News & Comment

The Institute of Chartered Surveyors will soon be addressing affordable housing requirements in their national guidance, reports the Islington Gazette. This comes after a recent landmark High Court judgement ruling that developers can't overpay for land and subsequently refuse to abide by local authority planning policies on affordable housing on the grounds of profit loss. The… Continue reading Council’s planning victory over developer to be enshrined in national guidance

Andy Bain, who is heavily involved in the Community Plan for Holloway, wrote a letter in the Islington Tribune about a talk he gave earlier in October in which he covered the campaign around the Holloway prison site. In the letter Andy points out that the announcement of the preferred bidder is now 11 months… Continue reading Activist speaks about Holloway campaign at event on housing crisis

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… Continue reading Calls for London Mayor to build council housing on Holloway site

Thanks to everyone who came to the Community and Architects Day at the Williamson Street Community Centre last Saturday. We had a brilliant turnout from the local community who spent the day in conversation and planning with Andy and Steve from Manalo and White architects. The day started with an open-ended discussion about what people… Continue reading Community and Architects Day

Contrary to what prisons minister Rory Stewart told the House of Commons Justice Committee last week, a buyer for the Holloway prison site will be announced this summer. Stewart had told MPs that a bidder would be in place by the end of the year, but the Ministry of Justice has now said an announcement… Continue reading Government confused about when it will announce bidder

Islington Councillor Diarmaid Ward has warned that any potential buyer of the Holloway Prison site should not try to overbid for the land in the hope that they can negotiate down the amount of affordable housing they provide on it later on. Ward's comments came in an article written for the Centre for Crime and… Continue reading Developer must meet affordable housing requirements