Islington Homes for All have launched a petition calling for London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, to negotiate with the Ministry of Justice to keep the Holloway site in public ownership and to use the Affordable Homes Fund to build council houses there, alongside facilities for the local community, particularly women.

The petition reads:

Last November London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan called for affordable housing to be built on the 10 acres of land at the vacant Holloway Prison site. Any redevelopment at the site must be for people in housing need – not luxury private apartments. The local Council has a waiting list of 18,000 and supports the use of public land for public benefit.

People need homes they can afford, where they can live securely, and we believe that Council Housing is the only way guaranteed means of meeting this need.

We therefore call on Mayor Khan to negotiate with the Ministry of Justice to ensure that this public land remains in public ownership, and to use money from his £3.15 billion Affordable Homes Fund to enable Council Homes to be built there, alongside facilities for the local community, especially women, thus providing a legacy for Londoners. 

Last November a petition by Islington Homes for All and Islington Trades Council calling for Sadiq Khan to purchase the Holloway site reached nearly 6,000 signatures.