Highbury Fields

Why is the council proposing a new café building and wildlife garden on Highbury Fields?

Parks have been key in supporting residents’ physical health, mental wellbeing, and social connections during the Covid-19 pandemic. The council is keen to build on this as part of its ambition to create a cleaner, greener, and healthier borough. In line with this, the planned improvements to the buildings on Highbury Fields will bring significant benefits to residents, park users, and the environment.

Several of the existing buildings on Highbury Fields, including the Oasis Café and Bandstand building, are in need of replacement. Structural reports carried out in 2016 and 2019 have deemed the Bandstand and Oasis Café buildings to be in poor condition and unsafe. They stated that repairs might not be successful in halting further deterioration and would not make it possible to meet today’s need.

The new building – including a café and toilet facilities – will be safe, accessible, and sustainable. The new wildlife garden and shelter will allow stay and play to continue on the park, offering a flexible and Covid-secure environment for children and families, with a range of opportunities for play, development and learning. The proposal would also allow us to achieve a net gain of 30.9m² of green space.

What has happened since the 2018 consultation?

After a public consultation took place in 2018, much work was done listening to stakeholder feedback and considering the project budget. As the council faced significant funding pressures due to central government funding cuts, and a lack of external funding, the decision was taken to pause the scheme in early 2019 until further funding could be allocated.

The council has now been able to allocate additional funding, and we have therefore been able to review the design brief and develop a revised plan. We have taken into account stakeholder feedback and the results of the 2018 consultation, in which residents favoured a single-building option.

How are you taking into account the heritage of the site?

Highbury Fields lies within the Highbury Fields Conservation Area but they do not contain listed buildings or a scheduled monument, and they are not a registered park nor garden. There are a number of listed buildings close to the park, and the lamp posts along Church Path are also locally listed. The relationship to these listed buildings and the impact of the proposals on the significance of their setting will be assessed as part of the planning application.

How are you taking into account environmental considerations?

Highbury Fields is a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation, especially because of trees and bats in the area. An updated tree survey was completed in September 2021 and was taken into account in developing the updated design proposals. The new bat surveys are scheduled to take place as soon as the bat surveying season starts in May and June 2022. They will also be taken into account before a planning application is submitted.

Our proposals also take into account the fact that the area is Metropolitan Open Land by reducing the footprint of the building and seeking to minimise adverse impacts on the openness of the land through appropriate building and landscape design.

The new building will utilise energy efficient technologies and sustainable drainage principles wherever possible.

Will there be a loss of views across the park due to the new, larger building?

Our updated designs propose building the new café building on the site of the existing café, rather than the west side of the café lawn as suggested in the 2018 consultation. In response to resident feedback, the building will also be smaller than initially proposed. Both of these factors will help to protect the existing views across the park.

The proposal suggests removing some of the trees to construct the new building. Why is this necessary? 

We may need to remove between two and four smaller trees immediately to the north of the existing café. Sharon Hosegood Associates Ltd completed an updated tree survey in September 2021, which surveyed 91 trees in the area and identified the four trees as being of low landscape value.

The council is committed to putting in place strong measures to offset the impact of any trees lost, for example by rewilding the area of the current park keeper’s cottage and improving overall biodiversity in the park. To this end, Sharon Hosegood Associates will carry out a full arboricultural survey, the results of which will be taken into account before a planning application is submitted, and Land Use Consultants will update the ecological survey initially carried out in 2017. We will also work with the local community and charity partners to develop landscaping plans for the wildlife garden.

Constructing the building on the site of the existing café, as per the new proposal, is the best option as it is less likely to harm trees than building it in alternative locations. This is because the root density beneath the existing building is likely to be lower than in other areas. In addition, the existing memorial trees would be retained.

Can the tennis courts be moved?

The tennis courts were refurbished by the Council in 2015, with some of the funding provided by the Lawn Tennis Association and the Football Foundation. If the tennis courts were moved this soon, the council would need to repay those funds. It has therefore been decided that the tennis courts cannot be moved at this time.

