Laycock community plan

Caledonian Estate Basketball Court Renewal

Approximate Cost: TBC

This project would renew the basketball court at Caledonian Estate. The basketball court is currently is in a poor state. It is currently inaccessible and underused. The proposal would explore options to refurbish the court to bring it back into use, or to repurpose the space into a community garden.

Secure Estate Cycle Storage

Approximate Cost: TBC

This project would deliver bike hangers at Adam’s Place Estate and Starliner Court. It will help residents to store cycles safely, rather than taking up space inside properties or being left in communal areas of buildings, where they can undermine fire safety requirements. The availability of secure cycle storage will also encourage more cycle use, with personal, environmental, health and economic benefits.

Environmental Improvements at Starliner Court

Approximate Cost: TBC

This project would provide environmental improvements to the outdoor amenity space at Starliner Court. Improvements may include landscaping works, installation of wooden planters for community growing projects, installation of seating/and or picnic benches, as well as updating the existing play equipment. These works will improve the public realm, increasing residents’ amenity and increasing play opportunities for children. 

Gardening Project at Centurion Close

Approximate Cost: TBC

This project aims to build on the existing planting activities undertaken by residents of Centurion Close. It would provide soil, plants, gardening equipment and an outdoor water source to enable residents to continue with their community gardening activities. The project will also explore options to bring the underused hardstanding area back into use.

Environmental Improvements at Papworth Gardens 

Approximate Cost: TBC

This project would provide environmental improvements to the outdoor amenity space at Papworth Gardens. Improvements may include landscaping works, installation of wooden planters for community growing projects, and the installation of seating/and or picnic benches.

Addressing Antisocial Behaviour on Westbourne Estate

Approximate Cost: TBC

This project would explore options to address antisocial behaviour on the estate through working with residents.

Environmental Improvements at Caledonian Estate

Approximate Cost: TBC

This project would provide environmental improvements to the outdoor amenity space at Caledonian Estate. Improvements may include landscaping works, installation of wooden planters for community growing projects, and the installation of seating/and or picnic benches.

Door Entry System at Adam’s Place Estate

Approximate Cost: TBC

This project would install a door entry system at Adam’s Place Estate. Residents of the estate currently have to leave their flats and manually open the main entrance doors for visitors and deliveries. Installation of a door entry system would improve accessibility and deliver an improved sense of security for residents.

Environmental Improvements on Mersey Estate

Approximate Cost: TBC

This project would provide environmental improvements to the outdoor amenity space at Mersey Estate. Improvements may include landscaping works, installation of wooden planters for community growing projects, installation of seating/and or picnic benches, as well as updating the existing play equipment. Options to address antisocial behaviour on the estate will also be explored. These works will improve the public realm, increasing residents’ amenity and increasing play opportunities for children.

New Building at Martin Luther King Adventure Playground

• S106 (£175,000)

The project will replace the existing, ageing building with a fit for purpose, wind- and water-tight building that will blend into the adventure playground, park and proposed home zone entrance to Paradise Park. The works include the demolition and removal of the current building in favour of an ecological/economical building. Priorities include increasing the amount of outdoor play space to accommodate increasing numbers of children attending both in term time and during school holidays.

Paradise Park - Installation of Water Bottle Filling Station

• Local CIL (£4,860)

This project will install a new water fountain near to the ball court in Paradise Park.

Paradise Park Toilets and Park Keepers Facility

• Local CIL (£2,000)

This project will explore options to develop public toilets and a new park keepers’ facility in Paradise Park. The scheme would consider the provision of separate facilities for children and families using the park and users of the football pitch. 

Herb Garden at Laycock Green

• Local CIL (£3,542)

This project will develop a herb garden at Laycock Green with a variety of perennial herbs including rosemary, sage and lemon balm.

Martin Luther King Adventure Playground - Swing

• Local CIL (£5,093)

This project will involve building a ‘tango’ swing for the children who attend Martin Luther King Adventure Playground. The swing will allow two children at a time to swing together enabling the most potential for children to create games on. Staff will do the heavy lifting part of the build whilst children are off site, but children will be able to participate in building the platform for swing and learn how to use tools under the supervision of playworkers.

Martin Luther King Adventure Playground - Urban Garden

• Local CIL (£2,340)

This project will involve building a ‘tango’ swing for the children who attend Martin Luther King Adventure Playground. The swing will allow two children at a time to swing together enabling the most potential for children to create games on. Staff will do the heavy lifting part of the build whilst children are off site, but children will be able to participate in building the platform for swing and learn how to use tools under the supervision of playworkers.

