Jeremy Corbyn has joined opponents to an £82m plan for a student tower block in north London amid fears the high-rise would dominate the Islington skyline.
Developer SevenCapital wants to demolish parts of the former Archway Hospital site and replace it with a 27-storey tower and three new housing blocks. as well as restore heritage buildings from the 1870s and repurpose surrounding buildings.
But the former Labour leader claims the development, which would have 242 student rooms, is too big and the affordable housing allocation does not go far enough.
It would have 87 homes available at market rate, 58 properties for social rent and 33 “affordable” homes for key workers.
Most of the student accommodation would be housed in the 27-storey block, standing around 25 metres taller than Archway Tower.
Mr Corbyn, who now sits as the independent MP for Islington North, said: “I cannot support this application in its current form and wish to register my strongest objection to it.
“In no way in a borough with over 15,000 families in housing need and where of existing tenancies around 40 per cent live in social housing can this be called an appropriate development.”
The hospital site has been vacant for a decade. Mr Corbyn supported intentions to preserve the “wonderful existing buildings” but called for more social housing to be included.
He told the Ham & High: “I do not understand how the developers can reasonably expect to get approval for a development proposal which simply adds a tower block at the last stage of the development. This is unacceptable.
"If Islington does not reject the proposal, I would expect the Mayor and Secretary of State to call it in as an inappropriate development.”
Locals claim that their concerns about the development have been ignored and that they favoured a ‘plan B’ proposal which would involved re-purposing current buildings rather than building a tower.
Mark Davies, whose home in Lidyard Road backs onto the development, told the Ham & High the development was too close to their homes.
He said: “We’re not NIMBYs... I know there’s a housing shortage, and we have sympathy for all of that.
“But we’ve been talking to the developers for years and they’ve completely ignored everything. That’s why I’m very angry.
“The block is right on top of us. One of my neighbours said ‘we’ll be on stage every day’. It’s evil and it’s nasty.”
Opponents, including Liz Morris from the Highgate Society, have said the tower will “blight” the area, and provide an “eyesore visible from as far away as Hampstead Heath”.
A spokesperson for SevenCapital said: “We have explored various options for the development of the site, but a key requirement has been to meet the local authority need for a significant element of affordable housing to be delivered as part of the proposal.
“The ‘Plan B’ scheme that residents refer to cannot deliver this.
“The submitted scheme will address local housing needs by delivering over 50 per cent affordable housing, alongside student accommodation, and make a lasting, positive contribution to the community and wider area through public realm enhancements and the provision of flexible community and commercial space.”
