Vulcan Way with the new homes built under the existing flats
The opening of 17 new homes was praised by the leader of Islington Council at a meeting of the full Council on Thursday 27th June. The new Council built homes on the Westbourne Estate’s Vulcan Way have been created from converted garages udnerneath flats originally built in the mid 1970s.
A handful of the new flats are being offered for sale but three quarters are available as standard Council tenancies. They have been allocated to existing local residents who either lived in overcrowded homes, wanted to downsize or residents with mobility problems who need homes that are easier for them to access and get around.
Of the 17 new homes, 15 are one bed flats that have been created from 60 disused garages on an estate where residents had experienced anti-social behaviour and fly-tipping. Two further homes – one four and one five bed house – have been built on a disused car parking area. The scheme is self-funding with 75% affordable housing.
What Vulcan Way looked like with unused garages and a very harsh surrounding environment to the existing flats
The new homes are very much cheaper to heat and maintain than traditional properties. The whole of Vulcan Way has been upgraded with new green space, planting, paving and lighting.
Islington Council is building 2,000 new affordable homes by 2015 to alleviate the borough’s housing crisis. As the borough is short of open space, the Council has identified development opportunities for new council housing, including poorly used areas on council estates, taking opportunities to improve the environment for existing residents, increasing the quality and quantity of greenspace where possible.
Downsizing to smaller homes frees up properties for families needing larger homes – Islington has some of the worst overcrowding in the capital.
At an opening ceremony earlier this month, Islington Mayor Barry Edwards, Caledonian Ward councillors and MP Emily Thornberry cut the ribbon for the first tenants moving-in.
Cllr James Murray who represents Caledonian’s neighbouring Barnsbury Ward and is Islington Council’s executive member for housing and development said: “Islington faces a housing crisis – with government benefit cuts and private sector rent rises making it harder and harder for many residents to afford to live here. Building new council homes for local people helps families living in overcrowding and means we can make sure there is more genuinely-affordable housing in Islington.
The co-op grocery store wanted a 24 hour alcohol off-license which Councillors were ready to reject
Two new alcohol license applications on Caledonian Road have been turned down – including one wanting 24 hour sales – by elected Councillors in the past month. This reflects Labour’s pledge to get a grip on the epidemic of alcohol outlets particularly those serving late into the night.
Islington has some of the highest rates of alcohol-fuelled crime anywhere in Britain and late night drinking results in huge costs for policing and clean-up. In tough times, it’s another financial strain that puts great pressure on public services, especially the police and NHS.
That’s why the Council’s new licensing policy has declared much of Caledonian Ward to be a “saturation zone” which means that new applications for alcohol licenses will normally be refused. The new policy also says that, in future, licensed premises will be expected to close by 11pm weekdays and midnight on weekends.
There are almost 100 premises in Caledonian Ward that have alcohol licenses. Some of these are restaurants, traditional pubs and small neighbourhood bars which cause no trouble at all. But almost 60 of these premises are off-licenses which sell alcohol for people to take-away. And some of these have acquired licenses allowing them to open very late into the night.
The two premises that have been turned down are:
- Co-op “Welcome” grocery store at the Texaco Garage, 219-227 Caledonian Road. The Co-op had asked to extend its alcohol sales to 24 hours, 7 days a week. Barely hours before the Town Hall committee was due to reject the application, the Co-op suddenly withdrew it. The Police had submitted substantial evidence against granting the license.
- The Da Hai (Ocean Chinese Supermarket) at 334-336 Caledonian Road asked for an alcohol license 10am to 11pm Monday to Sunday. The applicants had been warned that they would have to show that, if they sold alcohol, it would not worsen the existing problem in the Cally Road “saturation zone”. The owners were invited twice to appear before the committee considering the application but failed to show up both times.
Caledonian Ward councillor Paul Convery said, “I was quite cross that the Co-op asked for a 24/7 license. They are an ethical business that should have known better so I welcomed their last minute withdrawal of the license application. In the case of Da Hai Ocean Chinese Supermarket, I sympathise with the applicants who are running a very nice speciality food shop who are doing good business and I wish them well. However, they were unable to explain how they would manage an alcohol license in ways that did not add to the existing impact of excessive alcohol outlets on the Cally.”
Option 1 – “Caledonian Road”
Cally Labour Councillors are asking for the public’s opinions on a new sign for the railway bridge which is currently being repainted.
A few weeks ago, Islington Council learned that Network Rail was planning substantial maintenance of the bridge over Caledonian Rd.
A major part of the maintenance involves a complete repaint and this will remove the now faded “Ferodo” name.
Network Rail intends to paint the bridge in a bright blue – as they have already done at Camden Road.
