Some of you may have noticed the new stone paving outside of the Tesco's in Kings X on Caledonia St which has appeared recently. A welcome improvement to the broken and cracked slabs it replaced, but let's pause for thought…
The council replaced these expensive york stone slabs but should it have been the public purse that paid?
These slabs were broken by delivery lorries for Tesco and Premier Inn repeatedly dropping heavy pallets and cages onto the pavement. These lorries still deliver on this spot on a daily basis, so the damage is likely to occur. It took approximately 18 months for the last set of paving to be destroyed – I wonder how long this lot will last?
In an effort to find out more I have spoken to the manager of Tesco, who although helpful, had no idea whether Tesco had contributed to the cost of the new paving. My next stop will be Islington Council. It will probably take 50 phone calls to find the right person but I feel we need to know whether it was the residents of Islington who paid for the damage caused by Tesco and Premier Inn on this site… If they haven't contributed to the cost of repaving then I suggest we lobby them until they do!!!
Kings Cross Environment 
Surely the pavement should be capable of taking the weight of deliveries to businesses in the local area? They adequately serve this purpose throughout London, so why not here?
You will probably find that it was shoddy workmanship that led to the original slabs not being seated correctly, which ultimately led to them being broken.
It could well be that the pavement didn’t have adequate foundations but it has to take heavy deliveries all day every day…
Maybe granite sets would have been more appropriate.
Either way I still feel that the businesses that caused the damage should be contributing to putting it right!
I would like to have the pavements free of obstruction and other impediments. Is this a concern of the council? Secondly businesses pay business rates which should cover repairs to the pavement. Let us press the council for action. Repairs to the pavement and roadway is a council responsibility,
Walter v.
I think it’s a little rich to demonize the local businesses for the failures of the Council’s highways team or contractors who are not adequately capable of setting the pavement correctly. It is a fact of life in a city like ours that deliveries will have to be made on the roadside and on pavements.
Your suggestion of lobbying these businesses is a little OTT in my opinion. The Council should be responsible for paying for the paving to be reinstated.
Geoff – but what actually happens is when the council pays, YOU pay. Multiple examples of this sort of thing, whether we think it’s shoddy workmanship or inappropriate deliveries, all add up, and will come out of the budget of something you might actually enjoy or need in the Borough of Islington.
I agree there is a case to answer on whether the pavement was laid correctly in the first place. Hopefully we can track down the correct people and look into this.