Kings Cross Local Environment

Is Kings Cross station tannoy annoying you?

The tannoy from King's Cross station seems to have escaped beyond the platforms in recent days according to local resident Chris.  Has anyone else noticed platform announcements outside the station? Let us know in the comments and i'll see if Network Rail can fix it. Chris says:

'It's difficult to pinpoint where it's coming from. I'm on Battlebridge Basin, on the other side of King's Place (New Wharf Rd), and for the last week the sound of tannoys has been emanating very loudly from KX station, but I don't know the difference between the platforms.

'Normally, you can't hear the tannoys at all, but the volume has changed during the day - it doesn't seem to be at night. I wondered if they were testing a new system, or if a wall had been removed. I work at home and will try to work out exactly where it's coming from.'

The Cally is calm

Councillor Paul Convery has written about the Cally Road over on his blog.

'On the Cally, local councillors have been visiting businesses after shopkeepers closed-up early yesterday evening on fears of further trouble. Cllr Paul Convery said “I’m glad there has been no repeat of Sunday’s minor disturbance when one shop on the Cally was raided by youths and alcohol stolen. Shopkeepers are naturally worried but we all need to remain calm. The Council is doing business as normal, waste collections, street sweeping and all other public services are operating as usual.”

'On Sunday night, there had been minor attacks on shops in the Caledonian Road and Holloway Road and reports of aggressive behaviour by gangs of teenagers around the Angel.

'Overnight the police have reassured residents and shopkeepers that Safer Neighbourhood teams are out patrolling as usual and rapid response teams will be also out patrolling and responding to calls from the public. Police reinforcements have been brought-in from outside London so that local police teams are not drawn away from their home patch if further major incidents occur.'

The Breakfast Club

One of the later opening bars in King’s Cross, the Big Chill House has kicked off its fifth birthday celebrations with the introduction of breakfast.

 

Last week I went to test drive how a nightclub does breakfast. I should add that it was on the house, but the following is written freely.

 

The Big Chill has also had a makeover inside and out. Walking through the red velvet-curtained entrance, fortunately retained, I find it’s out with the festival namesake plastic grass, chandeliers and stuffed animals and in with ‘old school’ (literally). Vintage plywood desks and  chairs and a rainbow of anglepoise lamps are set against dark shades of blue and green and contrasting doodlings on the walls. I make a beeline for the desk that runs along the big light-filled windows. Sit up straight.

 

The 3-storey club appears to want a piece of the King’s Cross weekday breakfast meeting action (8am), which nearby 6 St Chad’s Place has been doing for some years. However unlike St Chad’s, it also does weekends (from 11am) — an appealing prospect for this late-rising local.

 

The menu’s pleasingly comprehensive, and neither greasy spoon nor gastro. Bottomless filter coffee with some of the cooked breakfasts (of which there are six to choose) says ‘diner’.

 

At the bar I order a vegetarian full English for myself and the same for my companion, one scrambled, one poached. Although it’s what I would have anyway, the quality of the scrambled eggs and veggie options are a good test of a kitchen’s mettle. The scramble is nice and rich, aided by lashings of butter, but that’s no bad thing. A colourfully presented plate with roasted tomatoes, bright orange cheesy baked beans, mushrooms, grilled mixed peppers and toasted muffins. Maybe I’m just a carb fiend — but the otherwise good spread screams out for some hash browns or maybe a bit of that delicious-sounding rösti elsewhere on the menu, especially at £7.50.

 

If you want something lighter, there’s all the continental bits and bobs; a la toast or cereal. But oh the pastries, hope they can find a decent supplier soon, easier said than done. The waiter admits the croissants are from Tesco. Explains why I found mine inedible, therefore better left off the menu for now. However full marks for a cappuccino that ticked all the Fairtrade and organic boxes and was well-enough made — good value for £1.60.

 

If, like me, watching transport and people is your thing, the window seating gives you unparalleled views of buses hurtling down Pentonville Road and the occasional sidewalk fruit: a girl walks past like a minor Lady Gaga, decked out in purple and white (including her hair) and thigh-high platforms.

