Islington Foodbank faces eviction from its location at Highbury Roundhouse, putting the future of the organisation and its ability to feed those in need in jeopardy.
The council has demanded the foodbank sign a licence with terms that allow it to be evicted at very short notice.
The foodbank – run by the Trussell Trust – has refused to do so, and now faces a day in court that will cost the charity thousands of pounds or more in legal bills.
Since opening in June 2015, the Islington Foodbank has helped feed just over 46,000 people. Just last year, 5,216 parcels were handed out. Each contained food and toiletries to keep single-person households and families going in their times of need.
If the council goes ahead with its plan to evict the foodbank from its small plot at the Highbury Roundhouse, those people may go without.
Highbury Roundhouse, where the Islington Foodbank is based (Image: Milo Boyd) (Image: Milo Boyd)
The council plans to demolish an old empty building at the Roundhouse and redevelop the site. Islington Foodbank’s food warehouse has occupied a small part of the land a short distance away from this building for the past ten years.
The land that is currently occupied by Islington Foodbank cannot be built on due to a railway track that runs underneath it.
Although building work is not due to start for years to come, and the warehouse taking up a small space, roughly the size of two shipping containers, the council has demanded that the foodbank sign a licence that means it must remove its warehouse from the site at very short notice.
The foodbank is calling on the council to formally and officially allow it to stay at least until such a point when redevelopment may mean the organisation has to move, and then to work with it to find a new site.
Given that 95% of all foodbank referrals come from the council, which highlights the service on its website but provides no funding for it, the foodbank believes this is a fairer course of action.
The foodbank is calling on all of its supporters to sign a petition to put pressure on the council, so it can stay at the Highbury Roundhouse and continue to help those most in need in the Borough.
An Islington Council spokesperson said: “It is crucial that we can continue to help those in Islington who are most in need. If we are evicted from our home, we cannot do that. I am calling on the Council to reconsider their decision and to work with us so our future is not in doubt.”
An Islington Council spokesperson said: “We’re committed to supporting groups like Islington Foodbank, and the work that they do to support the most vulnerable people in our borough. We have therefore worked with the Highbury Roundhouse Association to give the foodbank a home in the association’s new community centre.
“The foodbank requested additional storage and parking, and we have offered it a licence to use neighbouring land for an initial period of a year, and on a six-month rolling basis. It’s really important that a licensing agreement is in place for the use of this land to protect both parties, and the council has been discussing this with Islington Foodbank since August 2022. The land may eventually be needed for other purposes over the longer term, but meanwhile we’ve been as flexible as we can.”
Visit https://www.change.org/p/stop-islington-council-evicting-the-foodbank to sign the petition.
