A demonstration outside the Town Hall last night (Thursday)

PROTESTERS held signs reading “Boo to ghost flats!” as they gathered at the Town Hall last night (Thursday) in opposition to a new housing scheme.

They also waved red cards as the proposals for the redevelopment of Finsbury Leisure Centre were discussed by councillors.

Under Islington’s proposals, the centre would be demolished and replaced with a new facility including sports pitches and tennis courts.

The masterplan, however, will see 180 new homes built on the site.

The council has told the Tribune that private properties will make up 50 per cent of the development and homes for social rent will make up the other 50 per cent.

It is still consulting on the proposals, which have not yet been submitted for planning approval.

But residents in the area who oppose the scheme say it is too large a design for a ward which they say is “already the densest area” of the borough.

Teacher Liza Evers, who has lived in Bunhill for 35 years, said she was concerned about the loss of green space the plans entail.

“They’re contradicting their own pledge towards open space and green space,” she said.

“It’s vastly overdeveloped – we’re saying: yes, improve the leisure centre, improve community services, but don’t overdevelop.

She added: “It’s not nimbyism – we’re already the densest area.”

Red cards in the public gallery over the Finsbury Leisure Centre proposals

While Ms Evers welcomes the building of social homes, she said she is concerned the construction of private homes – built to “cross-fund” the affordable homes – will add to the number of “unoccupied ghost flats” in the area.

“On City Road, there are all these new towers built – those are [largely] empty, they’re ghost flats,” she said.

“There are a lot of unoccupied ghost flats: all you have to do is look at night-time over time – and I’ve been doing this for years – to see how many lights are on.

“So many of those flats aren’t lived in, they’re second homes or property investment.

Ms Evers added: “We’ve lived here 35 years, others have lived here longer. We don’t want to sell [Bunhill] off for someone not to live there.

“We’ll end up in ghost towns. To get intellectual, the whole neo-liberal project is selling it off, literally by the pound, for the pound.

“There are creative ways to deal with the housing problem – there’s way more to it than just slicing it up and selling it.”

During last night’s council meeting, Bunhill resident Luke Harding asked Cllr Diarmaid Ward how the council will “reutilise the unused office space and flats in the St Luke’s area to address Islington’s housing need.”

Cllr Diarmaid Ward said he was “disgusted” to see empty private homes in the borough and called on the national government to bring them back into use.

An Islington Council spokesperson said: “The Finsbury Leisure Centre redevelopment will provide improved leisure facilities, a new medical centre and improved public spaces.

“As well as delivering a better experience for visitors to the leisure centre, the development will provide much-needed new homes for council tenants.

“Council homes change lives – we need them more than ever in the midst of a housing crisis and a cost of living emergency.”

Football mad

Bunhill resident Gemma outside the Town Hall

FOOTBALL players who use Finsbury Leisure Centre were among those waving red cards in the public gallery at last night’s full council meeting.

Under the council proposals, housing could be built on the site of the current sports pitches in Norman Street, with replacement pitches created on the rooftop of the new facility. At one point, opponents were warned the meeting might go into private session if they kept on with their protest.

Gordon Bennett, a Bunhill resident, has played football on the pitches every week for the last 15 years.

“It’s a big deal,” Mr Bennett said. “We really understood during lockdown how important it was to us when we couldn’t play.”

There are currently two smaller pitches and two larger pitches attached to the leisure centre. “They were refurbished about a year ago – they’re in really good condition, and they’re well-used,” Mr Bennett said.

He said council plans to move the pitches to the centre’s rooftop will reduce the space available for sports.

“By their nature rooftop pitches are going to be very small – there’s not going to be the amount of space that we have now,” said Mr Bennett.

“You won’t have that community feel where people walking by can watch and pick up a game. [Rooftop pitches are] a very different thing, and they’d be years away. We’d be talking about many years where those pitches are out of action,” he said.

Urban Designer Francis Moss, who lives nearby, said: “Many local schools use it as their playing field, for sports day as well as for after-school and holiday clubs.”