Community hub seeks development worker

Posted on May 30, 2013 by Sophie Talbot

team cally logoBemerton Villages Management Organisation (BVMO), the tenant management organisation for the Bemerton Estate, needs a highly enthusiastic, dynamic and motivated part-time worker for a very exciting project. They are creating a community hub for Caledonian ward comprising a network of community spaces.

Roles like this don’t come up very often so this is a massive opportunity for someone wanting to work in community development, making a difference in and around The Cally. BVMO is a dynamic organisation working as part of Team Cally, involved in organising the annual and hugely successful Cally Festival, providing a range of community activities and facilities including The Cally Resource Centre on Copenhagen Street.

The successful candidate will benefit from BMVO’s commitment to the personal professional development of staff including training opportunities.

For more information click here. Deadline for applications 13 June.

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Kings Cross Orbital Walk (Sunday 2nd June)

Posted on May 29, 2013 by tobiaskx

The Seventh Kings Cross Walk is this Sunday 2nd June taking a circular route around the boundary of the area, finding out what’s new; sharing information and finishing with a drink (and food) in The Harrison.

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We will walk up the hill to Amwell Street and Chapel Market before dropping down to the Regent’s Canal which we will follow to the nature reserve at Camley Street and return via Old St Pancras Church and Somerstown.

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We will head off on this free walk from the outdoor gym in Argyle Square at 11am the site of London’s first and only monorail and we will also take in the place where elephants were once unloaded for the Kings Cross circus, the inventor of the tea break; Lenin’s Kings Cross house; the March of the Bricks and Mortar; one of London’s most surprising nature reserves, the graves of the founders of anarchism and feminism and the radical history of Somerstown.

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Please feel free to invite friends. Please call me Tobias on 0771 8080956 if you have any questions or want to ensure that we wait for you.We should finish the walk at about 1.30 (ish). Its a fascinating little sociable local urban walk with a bit of magical greenery and water in the middle of it.

Posted in Kings Cross local history, Noticeboard, Things to do | 1 Comment

Kings Cross spring watch – send us your pictures

Posted on May 28, 2013 by William Perrin

cormorant_in_battlebridge_basin1Apparently it’s Spring – who knew?! – and it would be great to put on the site any pictures you might have of the local flower and wild life taking advantage of the warm and sunny weather.  Flowers, birds, questing voles, rats, foxes, badgers, trees in bloom, nesting things, insects anything will do – as long as it’s taken in greater Kings Cross.  We’d love to put them on the website as we have done in previous years.

My expectations are low given the weather, would be delighted if our readers could defy them! Send a mail with your pic as an attachment to kingscrossenvironment@gmail.com or send a link to something embeddable.

 

Posted in Wildlife and Nature | 1 Comment

Anyone fancy more accomodation for temporary surjourners to Kings Cross?

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Daniel Z. Zylbersztajn-Lewandowski

From Kings Cross Resident Ariane Schick.

Britannia Street Parking Lot (planning application 2013/0592/P)

On 17 May 2013 I received a planning application consultation from Camden Council concerning a plot of land between 13 Britannia Street and 146 Wicklow Street, just south of Kings Cross (map – street view). The plot of land is currently used as a parking lot. Although I think a change of use on the plot, currently looking quite derelict, is a good thing, upon reading the proposal I quickly realised this proposal was far from a change for the better.

The plot is set within the Kings Cross/St Pancras Conservation area (adopted in December 2003) and the proposal is for, among other things a Class C1 hotel (a hotel or hostel where not significant element of care is provided). The initial proposal includes the demolition of a period boundary brick wall and period vent shaft inside a conservation area.

ANOTHER TALL BUILDING PROPOSAL: The highest building on the street at present is five floors, the proposal is for a seven storey building. This height will not respect the architectural harmony of the street. The proposal describes a “part two, part three and part five, six and seven story” which sounds complicated and not in keeping with the architectural integrity of the neighbourhood and street.

The proposal of a class C1 hotel will most likely become a youth hostel, the building will surely not focus on quality or architectural merit and I believe will harm what is at present a beautiful balanced street with real personality and character.

The proposal of the a building as high as seven storeys will not only have a very negative impact on the aesthetics of the area but also heavily impact the quality of life for the residents, radically reducing even blocking sunlight and causing a real loss of privacy for many inhabitants.

HOW MANY MORE? The Kings Cross neighbourhood has a disproportionate number of hotels, this is particularly true in the area around Britannia/Wicklow Street. In close proximity to the proposed C1 hotel there are already a vast number of hotels, including two of the biggest youth hostels in London; Clink and Travel Lodge, who both have two sites in the close by. A certain number of hotels and hostels can be a good thing for commerce for example but more hostels is not a business that needs further encouragement in the area. Yet another hotel in an already saturated area simply pushes the neighbourhood into becoming a mere place of transit for tourists rather than a real community of permanent residents.

In sum South Kings Cross is a densely populated area with a lot of human and car traffic and few parks. I think that rather than the plot of land being allocated to build yet another class C1 hostel the council should push for this plot of land to be turned into a much needed park or community allotment. I have noticed that aside for the space being used as a car park, local residents already use this land as a park of sorts, walking their dogs for example, this strengthens my belief not only that there is a need for a small green area on that plot.

