Turn to page 2 Transport chiefs are forced into Crossrail...

“Open to All, Coerced by None”Friday March 27, 2015 An independent paper No 586

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Transport chiefs are forced into Crossrail 2 U-turn after backlash

TV’s Snow backs appeal for night shelter

A PEOPLE power campaign has forced thegovernment into a U-turn over controversialplans to demolish Angel’s Co-op building.

The Grade II-listed landmark – the site of the16th-century Angel Inn – on the corner ofIslington High Street and Pentonville Road,was threatened by proposals for a railway station as part of the Crossrail 2 project.

The scheme was revealed by the Tribune inDecember, but it is no longer part of Transportfor London’s (TfL) plans.

A row of important historic buildings locatednext door to the Co-op are still earmarked fordemolition, including the white-turreted formerAngel Picture Theatre, built in 1913, which iscurrently occupied by a Starbucks café. Thelisted building was one of the earliest purpose-built cinemas in Britain.

Outrage over the whole area being turnedinto a “massive building site” swelled after theTribune revealed the scale of the Crossrail pro-posals. Save the Angel campaigners argued thatthe Co-op should be saved and the Royal Bankof Scotland building opposite be demolished tomake way for the new station instead. Yester-day (Thursday), a TfL spokes man confirmedthat planners had conceded to their demands.

He said: “Following feedback from residentswe are looking at potential plans that could see

n Turn to page 2New N1 Centre is off to a flyer! page 2

CHANNEL 4 TV journalist JonSnow has spoken out in supportof a call by the head of anIslington night shelter forprivate developers to “look intotheir hearts” and help thegrowing army of rough sleepers,writes Peter Gruner.

Sheila Scott, chief executiveand co-founder of Shelter from

the Storm in King’s Cross,warned that with so many singlepeople needing emergencyaccommodation, she is fastrunning out of space.

Ms Scott and Mr Snow meton Tuesday night at the openingof the new Homes for theHomeless exhibition at theGeffrye Museum, Old Street,

which looks back at life for thepoor in Victorian times.

Mr Snow, chairman of theNew Horizons young homelesscentre at King’s Cross, said thatbeing without somewhere tolive was a massive problem formany people in the capital.

“Anything that can be done toincrease the amount of

accommodation in London hasgot to be welcomed,” he said.

Mother-of-five Ms Scott saidher centre is, on average, havingto turn away up to 20 singlehomeless people each night.

“We have room for just 44guests per night,” she said. “And

IT’S VICTORY INBATTLE TO SAVEANGEL’S CO-OP

n Turn to page 2

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2 NEWS Follow us on Twitter @islingtontrib Islington Tribune Friday 27 March 2015

DON’TFORGET!

Clocks go forward one hour this

weekend

n from page 1

that’s often a bit of asqueeze.”

The shelter has beenconverted out of awarehouse but in a fewyears’ time it too will beneeded for developmentand the charity will needalternativeaccommodation.

Ms Scott added:“Everywhere you look inIslington developers areputting up private luxuryflats. Many of my guestswork but never in amillion years will theyever be able to afford tobuy or rent a privatedwelling, and they arerarely if ever eligible forsocial housing.

“Wouldn’t it be nice ifthe borough’s developers,who are going to makehuge profits, contributedto a large purpose-builtnight shelter, perhapsbased in King’s Cross? Itmight take the strain offother agencies in thecapital providingemergencyaccommodation.”

Ms Scott described herhomeless guests as the“new working poor”. Hershelter is only availablefrom the hours of 6pm to8am.

“Many of our clientswork shifts and will haveto spend hours when theyare not working,wandering the streets orsitting in a library to keepwarm,” she said.

“Why shouldn’t thedevelopers be asked to

club together to build ahomeless shelter withdecent accommodation,showers, a day centre anda garden where peoplecan relax away from thestrain? It could become agood example to othercities.”

Guests at her shelter,which has been operatingfor almost 10 years, aregiven free dinner, bedand breakfast each day.They are also offeredcounselling and helped tolook for work.

The shelter has a strongjob partnershiparrangement withtakeaway food giants PretA Manger. Many peoplefrom the shelter havebeen employed by thefirm.

The charity is alwayslooking for morevolunteers prepared tostay overnight once aweek or once a fortnightfrom 9pm to 6.30am.

For more informationgo to www.sfts.org.uk orcall 020 7697 9569.