Add some wifi and a nice pile of fat, still unwrapped weekend newspapers, and King’s Cross may well have gained another great breakfast bolthole.

 

Clare Hill

Kings Cross Licensing Policy

 

We've covered a few issues around licensed premises in Kings Cross in recent weeks.  I raised this with Cllr Paul Convery who has helpfully pointed me to the new licensing policy for Kings Cross, recognising the increase in applications.  The extract from the policy document is below.  If readers wish to object to the applications they they should at least insist that licensees, if granted follow the conditions in 77 below (from page 51 of the document).

KING’S CROSS 

71. King’s Cross has undergone some radical changes in recent years. For example the new Regent Quarter development, has seen the refurbishment of the old Georgian and Victorian buildings opposite King’s Cross Station, combined with new modern buildings, to create a mixed use development of residential and commercial units. Further north, along York Way, is the newly built King’s Place, a several story building housing exhibition space, dining facilities, performance space, offices and conference facilities. 

72. King’s Cross is continuing to undergo one of the largest and most complex programmes of planning and development led regeneration in Europe. There are a number of major projects currently underway, or at the planning stages. By 2020, an estimated 60 million passengers a year will pass through the King's Cross transport interchange, almost the same current passenger numbers as at Heathrow airport. There are two areas in the King’s Cross Central development, called the Main site and the Triangle site: the main site, which is in the London Borough of Camden, and the Triangle site, which falls in both Camden and Islington boroughs. 

73. These recent, as well as the proposed developments in the area, have already led to an increase in the numbers of licence applications. In the two years proceeding July 2008 there were 15 applications for new premises licences in Caledonian Ward. It is anticipated that this trend will increase. 

74. The Licensing Authority has already seen an increase in representations lodged by local residents and Ward Councillors citing problems with cumulative impact issues such as noise disturbance, drunken fights and crime due to intoxicated persons in the area. 

75. Furthermore, the area is regularly used by football fans on route to or from the Emirates Stadium. While it is recognised that the overwhelming majority of fans are well behaved, a small minority are associated with problems of public nuisance and crime and disorder. The Licensing Authority has received complaints concerning antisocial behaviour such as littering, noise nuisance, fighting, vandalism and obstruction of the public highway arising from football fans visiting the licensed premises in the area. 

76. The Council adopted a Designated Public Place Order, or controlled drinking zone, for the King’s Cross area of Islington, in June 2010. The order gives the Police powers to confiscate alcohol from people drinking in public. It is not an offence to consume alcohol within the designated area, however failure to cease drinking and or surrender alcohol on request by a police officer is.

77. As with the Angel, in order to reduce the potential negative impacts of increasing development on the licensing objectives, applicants must demonstrate detailed consideration of the need to promote the licensing objectives in their operating schedules. Where appropriate, operating schedules should show evidence of the consideration of:

steps to prevent crime and disorder emanating from the premises and escalating in the area;

steps applicants intend to take to educate their customers and prevent public nuisance arising from illegally dumped waste and litter, and prevent the use of alleyways, street corners, and open pavements in the vicinity of their premises as urinals;

how applicants intend, through the provision of licensed door staff, to assist in the control of illegal minicab touting which is associated with the serious crimes of abduction, rape and other sexual assaults and is becoming an issue of growing concern for the police;

applicants' intention to be active members of the pub watch, or shop watch schemes operating in this area;

a regard for the nature of the area and provision of premises that will be welcomed by the wider community;

where premises are used for the reception of football fans, the steps the applicant intends to take to minimise the potential negative impacts caused by the congregation of large groups of people, such as litter, noise nuisance and obstruction of the highway.;

the applicant’s intention to adopt the Licensees’ Charter. 

 

 

Burrito Cafe 10 Caledonian Road - 4AM dancing and 3AM live music?!

There's a bizarre application in for dancing, music, films, food, drink service until 0400 at this tiny soon to be fast food joint.  It seems to be a classic case of tick all the boxes and see what you get, with no thought for the local community.

