Golden Lane: November 2018

One of our Common Councillors, Hatfield House resident Sue Pearson, blew her top not long ago at a City Corporation planning meeting, accusing the assembled decision-makers of “trashing our wonderful estate”. Two weeks later, it might have looked like she had egg on her face when the same planning committee granted conservation area status to both the Barbican and Golden Lane estates. But as residents will tell you quickly, words mean little if not followed by deeds.

Councillor Pearson is not alone in her dim view of council attitudes towards our estate. Many residents complain not just of the material neglect shown to what is studied worldwide as important modernist architecture, but of the institutional failure to genuinely attach any cultural value to these boxy coloured buildings we call home.

It was councillor Pearson who one warm day in 2016 invited me to join a party of volunteers 16 storeys up on the top of Great Arthur House, where there is, unbeknown to many residents, a spectacular roof garden (with pond). The garden has been closed for many years, yet it is one of the most beautiful and distinguished parts of our estate, and remains criminally ignored and underused.

We had a job to do on that day because parts the garden's paving had become overgrown with weeds, so we set about our back-breaking work with little to sustain us other than the fabulous views of London in every direction. We finished with aching arms but the smug feeling of a job well done.

So I have some sympathy with councillor Pearson’s sentiments about our landlords. Residents would just like to get a sense that the City Corporation views its asset, our estate, with some pride.

It could be all be so different. In Barcelona, one of master architect Gaudí’s most celebrated buildings, Casa Milà (aka, La Pedrera), has a roof garden that has been properly secured and is scrupulously maintained, hosting regular summer evenings of light music.

Back on Golden Lane, a more enlightened approach can be seen unfolding behind the community centre. On her arrival as estate manager back in April, Michelle Warman took an instant shine to our fish pond, which sits in a peaceful sunken garden between Bowater House and Bayer House. The pond had fallen into a sorry state, but now it is a picture of nascent vitality. Fresh reed beds have been planted and a new aerating pump has replaced the old ugly one. The fish can once again breathe easily, free from choking slime. Their only problem is a hungry heron that has been spotted lurking on the roof of Bayer House, eyeing a feast below.

A picture of nascent vitality

It is some of the lesser used areas of the estate such as Great Arthur roof garden, the fish pond, the lawns and the open spaces that make Golden Lane so admired. But they’re also often the parts that come under the threat of development. That’s when councillor Pearson is likely to launch into another “trashing” fit.

Another example is the recent City Corporation decision to close the estate's management office and use the space to create new flats. Where the estate office will be re-located is a mystery. The City Corporation says it can move into the community centre, but nearly four months after the community centre officially opened after refurbishment, it is still not fit for wheelchair users. It's hard to argue against the creation of much-needed new homes, but in this case I’ll give it a go...

When the estate was first built, its administrative hub was deliberately put in a central, open and accessible place, on the ground floor of Great Arthur House. The present office fronts onto a paved plaza connecting it to the community centre. This plaza is where residents gather, bump into one another, swapping stories and information about activities and events. This space has been converted into a busy car park, and nattering residents are forced to step aside whenever a vehicle approaches.

Robbing the estate of its communal spaces is the kind of casual and careless “trashing” that councillor Pearson is trying to resist. Not long ago, she had a bad accident and simultaneously broke both of her arms. Yet still she soldiers on, often in the face of often ugly opposition. So when I say “more power to her elbow”, I mean it in more ways than one.

Update: Last month I wrote about the dangers of u-turning traffic to residents crossing Fann Street. In two half-hour vigils, I counted 26 and 29 (almost one a minute) prohibited u-turns. Under the Freedom of Information Act, I asked how many penalties had been issued in the past year, the amount of the fine, and where the money is spent. The reply has just arrived, stating that 266 penalty notices went out in the past 12 months (fewer than one a day), that the fine for each is £130, discounted to £65 if paid within 14 days, and that the money is spent on off-street parking and other transport projects.

Billy Mann has lived on the Golden Lane Estate for 24 years. He is a City of London Community Builder and blogs about neighbourhood happenings at basterfieldbilly.blogspot.com.

An edited version of this text appeared in the City Matters newspaper, issue number 085.

Golden Lane: October 2018

A prize for the Most Dangerous Place on Golden Lane does not exist. If it did, it would go to the southwest corner of the estate at the junction between Fann Street and Goswell Road. This is the closest we have to an urban death trap.

For reasons I can only guess at, wind speeds at this corner nudge 50km/h, and images of hapless pedestrians being blown into the path of raging traffic are never far from the imagination. Safety is further compromised by motorists heading north on Goswell Road lunging into prohibited u-turns, swinging with menace over Fann Street’s busiest crossing point. Fingering taxi drivers is cruel sport, but they are unquestionably the chief culprits.

A group of miffed residents has taken to the estate’s website (about this. Stories of residents risking their lives trying to cross Fann Street are possibly an exaggeration. Only just (in two separate 30-minute slots, I counted 26 and 29 u-turns, including three by City of London Corporation vehicles and one by a non-emergency police car).

And these unhappy residents are joined by their Barbican neighbours, who are livid that drivers seeking to avoid u-turn detection by the roadside cameras on Goswell Road swoop into the underground car-park slip road alongside Blake Tower to perform a 3-point turn. This manoeuvre is not prohibited, but nevertheless dangerous, as many terrified Barbican residents will testify.

I’ve been told that the u-turn danger spot is the result of traffic diverted by Crossrail building work at Farringdon. I’m told also that the City Corporation has not received a single complaint from Golden Lane residents and that we “are good at complaining to each other, but not to City officers”. This came from one of our Common Councillors.

