Islington Green Party has condemned the Post Office’s plans for the massive development of the Mount Pleasant site, which straddles the Islington and Camden council boundaries. Local activist Michael Coffey has called on Islington Council and the Mayor’s office to reject the proposals, which would see a forest of skyscrapers in a gated, private, fortress looming over the neighbouring communities.
“The scheme is totally out of scale with the local area, the architecture is mediocre, and investment in local infrastructure minimal” says Michael. “This is more than just a missed, a once in a century opportunity to create a genuinely, thriving, sustainable and above all public housing development. It’s an assault on historic Clerkenwell, and sad proof that privatisation is already turning the Royal Mail into a cash cow for its corporate shareholders – who will make hundreds of millions of pounds from this development of once public land – rather than service for the public”.
Critically, the development fails to address the real need in Islington – more affordable housing. Islington Council has a minimum criterion of 50% social housing in new developments – but the Royal Mail is proposing a scant 20% social housing.
The density and height of the tower blocks is out of all keeping with the character of the area, the low-rise nature and human scale of surrounding neighbourhoods. Moreover, the provision for public services is wholly inadequate, and the thousands of new occupants will place an intolerable strain on medical and educational resources in the area, not to mention increasing traffic congestion and presenting new demands on water pressure and supply – none of which are taken into account in the design.
Charlie Kiss, a Green Party activist and social renter, has also pointed out the physical separation between social renters and private renters in this development. “It is a horrendous form of social apartheid,” he said, “which is not even replicated on Council managed estates where leaseholders and council tenants and private tenants at least all mix together.”
Tom Bowker, Clerkenwell resident and Green Party activist, said: “Aside from the issues of loss of light and green space, the main beneficiaries will not be ordinary Islingtonians but wealthy investors who see central London property as a safe haven to park their millions – whether or not they bother to let their properties out in London’s overpriced and under-regulated rental market.”
Michael Coffey has written to local councillors, Planning officers and members of the planning committee, as well as the GLA, underlining how the proposals fail to meet the requirements of the 2012 Planning Document for the site, issued jointly by Islington and Camden councils. That document called for “a new neighbourhood that fully integrates into the local area”; but the Greens agree with local groups that the development will be just another gated community whose design offers no empathy with these historic surroundings, and which adds nothing of value on the way of real amenities. The height – one of the blocks proposed is fifteen stories – will suck the light out of the nearby streets (and in particular loom over Christopher Hatton Primary school) creating canyons by its design and punishing pedestrians by the weight of traffic it will create.
In September 2013 the Mayor’s office referred the proposals back to the Councils – who had already approved them (including that pitiful 20% social housing!). We now wait to see what changes Islington and Camden are prepared to make. But this not about tinkering at the edges – a complete rethink is needed.