As part of its push to create a cleaner, greener and healthier borough, Islington Council is working in close partnership with Marlborough Highways to turn St John Street into an attractive community space for walking, wheeling and cycling.
To achieve this goal, the junction that connects Cowcross Street, St John Street and Charterhouse Street will be redesigned to make it easier and safer for people of all ages to move through the space. This will involve introducing a new traffic filter to restrict through traffic, as well as installing trees, planters and rain gardens to enhance the area’s appeal.
Drawing on feedback from both residents and businesses, this project will also introduce new cycle parking, new seating, a dedicated cycle lane and new loading bays, ensuring the historic space works better for everyone.
Click here for a detailed overview of Islington’s proposed plan
Latest news
Early September, 2025: Work breaks ground on the St John Street transformation project.
Marlborough Highways
- Client: Islington Council
- Dates: September 2025 – Spring 2026
Project overview:
- Removal of existing southbound traffic lane
- Creation of new green space with seating and planters, including features reflecting the rich heritage of the street and surrounding area
- Installation of southbound cycle lane
- Implementation of new cycle parking
- Laying of new footpaths and natural stone paving
Contact
- For more information about the latest works updates please contact Marlborough Highways by calling 020 7739 2976 or by visiting our Contact page.
- For general enquiries about the St John Street transformation project, contact Islington Council’s Project Team by emailing StJohnStreet@islington.gov.uk.
Minimising disruption for local people
While some disruption is expected during the project, we are committed to keeping interruptions to a minimum. As a Considerate Constructor, we will actively engage with residents and work closely with local businesses to minimise disturbances throughout. Our people will also provide regular on-site updates and respond to any questions or concerns from the community.
Your safety is at the heart of everything we do
We recognise that construction work can be disruptive, but the wellbeing of everyone in the area remains our top priority. Our team is highly trained and experienced in delivering public realm improvements, and we are committed to maintaining the highest standards of health and safety. Comprehensive risk assessments have been carried out to identify potential hazards, and all necessary measures have been put in place to mitigate them.
We understand that the presence of HGVs and other machinery can cause some inconvenience. However, we are taking every possible precaution to ensure these vehicles operate safely and with minimal disruption. All movements carried out will be carefully controlled to reduce noise and avoid risk. Skilled banksmen will also be on site to guide drivers and help protect the safety of pedestrians, cyclists, and those using wheelchairs or mobility scooters.
Your safety is core to everything we do, and we thank you for your patience and cooperation as we carry out our work. If you have any further questions, please contact us using the details above.
Collecting refuse
Some minor changes to rubbish collections are expected during the works. Marlborough will be on hand to provide assistance, answer any questions, and ensure waste is collected promptly and efficiently.
St John Street
Once the starting point of the historic Great North Road, St John Street today is a well-used thoroughfare supporting local businesses and high footfall. Now, with plans led by Islington Council, the street is being reimagined as a greener, safer and more welcoming space for all.
“One of the things I value most is their very collaborative and transparent team culture. It makes a big difference to have a contractor that wants to work closely with us and is supportive and responsive. With Marlborough, I get a team who are attentive, work collaboratively and honestly with me and don’t lose focus on delivering first class communications and compliance.”
“From the design stage, Marlborough has been fundamental in delivering the Broad Lane Square improvements scheme. During the works, not only did the team manage to keep to the programme, but they went the extra mile to ensure attention to detail and came up with innovative solutions to address issues encountered on site. My thanks on behalf of Haringey goes out to Marlborough for their dedication to deliver.”
“Working alongside our Term Service Contractor Marlborough Highways, we successfully completed renovations to the Crowstone Footbridge. The designs were provided by Marlborough, and the work was unique. The scheme was completed to budget and ahead of its programme duration.”
“I would like to thank you and your team for your efforts, the Marlborough crews were professional, courteous, and hard working all day and ensured the event went without a hitch. You and the team were a credit to the company, demonstrating commitment and support to the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.”
“I just wanted to say what a pleasure it has been to work with Marlborough Highways over the last six months. The quality of work is superb, and there has been some excellent collaboration between Milestone and Marlborough to complete, what at times, has been quite a challenging scheme. I hope to work with Marlborough on another project in the near future.”
“Marlborough worked with us in constructing a 1.3km cycle track. There were a number of technical difficulties to overcome, and their gifted foreman worked to propose some innovative solutions to the challenges we faced. The result is a facility that the locals are proud of, providing walkers and cyclists with alternative access to the hospital and nearby school. The scheme was a lot of hard work, but well worth it.”
“Marlborough attracts people who take care and have pride in their work. Several gangs of Operatives worked tirelessly for six months to reconstruct drainage networks, lay more than 3km of high quality bespoke granite kerbs and granite channels blocks to ensure positive drainage. The technical compliance, attention to detail and level of quality finish along the entire carriageway was exceptional”.
“We saw huge benefits in appointing Marlborough as our full service contractor and we’re impressed – they’ve delivered consistent high quality service and superior quality control across every project. Marlborough, provide us with a ‘one-stop’ shop solution – we get the same quality of service and better control across all aspects of the project.”
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