Freightliners City Farm

• Local CIL (£10,000)

This project involves providing support to Freightliners City Farm. The farm is a small community farm with animals and a garden which enables residents to take part in farming and gardening activities. It is an open access space which is free at the point of entry supported by donations, grants and income from farm products and services.

Light Project Pro International

• Local CIL (£30,000)

Light Project Pro International is an educational charity based in Islington aims to improve the educational opportunities of local communities, particularly people who are at risk of being socially marginalised. This project will provide financial support to increase management capacity at the centre. 

Westbourne Early Years Centre - Metal Gate and Signage

• S106 (£5,000) 

This project will assess and replace the metal gate and signage at the front of Westboune Children's Centre. Replacement of the metal gate will improve the appearance of the centre, making it more inviting for parents and children visiting. The existing signage will be moved to a lower, eye level point so it is clear to visitors and passers-by, to make wayfinding clearer.

Haslam Close Lighting and Estate Improvements

• Local CIL (£56,000)

This project will upgrade the lighting at Haslam Close Estate with LED lights to create a safer public realm at night. It will also explore options to deliver environmental improvements through planting and landscaping activities in the green spaces on the estate. 

Arundel Square Playground

• S106 (£20,239)
• Local CIL (£54,761)

This project replaced and improved the playground at Arundel Square which was in desperate need of renewal. Refurbishment of the playground has improved the public realm, increasing amenity and providing a wider range of outdoor play opportunities for children in the area, especially younger children.

New Equipment for Islington Boccia Group

• Local CIL (£1,200)

This project funded new equipment for Islington Boccia Group based at the Ringcross Community Centre. Boccia is a Paralympic sport which involves athletes throwing, kicking or using a ramp to propel a ball onto the court with the aim of getting closest to a ‘jack’ ball. It is designed specifically for athletes with a disability affecting locomotor function. Islington Boccia Group have adapted the game to also include learning difficulties, sensory difficulties and complex needs athletes The new equipment will allow the group to improve their training and playing skills, enabling them to enter regional Boccia Competitions representing Islington.

Outdoor Gym at Laycock Green

• S106 (£35,300)

This project installed an outdoor gym at Laycock Green. The outdoor gym consists of various pieces of equipment for use by the public, as well as appropriate safety surfacing and a bench and a bin. The scheme aims to help boost the health and wellbeing of local residents, both physically and mentally, by providing a free and accessible way to exercise. The project was completed in July 2022.

Paradise Park - Football Pitch

• S106 (£90,000)

This project involves replacing the existing worn-out artificial turf at Paradise Park with new artificial turf including associated line markings.

Haslam Close Multi-Use Games Area Refurbishment

• S106 (£60,000)

The scheme delivered improvements to the multi-use games area including a new fence, new surface and associated line markings, new multi-use goal ends, and new entrance works. The ball court was previously in a state of disrepair and unsafe with broken fencing. The project was completed in 2020.

New Entrance at Canonbury Primary School

• Local CIL (£34,960)
• S106 (£65,040)

This project has created a new pedestrian entrance at Canonbury Primary School. The project aims to increase road safety and reduce exposure to pollution by moving the entrance away from Canonbury Road. The addition of the entrance has provided a safe space for parents to wait, away from the road, at the start and the end of the day. This has greatly assisted with road safety concerns, and reduced the length of time children stand next to stationery traffic.

Canonbury Primary School Improvements

• S106 (£171,751)

The project will improve the educational facilities at Canonbury Primary School, providing improved facilities for physical education and sports. This includes a new multi-use games area with changing and toilet facilities, which should increase community use of the facilities.

Paradise Park Children’s Centre - Sun Shade

• S106 (£5,000) 

This project involved installing a sun shade in the children’s play area which will provide a safe space to play during the summer months, maximising time spent outside and providing much needed shade for when the children are sleeping.

Westbourne Children’s Centre

• Local CIL (£23,891)

This scheme replaced the whole of the outdoor flooring, replacing it with a soft safety surface across the whole area. The scheme also replaced the older plastic play equipment with a natural wooden play tower. The outside area is now aesthetically pleasing and safer for children and has received positive feedback from residents and parents. The project was completed in 2019.

Laycock Primary School Playground

• S106 (£45,000)

This scheme delivered resurfacing of the playground, provision of new 'ghost train' and play equipment with safety surface and line markings for sports. In addition, a quiet zone for non-sports play was created.

Installation of New Bins at Laycock Green

• Local CIL (£5,690)

This project funded the installation of new bins in Laycock Green. The new bins have greater capacity and will prevent the overflow of rubbish, improving the appearance and amenity of the park.

