Council elections May 6 2010 – Caledonian Ward, Paul Convery

Posted on May 3, 2010 by William Perrin

The council is up for election on Thursday.  It's going to be a close run thing again between Labour and the Lib Dems.  The council makes a huge difference to area – it's important that everyone who can vote does.  I offered the opportunity of a short piece to camera for this site to both major parties today – I give candidates the chance to put their case across rather than trying to grill them.  Paul Convery speaks herefor Labour in Caledonian Ward – there is a Labour Party manifesto for Islington here.  The Lib Dems are getting back to me.  Constructive comments only please – if you want to make party political statements there are plenty of other places on the web for that.

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Tesco Kings Cross Caledonian Road opening times for bank holiday

Posted on May 2, 2010 by William Perrin

TescokingscrosscaledonianroadTesco Kings Cross on the Caledonian Road is open from 0700 to 2200 on Bank HolidayMonday according to their automated phone service (May Bank Holiday 2010 0845 6779821).  You can see the opening hours of the 21 Caledonian Road store online it is open from 0700 to 2200 Monday to Saturday and 1200 to 1800 on Sunday.

If you are trying to find the Kings Cross Tesco Metro store from the station – from the front of Kings Cross station cross York Way at the crossing, turn left up York Way, then first right into Caledonia Street and Tesco is at the end on the left at the junction with Caledonian Road.  Will take about a two minutes.  If you want some excellent Italian delicatessan products walk past Tesco, cross the Caledonian Road carefully and go into KC Continental Stores opposite Tesco at no 26.  Leo there has a superb collection of Italian meats in a shop that is like going back to the 1960s.

In case regular readers are wondering why I have posted this, the site was picking up a lot of searches for Tesco opening times so I thought I would help people out.  I first thought that Tesco would be a bad thing for the area, but i have been pleasantly surprised how it has turned out. 

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Nandos Kings Cross – York Way opening times and directions

Posted on May 1, 2010 by William Perrin

Nandos kings cross opening timesNandos Kings Cross is very close to Kings Cross station, just over the road from the main exit at 12-16 York Way N1 9AA (Nandos map).  Come out of the front of the station, turn left up the side of the station and Nandos is there on the other side of the road next to a tanning salon and adult book shop.  Be careful crossing the road, it's busy – use the crossing. 

Nandos is open from 1100am to 1130pm Monday to Saturday and 1130am to 1130pm on Sundays.  They do take away, phone 020 7833 2809.  A Nandos menu is here in pdf format.  There is more to Kings Cross than Nandos, click the graphic at the top of the page to find out more about this fascinating area of London.

In case regular readers are wondering why I have posted this, the site was picking up a lot of searches for Nandos York Way so I thought I would help people out.  In general I welcome restaurants like this close to public transport in largely non residential areas for providing late night footfall.  Good for Kings Cross, not so good for chickens.

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Renewal of planning permission Britannia St/ Wicklow St.

Posted on April 30, 2010 by Stephan Schulte

The Bulletin Board received the following note from a resident at the most southen end of our coverage area, actually in Camden however we felt it worthwile including as it relates to the planning, one of the items "near and dear" to my heart.

Subject Development at Britannia/Wicklow Streets (Camden Application (2006/5860/P), click to see plans

As a resident of Swinton St where I overlook the site and the adjoining railway cutting, I also own some residential flats opposite the proposed development. In principle I am not against redevelopment of the site per say but I am keen that a building of architectural integrity of this magnitude
in a continually evolving neighbourhood preparing, for the Olympic Games and beyond the proposal feels both large in mass and density and perhaps not bold enough.

At this stage I would be interested to know whether other people feel similarly or not as well as ensure the redevelopment proposal originally designed in 2001 remains appropriate for the current feel and vibe of the area?

I have now drafted a letter concerning the development which I have sent to Jonathan Markwell which outlines my concerns.  I would be interested to know what any others in the forum might feel about the proposals. If you were willing to send out a copy to interested parties with the statement below it would be appreciated.

The proposal is re-applying for planning permission which lapsed in recent years for the original application granted in 2005. (2005/3801/P).  I have enclosed a letter which I have written to the planning officer outlining my concerns.- (Download LETTER).  

