The area around Finsbury Park station needs more small shops and businesses to make it safer, according to a team working on proposals for the area.

Design codes, which would help guide future planning applications, are in the works for Finsbury Park Station Quarter. 

Finsbury Park and Stroud Green Neighbourhood Forum is among 25 UK participants, selected by the Department for Levelling Up, Homes and Communities, to develop design codes.

Imagine Places founder Angela Koch, who has been commissioned by the neighbourhood forum to co-design the design code, said a priority for the area is ensuring that the ground floor space of taller buildings is used optimally.

She said this can be done by using the ground floor to serve many smaller independent shops rather than just a few large ones.

“If you have 100m, you want 12 or 15 doors," she said.

Angela added that this would increase safety as more services would be open at different times. There would be “eyes on the street but also people sitting around enjoying themselves”.

She said: “Finsbury Park during the day is not great - but at night it is unacceptable.”

Safety around Finsbury Park Station Quarter is a concern for many.

A public meeting, hosted by Imagine Places and the Neighbourhood Forum, discussed other aims for Finsbury Park Station Quarter, including reorganising the bus station and installing more green space for pedestrians.

Finsbury Park is included in the The London Plan as an area where housing development is desirable and the neighbourhood forum has received £30,000 from the Department for Levelling Up, Homes and Communities to develop the design code.

The design code is part of a larger neighbourhood plan for Finsbury Park. The plan requires further engagement from local residents and landowners and a local referendum in early 2024 will determine its implementation.

“Finsbury Park should not have little ambition," said Angela. "It’s a very, very important place.”