Angel delight New identity for centre

Co-op saved from Crossrail 2

‘Build shelters’ plea to developersn Page 1 picture

Dressed in their Angel wings and raising their voicesin song, children at Hungerford Primary School(pictured on page 1) helped launch a new “shoppingdistrict”, writes Alina Polianskaya.

The transformation of Angel Central, formerly theN1 Centre, was unveiled this week with a day full ofangelic activities.

Highlights included a show by Bruce Air Head, abizarre show featuring a man and a 6ft balloon, whohas previously appeared on the Graham Norton

Show. Displays from the Gliding Angel Performersand some cheesy tunes from the Club de FromageDjs kept crowds entertained throughout the day.

The pupils from the school in Hungerford Road werepraised for their work and treated to a free lunch by arestaurant in the centre. General manager ofWagamama Ania Gardjaura-Starczewska said: “Theirlittle angel voices, singing angel songs and wearingtheir handmade angel wings were so heart warming.”

Organisers decided it was time to give the centre“a proper identity,” having found there was a lot ofconfusion about its name.

Cllr Martin Klute The Co op building

Bruce Air Head entertains the crowds

Sheila Scott and JonSnow n from page 1

the bank demolished andusing the site as a workdepot.”

St Peter’s ward council-lor Martin Klute, who firstraised concerns about theproposed developments,told the Tribune: “With thedemolition of the RBSbuilding we stand a muchbetter chance of deliveringsome regeneration to thearea. But the demolition ofa whole row of listedbuildings is just vandal-ism. These plans aredrawn up by railwaysengineers who don’t haveany interest in the culturalheritage of the area at all.”

Cllr Klute said TfLshould do all works at the“huge” RBS site, includ-ing the building of a newstation, and leave the list-ed buildings on the otherside of the road alone.

He added: “These plansmean that the heart of thetown centre will be rippedout and the Angel will beturned into a building sitefor 10 years.”

Islington South andFinsbury MP EmilyThornberry said she waspleased that the Co-opbuilding had been savedbut said there was still along way to go.

“I’m in favour ofimprovements to Lon-

don’s rail infrastructurebut I won’t allow Angel tobe ruined,” she said.“There are still a numberof important buildingsunder threat. However,I’m glad that the RBSbuilding could go. Peoplefeel it is an eyesore. It’s ahangover from the 1980sand looks like somethingin which Darth Vaderwould reside. It’s com-pletely out of characterwith the rest of the areaand no one will shed tearsif it is pulled down.”

Zena Sullivan, wholaunched a Save OurAngel petition with hun-dreds of signatories fol-lowing a packed public

meeting earlier this year,said she would prefer thatthere was no developmentat all.

“They shouldn’t touchany of our buildings,” shesaid. “However, we arehappy to lose the RBSbuilding.”

Plans for a new stationwill now be part of a newconsultation which will belaunched in late autumn. Itis expected to be built onthe western side of UpperStreet, between the Co-opbuilding and White LionStreet.

Under governmentplans published this weekCrossrail 2’s route willnow include Islington,Westminster, Barnet,Camden, Enfield, Hack-ney, Haringey, Merton,Wandsworth, and Kens-ington and Chelsea.

It will run through a tun-nelled section from Wim-bledon in the south to NewSouthgate and TottenhamHale in the north. It willserve stations includingTooting Broadway,Clapham Junction, King’sRoad Chelsea, Victoria,Tottenham Court Road,Euston, St Pancras, Angel,Dalston Junction, SevenSisters, Turnpike Lane andAlexandra Palace.

London Mayor BorisJohnson welcomed the

fact that the route has nowbeen safeguarded.

He said: “This is amajor step forward in ourmission to deliver a brand-new railway line for thecapital. This essentialinfrastructure project, pro-posed many years ago asthe Chelsea-Hackney line,is now taking shape andbecoming a reality.

“Not only will this vitalrail link improve capacityon trains into and out ofLondon, it will provide amajor boost for jobs, newhomes and economicgrowth beyond the capital,too.”

But Cllr Klute added: “Idon’t see the benefits of aregional trainline for peo-ple in Islington. A lightrailmetro line would be better.”

In Camden, where 70homes are under threatfrom Crossrail 2, and inWestminster, where theCurzon Soho cinema hasbeen earmarked tobecome a ticket hall, therewere no changes to theplans.

ISLINGTON’S firstfemale police chief wassworn in this week as thenew DetectiveSuperintendent.

Catherine Roperreplaces Gerry Campbellwho has run the boroughs

police force for two and ahalf years.

Supt Roper previouslyworked in the SO1Specialist Protection unitproviding protection tohigh ranking politiciansand public officials.

First female police chief