ANGEL ASSOCIATION, CHAIRMAN’S REPORT TO AGM 24 OCTOBER 2024
Last year we emphasised the use of City Road Basin by the Boat Club and the Angel Boat charities and their support for our local young people, developing their kayaking skills and learning about the history of the canal through narrowboat trips. This year we welcome Pack Up from St James Church Hall as the focus of our fundraising. Pack Up has been doing very good work for nearly 10 years providing meals and companionship for local people with no settled home. Toni Parker and her team of volunteers are a great example of active community support for others.
On St James, let us welcome Helen Sims-Williams the new vicar who takes over from John Burniston who has retired after some 15 years with us. The vicarage in Arlington Square is being sold by the Church so we will lose its wonderful garden, well cared for by the Burnistons, as a community resource. Also, welcome to Fr Rajiv Michael who is the new parish priest for St John’s in Duncan Terrace
As always, we work closely with our fellow local associations, notably the Islington Society, and the Arlington and Duncan Terrace Associations. Arlington, who care so well for Arlington Square have yet again won a significant prize as well deserved recognition, Best Small London Public Square, and have won other awards as well. We continue to do our bit for local greening, helping get trees planted and sponsoring an award at the Islington in Bloom competition. Note that the green space above the Islington Tunnel entrance at Colebrooke Row may be disturbed by Canal and River Trust works to the Tunnel portal and the tunnel itself, but we gather that this may not be for another year or so.
The large significant buildings at the Angel corner remain in play in different ways. One is being refurbished including new curtain walling and therefore a very different appearance. Hopefully the street experience will be better with wider pavements and ground floor activity. It seems likely that a variety of businesses will occupy the building in a year or two. The large building next door, the RBS building, looms over our neighbourhood and the town centre very unhelpfully, and has been empty for over four years, it is up for sale. The office market is not easy with Zoom and flexible working, we keep in touch with their communications consultants about progress such as it is.
The Collins Theatre site at Islington Green remains in a sad state with boarded up shop units year after year. We have written to the owners of the development and have got some publicity in the Tribune about this blighted site, but still no sight of a resolution and the building getting back into full use.
Bikes and cycling continue to generate interest and concerns. We will see more bike hangars in our neighbourhood and elsewhere, adding to those we already have. We have asked the Council not to place bike hangars right in front of homes, especially in our smaller, tighter streets. Rather should they be next to open space or blank walls to help look after local amenity with no loss of convenience to users. The casual littering of our streets by discarded e-bikes does no good for anyone, we understand that the Council are working with the bike providers to set up better controls to manage where the bikes are parked, we will keep in touch about progress on this. Doing something about other anti-social behaviour, speeding bikers not following road user courtesies and e-scooters speeding along pavements are more difficult issues to crack.
We continue to review local planning proposals and licensing applications, let us know about any concerns. We continue to organise visits to local places of interest, publicised on our website, so do keep an eye out for these. Our financial position remains in good order and we thank you all for your interest and support. Please keep in touch about issues we should consider and take up.
Eric Sorensen
Chairman, Angel Association
Geraldine Hackett, Secretary
The Angel Association: St Peters and Canalside ward, Islington, London
Angel Association Accounts 2023
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