Policy information sourced from the Finsbury Local Plan

BC2 City Road Basin area

The City Road Basin area will be comprehensively redeveloped as a new urban quarter, accommodating a range of new uses including:

  • A mix of homes, including family sized units of 3 bedrooms or more.
  • Business floorspace, including workspaces suitable for SMEs and affordable workspaces.
  • A range of shops, cafés and restaurants, including small units.
  • A range of new public open spaces within the City Forum site and alongside the western edge of the canal basin, including play space and youth space.
  • Refurbished and new community facilities.
  • A range of leisure, commercial and residential moorings on City Road Basin.

The following should be provided by development proposals:

A) High quality buildings which:

  • Exhibit a height and massing that relate positively to the width of surrounding streets and spaces,
  • Successfully interface with the scale and form of neighbouring areas, and do not overdominate, overshadow or overhang existing or proposed areas of high pedestrian activity,
  • Utilise design techniques that break up the bulk of large buildings and minimise blank, inactive or monotonous frontages,
  • Relate positively to neighbouring buildings in a manner which reinforces the predominant perimeter block character of the borough,
  • Provide visually interesting and active frontages to new public spaces and key streets,
  • Are consistent with, and reinforce, the up-to-date waterspace strategy for the canal basin, in terms of their design and use, vii. Enhance legibility within and around the sites, and
  • Conserve and enhance heritage assets and their settings, including recognised and historic landmarks, locally listed buildings and features associated with the canal basin.

B) For sites (or parts of sites) fronting onto both City Road and the canal basin (including the City Road frontage of the City Forum site), buildings over 30 metres in height may be appropriate where they:

  • Meet the criteria set out in Policy BC9 and relevant site allocations,
  • Form part of a coherent cluster, which marks the node at the southern end of the canal basin, and which is subordinate to the emerging cluster at the Old Street roundabout area in terms of both scale and number of tall buildings, and
  • Relate positively to other existing or proposed buildings within the cluster (for example, in terms of form, bulk, scale, materials and the effect on the skyline).

C) An enhanced public realm, including:

  • A new linear park along the western side of the canal basin that incorporates hard and green landscaped space and facilities that support the active use of the canal basin, including serviced moorings and the Islington Boat Club.
  • Improved outdoor youth and play facilities, including measures to improve access to existing facilities.
  • A substantial amount of new public space within the City Forum site.
  • New or improved pedestrian and cyclist links between the canal basin, Ironmonger Row and Moreland Street.
  • Improvements to City Road, Wharf Road, Central Street and Moreland Street that promote pedestrian and cyclist safety and movement and improve public transport provision.
  • The use of surface treatments, tree planting and/or public art to mark the junction of City Road, Central Street and Moreland Street and improve its sense of enclosure.
  • The refurbishment of the exterior of the London Underground ventilation shaft, in order to provide an attractive edge to the public realm at this important intersection.
  • The use of surface treatments on City Road to mark the original form of the canal basin and unite public spaces north and south of the street.

D) A range of residential unit sizes, including larger units suitable for families. Housing may be appropriate at ground level on less trafficked streets (e.g. Macclesfield Street, Dingley Road and Wharf Road) where design techniques satisfactorily separate the public and private realm. Units that face directly onto City Road must be designed in a manner that maintains a high standard of amenity, mitigating any effects associated with noise and air pollution.

E) A diverse mix of employment spaces, including offices, small and affordable workspaces, shops, educational and community uses (including for the Islington Boat Club), and cafés and restaurants where these would help to animate key streets and spaces.

F) An innovative approach to reducing energy and resource use, including:

  • A Decentralised Energy network connecting to two or more proposed developments/existing buildings in the area, and/or expansion of existing networks into the area,
  • The use of existing heat sources (such as Underground ventilation shafts, electricity substations and nearby computer servers) to provide heating to buildings, and/or
  • The use of canal water for cooling or heating.

G) Sustainable drainage techniques that result in zero net run-off to the canal basin (a Metropolitan-graded Site of Importance for Nature Conservation), and incorporation of green roofs or walls and other natural features within new buildings and spaces.

H) Safeguarding the continued operational use of the City Road substation and National Grid 400kV network, including during construction.

For more information please see the Local Plan