Their plans have moved quickly. The maintenance work is already underway with half the road width blocked by scaffolding and one-way traffic working.
Option 2 – “Cally Road”
In the past fortnight, Team Cally and Islington Council have reached an agreement with Network Rail to permit a new legend on the bridge to create a new landmark sign on the bridge.
Because time is short we need to keep this simple.
Cllr Paul Convery says “Many people have a soft spot for the old sign. The name “Ferodo” has been a landmark on the Cally Road for decades. But it’s days are clearly numbered. It is, after all, an advertisement for a brake linings company that went bust in 2001.
“Many things are turning around on the Cally these days. We have the annual Cally Festival now well established, a Saturday street market, new businesses opening up, road safety measures and a programme of environmental improvements on our high street. It makes sense to paint a new legend on the bridge that reflects the renewed sense of identity for the Cally.”
Option 3 – “The Cally”
Three possible legends are illustrated in the pictures to the right. Please let the local Councillors know which you think would suit best. Indeed if you have a better idea for a simple sign, please let us know. The three modelled suggestions are:
- CALEDONIAN ROAD
- CALLY ROAD
- THE CALLY
Contact us with your opinions or ideas by email (callylabourcouncillors @ gmail.com) We shall be taking a decision within the next 5 days.
UPDATE 21-5-13
The result of our straw poll reveals “The Cally” as favourite .. with “Cally Road” second choice. We are now moving quickly to order stencils in order to slot-into the Network Rail repaint operation which is already underway. One very good suggestion which was made is to use a typeface that is close to the font used in the Ferodo logo. Seems the original is a unique, proprietary font which is not available to reproduce and the closest lookalike appears to be a font called Othello. See examples at http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/mti/othello-mt/regular/
Boris Johnson wants to remove the fire engines from Clerkenwell, sell-off the building and cut all the firefighter jobs.
The fire brigade has revealed that its fire engines do not reach emergencies in Caledonian Ward within the target arrival time of 6 minutes. This will worsen under a cuts plan put forward by Tory Mayor Boris Johnson.
The fire brigade this week was forced to publish figures showing the current response times for every neighbourhood in London – and what the response times would be if the Mayor’s plan – to close 12 fire stations, remove 18 appliances and cut 520 firefighters across London – is carried out.
The fire brigade promises Londoners that a 1st fire engine will arrive at any incident within 6 minutes and a 2nd one, if required, within 8 minutes. The brigade admits that response times across Islington will worsen if fire stations are closed. They claim that the 6 minute average response time can still be honoured. But in 3 parts of Islington this will not be the case if fire stations are closed.
In Caledonian Ward, the fire brigade is currently not meeting the target – the average response time is 6 minutes and 9 secs. Under Mayor Johnson’s cuts plan, the average in Caledonian ward is calculated to get worse by a further 8 secs on average.
Johnson’s plan would close Clerkenwell fire station which is located on Rosebery Avenue opposite the Mount Pleasant post office. Fire engines from Clerkenwell regularly attend incidents in Caledonian Ward including high profile spots like Kings Cross. Appliances from Clerkenwell were first on the scene at the worst incidents in local history such as the Kings Cross tube station fire and the 7/7 bombings.
Caledonian Labour Councillor, Paul Convery, says “Homes and businesses in Caledonian Ward are already at risk because the fire service cannot currently meet the 6 minute target. Boris Johnson’s crazy plan to close fire stations will put our residents at even greater risk. Why? Because he is obsessed with cutting Council Tax by 7p a week.”
“But the Mayor controls a budget of more than £16 billion a year. The cuts he has demanded from the fire service amount to 0.4% of his entire annual budget. Surely he can find that through efficiency savings somewhere in his City Hall empire”.
The LFB document showing how these cuts will affect every neighbourhood in London are at http://www.london-fire.gov.uk/Documents/ward-impacts.pdf
The scene on Friday 3rd May before the area was cleared and bins were emptied …
Cally Labour Councillors are calling for changes in the way that recycled waste is collected in the streets surrounding the Bemerton estate in the middle of Caledonian ward.
Large “Euro-bin” containers have been placed around the estate to collect waste for recycling. This follows new fire safety rules which, late last year, required the Council to change the way that these materials were collected from blocks of flats which have enclosed corridors. The previous practice of leaving bags or boxes of loose cardboard, paper and plastics outside front doors on these corridors was declared to be hazardous.
Instead, the Council has placed Euro-bins at various collection points around the estate. But some of these are attracting fly tippers and people just dumping general waste.
