'Scruffy' square set for £30m facelift
 | | How Arundel Square will look from new flats |
AS garden squares go, Arundel Square has always been seen by many as the poor relation.
While nearby enclaves such as Gibson Square and Thornhill Square epitomise the genteel glory of Barnsbury, Arundel Square does not.
 | | Jo Fried |
Situated on the furthest edge of the area (so much so that some say it is actually in Holloway), with a railway line running through its garden and an old bus depot where its fourth side should have been (the original builders ran out of money), it was a sorry example of Islington architecture.
But now, 150 years after the Victorian square was first built, it is finally getting its fourth side. A £30million development of 144 apartments has been erected where the bus depot used to be.
And the gardens at the centre of the square are getting a facelift - with the London Overground railway line finally being concreted over and becoming part of the green space.
Claire March of developer Londonewcastle, which has built the flats with fellow developer United House, said: "The square was very scruffy and the whole mood was quite grim. In fact, it was never really a square - it didn't have a fourth side and it had this railway running through.
"But our flats are finally going to complete the square - and the garden is going to be one-third larger. Arundel Square should definitely be seen as part of Barnsbury now."
The modern six-storey building, with coloured balconies overlooking the square and a living wall at the back, is a far cry from the Victorian terraces on the other sides of the square.
But Mrs March believes the design by Islington architects Pollard Thomas Edwards is going down a storm with neighbours. "It's both sympathetic and fun," she said. "You have the coloured balconies - but you still have the stone facade."
Some neighbours agree. Retired local government officer Brian Oatley has watched the development with interest since moving into the square two years ago - and he approves.
"I quite like the new development," said Mr Oatley, who is particularly looking forward to the revamped garden. "It fits in with the rest of the square in terms of size and the style is OK. It's much better than having a pastiche of some 19th century building, which would have been ridiculous."
But not everyone is on the same wavelength. Training consultant Patrick Gallagher, 60, another Arundel Square resident, would prefer the building not to be there. "I just don't think that the apartments are in keeping with the rest of the square," he said. "I would have liked to have seen something less modern. It looks a bit like a Lego house to me."
So far about 25 of the 115 private apartments, which range from a £285,000 studio to a £1.5million three-bedroom penthouse, have been sold - but the rest are still on the market. Also for sale are underground car parking spaces, albeit for the hefty price tag of £20,000-plus. So far the only people who have moved in are the tenants of the development's 29 social housing apartments. And they love it.
Mum-of-one Amina Lawall, 34, had lived in temporary housing for six years before she finally got her first-floor flat - from where she can survey the whole of Arundel Square.
"It's so refreshing not to be stuck in a council estate with a grim view," she said. "Here I can look outside and see what will be a beautiful park. And it's also refreshing to be living among middle class people. You don't have the same problems with anti-social behaviour or yobs or gangs. It's really very nice."
Mum's fears for new play area
THE soon-to-be revamped park at the heart of Arundel Square will not have a big enough play area - according to one band of angry mums.
Hundreds of thousands of pounds is being spent on what has long been one of Islington's scruffiest open spaces.The tatty huts will be pulled down, the grassed areas will be transformed with new plants, and the decrepit play equipment will be replaced.
But the children's play area will remain at about the same size and the ball court will be smaller - even though the size of the park as a whole is increasing by a third. That is not good enough, say the mums of Arundel Square.
Jo Fried, who takes her four-year-old son to the play area, said: "The size of the gardens is increasing but the size of the play area is not going to increase at all. It's basically going to stay the same. But it's massively used - in fact it's the only part of the gardens that is used. It should be made bigger and it should get more investment."
Rhea Murray, 21, who lives in a studio apartment with a one-year-old son, a dog and eight puppies, agreed. She said: "The play area is falling apart. I had my son's first birthday there a couple of months ago and five children hurt themselves because of the equipment. It desperately needs work. But it's also really well used - and needs to be bigger."
Islington Council insists the park as a whole will be a great improvement. The new children's area will include a "miniature grass landscape" as well as kit such as a play tower and a suspension bridge, while the ball court will cater for sports such as basketball. Councillor Ruth Polling, Islington Council's executive member for leisure, said: "The new playground will be an exciting landscape designed specifically with young children in mind.
"The enclosed play area for younger children is about the same size as the old playground but will have significantly less tarmac and more playable space. 85 per cent of people liked its size and location at the January 2009 consultation.
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