The City Corporation doesn't make it easy to complain. Once you’ve navigated to the relevant page on its website, you are asked first whether your complaint is a actually a complaint. Anything the City Corporation considers “frivolous or vexatious” is rejected. Then, assuming you tick all the boxes, the instructions outline a three-stage process for complaining, the first of which amounts to: “don’t call us, call whoever it is you want to complain about.”

I decided to run a test. Early last month I sent written questions to the City Corporation asking how many fines have been issued for the Fann Street/Goswell Road junction in the past 12 months, and where the revenue collected is spent. I didn't get an answer, so contacted complaints@cityoflondon.gov.uk. Two days later I got a message advising me to submit my questions under the Freedom of Information Act, which I have now done. Watch this space.

The trouble with complaining is that you run the risk of sounding paranoid, or slightly unhinged, which is probably why many residents don’t bother. Some, thankfully, do. One of them is a close neighbour in Basterfield House. His name is Nigel.

One of Nigel’s biggest problems is that he is too clever for his own good. He is a retired architect and building surveyor, so when he fires off an angry email to an unsuspecting City Corporation officer about the finer points of the Listed Building Management Guidelines, he knows what he's talking about.

The effect can be intimidating and whenever I start reading one of Nigel's sizzling complaints (he always copies me in) I picture him sat red-faced in front of a computer screen dripping with a noxious slurry of spit, venom and bile.

His letters all start with an attempt at politeness in the “Dear Sir/Madam” mould. Unfortunately, Nigel's courteous opening line somehow can’t disguise the contempt and hostility that is to follow, which quickly mutates into barbed sarcasm along the lines of “It pains me to bring to your attention the matter I first brought to your attention three months ago.”

It’s hard to say whether Nigel's dogged attacks have any effect. It might just be coincidence, but after several months of Nigel's rolling vitriol on the poor quality of the concrete repairs currently in progress on the estate, residents were told that the City Corporation were conducting a detailed investigation. That sounds like a home win for Nigel to me.

For the benefit of his health, I urge Nigel to chill. He assures me that he does, at long, lazy lunches in upmarket restaurants with his son. My concern is half-hearted. I want him to keep ranting. My parting words with him are always the same: “See you later, Nigel. Stay angry. Carry on complaining.”

Billy Mann has lived on the Golden Lane Estate for 24 years. He is a City of London Community Builder and blogs about neighbourhood happenings at basterfieldbilly.blogspot.com.

An edited version of this column appeared in the City Matters newspaper, number 083.

EC1: An international neighbourhood

I like to think of the Golden Lane Estate as warm and welcoming, a place where people from across the globe can feel comfortable and safe. That might be an illusion/fantasy, even though the number of nationalities among our residents is huge. I tell outsiders proudly that our estate is a microcosm of London itself. A good number of the original residents from when the estate was a new build back in the late 1950s and early 1960s are still here. We have young families from homelands across Europe. A quick-think list of countries resident on Golden Lane would include: Turkey, Portugal, America, Nigeria, Greece, Holland, Germany, India, Pakistan, the Philippines… 

One of my favourite residents is Marta, a lively Colombian woman who lives in Hatfield House with her son and an unruly collection of balcony plants. Marta is an anchor for many members of the South American community in this part of the City and neighbouring South Islington. She beetles around, translating and offering help so fast it’s a miracle to catch her standing still. Even then the urge to dance a tango or salsa is never far from her 70-year-old feet.

South Americans are longstanding settlers in this part of London, as are Italians. Other nationalities come and go. Not long ago, we had a German deli not far away in Kings Square that sold an amazing number of exotic sausages, I'm told it moved south of the river to Borough Market. Food seems to be a common thread. The emergence of Whitecross Street market food stalls and the busy restaurants in and around Smithfield give the area a feeling of inclusivity and diversity, and the residents and staff of the Golden Lane Estate play no small part in that.

The newest nation to gain visibility in our international community is Japan. It isn’t a country that has held much prominence around here, which is surprising given the number of Japanese banks, insurance companies and financial businesses that thrive in the City. Deeper in the Square Mile and around Shoreditch there is no shortage of four-star restaurants and quick-bite canteens and takeaway outfits such as Itsu and Wagamama. But hereabouts we have Pham Sushi on Whitecross Street, and that’s about it.

So it’s a pleasure to welcome Sway Gallery to 70-72 Old Street in a space formerly occupied by the posh flower shop McQueens. The adverts for Sway make confident claims: “Our aim is to introduce Japanese hidden gems that can add a small extra touch to your everyday life”. Kick-knacks and homewares. It then goes on to boast about its championing of Japanese art and craftsmanship “we feel truly proud of”.

Of its products, my favourite is the kintsugi kit for repairing broken plates (pictured below) and teapots according to the disciplines laid down by a 15th-Century Japanese emperor. It’s a sort of gold-plated decorative welding job, but surprisingly looks quite attractive.

I also like Sway’s exhibition space, which features a range Japanese art but works best when dedicated to a specific style or technique. I am a big fan of colouring in, so to give my efforts a more artistic flavour I swooped on Sway’s cute set of Japanese brush pens in autumn and winter colours. The colours are subtle and the brush tips are resilient enough for both large areas and fine detail. Sway has a metropolitan wealthy city vibe. Under the slogan "bringing Japanese excellence to Europe", it has branches in both London and Paris. An upcoming London exhibition, 'Shapes of Water' combine artworks, artists talks and Japanese woodblock printing workshops (pictured below).

It says a lot about the City of London's cultural landscape that in one small place on the outer edges of the Square Mile live people from practically every country on the planet, and likewise where enterprises of every international flavour can thrive. Workers arrive and leave at the end of every day; residents are the heartbeat of any community, but we are always at our best when we come together.