One problem area is at the north end of Carnoustie Drive next to the junction with Lyon Street. Council workers are having to regularly clear dumping which often includes furniture, carpets and black sacks of general waste. When Council crews do these extra clear-ups, it costs the Council extra or means other ad-hoc street cleaning jobs don’t get done.
… 4 days later, the situation was looking even worse … then this morning (Thursday 9th) it got cleared again
The two bins are intended for recyclable waste from the estate. But the location is on the public highway at a place which has little natural overlooking. Therefore it is fast becoming a general on-street dumping site. Councillors have said there are three problems at Carnoustie Drive:
- the bins are regularly overflowing and either because there is insufficient capacity for this part of the estate or the bins are being used regularly by other people;
- the site is attracting considerable amounts of dumping because the presence of the two Euro bins seems to indicate that it’s a collection point for all kinds of bulky refuse;
- because there is so much general dumping associated with these bins, it looks like people are just dropping “residual” waste into them thereby contaminating the recyclable waste.
Cally Labour Councillors have called for this location to be re-considered and the Council’s refuse managers have now agreed to review the suitability of this site.
The building prior to demolition. It contained 14 substandard flats.
A controversial block of flats on Pembroke Street in Caledonian Ward has been bulldozed after Islington Council issued final orders to demolish. The five storey block was built without planning permission in 2007 and, after a retrospective planning application was rejected by the Council, enforcement action began.
An appeal against enforcement was dismissed in 2009 when a Planning Inspector said the building was “harmful to the character and appearance of the locality” and overlooked nearby homes “to an unacceptable degree”.
A second planning application was also refused and again dismissed at appeal. The council issued written warnings and took action to appoint a contractor to demolish the building. Faced with having to pay the Council’s bill for having the building demolished, the building’s owner began demolition himself and the building has now been torn-down and the site levelled.
Cally Labour Councillors led the campaign to remove this building. Councillor Paul Convery adds “This was a particularly ugly, oversized building that was very badly managed by its owner. Many of the residents – mainly overseas students and other short-stay visitors to London – were living in slum-like conditions.
The bulldozers begin to rip the building down
“At one point Islington Council was preparing to take action after discovering that children were being housed in the building under unsafe conditions. The owner and landlord ran a disgraceful racket and tried to repeatedly evade enforcement action by Islington Council.”
“It is very unusual for a Council to order demolition of an unpermitted building. But over the years too many landlords have been taking liberties with development in our neighbourhood and I hope this case shows that we are taking very firm action against rogue landlords and developers”.
Cllr James Murray, Islington Council’s executive member for housing and planning, said: “This case shows we will take action against developers who break the rules and have a negative impact on the local community and nearby residents. We want more housing in Islington, especially social housing where local people can afford to live.”
The building was subject to a long and tortuous history of enforcement by the Council and evasion by the owner:
- A retrospective planning application was submitted and refused in May 2008.
The empty, levelled site … suitable for new homes on the Bemerton Estate?
- An enforcement notice requiring demolition of the building was issued in November 2008.
- An appeal against the enforcement notice was lodged, but that appeal was dismissed in July 2009.
- A further planning application was made involving some changes in design and a reduction in the number of units; that was also refused and the appeal was dismissed in February 2011.
- The owner then lodged an application for judicial review of the Inspector’s decision to dismiss that appeal. This was also unsuccessful.
- Several written warnings to remove the building were issued, but no action was taken, so the council made arrangements to hire contractors to demolish the building and then reclaim the cost from the owner.
- In February 2013 the owner finally commenced demolition of the building himself, and it was finished earlier this month (March).
The building was on the site of a former pub adjacent to the Bemerton Estate. Residents on the estate have welcomed the demolition and praised the Council for its firm action.
New free parking bays opposite Cally Pool
Half a dozen free short-stay parking bays will soon be available on Caledonian Road. As part of Islington Council’s efforts to support Cally shops and traders, special bays will shortly be marked-out where vehicles may park for up to 20 minutes at a time.
The three maps opposiite and below show the locations of the new parking places.
These free bays will be in addition to existing parking bays for residents and other permit holders in the area.
The Council ran a public consultation using an online questionnaire and this closed on December 18th. All the responses were positive. The Council has now gone through a further legal procedure before earmarking the new bays.
Additional short-stay parking just north of the Ferodo Bridge
The free parking is one of several initiatives designed to boost local business on the Cally.
Other measures have already been implemented such as a new zebra crossing on the Cally, pavement widening and extension of the Islington 20mph zone to include the main road itself.
The Caledonian Ward Partnership “Team Cally” is developing further plans along with local traders to help shops and cafes to increase trade by promoting the area widely and encouraging more local people to use their local shops.