The site used to be Tony's Hemp Corner.  I hope what appear to be facade alterations comply with the local heritage scheme.

The fast food chicken shop next door has a licence for food service until 0200, and trades responsibly as far as I can tell.

Albert Beale has raised this with me.  He says:

'What's proposed for No 10 seems to me to be more what you'd expect in Soho,
or - at most - on the main road immediately by the station.'

My general view (I own a flat about 100 metres away) is there there should be no trading past 0200 on the bottom of the Cally.  This premisis appears unsuitable for anything other than basic food service.  You have to question the common sense of someone applying for a licence to show films, have dancing, amplified and live music and serve alcohol in this tiny space.  I have now been able to assemble the documents and get the details of the applicant.  The application (which may have been amended slightly,but the applicant hasn't told me how) is to

permit the premises to sell alcohol, both on and off sales from Monday to Sunday 08:00 – 05:00
allow the provision of films, Monday to Sunday, 00:00 – 24:00
allow the provision of live music, from Monday to Sunday, 08:00 – 03:00
allow the provision of recorded music, from Monday to Sunday 00:00 – 24:00
allow the provision of performances of dance, from Monday to Sunday 08:00 – 04:00
allow the provision of anything of a similar description to live music, recorded music, or performance of dance, Monday to Sunday 00:00 – 24:00
allow the provision of facilities for dancing, from Monday to Sunday 08:00 – 04:00
allow the provision of facilities for entertainment of a similar description to those provided for making music of dancing, Monday to Sunday 08:00 – 04:00
allow the provision of late night refreshment,  23:00 – 05:00

The Burrito Cafe applicant Richard Walker says:

'My phone number is 07779 613 698.

'We've been discussing the application with the Police, Licensing and other responsible authorities for the last two weeks and have made a number of changes to the application.

'Would you be around to have a chat in person?

'The best email to get me on is [email protected]. Also please feel free to pass my number and contact details to your readers and committee.

Warm regards, Richard'

If you want to comment I'd strongly advise following the basic licensing criteria - try to fit your comments under the following headings:

The prevention of crime and disorder
The prevention of nuisance
Public safety
The protection of children from harm

Comments must be submitted in writing including by email to [email protected] by 12 August 2011  or on paper to

The Licensing Support Team
Public Protection
222 Upper Street
London  N1 1XR

Openings, closures and maybes

Here's a quick roundup of some shopfitting and shop-stripping around King's Cross:

Acorn House, the restaurant run by the Shoreditch Trust at 200 Gray's Inn Road, has CLOSED down and been combined with its sister restaurant, the Waterhouse in Shoreditch. The restaurant promoted itself as 'London's first eco-friendly training restaurant''. The reason for the move given is that the premises is being redeveloped.

Alcohol LICENCE APPLICATION for 94-96 Cromer Street (cnr Whidborne Street). This is currently a corner food shop. It wants to sell alchohol daily, with hours 8am to 8pm Monday to Saturday and until 3pm on Sunday. Concerned? The deadline to register objections is very soon: 4 August. The application is here.

Burrito Café — OPENING sometime soon (was supposed to be 28 July) on the site of Tony's Hemp Corner: 10 Caledonian Road. It doesn't appear to be part of a chain, at least I can't find anything else with quite the same name. As for burritos themselves, they're everywhere at the moment. The new kebab?

96 Caledonian Road (or thereabouts) — not sure what makes this section of the Cally such a magnet for money-sending shops, but here's a new one OPENING up, alongside other similar shops past and present. It's a 'Thai' one.

343 Gray's Inn Road, the site of the recently CLOSED KFC, is busily being stripped back to bare brick and refitted. I'm finding out what it's being reborn as and will report back.

Know of any others?

Clare Hill

The end of gasholder 8 (for the present)

Angela Inglis has completed her series of pictures of the gasholder being dismantled at the King's Cross Development Forum site. Her memorial picture of the poppies is taken from the gasholder site, too.

Kings Cross Square public art - a fifth plinth?

