Making it Happen fund set to deliver more equal Islington

Through the Making it Happen fund, the council is set to invest in the issues that matter most to local people – including new CCTV to help reduce anti-social behaviour, improvements to play spaces on estates and across Islington, and action to make much-loved areas cleaner for all.  

The £5m fund - which was first announced as part of the council’s budget proposals for 2026/27 - is focused on real, tangible change to create a more equal borough, including through: 

• A £1.9 million commitment to improving community safety across Islington. The council has identified a series of physical improvements – including new mobile CCTV vans, a new van to support with outreach and solving issues directly in neighbourhoods, upgraded lighting, gated entries, and removal of disused phone boxes – to complement its ongoing work to tackle anti-social behaviour. Funding will also be used to work with communities to identify further improvements to reduce anti-social behaviour.  
• Improving play spaces and parks across the borough, through an £840k investment. Half of this is expected to go towards making play spaces on estates more welcoming, with the rest going towards much needed improvements– through replacements to slides, climbing frames, and play equipment – at Barnard Park, Elthorne Park, Joseph Grimaldi, Davenant Road open space, and King Square.  
• Already, the council’s Income Maximisation Team has helped residents secure more than £16m in unclaimed benefits since April 2024. The council will take further steps to support residents to benefit from a further £5m in unclaimed benefits every year.
• Providing additional support for culture, arts, sports, and community activities that help make Islington such an amazing place to live.  
• Investing £140k in projects that residents propose and decide on which to fund, continuing the council’s participatory budgeting approach.
• Making Islington a cleaner place for all, through community gardening, spring-cleaning events, and neighbourhood clean-ups, as well as action in town centres, shopping centres, and transport hubs like Finsbury Park.

Cllr Una O’Halloran, Leader of Islington Council, said: “As a council, we’re focused on turning residents’ priorities into action, to create real, tangible change.  

“That’s why we’re set to invest £5 million in these practical improvements, which will make a difference for people across the borough – through safer streets, better shared spaces, and by working together to boost community pride.  

“It’s all part of our efforts to make it happen for local people, by building the more equal Islington that we all want to see.” 

The £5 million spend is just one example of how the council is making it happen for the local community, to create a more equal future.  

Around £28 million is set to be spent on reducing – in some cases to £0 – council tax bills for around one in five Islington households, while the council is also investing in shared spaces like Whittington Park, taking action on anti-social behaviour, providing more genuinely affordable homes, and helping more than 6,000 people enter into employment over the last four years.  

The council’s budget, including plans for the £5 million fund, is set to be voted on at the Full Council meeting on Thursday, 26 February. Further details are available on the council’s website.