Paradise Park - Installation of Automatically Closing Easy Gate

• Local CIL (£2,300)

This project involved installing a new automatically closing gate at the entrance to Paradise Park on Mackenzie Road. The entrance is located near to Paradise Park Children’s Centre. The new gate will improve safety by preventing the gate from being left open.

Compton Terrace Gardens

• S106 (£130,498)

This scheme restored the perimeter walls of Compton Terrace Gardens and reinstated the gardener's hut. All walls were re-filleted, top coping stones were repaired and replaced, and where needed, all brickwork was cleaned. All railings were also re-painted and any missing railing heads were replaced. The project was completed in 2019.

Prospex Youth Club - Kitchen Refurbishment

• Local CIL (£15,179)

This project funded a much-needed upgrade to the kitchen at Prospex Youth Centre on the Ringcross Estate. The project has refurbished the kitchen so that it meets professional standards. It has enabled the organisation to tackle food inequality by providing healthy and nutritious food to all of the young people attending Prospex Youth Centre. Young people also have opportunities to try new foods, learn to cook healthy meals, and understand the importance of good nutrition on both physical and mental health.

Prospex Youth Club - Tech Hub

• Local CIL (£33,000)

This scheme involved funding a tech hub which aims to address the technological divide by inspiring disadvantaged young people aged 8-21 years to access the same technology opportunities as their peers. The hub provides access to equipment as well as radio, photography, video and podcast-making training to young people in the area.

Job Perks Club

• Local CIL (£4,000)

The scheme benefitted young people, families, and the BAME Communities by providing them with training and apprenticeships as well as therapy and mentoring sessions to support their wellbeing and career development. The scheme also improved young people's IT skills and their access to IT facilities by providing the participants with access to Ringcross Centre's IT lab.

Freightliners Farm

• S106 (£22,487)

The works delivered through the scheme included the renovation of paving, decking and access to public areas of garden, renovation of reed bed water habitat, hard landscaping works, as we as the barn/classroom improvements.

Ringcross Community Centre Foodbank

• S106 (£30,000)

This scheme converted an old garage into a food storage space; built another cabin to help with preparing and service of food; and renovated the kitchen. A new database and monitoring system for the foodbank was also introduced.

New River College Multi Use Games Area - Lough Road

• Local CIL (£25,000)
• S106 (£50,000)

The project delivered improvements to the play space and sports provision adjacent to Lough Road Pupil Referral Unit, for supervised use by students at the college during operational hours, and for the general public at other times.

Paradise Park Children's Centre - Café

• Local CIL (£16,524)
• S106 (£18,475)

The project involved setting up a café-children’s centre providing early childhood services to the most vulnerable families. The centre runs programmes focused on wellbeing as well as campaigns and activities preventing obesity and oral health decay.

Papworth Gardens

• S106 (£20,000)

The project involved replacing the sport/play equipment and food growing area.

Pedestrian Crossing on Cottage Road

• S106 (£40,000)

This project delivered a pedestrian zebra crossing on the Cottage Road and Caledonian Road junction at the Waste and Recycling Centre. The purpose of the proposal was to create a safer crossing and more visibility for pedestrians crossing from Cottage Road to Caledonian Road, particularly for those with push chairs and mobility scooters. It also includeded measures to calm traffic and reduce vehicle speeds. 

Highbury Station Road Footway Works

The scheme delivered footway improvements particularly on the railway side which was in poor condition and carriageway resurfacing for ease of movement for cyclists and all vehicles.

Mersey Estate Football Pitch

• Local CIL (£11,083)
• S106 (£70,305)

This scheme involved a feasibility survey which was undertaken to ascertain the full condition of the boundary wall between the football pitch and the Mersey Estate. This survey has been used to develop a scheme for the removal of the side brick wall and its reinstatement with ball pitch rebound railings, and the replacement of the existing metal fence with more robust fencing.

Caledonian Estate Improvements

• Local CIL (£67,000)

The scheme involved the upgrading of the central space on Caledonian Estate. The project delivered improvements to the children’s play areas and improvements to the estate’s frontage. These works improved the public realm, increasing residential amenity and delivering enhanced play opportunities for children on the estate. The project was completed in 2019. 

Westbourne Estate

• Local CIL (£80,000)

The project provided food-growing equipment, fence improvements, the laying of new tarmac and paving. In addition to the provision of sports play equipment.

Caledonian Estate Secure Cycle Parking

• Local CIL (£7,810)

The project created new cycle parking facilities on the Caledonian Estate. The work involved the installation of a medium sized shelter and the conversion of a garage, which allowed for the secure storage of bikes. The project will help support the growth of cycling in the borough.