Rod Gonggrijp of Community Plan for Holloway

A HOUSING association’s proposals to add 11 extra storeys to blocks in the Holloway Park development has been met with a backlash from locals who say a focus on maximising profit will leave social housing tenants on the sidelines.

The plans, unveiled by Peabody last week, could see two blocks grow from eight storeys to between 17 and 19 storeys. Peabody argue the re-design is necessary after the government introduced a requirement for buildings over 18 metres to have a second staircase. This, they say, means they must add more flats to ensure the scheme remains “financially viable”.

These tallest blocks would be sold privately – one bedroom flats are being advertised for £675,000 – while the neighbouring flats they tower over are marked to become social housing.

Community Plan for Holloway (CP4H) say locals are anxious that overshadowing will impact their access to light and worry that their objections will go ignored.

Martin Klute, Islington’s planning chief, addressed concerns, saying: “That sounds like an apprehension rather than an informed comment. People shouldn’t be worried about that. The current daylight and sunlight assessments are better than they were before.”

He added: “In terms of who lives in which buildings, it’s a moot point. If you’re in social housing and you’ve got a family, being in a tall building, a high-up flat is not what you want, it’s much better suited to couples.”

Rod Gonggrijp, chair of CP4H, said: “It’s quite a dismissive statement to make before the numbers are published, given that in the previous design hundreds of properties will have a loss of daylight and sunlight, some really badly. To simply wave these concerns away is quite something.”

“It seems very obvious that the most attractive locations on the site are dedicated to luxury flats and the least attractive are dedicated to affordable housing. Is that fair? Is that something that the Labour council should be signing off on?”

Originally, the site promised to deliver 985 homes but new plans show that Peabody aim to increase this number to 1,145.

Helen Strongman, who chairs Bakersfield Residents’ Association, which neighbours the site, said: “Every Bakersfield resident I have spoken to would welcome a high-quality, largely social housing estate on our doorstep.

“This would ease the local housing crisis for our families, friends, and current and future neighbours. However, the original plans for Holloway Park were considered by most to constitute over­development, leading to a poor-quality environment for new and surrounding residents.”

She added: “In my mind, Peabody’s focus on maximising profit and their commitment to Islington Council to maintain a large proportion of social housing has resulted in the quality of private housing being prioritised over both social housing and the environment for new and existing residents.”

Mr Gonggrijp said that having 4,000 people living on the site would lead to a significant strain on the local amenities.

He told the Tribune: “The entire design comes with no additional facilities, GPs, dentists, transport, not even a community centre.”

Regarding the threat of over-development, Cllr Klute said: “It’s obviously an issue that needs to be assessed very carefully.

“There are requirements to maintain the financial viability of the whole scheme. There are costs involved with building the second staircases. Those costs have to be recovered somehow. It is a balancing act.

“I haven’t looked in detail but I think officers tell me that they are broadly happy with the financial viability they’ve been shown so far, and that Peabody are being reasonable.”

But Mr Gonggrijp said: “I see them bringing onboard a huge amount of risk to keep expanding on the scale of the site.

“There is of course a point where increasing the site even further will be near impossible.

“The next thing will be ‘we need to reduce the number of social housing because we need to sell more private housing to make the numbers add up’.”

A spokesperson for Peabody said: “At Holloway Park our priority is delivering the affordable homes that were approved by Islington Council back in 2022 – homes that are really needed in the area.

“We’re also creating a new public park, a women’s building, a skills hub, and new shops.

“To make all of this possible, we’re planning to increase the number of homes in phases two and three. That’s partly because of rising construction costs, higher interest rates, and changes to building safety regulations.

“We’re looking closely at the designs, including building heights and layouts, to make sure they work well for the community and protect things like neighbours’ daylight. We’ll also be carrying out full assessments to understand the environmental and social impacts.

“We’re committed to working closely and openly with local people. Visit https://holloway
parkcommunity.co.uk/ to find out how to take part in the consultation.”