Angelika Siapkara and Robert Hill, who are both Ironworks residents

REGENT Quarter residents say they are worrying about what’s growing in the lab next door.

At a Town Hall planning meeting on Tuesday, the chamber heard developers Endurance Land’s plea to allow them to convert part of their proposed office space into a “life sciences space”.

Life sciences is a broad church – it includes anything from “wellness” companies who offer to test your blood to determine what vitamins you need most, to labs that store pathogens.

“We don’t know what we’re getting ourselves into,” said Robert Hill, an Ironworks resident and associate professor at University College Hospital.

He added: “Life sciences sounds impressive and worthwhile. But, the fact is, it could be any number of things from blood tests for the worried well, to the development of new therapies for rare diseases, manipulation of viruses, or analyses of infected tissue samples. And all of this next to our bedroom window.”

The council proposed a condition on the planning permission it granted, forcing the lab to stay at “containment level two”.

Mr Hill, who is also part of the Regent Quarter Residents group, told the Tribune: “Level two is pathogens like staphylococcus aureus. Tuberculosis, I think, is also level two. I mean, there are some transmissible agents here.

“It’s a concern when we don’t trust them [the developers] and when they didn’t purpose-build the lab. They’re taking a converted office.”

Angelika Siapkara, a doctor who works in the pharmaceutical industry and an Ironworks resident, told the Tribune: “The [capacity] of these labs is quite high, it’s not your common doctor’s office.”

During the meeting, she said: “As a doctor and as a resident, I’m happy to sleep next to the offices, that’s what happens when you live in King’s Cross and urban areas. It’s completely different to sleep next to a lab that you don’t know the use of.

“The lab needs 24-hour ventilation, they need light, they need access – people going into the labs at all times – we haven’t had these details discussed with the residents.”

The council approved the developer’s application on the condition that the labs be strictly limited to containment level two. The applicant couldn’t give specific details about what tenants would occupy the life sciences space, so the council added another condition that requires each tenant to submit an operational management plan.

A spokesperson for the applicant said: “We have sought to ensure that the residents have been updated and engaged throughout this process. We will look to continue this.

“In relations to questions around the life science use, Endurance Land and Nan Fung Life Sciences Real Estate … have repurposed circa a million square feet of existing buildings for lab use and commercial office use. Safety and wellbeing of the community is paramount to us. We are bringing some of that innovation that we have implemented in Boston to the UK.

“The consultation that we’ve had with Islington continues to demonstrate that these labs will effectively be CL2 labs, and they are most commonly found in university buildings, and contain low to medium-risk types of activities. We’re confident the building is designed to perform to the highest standards, will be governed by all the necessary obligations to the health and safety executive as well as British standards, and compliance with building regulations.”