Dear all, here is the letter that has been sent to the following people:

Junction Ward Councillors Kasprzyk, Woolley, Burgess.
Islington Council Leader
Islington Council Anthony Baptiste
Islington Council Ashley Niman
St.George’s Ward Councillors Burgess, Ismail, Cornwell.
Islington North MP Jeremy Corbyn

We await their response and will post details as they come in.
Regards HRRA.



27 February 2009

Re- Halls of Residence, Huddleston Road



To Whom It May Concern.

There is growing consensus and anger in Huddleston Road that nothing is being done to effectively minimize the blight facing our community. Our quiet residential Victorian cul-de-sac is set to change forever. We have already made contact with Cllrs. Kasprzyk, Woolley and Burgess, who advised us to negotiate directly with the owners of the site at the end of our road which will triple our population in a few months time. We have done that. Opal Properties are in the business of making money, not caring for the local community. We believe this is the job of our Council.

Construction is a few months from completion, but there are still many goals that can be achieved which would reduce the blight on the local community. We therefore request the Council to:

1.Organise a pedestrian entrance and ramp directly from Station Road into the site behind number 144 Huddleston Road (part of the site). Opal told us this was structurally possible but that a few feet of pavement bordering onto Station Road belong to GER. This section of pavement is not used for any purpose but Council involvement is needed to liaise with all the relevant parties. In relation to the overall project the cost of this is minimal and would reduce disturbance at the end of Huddleston Road.

2. Clean up and landscape Station Road, for the benefit of students and local residents alike. While many millions of pounds have gone into the Opal investment, Station Road has cavities at the side filled with several feet of rubbish, infested with rats, and can be an intimidating road to walk along. Landscaping should also give extra privacy to 165 Huddleston Road and improve the view for Ward Road residents. A cycle route would connect with storage facilities for student bicycles on the Opal site.

3. Investigate thoroughly all options for allowing pedestrian access to the site from Campdale Road. Residents from that road successfully campaigned against disturbance, but is it a fair and sustainable solution to just move the problem to another street (and triple the numbers)?

4. Use the budget given to the Council by Opal for signs to be used to direct students coming from Tufnell Park Tube via Junction Road and Station Road rather than to be used along Huddleston Road

5. Review and enforce the conditions of Section 106. Meetings with Opal have revealed that they regard some of these conditions as simply not enforceable. We expect the Council to enforce this legally binding document to its full extent. The suggestion given in the 106 is that vehicle access would be along Station Road for taxis, minicabs, coaches and service vehicles ‘where practicable’. This wording is open to interpretation, but without workable vehicle access via Station Road, what was the point of these conditions?
See in particular Schedule 1.1, 1.2, 1.14.

6. Commission a study into the feasibility of permanent vehicle access into the site from Station Road, with all other addresses remaining part of the Huddleston Road cul-de-sac. This would enable a change of address for the site and no. 144 to Station Road.

7. Suggest and implement other benefits for our community. We as a community have worked hard to come up with reasonable and practical solutions. If it truly cares the Council should do the same.



We understand that development has to take place, and that students have the right to somewhere nice to live, but this must be balanced against the rights of local people. At the moment this vast development looks set to reap rewards for its owners but blight the lives of local residents. We believe that private profit should not equal public misery.

We ask the Council to clarify how tripling the population and traffic of a residential Victorian cul-de-sac with zero benefit to local residents is in accordance with its Sustainability Policy.

We request that the Council respects the wishes of its residents and respects local democracy. The people of Huddleston Road care about their street.

We ask for much more support and commitment to our needs from our elected councillors.

We would like a co-ordinated response from the Council and do not want to be passed on to any number of Council departments or other agencies. We hope we are not forced to take other steps and that you meet with representatives of Huddleston Road Residents Association as soon as possible. Thank you.

Yours sincerely
JF

On behalf of Huddleston Road Residents Association
CC to
Junction Ward Councillors Kasprzyk, Woolley, Burgess.
Islington Council Leader
Islington Council Anthony Baptiste
Islington Council Ashley Niman
St.George’s Ward Councillors Burgess, Ismail, Cornwell.
Islington North MP Jeremy Corbyn


..

Hello all, thanks for your interest in the blog and hopefully by now you will have had time to read the letter! In a few days we will be knocking on your door to ask for feedback, to answer any questions you might have and to ask you to sign a petition which will be sent to Islington Council the Councillors, Mayor and our local MP Jeremy Corbyn asking for the following:

- uphold the planning conditions – this is a basic legal requirement.
- authorise a pedestrian entrance into the site directly from Station Road to reduce disturbance at the end of Huddleston Road.
- change the site address from Huddleston Road to Station Road.
- use a pre-allocated budget for signs to direct students on foot coming from Tufnell Park tube along Junction Road and Station Road.
- clean up and landscape Station Road to make it more attractive for students and local residents alike.
- help come up with any other solutions to leave some benefit to all on Huddleston Road as a result of this multi-million pound project.

Thank kindly you for your time.

HRRA