The council has had a last-minute change of heart in a decision not to fund one of Islington’s oldest charities.

The Holloway Neighbourhood Group, at the Old Fire Station in Mayton Street, Holloway, was formed in 1974 and had been facing a complete cut to it’s �60,000 annual funding.

But after the decision was called in by the Liberal Democrat group, the charity, which provides community activities in the Finsbury Park ward, has been given almost �14,000 in transitional funding, bringing the total for the year to �37,525.

Terry Stacy, Lib Dem leader, said: “It’s a victory for the HNG and an acknowledgment of the excellent work they do and it is a victory for us in making the council see common sense.”

Cllr Paul Convery, executive member for planning, regeneration and transport, said: “This was never a case of ‘fund one group and cut another’. We were always committed to helping the HNG – it was always going to have money flowing to it, now it is flowing in a slightly different way.”