A healthy happy Cally and Kings Cross

Posted on January 22, 2008 by William Perrin

Cchp_logo The Cally Community Health Project does a huge amount of work for community  health and welfar – Patriic there has sent a piece about what they do – if you know someone who might benefit – especially an elderly neighbour or friends – check out the activities here to  find out more.  Or if you have some spare time and want to give something back to the community find out how here.  See below for more…..

‘The Cally Community Health Project (CCHP) develops, delivers and co-ordinate activities, events, and health campaigns in the Caledonian and Barnsbury wards. This year, CCHP marks its 10th birthday but while an independent charity today, it is thanks to Killick Street Health Centre which brought it into the world a decade ago.

‘In 1998, the Health Centre appointed a community health worker to establish Killick Street Community Health Project which was managed by Killick Street Community Health Trust from 2001. In 2005, the Project was renamed the Cally Community Health Project (CCHP) to better reflect the area it serves. In December 2006, CCHP became a company limited by guarantee and we were granted charity status in July 2007, a few days before the Cally Festival which we coordinated in Bingfield Park.

‘The current programme includes a weekly walking group, exercise classes afternoon tea and a challenging quiz for the over 55s, and theatre trips for the frail and elderly with transport to/ from the theatre. Please go to www.cchp.org.uk for full details. Four instructors run the classes, and a team of volunteers help with activities such as the ‘Over 55s Afternoon Tea and Quiz’  and ‘Meet Mr and Mrs Santa Claus’ which sees upward of 300 local children each year.

‘CCHP is also responsible for the Cally Messenger, a quarterly community health newspaper with a print run of 5,000. Please contact us if you would like to be added to our mailing list.

CALLY COMMUNITY HEALTH PROJECT
75 Killick Street, Islington, London N1 9RH
t: (020) 7427 2767 
f: (020) 7427 2740
e: email@cchp.org.uk
Charity Registration No. 1119838

Posted in Community Health and Welfare | Leave a comment

Kings Cross – you can do your bit to make these streets better for walking

Posted on January 16, 2008 by William Perrin

Crossing_the_road Kings Cross is a fantastic place to walk from to get to interesting bits of London.  But  the local streets are designed for cars above everything else with a 1970s-1980s design philosophy – cars first, at high volume and speed.  Then make it hard to cross roads to ‘protect people’ from the danger created by the road designers.  TfL is belatedly looking at the problem with a Street Audit walkabout for pedestrians that you can take part in on Thursday 31st January.  It is great to see TfL actually taking an interest in Kings Cross streets – they are responsible for the dreaded gyratory, not the local Councils.

From Kings Cross, on foot, the City is barely twenty minutes away, Oxford Street about twenty five minutes, the West End thirty five minutes.  Upper Street is ten minutes, the British Museum fifteen minutes, Camden Lock fifteen minutes along the canal.  But the walking experience in Kings Cross itself is horrible.  As Sophies post the other day showed, just crossing York Way is a huge adrenalin rush,Stephan updated on the closure of another pavement for construction.  And Network Rail will ultimately close the North entrance to the station, forcing more people to the dangerous crossing at York Way and Pentonville Road.  You can take part in a walkabout to feed views into improving the situation with TfL’s contractors on 31st Jan at noon and six o’clock – meeting outside WH Smith under the canopy.

Jeremy Leach, Living Streets Audit Leader (Tel. 020-7252-5331 email click here) has sent the following: 

‘Transport for London (TfL) has commissioned national public spaces charity Living Streets to carry out a Street Audit of the walking environment area around King’s Cross & St. Pancras Stations.

‘The aim of this audit is to provide TfL with an overview of the issues facing people using these stations on foot, and to draw up a list of possible work that would improve conditions for pedestrians in the area.

‘At the heart of the audit process is a live assessment of the streets and public spaces through the eyes of those who live or work locally where we walk round the area and discuss our impressions from the view point of those on foot.

‘We are seeking to promote the audits to station users and to encourage those who live and work in the area and those with an interest in the area to come along.

‘The audits for King’s Cross & St. Pancras Stations are being held on Thursday 31st January and we would be delighted if you were able to come along. Two audits are being held on the day. The first will start at 12.00 noon and the second at 6.00pm. Please come along to whichever suits you best.

‘For both the lunchtime and evening audits, we will meet outside King’s Cross station in front of the WH Smiths on Euston Rd. The whole process will take about an hour.

‘If you cannot make the audits on this date, I am of course very happy to receive your comments either by phone or via the email address shown below. If you need to get hold of me on the day of the audit my mobile number is 07931-389746.

Posted in Bad Gyrations KX Campaign, Planning, Licensing and Regulation | 1 Comment

The Future of Tiber Gardens Open Space

Posted on January 16, 2008 by Stephan Schulte

Tiber_gardens The Community Bulletin Board as been advised of a local consultation regarding the future of the open space known as Tiber Gardens that should be of interest to local residents and users of the Regent’s Canal.

