The dodgy planning notice which had locals worried

MYSTERY surrounds the identity of a prankster who posted a fake planning application in Clerkenwell Green as an April Fools’ Day joke.

Someone calling themselves Izzy Lington posted signs last Monday around the Clerkenwell square.

It purported to be an application for the erection of an enormous bust of George Jennings, the Victorian mastermind behind London’s first public flushing lavatories and the designer of a now-­disused subterranean loo at the site.

Local heritage groups said they were sent into a frenzy by the latest missive, which would have seen the bust to Mr Jennings placed over his ­toilet, which was closed 40 years ago.

“Well, it got me into a fever that there could be any consideration, that having ploughed through Sylvia Pankhurst we were now going to be faced with George Jennings!” said Ann Pembroke of the Clerkenwell Green Preservation Society, who has long called for Clerkenwell Green to be free of the “vanity of statues and memorials” and remain a public open space.

The society has objected to the Pankhurst statue.

The black hoardings in Clerkenwell Green

The Green is one of London’s oldest public spaces, dating back to the 12th century, and has long been associated with the establish­ment of free speech in England.

Residents described the hoardings, installed five years ago when the glass roof to the Jennings loo broke, as an “elephant in the room” when the rest of the Green underwent a £1.8million upgrade, which saw it pedestrianised and greened.

The planning notice, which features the Islington Council logo at the bottom and appears convincing until the detail of the application is examined, includes a bust of Mr Jennings which bears an uncanny resemblance to Islington North MP Jeremy Corbyn and application reference number AF2024/ Shanksy – which upon investigation does not exist.

In an apparent dig at the council for leaving the hoardings up for so long, the notice reads: “Removal of the current historic ‘Black Hoarding’ installation (2019) to be replaced by a statue sympathetically reflecting the area’s links with political activity and freedom of speech.”

It joked that the hoarding is set to be exhibited at the Museum of London, which is due to relocate to West Smithfield in 2026 from its now-closed Barbican site, although the prankster also took aim at the somewhat chaotic relocation, which has suffered delays and protests, suggesting it would take much longer than just two years, with a date of 2039 estimated.

Anne Pembroke

It is not the first time the mysterious Ms Lington has carried out a practical joke in the Green.

In 2021 she left a sign up describing the hoardings as a “striking and unmissable art installation” titled “Black Upon Green by Izzy aLington, timber and paint, 2019”.

Al Scotti, who runs Scotti’s Cafe on the Green, said he would welcome “anything” there instead of them.

He added: “People don’t want an eyesore there. We’re doing everything to improve the Green aesthetically, but with this multi-million-pound plan we’re left an eyesore. So the council should be asked ‘what are you going to do there?’”

A council spokesperson said: “Clerkenwell Green is one of Islington’s most historic public spaces, and we’re spending £1.4m on improvement works to help make it a more attractive space for the many people that use it every day, as well as boosting air quality and biodiversity.

“The former Victorian toilets haven’t been used for many years and the site is in very poor condition. The hoarding is there to ensure that the site is safe and secure so that people can’t gain access. We’re currently exploring possible options for what might be done with the space.”