THE Green Party has set out a 10-point action plan it wants developer Argent to follow at the King’s Cross railway lands project.
Outlining the Greens’ plans for the 72-acre site, Holborn and St Pancras candidate Adrian Oliver criticised the existing proposals for the regeneration of the area.
He said: “They do not respect the heritage of the area, and provisions for healthy living, education, family life and biodiversity are completely inadequate.”
His 10 points include calls for more housing and fewer offices, smaller, cheaper business units and a fresh food market.
He is also asking for better community facilities, including a sports centre, primary school, GP surgery, nurseries and playgrounds.
The Greens also want 50 per cent of all homes built to be affordable housing – and for every building to be designed to meet eco-friendly standards.
Greens want the rubble and mess to be recycled, more green space to be added, the buildings to be less tall and the canal opened up for builders’ traffic and then used for water buses when the work is finished.
Mr Oliver said the existing plans were almost wholly business centred – “creating a forest of office blocks, with no attempt to include innovative green buildings or job opportunities for residents”.
He asked: “Where are the family-friendly facilities or the markets and small business units to help local people set up their own companies and create truly local employment?”
Meanwhile, in Hampstead and Highgate Green candidate Sian Berry has been campaigning on the issue of the Town Hall closing public toilets, which she said reflected government policy nationwide.
She said: “This is symptomatic of all the cuts in public services across the country – while millions more will be spent on the occupation of Iraq.”