Footballers came together to form the largest protest so far against proposals to rebuild the Finsbury Leisure Centre in Norman Street

• WITH more than 15,000 people waiting for a council home in Islington and Finsbury Leisure Centre well past its best, doing nothing is not an option.

The piece (Teams pitch in to oppose leisure centre plans, February 9) rightly mentioned that our plans will mean new, life-changing council homes for around 100 local families.

I speak to people in severe housing need every single day and cannot simply stand by while so many families wait for a home that would transform their lives.

We know we need to strike the right balance between the desperate need for more decent, affordable homes, leisure facilities that local people deserve and the outdoor space that’s so important to people’s wellbeing.

That’s why our plans include a new first-class leisure centre, with four new rooftop football pitches, as well as much better changing rooms, equipment and sports facilities that will benefit everyone who uses the centre.

The pitches will be high quality, built to the Football Association’s guidelines for five or six-a-side football, with spectator space along the length of the rooftop to help keep the community feel people love, and rebooking priority for people who use the current pitches, when the new centre opens.

We don’t want just to improve the centre, we want to transform the surrounding area with more planting and greenery, new “play on the way” features for children, better pedestrian and cycle routes, and improved safety.

People told us the streets around the leisure centre didn’t always feel safe and asked us to improve greenery and planting in the area, so we’re doing just that.

Finally, I want us to create a centre alongside local people. I’m delighted that hundreds of people have contributed, both in support of the plans and to raise concerns, in our engagement exercise which included three public exhibitions at the leisure centre, St Luke’s Community Centre and online, meetings with sports groups, and online survey.

We’re committed to working with the community to strike the right balance and are now reviewing all the feedback received, before presenting our updated proposals in late spring.

This is the single largest council housing scheme in Islington in a generation. We are determined to get it right so that we can create a more equal Islington for local people.

CLLR DIARMAID WARD
Deputy Leader & Executive Member for Finance, Planning & Performance