 Public art is always controversial.  Try and please all of the people all of the time and you end up with the dreadful ‘Kiss’ sculpture in St Pancras the chicken tikka masala of art.  The permanence of public art means you bequeath generations with for instance statues of dead generals.  Kings Cross itself is actually named after a dreadful piece of public art – a widely ridiculed moument to King George IV that was pulled down to some popular acclaim:

'..a very uncomplimentary effigy of majesty; even the very cab-men grew critical; the watermen (aquarii) jeered; and the omnibus drivers ridiculed royalty in so parlous a state, at length the statue was removed in toto, or rather by piecemeal.' Illustrated London News 1845

We have some great bits of public art in Kings Cross such as the splendid typography of Edward Square, the Murals in Thornhill Bridge Community Gardens.  Some hoped that the refurbishment of Kings Cross Square in front of the station would allow for an iconic piece.  I would like something striking and modern – an angel of the north perhaps.  But the people who love the Kiss at St Pancras would want a 100 ft bronze of a girl scratching her bum in a tennis outfit.  No one would be happy.  This is often why corporate public art is awful and inspired the corporate art destruction sequence in Fight Club.

Network Rail’s plans for the new square in front of Kings Cross are drab and unimaginative.  There’s a blame game going on with Camden planners.  Rumour circulates that a proposal for public art was turned down by planners.

So why not do something that is architecturally simple and uncontroversial and can accommodate a variety of tastes.  Why can’t Kings Cross Square have a ‘Fifth Plinth’ a simple stock brick plinth on which over the years changing pieces of public art can be installed.  Like the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square. The plinth could show art from the destinations that Kings Cross reaches – bring art from Grantham, Hull and Berwick on Tweed into London. It could be a beacon of the North perhaps.  The students from St Martins could have an annual slot.  It could be sponsored, competed etc.

Running costs could be kept down by Network Rail doing the public liability Insurance, CSM and the Guardian running the judging and selection process invovling local people and commuters.  CSM must have the skills for moving and locating art installations. And as each piece of art is temporary the art won’t need planning permission.All for the cost of a modest plinth made of reclaimed stock brick.

It would be a tiny fraction of Network Rails spend on Kings Cross refurbishment.  How about it? Let us know in the comments.

Railings redux

TfL has removed the 'pedestrian guard railings' at the confusing junction of Kings Cross Bridge, Pentonville Road and Caledonian Road.  The area looks nicer without them.  Here's a link to google street view with the railings.  As ever TfL's local consultation is a bit primitive.  There's been a long debate about whether crossings are safer with or without railings and Civic Voice produced a handy pamhplet.  I'd love to see much of Kings Cross become a giant pedestrian scramble like Oxford Circus - where all traffic stops at once and you can cross how you like in safety.  Removing the railings is probably for the good here. But TfL needs to live up to its responsibilities, get a proper grip on the road crossings in Kings Cross and put pedestrians first.

KX Square stop press!!!

Word on the street is that the miserable design for the new square between Pancras Road, Euston Road and York Way is not the responsibility of Network Rail after all... It is said that LB Camden planners advised Network Rail that they could not build any new structures, could not have any planting except for the proposed four trees, refused permission to site a Henry Moore sculpture there, could not have a water feature of any kind... in fact could not do anything except tear down the existing concourse, retain the existing two ventilation shafts and tube entrance and otherwise pave everything.

Anyone looking at the Network Rail model should bear in mind that the trees on Euston Road and Pancras Road don't actually exist and as far as we can tell there are no plans to plant them. They are, In Network Rail's words, artistic license". The one existing tree in that space appears to be set for the chop. Also, bear in mind the huge space we are talking about - not just the pavement you can see. The new square will cover everything right back to the original station front - including all that currently internal stuff like the shops, ticket office and departure boards.

So what to do? There are voices out there calling for a campaign to pressure LB Camden to reverse their current advice and let Network Rail build a really imaginative square.

If you live in Camden, contact your local councillors asap and tell them not to accept this current design.

If you are interested in campaigning on this issue email here. We'll keep a list of email addresses and circulate a mailing list to emailers once it becomes a practical size.