The new weekly Cally Market is one very positive example of Team Cally’s efforts to promote the area and bring-in new and attractive trade. The market is located between Offord Road and Bridegman Road and opens every Saturday between 9am and 5pm.
Extra parking bays opposite Kember Street and the Co-op
The street market has a great range of fresh produce and original designs – including delicattessen foods, fresh cheeses, cakes, artisan breads and farm-produced butchers.
In response to public demand last year, Team Cally and the Council have begun to develop a new spatial plan for the Cally. This will set-out new binding policies that developers must follow when seeking planning permissions.
The plan is likely to support the survival of small independent shops and businesses. Unlike most high streets, the Cally has very few chain multiple retailers or cafes and most local people want to retain this character.
A steering group is currently discussing the specific redevelopment ideas. Plans include improving the appearance of run-down shop fronts and decreasing the number of empty shops and permanently shuttered premises.
At the same time, the Council is about to embark on an exercise to “de-clutter” the Cally – by removing things like unnecessary signs, posts and redundant telephone boxes.
Cally community is mourning the death of Yasar Anur
Yasar in front of his shop at the Cally Festival this year
Cally residents and the local business community are in mourning following the unexpected death last Friday of Yasar Anur. With Hanife, his wife, Yasar ran the much loved foodstore at 319 Caledonian Road, known as “Yasar’s Food Market”. Councillor Rupert Perry and his wife Ann were long standing friends of Yasar and Hanife and Rupert recounts:
“For those who remember the old Covent Garden, there used to be a fruit and veg stall by the Underground. This was where Yasar first was selling in London. Yasar came from a large Kurdish family, many of whom were involve in food, whether restaurants or production and sales.
“He and Hanife moved to Islington to set up their shop in the late eighties, if I recall right. The shop was a hit from day one, and they made quite an impact of Caledonian Road, with their excellent home made mezes, fruit and vegetables, plus an Alladins cave of interesting foods.
“The Neighbourhood Forum at the time recognised their excellent displays and they won the Cally Shopfront Awards for many years in a row. Despite tougher times in more recent years, they always kept their standards high, and despite ill health, Yasar continued to work long hours at the shop. Yasar leaves behind a son, and his wife Hanife, plus many many relatives and friends who will miss him dearly. The Cally Road needs people like Yasar.
“I did a fair amount of Council work with Yasar. Sometimes it was people he referred to me, and other times it was stuff involving him and Hanife. Years ago when we were giving them awards for their lovely shopfront, another part of the Council was trying to prosecute him for having his display encroaching the pavement. I managed to stop the overzealous officers. A few weeks ago they were given an on the spot penalty for leaving cardboard boxes on the pavement. The offending photos seemed to me to be of boxes relating to the shop next door, and after some hassle, the penalty notice was withdrawn. Yasar often used to say that I was his “brother” and Ann was often in deep conversations with Hanife and Yasar when going to the shop.”
The shop was Yasar’s pride and joy. Every day he and Hanife would set-out their displays of organic fruit and vegetables and would work through well into mid evening. On Sunday, Yasar’s son opened-up the shop for a day and many residents went in to convey their condolences and thoughts to Hanife and the rest of Yasar’s family. The funeral will be held in Turkey once the Coroner’s formalities are completed when Yasar’s body will be returned to Istanbul for a family burial.
The Caledonian Road – many rogue landlords have surreptitiously crammed-in numerous bedsits and substandard flats into subdivided floors above shops, attics and basements – without planning permission.
The Council has stepped-up its enforcement against numerous planning and licensing breaches on the Caledonian Road. During the Summer and Autumn, Council officials have trawled the Cally area and found numerous cases where property owners have flagrantly ignored planning and licensing rules.
Tough enforcement is now underway against property owners who face severe penalties if they fail to comply. The Council has powers to prosecute and it can require owners to demolish unauthorised developments.
Following public meeting held on July 26th this year, senior officials of the Council, and local elected Councillors pledged to start a vigorous campaign of enforcement against rogue landlords on the Cally.
The Council has now set-up a dedicated team of planners working on enforcement in Caledonian ward, specifically targeting the premises where unscrupulous developers have been converting shops into flats and bedsits and subdividing properties into tiny living spaces.
The Council has begun action in numerous cases after surveying dozens of suspect addresses. The first set of investigations and action are below:
- 334-340 Caledonian Road (flats above, below and behind the previous Topkapi Place restaurant). This is a notorious case where up to 15 small flats have been carved out in the basement, rear and upper floors of this building. The owner has tried to claim these have been in use for over 4 years. The Council has now refused retrospective planning permission and is continuing an enforcement case. The owner has been instructed to cease using one of the flats for residential use on the orders of the Council’s environmental health officers.