In essence, I  do not have a problem of the redevelopment of the site per say but feel the current design needs to be evolved more rather than potentially a brick edifice that fills a vacant piece of land in the locality.  I feel the building is to large in terms of mass and scale in relation to the surrounding buildings etc.

While the public planning consultation has formerly ended no decision has yet been made pending further supporting evidence. If you feel inclined to send a letter please email to: jonathan.markwell@camden.gov.uk

Any comments would be much appreciated.

Caspar Williams

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Sound Map of the Caledonian Road

Posted on April 27, 2010 by Stephan Schulte

Guardian_logo The following was submitted by Ian – hopefully our friends at the Guardian will not mind our re-publication…

Just discovered a brilliant sound map of Caledonian Road on the Guardian website:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/interactive/2010/apr/26/caledonian-road-sound-map

It's downloadable so you could listen to it as you walk down the road. 
There are lots of good photos, but I really like the interviews with residents, some of whom have lived here all their lives. Richard Wentworth the sculptor is also featured in it. An object lesson in how to discover what is around us all.

Regards

Ian

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Improvements to York Way

Posted on April 27, 2010 by Stephan Schulte

Station_entrance The local community has been waiting for the announcement of the proposed improvements to York Way in response to last year's closure of the rear entrance to King's Cross Station at Wharfale Road.

Here is the latest bit of info from local resident Sean Murry who has been on Network Rails' case…

I have been chasing Network Rail fot an update on the improvements to York Way. I eventually got a contact who will be involved in the consultation process.

I think this is a few steps forward from what we knew but well short of getting any time-lines attatched. Projects without times-lines concern me! It would be good to invite responses on how we can encourage those delivering this project to commit to a timescale.

From Camden:   

We are currently working with Islington Council and TfL to develop proposals to improve the southern end of York Way , which includes both the eastern and western sides of York Way . There is developer funding from Network Rail to improve York Way south of Wharfdale Road . These environmental improvements may include: widened and better paved footways; better street lighting; enhanced crossing points at the Wharfdale Road and Pentonville Road junctions, and minor changes to the location of bus stops and stands. Consultation on this is expected to commence in the summer.

If anyone has any more info, please add to the Comments section below.

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The Jim Geddes Collection is now available for friends and fans

Posted on April 27, 2010 by Stephan Schulte

Jim_geddesJim Geddes, local King's Cross resident who died in 2009, left an extraordinary body of sculpture, ceramics, paintings, drawings and textiles in the house he lived in for some 30 years – 24 Caledonian Road.  The work was all collected by local resident Bob Stuckey and now will be sold to Jim's fans and friends via auction on ebay every 7 days with bidding starting at £7 per piece and ending around 7pm on Sunday. 

Both works are on display in the window at 24 Caledonian Road beside Peter and Tony's Barbershop. This weeks pieces are a sculpture "Yoga 1" and a pastel drawing "Woman with dog and cat". Their auction will end on Sunday 2 May.  In the coming weeks more items will be shown on the Bulletin Board.

Yoga1geddes800

      Woman with dog and cat pastel
Find more info at www.atelier-geddes.org.

If you're interested in bidding on one of these items, just use the following links:

Yoga 1                               reference    180498897238
Woman with dog and cat    reference    180498942979

Postage (obligatory on ebay) will be refunded on works collected from King's Cross.

Posted in Arts and Entertainment, King's Cross People | Leave a comment

The Mechanical Aquarium & More…

Posted on April 27, 2010 by William Perrin

PEACOCK FISH 28 1 2010 The Mechanical Aquarium, a site-specific moving artwork in the Fish & Coal buildings by local artist Richard Sharples, is now fully booked. Apologies to those of you who missed the boat – we were inundated with bookings. However, we are still looking for a number of stewards to act as guides around the exhibition. If you are happy to contribute a day this week you will have a unique behind-the-scenes opportunity to see the show and meet the Reveal team.

The exhibition takes place Wed 28th April – Sunday 2nd May. Get in touch with Sian James if you're interested in being involved sian.james@bl.uk

There are lots of other events and activities going on throughout this week: Up the Cally Road with Alan Dein, Jazz at the award-winning Lumen Church in South King's Cross, Smother – an Artangel performance with local young parents on King's Cross Road, while London Sinfonietta 'Experiment' at Kings Place… Find out more here: www.revealkingscross.org.uk  

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