Investment for Monsell Road

By Josh Spero

A COUNCILLOR has secured £10,000 for the regeneration of a Highbury road, and plans to let the public decide how it should be spent.

Cllr Katie Dawson said a complaint about Monsell Road had inspired her to seek funding to redevelop it. She intended to arrange a public meeting in early December on the subject.

“I want to get the residents in there and say: ‘What do you want?’” said Ms Dawson.

Ms Dawson, councillor for Highbury West, said she did not want to impose her own ideas on the project but suggested “planted beds which residents could take ownership of” and “games such as concrete table tennis tables or giant chess sets” as possibilities.

Residents say the street, which is off Blackstock Road, is inhospitable at best, dangerous at worst.

One, who did not wish to be named, said: “I don’t really feel safe there after dark; the rest of the time it’s okay.”

Another resident, James Bennett, 34, said: “This road could do with a lot of improvement. If we can get people to spend time on it and not use it as a cut-through, it could be quite nice.”