Stroud Green Road - what's hot and what's not?

Cllr Richard Watts

Dear Stroud Greeners,

I'm one of the local councillors for the Islington side of Stroud Green Road. We're starting some work to try to improve the area (still further...) and try to encourage more people to use the local shops.

I would be really grateful for your views on what we could do to improve Stroud Green Road? What would encourage you to spent more time/cash on SGR? Are the parking rules a put-off? Do you feel safe? Are the range of shops, bars and restaurants enough?

Any thoughts are very welcome.

RICHARD

ps. My vote, of course, goes to Islington inb the great Islington v Haringey bust up.

andy

<http://www.stroudgreen.org/comments.php?DiscussionID=209&page=1#Item_0>; I think this is as close as we've ever come to serious engaged debate on this sort of issue. We don't really have the concentration span for it. Bullet points: Paintball, laser quest, some chocolate, a toy and a surprise.

Lucy

Hello Cllr Richard, I'd say the first thing to encourage me to spend money on SGR would be a cash point that didn't charge me £2 to take money out. I will try not to get into a rant about the parking rules round here *but* there is something wrong with a policy where I am being fined over £100 and my car towed for forgetting for half an hour to renew a parking ticket on my car that is parked outside my front door (in an otherwise completely empty bay/street) yet cars parked on single and double yellow lines blocking traffic on SGR and making buses late seem to get no action taken against them at all! Will cease there, or will ruin my day. I feel safe on Stroud Green Road on the Porchetta end but not quite as safe round by the station. A tapas place would be good, but that's my personal preference! Lucy

Lucy

and, note to Pete: You mock me but look! Eat your words, little wotsit!

David

Although, the recent renovation of the station with cameras and being well lit has really improved the safety factor, but I suppose the overall effects take time. I'm not sure I could actually spend more on SGR, I buy all food locally, drink in the pubs and eat in the restaurants but a change of a restaurant or shop would just redirect what I spend currently, not increase it. Agree with Lucy on the money machine, but I suppose that needs a Bank of some kind to turn up, no? The station has three I think but there's nothing up the other end other than the pay to use ones. Get the array of butchers to tidy up a bit on the lower SGR too. I'm a meat-eater but still find the carcasses laying around a bit too 'raw'. But the two biggies for me, a cinema _(but a bit wishful as there's one not too far on Holloway)_ or more importantly a swimming pool, closest one is at the bottom of Caledonian Road I believe.

andy

Park Road Pools isn't too far away.

andy

Also, aren't market forces doing a pretty good job of tidying up the area already? There's always lots of rubbish around the butchers in the south part of the road though.

David

Park Road is better, still not really local though. A local pool would be ace. A bit like the cinema really, London being what it is, you could argue we have everything we need "not too far away" but having it on SGR would be better.

David

oh nearly forgot. There's a shocking lack of Haberdashery. We're not talking material shops here, Petra needs haberdashery. I need a musical instrument shop. Not a plectrum in site on SGR.

Liz

I really like SGR as it is. Lots of great independents (and some crap ones too but that's just how it is...). On the shops front, I would like a decent bakery, bookshop and off licence (as someone who doesn't do Tescos, it's pretty hard to buy a decent bottle of wine on SGR). I agree with the cinema comments - and am with Lucy on her earlier entry asking for an Electric/Everyman type cinema, rather than an Odeon multiplex. The one major gripe I've got is the rubbish situation at the weekend. During the week, it's pretty good, but by Sunday morning it is everywhere, especially around the station. And that goes double for match days. Just looks really scummy, and makes the Monday morning walk to the station pretty grim. P.S. Have you been to look at <http://www.stroudgreen.org/directory/>, Cllr Watts? That will give you an idea of what we like too. Also, any contributions to the great Stroud Green debate would be very welcome! <http://www.stroudgreen.org/comments.php?DiscussionID=390&page=1#Item_28>;

andy

My serious comment is that the patch of land at the junction at Tollington and SGR is a real waste. You could block car access to it, plant a tree or two and open up the space. At the moment it's a semi-derelict car park that means no-one crosses the road to the shops on the other side.

Lucy

with andy on the patch of land at the tollington junction. It would be nice to have patches of green or seating. Then perhaps cafes would open up on the other side and we could sit outside. Cafe culture on SGR - what with global warming being what it is they might be viable! Rubbish also a problem. Agree with David on the pool front too - Park Road is a bit of a bus ride. Did I mention the parking regulations?