PLEASE HELP TAKING ACTION: If you feel you might be affected by this planning application or feel motivated by the idea of supporting the creation of another green area in the Kings Cross area, please feel free to contact our FaceBook community page – called “Britannia/Wicklow Street Plot” it can be found at https://www.facebook.com/BritanniaWicklowStreetPlot?fref=ts

I will be adding photos and maps etc. as well as details on the planning application.

Also you can leave some comments here which I will pick up and respond to!

Ariane Schick

William adds – the consultation ends on 7 June 2013 – you can give your views to the council at this link

Posted in Big developments, Planning, Licensing and Regulation | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

Job vacancy at Housmans bookshop

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Sophie Talbot

housmans logoHOUSMANS – London’s premier radical bookshop, based at Kings Cross – needs a member of staff to join the small team running the shop.

Applicants should preferably have both experience of the book trade and a background in some area of radical campaigning; at least one of these is
essential. The job will involve regular weekend working.

Housmans operates wage parity; the current FTE salary is £15,350pa based on a
nominal 5-day week; an above-inflation rise is scheduled for next year. This
post is for 3.5 days per week; it is initially for a 6-month fixed term, but
might become permanent.

To receive more background about the shop, a fuller job description, and
details of how to apply, e-mail nik@housmans.com with the subject line
“6-MONTH JOB”. Phone and personal enquiries cannot be processed.

Deadline for receipt of applications is noon on Friday 31 May.

Posted in Noticeboard | Tagged , | 1 Comment

CrossRail2 – ‘Euston St Pancras’ another new train station for the neighbourhood?

Posted on May 15, 2013 by William Perrin

crossrail metroLooks like the greater Kings Cross area might get yet another train station if Cross Rail 2 ever goes ahead. It’s all very vague but there is a new hybrid geographic beast stalking the land – ‘Kings Cross Euston St Pancras’. TfL, they say:

‘HS2 will greatly increase passenger use of Euston station. A new, Crossrail 2, station at Euston St Pancras would help disperse passengers and reduce the crowding and delay that would otherwise occur at Euston.‘

For the Metro option in particular (pictured):

‘Instead of two stations at Euston and Kings Cross there would be one station in the area of Euston Road serving Euston, St Pancras and Kings Cross. The tunnel route would then continue to a station at Angel before splitting to two branch lines.’

cross rail costs

And our old friends – rail engineering costs are also there – £15.7 to £19.7 billion. We shall be keeping a close eye on station costs as they emerge.

Note that the working assumption is that the new Euston won’t be big enough. So where can they put this thing? I am guessing that it would be underground with tunnel walks/travellators to the three mainline stations (a bit like Bank). One assumes that they won’t dig under St Pancras or Kings Cross or Euston themselves. Nor under the British Library – which has a big underground book repository, nor under the infectious disease research place currently being built behind the BL.

Which points to somewhere in between Ossulton Street and Eversholt Street. An area of high density social housing and some economic deprivation. I’ve sketched it out on a map. It’s kind of ironic that the recent HS2 Euston fiasco blighted people’s lives to the West of Euston and now Crossrail2 threatens the same for those East of Euston.

UPDATE – following ‘concerned resident’ comment below the Police Garage on Drummond Crescent is this building.

Living near Euston we have a problem, indeed. You can give your views to TfL in a simple online form here – you can insert somethign about the station in the open box at the bottom.

Posted in Big developments, Planning, Licensing and Regulation, Travel | Tagged | 5 Comments

Open gardens near King’s Cross 19 May 2013

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Sophie Talbot

Walk through Islington’s Georgian streets to these contrasting gardens, 2-6pm 19 May. £6 for all gardens or £2 each, proceeds to charity.

mike gardenThe use of sun and shade are maximised at the 35ft x 17ft plantsman’s garden at 1 Battlebridge Court with its peat block terracing. Look out for the naturalised terrapins living between the nearby houseboats, a peaceful oasis only 2 mins from Kings Cross.

At Barnsbury Wood flower borders lead to Islington’s hidden secret: a place of peace and relaxation, the Borough’s only site of mature woodland and one of London’s smallest nature reserves.

44 Hemingford Road is a surprisingly lush, country-style garden with interesting trees, shrubs, perennials, lawns and pond in a very small space.

36 Thornhill Square’s 120ft long garden has old roses, hardy geraniums and clematis in curved beds giving a country garden atmosphere; also a small bonsai collection and many unusual perennials for sale.

Click here for more information

 

Posted in Noticeboard, Wildlife and Nature | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Calthorpe Project needs help – please complete the survey

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Sophie Talbot

The Calthorpe Project_1363250123053The Calthorpe Project, a community garden and centre on Gray’s Inn Road, has the opportunity to develop a new building on our existing site to increase the quality and range of services we provide.

To help us do this we want to know more about what local people would like in the Kings Cross area. Please complete this short survey – shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes.

Deadline for responses is Friday 31 May 2013.

Posted in Community groups, Noticeboard, Wildlife and Nature, Young People | Leave a comment