With support from over 2,000 Islington residents, Emily Thornberry has written to Islington Council about their proposed new planning policies, saying that their policy on affordable housing will fail Islington's families.
The Council is currently updating its planning policies and has put its proposals out for consultation - but Emily says the policy they are proposing will fail Islington families. With the backing of more than 2,000 Islington residents on a petition, and the support of the Labour group of councillors, Emily is demanding that the policy includes a target for 50% of all new homes to be affordable.
The Council has agreed to put 50% affordable housing only in developments of 10 units or more. Emily says this 10-unit threshold is as an ‘Achilles heel' in the policy, which will mean the total affordable housing built in Islington will be significantly less than 50%.
Emily points out that the previous policy had 35% affordable housing in developments over 15-units - and this meant that since 2000, just 1 in every 7 new homes had been affordable.
In her letter to the Council, she wrote:
"I am very concerned that Islington has only suggested 50% affordable housing in developments of 10 units or more.The council squandered the opportunity for hundreds of Islington families to be housed in affordable homes at big sites like Arsenal. I want to make sure that the council does not fail them again. There is space on small sites for affordable housing. It is about time the council said no to developers."
Editors' notes:
Islington Council is currently consulting on its Planning Core Strategy until 18 April.
Emily wrote to Graham Loveland, head of planning at the council, as part of the consultation. The full text of her letter is reproduced below:
Dear Mr Loveland
I am writing in response to the Council's final consultation on Islington's core planning strategy.
I have a number of concerns with this strategy, but in particular I am very concerned about the Council's policy on affordable housing. I think that building more affordable housing should be a top priority for the council, as there are more than 13,000 families on the borough's Housing Waiting List.
In the explanatory notes to the new strategy, you say that your existing policy of providing 35% affordable housing in developments over 15 units "has been very successful". I disagree, and believe there have been many wasted opportunities where we could have built homes for the desperate Islington families waiting for years to be re-housed.
I understand that this 15-unit threshold has meant the majority of developments do not include any affordable housing - since 2000 only around 1 in every 7 new homes have been affordable.
As you know, I believe that at least 50% of all new homes in Islington should be affordable. And I am not alone in believing this. The Labour group of councillors support a 50% target, and I have collected signatures from more than 2,000 supporters on a petition making just this demand.
I am therefore very concerned that Islington has only suggested 50% affordable housing in developments of 10 units or more.
The council squandered the opportunity for hundreds of Islington families to be housed in affordable homes at big sites like Arsenal. I want to make sure that the council does not fail them again.
There is space on small sites for affordable housing. It is about time the council said no to developers.
I am also concerned that too little of the ‘affordable' housing will in fact be available for council or housing association tenants. And finally, I am concerned that not enough will be family-sized housing.
I therefore urge you to:
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Set a clear target of 50% affordable housing for all new homes built in Islington - and stick to it.
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Adopt the Mayor of London's rule that 70% of affordable housing must be socially rented for council or housing association tenants.
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Provide homes for Islington's families by ensuring that a third of new affordable homes are 3-bedroom or more.
Yours sincerely,
Emily Thornberry