SimonB

Any kind of improvement that can encourage al fresco cafe culture would be great ...

... widen the pavement all the way up SGR from Tollington Park to Hanley Road, ban car parking ... give permission for the restaurants and cafes to allow proper (permanent) outside seating ... fantastic.

Oh and I fully endorse any cinema suggestion - having to go over to Hampstead Everyman is a pain ... maybe convert the doctor's surgery at the top of the road ... or even use the land which used to be the library on Hanley Road (before the council pulled it down!!!)

Michelle

I totally agree with most of the comments above, and in particular the bank and cost of cash machine situation.

Some nice sandwich shops could be good - i suppose that's the same as a bakery anyway.
In general, places that encourage cafe culture and utilize the big pavements.

Pete

Hate to offer solutions and no suggestions, but in my experience, to promote cafe culture you need to draw in the people to make it work.

Which, in most cases, are artists. Some sort of attraction to them (public art? gallery? agencies? A stroud green artist network?) would attract coffee shops, which I can only hope would be indie run businesses and not another starbucks.

andy

free wireless for stroud green! with all homepages automatically set to stroudgreen.org

SimonB

I agree with Pete - avoid the chain coffee shops!

In fact, attracting something along the lines of that Italian deli/restaruant/coffee shop that's in Crouch End (next to the Library where the Electrical goods shop used to be) would be a fantastic step forward.

Liz

That Italian place in Crouch End used to be on Hornsey Road, near the junction with Tollington Park - I imagine business might be slightly more healthy in their current location...

Michelle

That place is excelent.. I've only been in winter but can imagine in the summer people will spread out onto the green bit nearby.

There you go.. we need nice cafe's (non chain) near green areas or with tables that spread onto the pavement

David

So to start, a campaign for the pedestrianisation (and greening?) of [Chater Court](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=N4&ie=UTF8&z=17&ll=51.568628,-0.110528&spn=0.004715,0.013561&om=1) and permission for the shops there to extend out a bit with seating. I suppose there's also an opportunity at Albert Mews further up too, but no shops there. And that's without any pavement widening or parking measures affected. Then I suppose its fingers crossed on a bit of Kevin Costner-like _"Build it and they'll come"_ ?

andy

*"Pave it and they will gentrify"* doesn't have quite the same ring

Liz

Are you there, Cllr Watts? Lots of feedback but no sign of you...

Cllr Richard Watts

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts - I've been reading with interest, even if not responding until now.

I take the point that market forces are already improving the area. However, I think that these will inevitably lead to either a chain coffee shop / clone high street or will stop working if the economy tails off a bit. The aim of the SGR plan is to try to shape any develoment of the area in a way that most benefits local people and the local economy.

Ken is about to invest a pile of cash in the North London line extention that runs to Crouch Hill station. More regular trains on the line could mean that more people will travel to SGR from a greater distence away, turning it into a bigger shopping 'hub'.

Without being too dull (but I am a councillor so you should excuse some dullness) lots more money is put back into the local economy through snmall local shops than through retails chains, for example the Tesco Metro, so it's vital that we kep a good range of local independent businesses.

Islington Council has just agreed the the Islington side of SGR, plus the Old Diary, Japan Crescent and the Crouch Hill Station House should become a conservation area, because some of the buildings are of historic interest. This will give us a bit more power to stop a shop putting up a gaudy sign, which might discourage a McDonalds, but it would be better to try to do some things - like a free cash machine - that would activly encourage people to shop and spent time in the area.

Thanks again.

RICH

andy

Thanks for the comments. Is this all feeding into a particular thing that's going to be published? And to tie the two threads together - any chance of a farmer's market?

Lucy

ooh, yes, a farmer's market! That must help the local economy. where would you put it though? Apart from the park I guess.

Liz

How about Turle Wray open space? That would be handy.

andy

Yeah - lots of retail footfall there Liz. How much posh cheese and honey do you think you can to the kids who hang around there?

Liz

You could sell some to me though. And to the people who live in that really posh house with CCTV by the park.

Cllr Richard Watts

Sorry for the late reply to Andy's question.

Yes we are going to publish this in a document, along with the results of a survey that is going in the post over the next few days. no doubt i'll stick something up on here as well.

thanks again.

Pete

It's going to be published?
Christ, we should have made more demands.

andy

We should have asked for a super casino.