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 Cllr Lucy Watt with Holloway Road’s hanging baskets, described as ‘wonderful’
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The seventh worst place in the country? So why does everyone want to live here?
Television survey based on statistics ‘rather than the Islington that we know and love’
ISLINGTON, named the seventh worst place to live in Britain, was defended this week by the people who know best – its residents.
If nothing else, the report by Channel 4 property programme, Location, Location, Location, managed to unite a lot of people who might normally have been highly critical of the Lib Dem- ruled borough.
Highbury resident and Daily Mail columnist Peter Oborne said: “Islington is a brilliant place to live. Even the Lib Dem council can’t ruin it.”
Hackney, Haringey, Barking and Dagenham all make it into the worst 20 places, with Middlesbrough voted worst of all. The list is based on criteria such as crime, the number of people falling into official poverty measures, educational achievement, obesity, diet and salaries.
Comedienne Arabella Weir, who lives off Stroud Green Road, Finsbury Park, could not disagree more with the study. “Islington is the best place to live,” she added. “There’s the wonderful ethnic diversity. There’s the mix of people and restaurants and cafés. You can obtain food from every culture in the world.
“We have nice and improving parks. The Lib Dem council are also pretty good in my book.
“My biggest problem is with dog mess. I’d like to see more efforts to clean it up, although I accept it may be a national problem. One solution might be to outlaw dogs in inner London. But I don’t think that idea will go down very well.”
Architect Maxwell Hutchinson has lived at various addresses in Islington and has his studio in Exmouth Market. He said: “The transformation of Islington has been a model of good inner-city redevelopment and renaissance. So there!
“I love Exmouth Market where I work and where I’m church warden of the Holy Redeemer.”
Writer Harley Sherlock, a founder of the Islington Society, has lived in the borough for more than 50 years. “It’s a microcosm of the entire country, with some of the richest and poorest pockets,” he said. “But I’ve never been tempted to move and when my wife Folly was alive nor was she. All our friends are here.
“We loved Cornwall and we went to the same Cornish village every year where we have lots of friends. But we could never have moved down there.”
Mr Sherlock said that he normally felt quite safe walking the streets at night. “A woman friend of mine who I offered to escort from my house to Highbury and Islington station said: ‘No, thank you. If I can’t walk to the station on my own at night then civilisation has come to an end.’”
Alf Caretta, 90, lead singer with pensioner pop band The Zimmers, has lived on a council estate off Holloway Road all his life.
He said: “I like the mix of shops. I feel fairly safe on the streets although I don’t go out in the evening. My favourite place was, of course, the Mecca bingo hall in Essex Road until they closed it down. The Holloway Road has been transformed by the wonderful hanging baskets.”
Transport journalist Christian Wolmar said one of the great things about Islington is that it is close to all the mainline stations. “So, when you want to go on a cheap day or weekend return, Euston, King’s Cross and soon the magnificent new St Pancras station are only a cycle ride away.”
Islington Council’s deputy leader Lib Dem councillor Terry Stacy, who represents Highbury East, said: “Well, we were the fifth-worst place last year so we’ve improved two places.
“I don’t believe statistics. Most of us who live here know that Islington is definitely not as bad as it is painted in this survey.
“They are looking at government statistics rather than the Islington we know and love.” He enjoys a walk through his ward that takes in Highbury Fields and Highbury Barn.
“We’re pumping £25 million into the Tollington estate, and millions are going into the Market estate,” he said,
He admitted crime was a big problem, but added that the council is working with police and hopes to improve that situation.
“If it is such a terrible place why does everyone want to live here? Even people who buy council properties and sell them on make a small fortune,” he added.
For Lib Dem executive member for environment Councillor Lucy Watt it was the people that made the borough different. “Islington has a population with a rich diversity, from all walks of life,” she said. “It’s a brilliant place to live.” |
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