Cloudesley Association – September 2018 Update

1. Dowrey Street Site – School Use

Amanda and Florence met with Rowena Champion (our local councillor) on the 11th July to express the concerns raised by several residents about the current use of the School's ground on Sundays and the use of amplifiers by the Celestial Church in particular, as well as the absence of communication from the PRU / Islington. There isn't anything further we can report on that subject at the moment. We are intending to organise a resident's meeting in late October and will invite the schools' representatives to attend.

For those who live on the north-east corner of the site (Richmond Avenue / Stonefield Street), please note that planning application has been sought to change the fencing on the back walls of the gardens of those properties. The Bridge school is keen to engage with local residents affected by these proposals to ensure that residents are comfortable with the plans. We will ask the Bridge to join us at our next residents meeting to discuss the matter with those affected.

2. Holy Trinity Church – Update

On the 3rd July, Amanda, Florence and Nick (the residents' representative for the square) met at the Church with Susan and some of her colleagues. A report of dilapidation evaluates the cost of repairs to £6m (including fees), of which £1.5m are emergency works. Susan and her colleagues explained that the church had been closed down in the 1970s and was deconsecrated.

The Diocese have three main aims regarding any restoration work:

1/ to meet the community needs,
2/ to restore the fabric of the church, and
3/ to be financially viable.

They anticipate that some sort of mix-use will be explored, and the YMCA is one project partner carrying out a feasibility study. 

The Diocese is doing a survey and would like to hear your views - which would help identify what the 'community need' is, before the 24th September. The survey can be found at https://bit.ly/2Ocuf5d.

Extract:

"Have your say..... In 2018 the Diocese of London began the Cloudesley Challenge Project to design, together with the local community, a new future for Holy Trinity Church. From June to September 2018, Barnsbury Parish and the Diocese of London are running consultation activities to understand: ....the importance of Holy Trinity Church to local communities; and ....local community needs and opportunities for the future use of the building. Completing this form should take 5-10 minutes and will give you the opportunity to have your say on the future of Holy Trinity. We thank you for your time and your interest." The Cloudesley Challenge

Some of you will have received a newsletter that Susan hand-delivered to residents, but for those who didn't receive it, please click here.

The Diocese are also looking to hold a meeting. As soon as they find a suitable date and venue we will let you know.

In the meantime Susan has provided us with the following update for this newsletter:

- The gate at the west entrance has been reinstated. The pintle had broken off and was embedded into the base so the gate had to be taken away for a new pintle to be made.

- The gutters/drains etc have been cleared out again and she has confirmed that they are in much better shape since the trees were pollarded a few months ago.

- The final branch of the middle plane tree will be cut back. There is a bird's nest in the tree and the branch could not be cut back when the tree works were carried out.

3. Events

Of interest this month:

- Open House London: This weekend (22/23 September) there is another opportunity to gain free access to numerous buildings across London. Please see details at https://openhouselondon.org.uk/. There is also an app that can be downloaded from the website which contains a useful map.

- London Design Festival: The London Design Festival also has events across town until the 23 September, including some nearby. For details please see https://www.londondesignfestival.com/.

- Kings Cross: Check out www.kingscross.co.uk for the calendar of events taking place around Granary Square. A particular highlight may well be the Time Out 50th Birthday celebrations in Granary Square on 29 September.

- October Beer Festival: There will be an October Beer Festival at St Pancras International between the 1st and 21st October. For details please see https://stpancras.com/events/2018/october/st-pancras-beer-festival

If you are aware of any event, consultation or news item that you would like us to include in our next newsletter, please let us (or your street rep) know.

As ever, if you know of any neighbour who is not on the Cloudesley Association e mail distribution list, please pass this e mail on and/or ask them to provide me with their contact details so that they can be kept in the loop.

Amanda and Florence
On behalf of
The Cloudesley Association