Apparently the local charity Groundwork is working with Homes for Islington and Islington Council to consult with residents and users as to how they would like to see Tiber Gardens improved.

Tiber Gardens is between York Way and Treaty Street along Regent’s Canal. The site is designed as a terraced amphitheatre with raised beds and block paved paths.  Unfortunately, over the years, Tiber Gardens has become run down and has suffered from anti-social behaviour and appears to be little used by the community. However, it is a valuable open space in a good location along the canal. Some funding has come available as a result of the new development nearby so there is an opportunity for the gardens to be improved for all the local community.

For those interested there will be a walkabout in Tiber Gardens on Sunday 27th January 1.30-2.30pm

Please take a few minutes to download, print and fill-in a special questionnaire (Download tiber_gardens_questionnaire.pdf) as part of this local consultation and let them know what you think. Your opinion is valuable in deciding how Tiber Gardens could be improved.

Please return this form to Groundwork by Friday 25th January.  Their address is:

12 Baron Street
London, N1 9LL

For more information, please contact Abigail Kelly at Groundwork: abigail.kelly@groundwork.org.uk or Tel: 0207 239 1386

Posted in Planning, Licensing and Regulation | Leave a comment

Pavement Closure on York Way by King’s Place

Posted on January 14, 2008 by Stephan Schulte

Newsletter_january_2008The following information was provided by McAlpine the construction company working on King’s Place.  Should you wish to further circulate this info, just click-in the picutre which is their actual newsletter.

Dear Neighbour,

In keeping with our policy of notifying our neighbours of our intentions, below is an update of our works so far and details of what will be happening in the near future.

What’s been happening.
Internally Mechanical & Electrical services and building finishes have been progressing. Externally at ground level paving works within the site boundary have commenced.

What’s coming up.
Works to re-lay kerbs and paving to footpaths on York Way and Crinan Street will shortly commence.
After discussions with Islington and Camden Councils we have been given permission to carry out this work in the following manner.

On 6th January 2008 works will commence to the east footpath of York Way between Maiden Lane Bridge and Crinan Street with this section of footpath closed and pedestrians diverted onto the west side of York Way. This work will last approximately 6 weeks.

On 16th January 2008 works will commence to the north footpath of Crinan Street which will last approximately 4 weeks. Additionally a raised section of the road in Crinan Street needs to be installed which will require the closure of the north end of Crinan Street for about 3 weeks. Access to properties will be maintained, with two-way traffic operating from the Wharfdale Road end of Crinan Street only, and no egress permitted from the York Way end. We would ask that pedestrians and vehicles using Crinan Street and York Way during these works exercise extra care.

Should you have a matter you wish to discuss with us, please feel free to visit our site office or alternatively contact us, using the details below.

The Help-Line will be answered by our Liaison Officer or one of our team members or a message can be left. After normal working hours an answer phone facility is available and our Liaison Officer will get back to you as soon as possible.

Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd
1st Floor
Argyle House
29 – 31 Euston Road
London, NW1 2SD
Liaison Officer: James McGinty
Help-Line: 0845 601 8198

Posted in Transport | Leave a comment

Crossing York Way

Posted on January 14, 2008 by Sophie Talbot

As big an adrenaline rush as bungee jumping!

Yw 
There are two crossings on York Way that lead directly to our local overground and tube station. They are both such fun – no need to jump off a bridge, scale a mountain, sail the Atlantic single-handed, if you are an adrenaline junkie then these crossings are for you. Come to King's Cross and experience the sheer terror of walking to your local train station!

The crossing pictured is at the north end of the station. You cannot make a single direct crossing here, you have to wait on no-person's land breathing in those lovely fumes until TfL allow the green man to let you pass. On any given day folk can be seen ducking between the 1500 (approx) buses, heavy goods vehicles and cars entering and leaving the King's Cross gyratory system rather than wait for that illusive green man.

So, having been led to believe during the consultation prior to the Wharfdale Road improvements last year that the crossings were going to be altered to allow people to cross north to south in one go, I wondered what was happening. So I asked the Islington West Area Committee for the latest news, and they said:

"The proposal for a direct North – South crossing of Wharfdale Road at its junction with York Way was one of the aspirations for the Wharfdale Road scheme and it was included in the first public consultation and also included in the report submitted to West Area Committee in May 2005.

"This busy junction is part of the King's Cross gyratory system. The traffic signals are controlled by Transport for London, TfL. York Way is a boundary road with LB Camden and is maintained by Camden at this point. Both York Way and Wharfdale Road are part of the Strategic Road Network (SRN) so are closely regulated by TfL.

 

"Any alterations to this junction require careful modelling to ensure any changes do not have an adverse effect on traffic movement.

"A traffic and pedestrian survey of the junction was carried out in 2005 and the results were passed to TfL. We have since done queue length surveys at this junction which show long peak time queues on York Way of over 70m. TfL are unlikely to agree to proposals for the amended crossing in isolation as this would cause more delays to traffic on York Way and the queues would then potentially back up the Euston Road or Goods Way junctions.

