‘Mrs Finsbury Park’, Margot Sreberny, an inspiration

Published: 06 August, 2010
by PETER GRUNER

SHE was one of the great inspirational figures in the current renaissance of formerly run-down and neglected Finsbury Park.

Margot Sreberny who, as a child, escaped from Nazi Germany went on to become founder of the Finsbury Park Action Group in 1984. 

She died in 2007 and has now had a conference suite named in memory of her extraordinary work. 

The suite is at FinFuture, the Regeneration Agency based at Seven Sisters Road, Finsbury Park. 

Islington North MP Jeremy Corbyn attended the naming ceremony along with Margot’s friends and relatives and trustees and members of the agency. 

Margot, who won the MBE for her work and was 82 when she died, became known as “Mrs Finsbury Park” because of her commitment to improving the area spanning 50 years.

But it was only in recent years – following decades of campaigns – that she lived to see some genuine improvements both to Finsbury Park itself and the surrounding area.

Mr Corbyn paid tribute to Margot as a “great activist” and a “very good friend”.

He added: “ I first met her in the early 1980s when she was campaigning to restore the park. 

“We eventually got some regeneration money which was a great step forward, although not enough.” 

For most of the 1990s, neglected and abandoned, Finsbury Park itself descended into decay and despair. 

Throughout all this time, Margot and friends continued to work to rescue the park. 

Slowly the tide started to turn. 

In 1996 Haringey began to put together a Heritage Lottery Fund bid for the park, supported by the friends. 

In 1999 the cricket pavilion was rebuilt. 

After several years of consultation, the Haringey team finally won a £3.4million lottery grant to restore the park in the early 2000s. 

And then the Finsbury Park Partnership of Islington, Haringey, and Hackney launched a major generation of the area.

Margot’s daughter, Annabelle also spoke at the event. 

“She will be remembered for vibrancy and her engagement with the world,” said Annabelle. “She touched a lot of people’s hearts and was a terrific role model for many, especially women. 

“On behalf of the family, we deeply appreciate this kind gesture.” 

FinFuture chairman Paul Morris said that without Margot’s inspiration, Finsbury Park Partnership and now FinFuture would not have been born. 

“The action group she formed, helped to bring in government investment of £25million for the benefit of the area.” 

The agency’s chief executive Talal Karim said: “ We thought this would be an appropriate time to name the large conference room after Margot. We had our premises refurbished recently with the help of a government grant and the two meeting rooms have been upgraded with better facilities.”