened to local residents’ representations and “paid particular attention also to those made in writing by the local ward Councillors”. However, he decided to over-turn the Council’s refusal. The Inspector’s report is here.
The law needs to be changed
We have concentrations of gambling shops in Cally because the 2005 Gambling Act has an “aim-to-permit” clause which makes it very hard for any Council to resist new gambling license applications.
Caledonian Ward Councillor Sara Hyde says: “The Gambling laws need to be changed. When Councils like Islington refuse licenses, the gambling companies just go to a District Judge and appeal the decision. They always quote the Act’s ‘aim-to-permit’ provision. The Council’s refusal is then overturned and licences are granted.
“Planning legislation also needs to be strengthened. In Cally, the last 3 planning applications for gambling venues were all refused by the Council. But, in all 3 cases, the applicants appealed to an Inspector appointed by the last Government and that Inspector over-ruled Islington and granted permission. It’s crazy that an applicant for planning permission can appeal without even having to show any grounds for their appeal. They just get a second roll of the dice. We will do all we can to work with new Labour government to change the laws that prevent local councils from being able to meaningfully shape the local environment and community.”
Islington Council and other local authorities are seeking powers to stop the spread of gambling here. Cllr John Woolf, the Executive Member responsible for community safety and licensing made the argument to a meeting of the full Council. It’s covered here in the Islington Tribune.
We’ve launched an online petition
Cally Councillors launched a petition on 4th July at the Cally Festival opposed to the concentration of gambling in Cally. We collected several hundred signatures on the day. There’s an online version of the petition here.
Thames Water chaos on Cally for 10 weeks
Thames Water is, at last, replacing the risky mains on Offord Road and Caledonian Road. Councillors representing Caledonian and Barnsbury wards have continuously demanded that Thames Water fully replace these pipes.
Unfortunately, Thames Water is doing both jobs at the same time! The result is traffic congestion and serious delays to bus services.
Offord Road
A Victorian era cast-iron 12-inch diameter mains pipe runs down Offord Road and has repeatedly burst causing serious flooding. This happened in Oct 2018, February 2021 and again in July 2022.
The street is especially vulnerable to the effects of this water main bursting due to its gradient and the large number of basement flats. When these are submerged, lives are at risk.
The works on Offord Road will last 10 weeks and will completely close the highway to all through traffic. The project will be done in 4 phases and approximately 40 car parking spaces will be lost in one go for the full 10-week duration. The Council’s highways department says that Thames Water will ensure that any vulnerable residents or those with specific mobility requirements are catered for, and that there is “adequate parking elsewhere in the local area for those who are displaced.” Click here for a presentation file showing the detailed project plans and its phasing.
Caledonian Road
A similar large diameter mains pipe runs down Caledonian Road and has also repeatedly fractured – at locations outside the prison, on the high street and south of Copenhagen Street.
Work began on Wednesday 24th July, south of Copenhagen Street, to install new plastic piping and this also affects the entrance to Edwards Square, Carnegie Street and Thornhill Bridge Wharf. The work is expected to take “approximately 8 weeks to complete” according to Thames.
Temporary traffic lights are now in operation, south of Copenhagen Street with traffic limited to a single lane. During mornings, this has already caused significant build-up of traffic stretching as far north as Offord Road, where another set of lights already restricts traffic. Despite a promise that both projects have been coordinated “to ensure the phases do not clash” that is exactly what seems to have happened.
Barnsbury Ward Councillor Praful Nargand comments: “As local councillors, we have seen the harm that Thames Water’s failure to invest in our water infrastructure has caused for our residents, and it is good to see these vital and long-campaigned for improvements now taking place. We are acutely aware of the risk of inconvenience and disruption, and we will be keeping a close eye on the works as they progress. Any residents with any concerns or experiencing issues with Thames Water’s works should get in touch as soon as possible.”
The Cally Labour Councillors blogsite is back online!
After a long pause, the Cally Labour Councillors blog has been resumed. So, what happened? It’s a little embarrassing to admit but we lost the login credentials and just took a very long time to recover them. In truth, we had also slowed down on posting to this site partly because Twitter and other channels had become (seemingly) more immediate and popular. Proving that point, our last blog post until today was about the 2019 Cally Festival and we’ve just celebrated the brilliant 2024 Festival !
