Introduction

The prospectus highlights local assets and current projects as well as present opportunities and a shared vision for the town centre – whilst encapsulating the council’s community wealth building approach and its key priorities. The overall aim is to increase local stakeholders’ sense of ownership, stimulate positive ideas, and help to guide and shape change and investment as well as lever in future funding, including from prospective developers.

This prospectus was commissioned by Islington Council‘s Local Economies Team and is funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The document has been created by Office S&M Architects with support from Jamila Saha and additional community engagement carried out by Holloway Neighbourhood Group. A microsite, created by Adam Tarasewicz, has been developed to go with this document.

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History of Nag's Head

Nag’s Head Town Centre dates back to medieval times when it began taking shape along Holloway Road (the A1). Connecting London to the North, it is an ancient route used since the 1300s. Set in a valley surrounded by countryside and Hackney Brook, the Nag’s Head Town Centre and Holloway Road were transformed by the 1700s into a key coaching route, with houses and tea gardens lining the road.

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Present

What makes Nag's Head unique?

Today, Nag’s Head Town Centre is a bustling place where you can find all your essentials and seasonal extras. Along with the Angel, Finsbury Park and Archway it is one of four town centres in Islington. With Holloway Road (A1) as the spine and at the crossroads with Seven Sisters Road (A503), it is well connected by public transport bringing many visitors daily.

Unique Retail Offer‍

Nag’s Head Town Centre is home to Islington’s only department store, Selbys, along with national brands, independent businesses, street stalls and markets offering a varied shopping experience and employment opportunities. With its cost-friendly alternatives, it complements Islington’s other town centres and supports local people with low disposable income.

‍Strong Food and Market Culture‍

Fresh food is part of the unique offer in Nag’s Head Town Centre through specialist greengrocers and butchers mixed with vibrant cafes and restaurants serving a variety of food from different cultures. There is a strong market culture along Seven Sister’s Road, including fruit and veg stalls, The Junction Market, The Upper Place and Nag’s Head Covered Market with 47+ small businesses, where over 50% are female-owned. Every weekend, Grafton Primary School hosts the Nag’s Head Open-Air Market attracting many visitors. This offer is paired with a variety of services supporting local people including dentists, solicitors, bike shops and dressmakers.

Home to Diverse Communities‍

A diverse mix of communities live in and around Nag’s Head Town Centre, in a broad variety of housing ranging from rooms above shops to council flats and large townhouses. A large student population is also present in Nag’s Head Town Centre, both through the London Metropolitan University and the range of student accommodation that houses students, many from overseas, of various universities.

Variety of Cultural Initiatives‍

The town centre also hosts cultural institutions like the Odeon Cinema, the National Youth Theatre, Storm Rehearsal Studios and Fourth Monkey. The Emirates Stadium contributes to the cultural offer, being the home to Arsenal FC with large-scale concerts during the off-season.

Engagement

Between June 2024 and February 2025, we spoke to a wide range of community members including youth groups to ensure local young voices are heard, businesses to capture the diverse range of retail interests in the town centre and nearby Tenants and Residents Associations (TRA) to involve local residents. To ensure the prospectus aligns with the wider council priorities, the stakeholder engagement also involved the Nag’s Head ward councillors, along with various key departments of Islington Council, including Planning, Cultural Enrichment and Transport as well as Local Economies.
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We understand the importance of listening to and making local voices heard as local peopleare experts on the local area. As part of Nag’sHead Prospectus of Ideas, we set out to find what local businesses, residents and visitors think of the town centre and what would make it better for all, now and in the future.

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Engagement responses

The aim of the engagement was to capture existing challenges, ideas for future improvements and pinpoint what makes the Nag’s Head Town Centre unique. Some of the key takeaways from these conversations are noted below and in the project ideas.

Environment

Make the pavements in the town centre better for walking and wheeling.
Improve the public realm including greening, seating and public amenities.
Strengthen the sense of place as many people are unaware of Nag’s Head as a town centre.
Improve the sense of safety when using the town centre.
Introduce more social areas or events that bring the local community together and allow people to connect.

Social

Create social spaces for all ages that invite people to dwell and socialise.
Introduce more events that bring the local community together and allow people to connect like food parties, festivals or workshops.
Offer more support for people in need.
Celebrate the unique local culture in Nag’s Head Town Centre.

Economic

Support small businesses with marketing to make them more visible and attract visitors.
Introduce events that support the evening economy to activate the town centre at night.
Promote alternative uses to the existing offer that would allow free or more cost-friendly programming.

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This prospectus weaves these voices into the vision and the Project Ideas for the future of Nag’s Head Town Centre.

“In many ways we love Nag’s Head as it is”

“I think by increasing safety and cleanliness the area would become more social and friendly”

A clear vision for Nag's Head

The vision weaves together local communities and stakeholderes to create an improved sense of place and a more resilient town centre.

The foundation of this vision and the catalogue of ideas lies in the wealth of initiatives and projects already happening in the Nag’s Head area. The aim with this vision is build onto and celebrate these initiatives while at the same time outline new ideas that together with the the existing opportunities envision the future of Nag’s Head.

Create stepping stones for local businesses to growth and testing new ideas and celebrates Nag’s Head as a small business hub. It also identifies opportunities for young people in the area both through creative and trade paths.

The vision outlines opportunities for improvements from a social, economic and environmental view point.

It aims to enhance the current daytime economy and programming while at the same time identify opportunities for the evening or night time economy to grow. This will help activate the town centre throughout all hours of the day.

Through the catalogue of ideas presented in this chapter we show examples of how future improvements can be made in Nag’s Head that respond to the aspirations and needs of local people and stakeholders.

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Funding streams

The vision and set of environmental, social and economic project ideas act as a guide for future improvements that could happen in the town centre. To help move us towards this, Nag’s Head Prospectus of Ideas aims to support the process of sourcing future funding. The project ideas are structured in a way to move from quicker and cheaper interventions to slower and more expensive outcomes, to assist with delivery, as different parts of a project can fit within a range of funding budgets.

There is a range of resources and other organisations available to help access funding streams for future projects, both from council funds and charities. The list below identifies some key funding streams and resources that can support the future delivery of the prospectus.

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Section 106

Section 106 (S106) agreements are legal agreements between developers and local authorities as part of the planning process. They secure funding or contributions from developers to offset the impact of new developments. The funding can be used for affordable housing, schools, parks, transport improvements, and other community infrastructure.

The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)

The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is a funding source from new developments to help local authorities improve a range of infrastructure. CIL funding can be used to secure planning obligations, such as financial contributions for affordable housing, carbon offset measures, affordable workspaces, and transport network improvements.