A FOOD bank accused of “trespassing” by Islington Council has had its future secured on the Highbury site where it has fed the community for a decade.

The Islington Food Bank at Highbury Roundhouse was facing a legal dispute with the council for refusing to sign a licence that, it said, would allow the council to evict it with a month’s notice.

But a new agreement signed in July has now guaranteed that the food bank can continue to operate there for the next 18 months, with a rolling annual license thereafter, with a six-month notice period.

It was one part of the site – a shipping container and portable cabin next to the Highbury Roundhouse main building – that the food bank had been particularly worried about losing, because it is the only space they have to store and prepare food.

Islington’s health and social care chief Cllr Dr Sara Hyde said: “Islington Foodbank has been a vital part of the community for around a decade, and have had a space at Highbury Roundhouse. As a council, we’re determined to do all we can to support their vital work.

“We appreciate their need for additional space for storage and food preparation, and they have been using nearby council land to do so.

“We’re pleased to have received a signed licencing agreement from them, which is essential in ensuring their compliance with legal requirements and keeping everyone safe. We look forward to continuing to work with the foodbank to support the important work they do.”

A spokesperson from the foodbank said the new contract was a “great outcome” and they are “very happy” to have reached an agreement with the council.

The foodbank told the Tribune in June that it has handed out 5,000 food parcels in the past year alone.