Security guards in Islington

Which parts of Islington do we cover?

All of it, from Clerkenwell and Finsbury in the south to Highbury, Holloway and Archway in the north.

The south of the borough borders the City. The London Plan counts Farringdon among the Central Activities Zone’s retail clusters, puts part of Angel inside the zone and shares Shoreditch with Hackney. The City Fringe Opportunity Area, shared with Hackney and Tower Hamlets, has room for 50,500 new jobs, and the King’s Cross Opportunity Area crosses into Islington from Camden.

Islington’s two Major town centres are Angel, along Upper Street, and the Nag’s Head on Holloway Road. Archway is a district centre, and Finsbury Park is shared with Hackney and Haringey.

The London Plan gives the borough no Strategic Industrial Location, and the council calls its one Locally Significant Industrial Site an important, long-established employment area: Vale Royal and Brewery Road, between York Way and Caledonian Road, used for light industry, storage and distribution, and research and development (Islington Council).

Islington also has Moorfields Eye Hospital on City Road, whose eye A&E is open 24 hours (Moorfields), the Whittington Hospital in Archway (Whittington Health) and London Metropolitan University on Holloway Road (London Met).

What needs guarding in Islington?

Offices and studios. In Clerkenwell, Farringdon and around Old Street, an officer on reception can sign visitors in and keep out anyone without a reason to be there, then lock up and patrol once the building empties: see office and corporate security.

Shops on Upper Street and Holloway Road. Our retail security officers are uniformed and visible, back up your staff and stay polite to customers. Angel has its own Business Improvement District (Islington Council), so ask what it already covers in your street.

Industrial units. The council describes Vale Royal’s buildings as two to four storeys, many with large footprints and service yards behind high walls. An officer can run the yard while vehicles come and go and patrol it at night: see warehouse and industrial security. For a unit that doesn’t need someone there all night, mobile patrols can visit at set or random times.

Council building sites. The council’s target is to start building 750 new social-rent homes by December 2027, which means delivering more than 1,500 homes in all (Islington Council). Some of the building happens on existing estates, where the first new council homes can be lived in while the rest are still being built (Islington Council). A site with neighbours that close needs its gate run carefully by day and guarding out of hours: see construction site security.

What do match days and licensing mean in Islington?

• Match days at the Emirates. Islington’s match-day parking controls cover nine zones around the stadium for every Arsenal men’s and women’s home game and for big shows, and Drayton Park closes to motor traffic (Islington Council). If your premises are in Highbury or Holloway, plan deliveries, officers’ parking and shift changes around the fixtures.
• Pubs and bars near the ground. The council’s licensing policy expects licensed premises to use registered door supervisors to manage people drinking outside on big event and match days, and to employ door supervisors on high-risk days (Islington Council). Door supervision needs its own SIA licence (SIA).
• Six cumulative impact areas. The same policy names cumulative impact areas in Clerkenwell, Bunhill, King’s Cross, Upper Street and Angel, Holloway Road and Finsbury Park, and Archway. There, an application for a new or varied alcohol licence that is likely to add to the impact will normally be refused if anyone objects, unless the applicant shows it won’t. If you’re opening a venue in one of them, show how you’ll manage customers and the door.
• York Way is a boundary. The road beside King’s Cross station divides Islington from Camden, so check which council’s rules apply to a site on it.