Download Islington - Issue 16 ( pdf - 1.6MB ) - Islington Council

Welcome
Welcome to
Issue 16
of Islington
From Helen Bailey,
Chief Executive
Welcome to the latest edition of
Islington. Along with our record
breaking long hot summer came our
best ever GCSE results. A great deal of
hard work goes into this achievement
so in the immortal words of many a
school report “well done Islington, let’s
keep it up”.
Islington’s summer university goes
from strength to strength and for the
sixth year running 10 to 19 year olds
were able to enjoy an active August
with a wide variety of classes from
cookery to Shakespeare and
computers to street dancing. If you
had a quieter time and bought a
paperback to read on your holidays,
don’t throw it away. Please hand it in at
our libraries so that others can read it.
It’s good to see our new street crime
wardens on patrol. They are a key part
of the borough’s strategy to tackle
crime and the fear of crime, a
reassuring presence and a deterrent,
already welcomed by many residents.
In addition the first new street lights
are up as part of our project to replace
8,500 lights and traffic signs over the
next 5 years, another contribution to a
safer, brighter borough - and they use
green electricity.
Can I please encourage you to fill in
our reader’s survey on page 9. Many of
you take the trouble to write in or email
with your views, so please tell us more.
Best of luck with the £50 prize draw!
What’s happening on
the Packington estate?
Following extensive investigations it has
been confirmed that the six-storey high
housing blocks, built from 1968 to 1971,
do not meet current building regulations.
Islington Council is discussing three
options with residents – redeveloping the
entire estate, strengthening the
construction and reducing the height.
Doing nothing is not an option, the blocks
are not unsafe but the council must take
action now.
Options
Current building requirements for blocks of more
than five storeys with a gas supply must be
satisfied. This means buildings on the
Packington would have to be strengthened with
steel pins in the walls and floors. To retain gas
central heating and cooking in people’s homes,
the blocks need additional strengthening. This
From April until
September 2003 the
group of 7 to 11 yearolds
attended family
reading group
sessions. Each child
came along with a
family member who
also took part in the
discussions around
the books
recommended by 20
premier league
footballers.
Sam O’Donnell, 10 from
Montem school said: "I
really enjoyed the Reading
Stars project. The books
from the library were great
and it was fantastic to
visit Arsenal and see the
players."
would cause considerable disruption and people
would have to move out of their homes. The
same applies if the height was reduced. Because
of the scale of the works necessary Islington
Council believes that it maybe better to build
modern, new homes and redevelop the estate.
Under this option, residents would be
progressively re-housed during the works. The
whole programme would take a number of
years. Everyone would be re-housed elsewhere
and given a choice about whether to return to
the estate in the future. People who have bought
their homes would be compensated at the
current market rate or could be offered a new
home on the rebuilt estate.
In the picture
The council has held three open meetings with
residents and is visiting all 530 homes on the
estate – putting everyone in the picture and
giving people the opportunity to decide what
they want to do following this news.
Taking precautions
All gas cookers are being removed and replaced
with electric ones. Gas detectors are being
installed and more frequent boiler servicing and
gas checks being carried out in each home. The
council is working closely with the Health &
Safety Executive and gas experts CORGI.
The council is working with all groups in the local
community including tenants, leaseholders and
commercial leaseholders so everyone is involved
in the discussions about the options facing the
estate.
Reading stars
Islington’s reading stars went to Highbury to receive their certificates and a
selection of books from Arsenal’s Dennis Bergkamp and Sylvain Wiltord.
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