Islington is a densely populated, inner London borough with a diverse and incredibly inclusive community. There is a desperate need for genuinely affordable housing and affordable workspace. That is why the Labour-run Council has agreed the Islington Local Plan, which is an opportunity to use planning policy as a tool to help address some of these ongoing crises.

Whilst the Conservatives have been busy introducing policies that will hit working people the hardest, your Labour run Council has been developing policy that will make housing more affordable. Back in 2018, the Council launched a consultation, which gave residents the opportunity to feed into the draft Local Plan as the Council is determined that the views of residents and people who spend a significant amount of time in Islington are heard.

The main priorities for the plan are to:

1. Tackle the housing crisis: at least 50% of new homes must be genuinely affordable and built to high standards, which includes – but is not limited to – minimum space and providing private, outdoor areas for residents.
2. Work towards creating a thriving local economy: new office developments must provide at least 10% of floorspace as affordable workspace.
3. Continue the council’s work on climate change: all new buildings will be required to meet various environmental standards to ensure that sustainability is factored in from the very first stages of building design.

This is only part of the reason why Islington Labour are so proud that the Local Plan was adopted at September’s Full Council Meeting. In our 2022 Local Election manifesto ‘Fairer, Safer, Greener, Together’ we outlined plans to deliver 1550 new genuinely affordable homes, to urgently tackle the climate crisis and to build an inclusive economy. By adopting the local plan, the Labour-run Council is delivering on promises made when our Labour councillors were elected last year.

Cllr Diarmaid Ward, Executive Member for Finance, Planning and Performance said, “by introducing tough planning policy, we are ensuring that developers are delivering the homes and workspaces that people need, and which tackle the issues facing today. The Tories are failing to deliver for the people of Islington, but Labour will always be on the side of residents.”