Old furniture, racks of clothes and office equipment could be stored in an old car park underneath council flats in Clerkenwell.
By Julia Gregory, Local Democracy Reporter
Old furniture, racks of clothes and office equipment could be stored in an old car park underneath council flats in Clerkenwell.
Islington council owns the empty car park in Skinner Street and senior politicians are likely to agree to Urban Locker Self Storage using it to get generate an undisclosed “significant rental income”.
The money would be used for the council’s housing revenue account.
A town hall report said letting the space out could remove the risk of the empty car park attracting anti-social behaviour.
It also its was “not straightforward” to find a new use for the underground garage but the council has to generate income from its small commercial property portfolio.
The report said the former NCP car park ” is not fit for purpose for parking modern sized vehicles and potentially inconsistent with the Council’s Net Zero Carbon strategy.”
As part of its standard lease agreement it will insist workers get the London Living Wage as minimum.The council will also ask the tenants to employ people from the borough.
The storage company has a base in Peerless Street near Old Street and rents out office, domestic and mail boxes as well as offering space for students to store items they don’t need every day.
According to its website it has a minimum two week rental period.
The lease would include conditions limiting operating hours which could affect residents. It would mean the self storage unit could open between 6am and 10pm on weekdays, from 8am to 10pm on Saturdays and from 10am to 6pm on Sundays and Bank Holidays. There will also be limits on loading and unloading goods.
It is likely to be agreed by the Executive on Thursday November 24th.
The scheme will only go ahead if it gets planning permission.
