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| Stadium plan ‘wasted opportunity’ |
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Concerned residents at the packed meeting
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OBJECTORS packed a meeting yesterday evening (Thursday) to decide
the fate of Highbury stadium and its subsequent conversion into
flats.
Massive public interest meant Islington’s Corporate Services
Committee was transferred from the Town Hall to the National Children’s
Homes in Highbury Park.
The planning application sought to transform the stadium into 711
flats. A previous application in 2002 wanted only 557 flats. The
development will see the pitch landscaped, 458 underground car parking
spaces and take 41 months to complete.
Greater London Assembly member Jeanette Arnold condemned the construction
time at the meeting. She said the other two Arsenal developments
– Lough Road waste transfer station and new Emirates stadium
– had taken a fraction of the time to complete. Ms Arnold told
developers and Arsenal executives: “You are building phase
by phase because you are watching the market and don’t want
to be out of pocket. It will end up a gated des res.”
Highbury West councillor Theresa Debono was banned from the meeting
after lawyers decided, because she lives close to the stadium, that
she has a prejudicial interest.
Of the 711 flats, 98 per cent will be one and two bedroom units.
“A small amount” will be three beds and there will be
one four bedroom flat. There will be 55 affordable housing units
of which six will be social housing for rent.
In contrast, Islington’s planning policy is that 25 per cent
of any development should be social housing with a further 10 per
cent for sale to key workers.
The part of the development bordering Avenell Road will be built
between four and eight stories high. The East and West stands will
remain but there will be “a substantial amount of demolition”.
Islington council Planning officer Jeff Baker told the meeting that
the density of the development had not increased, only the amount
of rooms.
Mr Baker said: “The mix of housing is a really contentious
issue. The impression that’s been given to me is that won’t
reflect a sustainable community.”
Other keys concerns raised with Mr Baker included:
• A loss of light for Aubert Court;
• The undermining of tree roots;
• A loss of privacy for resident in Avenell Road;
• Subsidence worries;
• Noise and disruption caused by the construction work.
Mayor of London Ken Livingstone will have a veto on proposals with
a final right of appeal resting with the Secretary of State John
Prescott.
As part of the club’s environmental impact agreement, it has
paid £93,000 towards a car club and the fees for an environmental
officer to liaise with residents.
Bruce Tatersall, from Aubert Court, rallied the meeting, threatening
to be a thorn in the side of developers.
He said: “We’ve got to be a bloody nuisance and every
time a code is breached we take action. The council are our servants
and not our masters and we will use our votes advisedly if the wrong
decisions are taken.”
Mr Tatersall added: “To afford the affordable housing in the
scheme requires an average income of £40,000.”
Islington North MP Jeremy Corbyn said the stadium conversion had
been a wasted opportunity to solve Islington’s housing crisis.
He said: “There is a desperate need for rented buildings for
people on the housing list.”
Vicar Stephen Coles feared the development would become and unworkable
soci-economic mix akin to Docklands.
Mr Corbyn also blasted the decision to close the JVC children’s
centre on site.
He said: “Generations of kids have loved the JVC because it
has given them the opportunity to play at the Arsenal.”
Tess Newman, a parent governor at the nearby St John’s Highbury
Vale primary school, demanded developers impose a ban on construction
traffic at the beginning and end of the school day. |
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