- 342 Caledonian Road (flat behind the Prince public house). Legal enforcement notice has been served requiring this property to cease being used for residential purposes. Landlord is required to remove all features such as utility room, kitchen, bathroom or shower rooms.
- 313-315 Caledonian Road (the semi-derelict “Heritage Library” building) where the owner has erected steel shuttering to every rear window and door with extensive rolls of razor wire around the building’s rear perimeter. An enforcement notice required the owner to comply by 15th November. However, he has not done so and will face legal action for failure.
- 317 Caledonian Road (closed-up shop unit with flats above, accessed from Carnoustie Drive) – there has been a large amount of excavation in the basement witnessed recently and an investigation is underway.
- 70 Pembroke Street (also known as “Choudhury Mansions) – a five storey block of flats built without proper planning permission in 2006. After lengthy enforcement action and extensive legal challenges, the owner was issued with a legal order to demolish and, as a result, demolition has finally begun.
- 290 Caledonian Road (formerly the “Natural Shop”) – the owner of the building dug-out a basement flat, created a lightwell in the pavement and erected a steel shutter. All of these were unpermitted and enforcement notices have been served requiring residential use to cease and removal of the shutter.
- 300 Caledonian Road (Dental Surgery) – the owner has built a basement flat without planning permission and – after the Council discovered this – tried to get a retrospective planning permission. This has now been refused and enforcement action is underway.
- 289-291 Caledonian Road (above Ladbrokes) – owner required to remove unauthorised roof extension and replace with a smaller-sized one.
- 356 Caledonian Road (empty shop) where the owner has recently erected a steel roller shutter – enforcement action has now started
- 282 Caledonian Road (former Salantino Café) is now being used as an office – enforcement investigation has commenced.
Two other very well publicised cases have led to a complete stop on unacceptable activities in premises:
- 278 Caledonian Road (formerly “Pleasure Garden”) where a sauna and massage club operated without any license. This was also widely believed to be a club where paid-for sex was traded. The Council and police raided the club in February and the Council later told the operator that she would be refused a license to trade. The business has completely closed.
- 169-171 Caledonian Road (formerly “Pappeos” nightclub) where late night music, drinking and dancing caused repeated problems including violent crime in the street. The Council successfully closed this club down and the owner subsequently forfeited his lease.
In total the Council has identified 17 other properties where there appear to be breaches of planning control and is investigating these. Other successful cases include:
- 95 Caledonian Road – unathorised shop front removed after enforcement action began
- 335 Caledonian Road – roller shutter has been removed after Council threatened legal action
- 282 and 284 Caledonian Road – decking and seating area on the pavement removed after warning letter sent
- 333 Caledonian Road – unauthorised shop signs removed after legal notice by the Council
At the public meeting in July, nearly 200 people crammed into the Jean Stokes hall to vent their frustration at years of inaction by the Council. Many of the planning permission infringements occurred over 4 years ago and were therefore past their “legal sell-by date”. Many members of the public are furious that the Council did nothing during the previous decade.
The current Town Hall administration and local Councillors have promised that every breach that comes to light will be enforced. And the Council has said that rogue landlords who have made money from renting-out unauthorised buildings will face prosecution under the Proceeds of Crime Act. This law allows the Council to impose heavy fines on landlords which are based on the illicit income they have made from such developments. The recouped money can then be used by the Council for community benefit.
The Co-op store re-opens on Caledonian Road – a vote of confidence in our high street
The new look Co-op store on Caledonian Road is a sign of regeneration on our high street
The Cally Road Co-op has reopened after a 10 day refit and it’s been turned into a great looking store.
The benefits from the Co-op’s investment are clear to see. Obviously, the new shop now has modern displays, especially for chilled foods, a sensible layout and new lighting.
But the new internal layout means that the store’s front windows are open onto the street. Previously it was almost impossible to see in or out of the front and this gave the store a very cramped and claustrophobic feel. The new window design brightens the pavement outside and allows easy views into and out of the shop.
Caledonian Road is undergoing a renewal as traders, residents and the Council clear-up the street, encourage new business and make the highway safer. The Co-op is one of just two cornerstone retailers on the Cally and many people used to complain that the previous store had a run-down and dowdy feel.
Paul Convery says “I’m a very keen Co-op customer indeed and I’m delighted this ethical business is so prominent on our high street. I’ve been a Co-op member most of life and want to make the Co-op a bigger part of our community here on the Cally. We’re all pulling together to make the Cally a better place and the Co-op’s commitment to this store is a vote of confidence in our high street’s future.”
Labour Councillors representing Caledonian Ward in Islington 