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The Rev Martyn Saunders with newsagent Mr Patel |
Islington news | Vicar | Rev Martyn Saunders | All Saints | Shops | Islington Council | church | Caledonian Road
Vicar: My church is thriving but who will save our shops?
A VICAR whose King’s Cross church is celebrating its 170th anniversary has called for a major new campaign to save local shops.
The Rev Martyn Saunders, of All Saints Caledonian Road, said that, while his church may have weathered the ravages of time, shops and firms in the area are under enormous threat.
Currently, 15 shop premises owned by Islington Council in the Caledonian Road area, including a popular butcher’s and a hairdresser, are being sold to the highest bidder to raise cash for the Town Hall.
Most small business owners cannot afford to buy their own premises, which are likely to be snapped up by a property developer. With rents then expected to triple under new owners, it is feared the shops will be forced to close.
Father-of-two Mr Saunders is urging the council to think again about selling off the properties, or at least to try to control future rents.
“These shops are the lifeblood of the community,” he said. “Once they’ve gone the Cally will just be a place you drive through.”
Mr Saunders added that it was sad that at a time when the church, built in 1838, was thriving with a 60-plus congregation – including at least 20 nationalities – shops were being forced to shut down.
“We’re gathering everyone who has ever had an association with the church to a big party on June 8,” he said. “But many shopkeepers in our community don’t know if they are going to be around for much longer.”
When Mr Saunders arrived at the church six years ago its area of King’s Cross was rife with prostitution and drug-taking.
“Thankfully, the area has been cleaned up by the police and there is a thriving community,” he said. “We have the new Guardian building opening up shortly at Kings Place. But people already are not shopping in the Cally. They are travelling to Upper Street, where there is a better choice. But the Cally used to have a wonderful array of shops.”
Butcher Peter Gardner remembers when his parade of shops was vibrant. Now Mr Gardner, 61, has a choice – buy his premises from the council or face the prospect of a developer acquiring the building and sending his rent soaring.
He is the sole butcher left from a team of three who once worked in the shop.
“Most of us are too old and too hard up to consider buying our own shops,” he said. “There are already many empty shops in the Cally and undoubtedly there will be more if this sale goes ahead.”
Men’s barber Cosmo Cornelio has had his shop in Caledonian Road, opposite Copenhagen Street, for 38 years. “I can’t afford to buy my property and I can’t afford a rent rise,” he said. “Trouble is, I can’t afford to retire either.”
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