We first launched this site in early 2010 because so many people asked us to explain things happening in Cally – many of them quite difficult issues or things requiring information that usually took (back then) rather more than 140 characters!
In recent months, the original reasons for this site have been reinforced by the sheer number of things happening in our neighbourhood recently. In many cases, these require background information and need explaining. So, we’re re-starting this blog site and welcome feedback.
Please bear in mind that the site’s comment function is (and always has been) “moderated”. Submitted comments are not published until they are cleared and this isn’t instant! We moderate comments because WordPress sites like this often get “bot” attacks. We also reserve the right to exclude comments that are irrelevant or excessively argumentative. Unsurprisingly, offensive comments won’t be allowed through either.
The 2019 Cally Festival was another brilliant day: shows we are a community that’s pulling together
Paul, Sara and Una
The ninth annual Cally Festival on Sunday 23rd June was another brilliant day in the life of our neighbourhood.
Between noon and 6pm, we closed the road between Cally Pool and Offord Road and filled it up with 10,000 people.
There was a fabulous music offering on 3 stages – especially the very successful Copenhagen Youth Project stage showcasing aspirational local talent. We had great organisations like the Institute of Physics on science and discovery; there was a traditional funfair; a massive and varied food offering, a market place and big range of sports and fitness activities … with special thanks to Times Boxing Club.
As the Festival began, car-free Cally began to fill-up
Scores of volunteers helped to make the Festival run like clockwork.
Naturally, we had a load of artsy stuff, great children’s contributions featuring the poems, stories and a song zone with our local schools … also featuring the sensational John Hegley and Paul Lyell.
Every year the Cally Festival has a tremendous vibe. And at about 4.15pm there was a colossal sound as a samba band carnival-style paraded through the Festival site to the main stage where Paul Convery introduced the two other Cally councillors and the Leader of the Council and Mayor of Islington addressed the crowds … (briefly!).
Cllr Richard Watts endorsed Paul’s observation that, despite a challenging year of ups and downs in the Cally, the Festival demonstrates we’re a community that’s pulling together to make Cally a great place to live and work.
Next year’s Festival is pencilled-in for June 21st 2020. It will be a landmark 10th anniversary event and all the stops will be pulled-out to make it the best ever.
The GP service at Roman Way Medical Centre is scheduled for closure in August. And the Cally Labour Councillors have called for a new surgery to be opened in the local community.
The GPs currently running Roman Way are retiring after many years. NHS England has now consulted the surgery’s 4,700 patients on what should happen once the surgery closes.
NHS England has outlined two options – commission another practice or organisation to provide services for patients (eg. a new GP surgery), or to ask patients to register with another nearby practice. Goodinge and Laycock Street have been offered as alternatives.
Cally Labour Councillors – with the support of Islington Council’s leadership – have called for a new GP service to replace the closing practice. One complication is that the Medical Centre building is not owned by the Council or the NHS. Although it was built as part of the Westbourne Estate 40 years ago, the Council sold-off the freehold in 2007 when Islington was controlled by the Lib Dems.
But the west side of the Borough will experience continued increase in population as major housing developments are completed. Cllr Richard Watts (Leader of Islington Council) and Cllr Janet Burgess (Executive Member for Health and Social Care) have urged NHS decision-takers to “take a strategic view of GP provision in the area” and have said Islington Council strongly endorses the option of a new GP surgery to be opened.
Cllr Sara Hyde, Islington Labour councillor for Caledonian ward, said: “Roman Way Medical Centre is a highly valued and much-needed local GP surgery. We’re really sorry to see the surgery closing. What’s important now is that NHS England sees sense and ensures a new practice is opened as close to the current surgery as possible.
“With new housing developments in the local area on the way, including up to 1,000 homes at the Holloway Prison site at some point in the not too distant future, we can’t lose a surgery and expect other small local practices to cope with demand.
“I’m particularly concerned about older and more vulnerable people having to go further to see their doctor. We need to retain a surgery as close to the current practice as possible.”
