r/islington

For context, I’m a leaseholder. Top floor flat and right above my flat (my flat only) is a communal water tank which has had multiple issues over the years causing leaks in my bathroom ceiling

The issue has progressed way further now and my ceiling is actively dripping, the paint has peeled off and the ceiling is soaked, a visible moisture trail heading towards the electrical outlets.

The council sent someone to look at it, he said the tank was f’d and been badly sealed and the inlet was blocked and so was the drain. Plumber comes out and said it should be fine but it’s probably a tank issue

Tank guys come and they say it’s the ball valve, then come out again- turns out it wasn’t the ball valve but something else. They escalate it apparently and I get given a next visit date for 3rd September. My ceiling is still leaking, try to phone emergency repairs, on hold for an hour, I explain the issue then they put me on hold and hang up???

How am I meant to get this issue resolved or escalated properly, is it really this difficult to get support from Islington council for such serious issues impacting a property that is their responsibility to fix and address in a timely manner?

Has anyone had a similar experience or know if there’s some other steps I should be taking here?

Anyone knows what happened at Crisis charity shop in Archway today ? They put the card on the door saying it's closed until Tuesday due to serious incident this morning

Anyone else frustrated with how the air con in the Highbury Leisure Centre gym is switched off for long periods? I’ve now had to go up to the reception thrice in the last 4 days to ask for the ACs to be turned on. It is stuffy as hell. And they’re clearly doing this intentionally until someone says something. Everytime I’ve reported this, they just quietly turn them on. WTH.

Is anyone here also affected by the new jet wash machines used at Hornsey Road Car Wash?

They are madly loud - the council aren’t listening to complaints.

How do we go about reducing this noise, or removing them in the long term?

Hi all, just joined this sub and wanted to say hello!
I run a small vending machine business based here in Islington, and I’ve lived in the borough since 1995. I’m always on the lookout for good spots to place machines — offices, construction sites, gyms, colleges, community centres, waiting rooms, break rooms, anywhere with decent footfall really.

The machines are supplied and installed completely free of charge, no cost to the site owner — I handle stocking, servicing, and maintenance myself.

If you know of a business, workplace, or venue in Islington that might benefit from having a vending machine on-site, I’d really appreciate a pointer in the right direction. Happy to answer any questions in the comments!

Thanks in advance, and glad to be part of the community here.

A question for the bike hangar uses of Islington :)

I've got my first bike in the last month and been having a blast with it.

I'm on the list for a bike hangar within my estate but I'm no. 4 and the chance of that changing is low, but I've been offered a space in a bike hanger that's like the 3rd closest to my flat (around 5 min walk away).

I'm swithering on whether to commit to it as obvs it's £100~ for the year and not the closest. My bike currently lives in my living room but I've got to hike it up 3 sets of stairs to the 1st floor.

For those who use the bike hangers do you find it's been useful for you, and do you reckon I should take it, or leave it and put my name back on in a while to see if a closer one turns up?

Cheers !!

From the husband and wife team of Mi Canteen in Soho. They specialise in Chongqing supreme flat noodles in spicy hotpots. Quite excited for this.

Does anyone know where I can start with applying to the social housing register in Islington? I'm a long term resident and have privately rented in the borough for the last five years plus but it's now become unaffordable. There's a massive new development across the road from me with a solid social renting scheme and I thought I may as well look into it properly.

I've done the preliminary research online and now I'd like to speak to an official body for some advice, ideally in person. I'm new to accessing council services like this and find the website and various departments quite confusing to navigate. If anyone could point me in a useful direction from here, that would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advanced.

ETA I realise there's a points system and that there's an extremely long waiting list but that doesn't seem like a reason not to at least look into starting the process. As I know this is what most replies will say.

I went swimming today at West Reservoir, and really struggled to get a slot, and it was empty, not because people didn't attend but because Better (the service that runs the Reservoir) decided to keep the capacity small. It's the hottest day of the year, and this is a location that people can go to keep cool, an essential, and limited service provision in London.

I went this morning, and the place felt so empty in comparison to the weekend or busier period - and yet it was fully booked online.There were bike spots to park my bike, no queue to check in, loads of room to put my stuff and sit and get changed. If you go regularly, you know these are markers of a busy day at the reservoir, but not today.

I spoke to someone on staff, and they said were functioning at about 60/70 people (per hour? not sure the metric) in the water as timetabled, but they have the capacity to go up to over 150 (per hour) if management put the staff on at busy times.

I just wanted to share if anyone like me saw the booked out booking system and assumed they were swamped - they weren't. I believe Better GLL has a responsibility to provide these slots and function at a higher capacity when as a public we are in need of the service, and if the hottest day of the year (in the news, has reached 38.5 degs C) when else will they expand slots and increase accessibility?!

Does anyone know what’s happening at the Highbury Arsenal Store? It’s been cordoned off as a crime scene since this morning.

Does anybody have a bike I can kindly borrow for a few hours this weekend (preferably around Holloway or Finsbury Park area). Happy to pay to rent it as I’m currently learning how to ride!

Thanks so much

Recently moved to Islington along Hornsey Road and noticed that around midnight to 1am during the week about 10 loud motorbikes drive past going towards Harringey?

They look cool but with the hot weather and the windows open, they tend to wake us up since they are so loud. It almost hurts my ears, maybe because the noise is bouncing off the buildings.

Anyone else experienced this? Is there a way to possibly have a curfew for them so that we're not woken up almost every day with them passing by?

I've tried earplugs but its so loud that I still hear them with earplugs in.

anyone know where i can get these locally? just tried Finsbury Park fresh bake and they’re all sold out. waste of parking fare!! lol thanks in advance

There's a group of maybe 50 idiots doing a group run blasting terrible music at an incredibly high volume around clerkenwell/south Islington. If you are part of this group just know you fucking suck