King Square improvements

We consulted on improvements to King Square between Monday, 19 January 2026 and Sunday, 15 February.

We are on a mission to make our borough a cleaner, greener and healthier place. As part of this we are working to revitalise the borough’s streets, parks, and open spaces such as the King Square shopping precinct on Central Street. The project area is shown in the map below.

We are working with residents and businesses to make the King Square shopping precinct a more accessible, inclusive and enjoyable place for the community, and to support a fairer local economy.

On this page you can review the designs.

Please note these improvements are non-rechargeable, which means that the project is funded through planning contributions and that property service charges will not be affected.

Engagement so far

In August 2023, we asked local people, including residents and businesses, how we could improve the square. We held pop-up events in the square, including a walkabout, to better understand how local people use the space, what they like about the King Square shopping precinct and how we could make it more enjoyable.

We have analysed the results of the online survey along with feedback received at our in-person events. The results are published in the King Square Early Engagement Report (see under ‘Useful Documents’ on the right-hand side of this page).

This is what you said you would like in the space:

• Planting opportunities (lawns, raingardens, tree planting)
• Tables and seating for various forms of socialising
• Opportunities for play for various ages
• Improvements to shop fronts
• Provision of new cycle and scooter parking
• More rubbish/ recycling bins
• Updates to the information board and remove old phone boxes
• Improved paving for accessibility

Our plans to improve King Square

We have used your feedback to progress with plans to make the King Square shopping precinct a greener, healthier and more accessible place for people to spend time.

To make King Square greener and healthier, we are proposing to:

• Keep all of the existing trees
• Increase the space for seating outside the shops
• Relay the paving in the square to improve accessibility
• Install new seating including, benches, single seating and tiered seating
• Add additional planting areas with a mix of bio-diverse plants
• Provide additional cycle parking including cargo bike spaces
• Introduce chess tables and new seating
• Install new wayfinding posts to direct people to the square
• Add litter bins

The design for the space is shown in the images below - for more detailed images, and further information please review the document links on the right hand side of the page, where you will find the plan and sketches of the space.

Artist's sketch showing the square from above

Artist's sketch showing the street view of the square

Artist's sketch showing the street view of the square

Next steps

Now that we have heard and reviewed your comments on our plans through the consultation, we will use your feedback to make any final design changes.

You can subscribe to project updates by signing up with your email address on the right hand side of this page.

Get in touch

If you have further questions, contact us at Environment@islington.gov.uk

or write to: Environment, 1 Cottage Road, London, N7 8TP

CONSULTATION HAS NOW CLOSED