What is going to happen to the old park keeper's bungalow that is currently boarded off?

This building will be demolished as part of the project and the area will be returned to green space.

Where is the building going to be located?

The new building is going to be located on the site of the existing Oasis Café.

Why is the building not going to be in the location favoured by residents in the 2018 consultation?

While in 2018 the building was proposed to be on the west side of the café lawn, it has now become possible to offer a single building on the site of the existing café. This is because the building will be smaller than initial plans, reflecting a reduced budget and addressing resident concerns about the impact of a larger building.

There are a range of benefits to this new option, as it allows us to:

• protect the views across the Fields 
• maintain the existing play lawn opposite the café 
• achieve a net gain of 30.9m² of green space
• retain memorial trees and reduce the risk of harm to them
• reuse the existing space and below ground services connections.

How much footprint will the building take up? How much footprint will be returned to green space?

The new building will take up 166m². This means it will be approximately half the size of the building proposed in 2018. This addresses resident concerns about a potential loss of views or loss of green space caused by a larger building, and will allow us to achieve a net gain of 30.9m² of green space through the proposed improvements.

How will the proposed building be made accessible?

The new café building will be single storey and step free. It will also contain toilet facilities that better meet the needs of wheelchair and mobility vehicle users, and families. All of the five unisex public toilets will have baby changing facilities, and they will include one wheelchair accessible and one smaller disabled toilet.

In what way will the building be sustainable?

The building will utilise energy efficient technologies and sustainable drainage principles wherever possible. It will also be constructed with materials which are extracted, manufactured and transported in a way that emits low levels of CO₂.

What kind of café will there be?

The exact café offer will be determined by the future café operator. After receiving planning permission for the building, we will conduct a procurement process for an operator. We are working with the council’s Inclusive Economy Team to promote the opportunity to the Islington business community and residents. The tender process will seek to maximise social value from the tenders.

What is going to happen to the Oasis Café?

It has become necessary to demolish the building housing the Oasis Café due to its poor structural condition. The new building, which will include a café, will sit on its site.

We are in conversation with the current operator and will continue to be so throughout this project. There will be a tender process for the management of the café in due course and the council is committed to ensuring that this is fair for all.

Where will the wildlife garden be located? 

The wildlife garden will be located on the site of the existing Bandstand building. This building will be demolished as part of the project and the wildlife garden created within that area. The toddler play lawn opposite the Oasis Café will not be affected. There are no plans to build on this or remove this area.

Will there be children’s services provided on Highbury Fields?

Yes. The council is committed to ensuring that a range of services and activities will take place locally for children under 5 and their families. This will include stay and play sessions (previously provided on Highbury Fields by the One O’Clock Club), forest school, and Saturday groups. The new wildlife garden and shelter will be operated by Bright Start Islington in partnership with voluntary sector organisations such as The Garden Classroom.

What happened to the One O’Clock Club?

Due to the safety concerns around the Bandstand building, it was planned to move the services provided by the One O’Clock Club to a nearby building at Christ Church. Unfortunately, however, the One O’Clock Club stopped operating in December 2020.

After a review of the situation and the impact of Covid, it was decided to continue to provide children’s services at Highbury Fields under the leadership of Bright Start Islington, with a focus on delivering outdoor sessions that encourage children to engage with nature. The Bright Start team are currently working with the council’s Parks Service and voluntary sector partners to develop a programme of activity that will engage families with local wildlife, supporting wellbeing for all.

Will the wildlife garden be accessible to everyone?

The wildlife garden will not be open for public use. However, the programme will include a series of sessions that are open to the public, with a focus on providing activities for young people.

What will the wildlife garden look like?

As part of phase two of the project, we will seek to work with the community, and our charity partner The Garden Classroom, to develop the landscaping plans for the future wildlife garden. If you are interested in working with us on this, please let us know via the survey on this page.