Following a long-running Islington Labour campaign to deliver more desperately needed social rent and genuinely affordable homes at the former Holloway Prison, Peabody housing association has today submitted a planning application for the redevelopment of the site.
The development, which is set to include 60% genuinely affordable homes, with 42% of the total available at social rent, will also feature a 1,500m2 Women’s Building – the first of its kind anywhere in the country. The proposed proportion of social housing – unprecedented in a central London development of its size – is something Islington Labour have fought hard to secure.
Featuring 60 extra care homes to support older residents, a 5,000m2 public park and new pedestrian and cycle connections, the site will be built to high environmental standards with green roofs, new trees and low-carbon heating and hot water for residents, generated through air source heat pumps.
Holloway Prison – formerly Europe’s largest women’s prison – closed in 2016. At more than four hectares, it is one of the largest development sites in central London. In January 2018 Islington Council adopted a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD), which set out key principles for any redevelopment. Our priorities included the maximisation of genuinely affordable housing, and the inclusion of a dedicated Women’s Building to provide much-needed support services and facilities for women in the borough and across north London.
Islington’s Labour-run council has worked closely with the Labour Mayor of London to help secure funds for the purchase and redevelopment of the site so it could provide the amount of genuinely affordable housing required by the council’s SPD.
Specific guidelines have been put in place to maximise these opportunities and Peabody’s application will be rigorously tested and assessed against these and the Council’s planning policies.
Cllr Diarmaid Ward, Holloway ward Councillor and Islington Council’s Executive Member for Housing and Development, said:
“Islington Labour want everyone to have a safe, secure and genuinely affordable place to call home. The former prison site offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver hundreds of new, decent, genuinely affordable and energy efficient homes for local families.
“We have fought alongside the community for a development that meets the urgent need for more social rent and genuinely affordable homes and after years of hard work I am pleased that that the Council has received a full planning application from Peabody.
“In recognition of the ongoing need for women’s services and facilities in a safe space, we have secured a commitment to a dedicated Women’s Building – a fitting legacy for the former prison site.
“I would now urge the whole community to have their say on Peabody’s plans.”