"However, now that the scale of the proposed developments in the Kings Cross area and alterations to Kings Cross Station are more advanced, it is possible to generate a more realistic transport model for the whole area. TfL are currently undertaking a pedestrian and traffic movement study in the area around Kings Cross and we have asked for this proposal to be included in those studies."

So, although a direct crossing is supported by our local authority, they feel it is unlikely we'll get a direct crossing because the road is too busy. Yep, that's pretty much what they reckon – the road is too busy for us to cross from north to south in one go.

If we feel strongly about this, then I think we need the support of our GLAM (in joke: Greater London Assembly Member). It is our GLAM who sits on the Authority that governs TfL. It is our GLAM who is there to voice our concerns and represent our needs. So let's contact her – Jennette Arnold can be emailed at jennette.arnold@london.gov.uk or you can write to her at: GLA, City Hall, The Queen's Walk, London SE1 2AA. We are also represented on the GLA by a number of Londonwide GLAMs whose contact details can be found via the GLA website.

Whilst we are about it, we might as well mention the other and perhaps more infamous crossing on the King's Cross gyratory: between York Way, King's Cross Station and Pentonville Road. It's a joy to watch those pedestrians try to fit on no-person's land there – just look at them spill out onto the busy roads into the path of oncoming traffic hell bent on running the red lights, hours of fun!

Posted in Bad Gyrations KX Campaign, How to get things done locally, Road Safety in Kings Cross | 4 Comments

Gifford Street siege…..

Posted on January 13, 2008 by William Perrin

Gifford_street_siege_4

A bizarre incident in Gifford Street last week, related here by Cllr Paul Convery:

‘The police laid siege to Gifford Street on Thursday Jan 10th. The street was closed off by police after calls around lunchtime from neighbours troubled by the behaviour of a man in one of the flats at 116 Gifford Street. After shouting at the police from his balcony, the guy began to pose a more serious threat and the police brought in reinforcements to cover all contingencies. About 20 officers from the heavy mob arrived complete with battering ram and full riot gear. This seemed a bit excessive and I asked to be briefed by the incident Inspector about his risk assessment and proposed tactics. He eventually decided the threat was not so severe as to require a mass forced entry.’

‘The stand-off continued all afternoon. At one point there were eight police vehicles, two ambulance crew and station officer, Transco engineers, a fire crew and pump, social services and medical staff and at least twenty police officers.’

‘By around 5.30 the man was pursuaded to leave the flat quietly. The incident was suddenly over, the different agencies packed-up, drove off and the street returned to normal within minutes. The flat was secured, police took some evidence … and life went on.’

‘Witnessing the event made me wonder. On the one hand, the public agencies’ response to this incident was very reassuring – something serious and risky occurred and the emergency services did their stuff very professionally and it ended fine. But I also question whether the police responded so comprehensively to an incident like this because the "siege" situation is an understandable and rehearsed type of incident: a man threatens to do something nasty (say) with a weapon and the police have a playbook of scenarios they can work to.’

‘Around this neighbourhood, we have a regular succession of situations where unpleasant and sometimes threatening incidents happen. Yet the police response is often cursory. Perhaps it’s just because "guy-going-nutty-in-a-flat" is a fixed threat but “youths-roaming-the-neighbourhood-throwing-fireworks-into-homes” is too transitory for the police to react to.’

It’s worth pointing out that we don’t get this sort of thing every day and crime in the area overall is falling.  I agree with Paul’s sentiment about the nature of the police response vis a vis lower level disorder.   When my terrace was being stoned by a gang of 20 kids it took the police ( a couple of officers in a car) 20 minutes to arrive. 

Posted in Anti Social Behaviour, Crime etc | Leave a comment

Cleaning up the streets….

Posted on January 12, 2008 by William Perrin

P1000758 Kings Cross has cleaned up a lot in recent years.  The Council has improved its waste collection, clean ups and graffiti, both on the public highway and in social housing areas.  Action by many residents has been very important to this – by complaining a lot, in a constructive way we have attracted more resources to Kings Cross.  This site was originally set up to help me keep track of the huge number of problems being reported.

I still do a regular round up of problems in my neighbourhood.  Today I reported about 20 broken things, graffiti, rubbish tipping incidents.  I use the excellent site www.fixmystreet.com to report things – you can then keep track of them easily on a map (like this).  I have put a load of photos up here.  Or you can mail Contact Islington who will usually sort things out.

Posted in Street Tipping, Mess, Trash | Leave a comment

King’s Cross/St. Pancras featured in The New York Times

Posted on January 11, 2008 by Stephan Schulte

Clip_image001

I’m pleased to share the attached article that was just sent to me by one of my friends in the States.

It was published on 6 January 08 in the New York Times, Travel Section.  I’m sure you’ll enjoy.

Download ny_times_article_6_jan_08.pdf

Posted in Arts and Entertainment | 2 Comments