Cllr Watts’ and Cllr Burgess’ detailed letter supporting the opening of a new GP practice identifies the impact losing a practice would have on patients who are unable to travel further, the expected population growth in the local area and the lack of capacity in neighbouring surgeries to expand. Additional supporting information attached to the letter also makes clear that local planning policies would mean the use of the existing surgery building could not easily be changed if another surgery was not provided, as it would represent a loss or reduction of ‘social infrastructure’.
Cllr Watts and Cllr Burgess have also contacted Islington Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to ask them to support the procurement of a new GP practice in the local area.
It is expected that the North Central London Joint Commissioning Committee will make a decision on which option to pursue in June.
Sara, Una and Paul pictured as the ballots were counted and the election declared.
On Thursday 3rd May, voters in Caledonian Ward overwhelmingly voted to elect Una, Paul and Sara as their Ward Councillors for the next 4 years.
Islington Council now has 47 Labour Councillors and 1 opposition member. This is exactly the same as before!
But the new Council has a fresh intake of new Councillors and, for the first time ever, Islington now has more women Councillors than men. The new Labour Group more closely reflects the age and background diversity of Islington.
Across the Borough, Labour candidates received over 102,000 votes which represented just over 60% of all votes cast. This was the most decisive result for Labour in Islington since 1974.
In Caledonian Ward, the Councillors were elected with the largest vote share ever recorded in this part of Islington: 68% of voters backed the Labour ticket with candidates of the other 3 parties receiving roughly 10% each.
Una and Paul had served as Councillors in the previous (2014-18) term of office and were re-elected alongside Sara who is one of a dozen new Labour members joining the Council. Sara said:
“I am so overwhelmed to be voted in as councillor in Caledonian ward, where I live and whose people adopted me 15 years ago. Especially to my All Saints family who have shaped me and taught me so much. Thank you to all of you who have supported me, loved me, put up with politics messing with other plans. I know some incredible people and I’m deeply grateful. Looking forward to serving on a Council with more than 50% female councillors and with my hard-working colleagues Paul Convery and Una O’Halloran.”
Paul, Una and Rupert at the Town Hall in May 2016
On the eve of polling day, May 3rd 2018, we mark the moment when Rupert Perry steps down as one of the Cally Councillors.
First elected in 1990 for the old Thornhill Ward, Rupert has served the Cally with distinction and determination for almost three decades.
Over the years Rupert played a major role on the Council and in our community. He served as chair of the Environment Committee and the Planning Committee and was Mayor of Islington 1997-98. Over much of his extensive period in office, Rupert served as a trustee of the Richard Cloudesley Trust.
Having lived in the heart of Cally for over 30 years, Rupert and Ann raised a family of three who went to local schools, lived locally and have done well: Billy is a digital animator now working in Australia; Celia teaches in an Islington School; and Alice who works as a University of London alumni manager is also a “chip off the old block” being an Islington Councillor in St Peter’s Ward. The whole family supports North London’s favourite football club with Rupert, Ann and Alice proudly being season ticket holders for many years.
Rupert was the first in his family to reach University. He went to Oxford where he studied chemistry and, armed with a good degree from a top class university, he had a first career involving extensive international commerce. Rupert’s second career in later years took a colourful turn: he did “the knowledge” and became a black cab driver going under the name “Red Cally Cabbie” on Twitter! As a result, Rupert’s grasp of detailed local geography was unbeatable.
As a Councillor, over the years, Rupert diligently helped hundreds of families with housing and other casework – even during the 4 years when he was briefly not on the Council in 2002-06.
Rupert’s health hit a tricky patch recently and he scaled-back his Council role whilst recuperating. But he has recovered well. So his decision to step-down at the 2018 election represents a retirement of sorts. Rupert and Ann moved to a smaller home in Suffolk recently although they retain a toe-hold in Islington and both regularly attend Arsenal home games.
Paul Convery says “Rupert and Ann showed great kindness to Una and myself and they have been great people to know: good company and generous with their time and their home. Rupert has been a source of friendship, sound advice and great support to us in Cally and to his colleagues on the Islington Council Labour Group. We all wish him and Ann the best for the future and give grateful thanks to Rupert for his service. Over the coming 4 years, Sara, Una and I will continue to champion the things that Rupert held dear and continue his legacy in Cally.”
Labour Councillors representing the Cally neighbourhood in Islington 