Wray Crescent needs you to act today

Our campaign is entering a critical phase.

This Friday (July 16) is the last opportunity to use Islington’s deeply flawed feedback process to raise objections to the current plans.

Islington is only asking three questions which it says will “help enhance the design and inform the building management plan that will be drafted as part of the planning application.”

As you can see the process offers no opportunity at all to comment on the overall plan, or raise issues on the fact the current proposal gives no opportunity to the community to respond to that. It is not a consultation and pays no respect to the people who live here.

Please act today

We urge you, please, to write to Islington, answer their questions, and take the chance to say something like:

• We believe this proposal does not reflect local need.
• We believe this is a lost opportunity to do something great, and hands over valuable public space to a small number of people, and not to the community.
• We note that there has been no attempt made to consult with the local community.
• The community space is utterly unfit for purpose.
• We believe this plan is not fit for purpose.
• We urge the council to go back to the drawing board and propose a true multi-purpose building that addresses real local needs, not just cricket.

And add every other criticism you have for Islington’s dreadful plan.

You can answer the questions on Islington’s form, which you can access here.

You can also write to Islington Council at the following email address

wraycrescentparkbuilding@islington.gov.uk

Please tell the politicians how we feel

Please also write to the following people:

• Email Jeremy Corbyn: jeremy.corbyn.mp@parliament.uk
• Email Councillor Flora Williamson:  flora.williamson@islington.gov.uk
• Email Councillor Anjna Khurana: Anjna.Khurana@islington.gov.uk

There are more ideas for what you can do here.

Feel free to share the responses you receive with us as this will give us the opportunity to rebut claims which may not be accurate.

For example, we have learned at least one person claims Friends of Wray has been in consultation on this project since 2018. This is not the case. We attended one meeting in 2018, and as a small community group we don’t believe that should be construed as or responsibly described as “consultation”.

More action is coming

We will have much more activity ahead, but if you want to help us please write to the council, our councillors and our MP and say what you think.

To help, please read this letter published in the Islington Gazette, which says lots of things, and ends with the following statement:

“There has been no credible thought given to the complex needs of the wider community, other than branding a small, non-private space without a discreet entrance a “community room”, when one look at the plans tells you it is in fact the cricketers’ tearoom.

“The primary purpose of the plan focuses solely on the needs of a sport already amply supported within a 10-minute drive. 

“The plan fails in any meaningful sense to deliver a multi-purpose location for the benefit of multiple sports and community groups, nor does it attempt to provide infrastructure to support a community café, which is the most requested service wanted by park users. The Friends of Wray Crescent will continue to fight for an imaginative proposal that tries to meet the far more complex needs of the entire Tollington population. This plan does not even come close to that.”

Please join the Friends of Wray Crescent.