Team Cally

Dear Resident,

Caledonian Ward Partnership Public Meeting: Wednesday 23 May at 7pm

Venue: Jean Stokes Community Centre, Carnoustie Drive, N1 0DY

In recent years residents have become much more aware of the issues of anti-social behaviour and the things that can be done to address this type of problem.

There are a lot of different organisations who have a role to play in directly dealing with, and helping to resolve, anti-social behaviour.

The Islington Met Police, Islington Community Safety Teams and Islington Housing Department work with local people, communities, other social landlords and various organisations to address problems of anti-social behaviour by working in partnership to use the most appropriate interventions to stop these problems and support victims.

A large number of calls are received by the police throughout the year from people complaining about ‘nuisance youths’. Some of these calls are not to report any crime, damage, noise or a direct threat but many are from people who feel intimidated by groups of youngsters who congregate in public places such as on the Caledonian Road and in parks and estates.

Children and young people are part of our communities and will always congregate; it’s a natural part of growing up and very few youngsters who meet in public places are actually committing any criminal or other offence.

Young people often gather in groups because it makes them feel safer, choosing places near shops because they are well lit and busy. In many cases they are actually unaware that their presence alone can seem intimidating to others.

However there is a difference between young people acting deliberately to cause damage or upset and those who have simply gathered to socialise.

The Caledonian Ward Partnership Public Meeting is an opportunity for local residents to hear how all the different agencies have worked together over the past year and in some cases over many years to address issues of crime and anti-social behaviour in the Caledonian Ward. More importantly this is your opportunity to put forward your ideas on how to make our ward safer for everyone in our community.

The meeting is also an opportunity for you as residents to meet your local councillors, shape the future of neighbourhood management in the Caledonian Ward and to contribute to the priorities for the area.

For further information please contact Mohamed Hammoudan, Team Cally Neighbourhood coordinator

Tel: 020 7609-8959
Mobile: 07960670435
Email: bvmoteamcally@btconnect.com
Website: www.teamcally.org.uk

Thursday 29th March 2012 7pm at Kings Place, 90 York Way

Agenda for Caledonian Ward Safer Neighbourhood Panel Meeting

Caledonian Ward Local Initiative Fund closing date Wednesday 11th April 2012 5pm

Please note applicants will be notified of decisions after 30th April 2012

Caledonian Ward Safer Neighbourhood Meeting:

Thursday 26 January 7pm to be held at Kings Place, 90 York Way, in the St. Pancras Room

The Caledonian Ward Partnership meetings are held twice per year and are a forum for residents and others to receive information about the premerging priorities in the ward, and to feed in about what they would like to see happening locally. The latest meeting was held on Wednesday 30 November, 6.30pm at Jean Stokes Community Centre.
The meeting was chaired by Cllr Paul Convery. In attendance were 55 residents, Cllr Rupert Perry, 10 voluntary, charities, community and faith sector organisations represented.

The items discussed:

1. Kings Cross Central Development: Anna Strongman and Angela Jewell, Argent (Property Development Company, Kings Cross Central )

Information given:

In September 2011, The King’s Boulevard road (a key part of the infrastructure) and University of the Arts opened to the public, and a well-received street market was introduced.

Public spaces will be kept public and pedestrians will be encouraged to walk through the development.

The King’s Place building next to The Guardian offices is a vibrant arts space, and the area is considered a major new piece of central London around which developers are looking to create a “cultural hub”, including Central St Martin’s University, King’s Place and the nearby British Library

Further information on the development can be found at http://www.kingscrosscentral.com/index

Questions raised:

Employment for local people – concerns raised that the development so far has not resulted in significant employment for local people, particularly young people

There is currently a Construction Skills Training Centre on York Way which provides a gateway to Apprenticeships for 16 to 24 year olds on the site. A range of opportunities are available including taster courses and opportunities for those young people who are not yet ready to enter a full Apprenticeship. Contact Jo Gattenberg Employability Officer Jo.Gattenberg@camden.gov.uk at the Construction Skills Centre for more information

Argent will also be establishing a further training centre in 2012 which will have focus on post-construction employment opportunities, such as in retail, security and other service sector employment.
Argent has a commitment that at least 15% of their workforce will be local, hopefully reaching around 30% or more. By 2016, up to 35,000 will be living, working and studying at King’s Cross.

Cllr Convery recognised that the issue of creating pathways to the opportunities available is a critical one and that Islington are reviewing the resources that are allocated to this to enable better communication between local job seekers and local jobs and training, particularly related to the Kings Cross site.
As a way forward Kristina Glenn (Cripplegate Foundation) it would be good to know who would be interested in participating in a working group with Argent, to progressively work through some of the opportunities emerging from the Kings Cross Central Development.

Transport Links – concerns raised about overcrowding at Kings Cross Station

Residents raised the point that public transport users travelling from the KCC development would benefit from travelling via York Road Station rather than using King’s Cross St Pancras Station. This in turn will provide congestion relief for King’s Cross St Pancras Station.

In 2005 a business case was prepared to reopen the station, to serve the Kings Cross development and help relieve congestion at King’s Cross St Pancras, however Transport For London have no plans to take the scheme forward.
£450m will be spent on improving King’s Cross station and there will be additional tube capacity created. Overall TFL are upgrading the transport system to increase capacity by 30%.

Cllr Convery reiterated that the best way to relive the Kings Cross Transport congestion issue is for local people that live within walking distance of Kings Cross is to gain employment directly on the Kings Cross Central site.

Heritage Buildings – concern raised that some were not being preserved

Argent will retain 20 out of the 22 heritage buildings on the site, which will remain open.

2. Cally Festival – Anya Johnson

Information given:

The first Cally Festival took place on 3 July 2011 and attracted 5,000 people to the area. Feedback was very positive with requests to make the 2012 festival bigger with a larger portion of the Caledonian Road being closed. Some residents also requested more publicity for the 2012 event. Preliminary plans have been submitted to Islington Council for an event in late May 2012. There are also plans in place to put on smaller community events throughout the year, for example, the Cally Christmas event which will be held on 3 December on Tillloch Street. Click here to view a short film about the 2011 Cally Festival.

3. Caledonian ward priorities – Cllr Paul Convery

Information given:

Information was given about these. Please click here for a list of the current Caledonian ward priorities and Ward Improvement Plan. Cllr Convery added that traffic calming and pedestrian safety are also high priorities. A zebra crossing will be created adjacent to the Iceland store on Caledonian Road and Islington Council intends to implement a 20mph limit across the borough in all current 30mph areas. It is expected that this will improve safety for all road users, including pedestrians and cyclists.

The next meeting of the Caledonian Ward Partnership will take place in May 2012. The date will be widely publicised. Team Cally convenes and facilitates the meetings of the Caledonian Ward Partnership. You can find more information about Team Cally and its work by visiting www.teamcally.org,
Team Cally is keen to widen its membership through the following theme sub groups;

• Children and Young People
• Employment, Education and Enterprise
• Health and Equalities for Older People
• Safer Neighbourhood

If you have an interest in participating in any of the theme groups, please contact Mohamed Hammoudan, Team Cally Neighbourhood Coordinator
Email: bvmoteamcally@btconnect.com

Tel: 020 7609 8959 – Mobile: 07960670435

Team Cally Employment, Education and Enterprise Partnership Meeting:

Tuesday 13 December 2pm at the Cally Resource Centre, 140 Copenhagen Street N1 0ST

Team Cally Play and Youth Partnership Meeting:

Wendesday 14 December 12pm at the Cally Resource Centre, 140 Copenhagen Street N1 0ST