Campaigners outside the reception area of Argent, where they presented the King’s Cross developer with a large petition

Published: 31 July, 2015
by KOOS COUVÉE

DEVELOPERS behind the regeneration of King’s Cross have been handed a petition signed by more than 11,000 people demanding that they “stick to their promises” on affordable housing.

Campaigners were forced to leave the petition with Argent’s front-counter staff after being told no managers were available to see them on Friday afternoon.

It follows the company’s request that they are allowed to lower the number of affordable homes they are required to build on the 65-acre site behind the stations, on what is one of the capital’s biggest brownfield sites.

Argent were initially given planning permission for the development on the basis that 40 per cent of the 2,000 homes built on the land would fall into the “affordable” bracket. They now say they want that figure to be reduced to 33 per cent.

Around 20 objectors were at Argent’s offices, led by Una Sapietis, of the King’s Cross Railwaylands Group (KXRLG), and Michael Edwards, a housing campaigner and teaching fellow on planning at University College London, who has blogged extensively on the development.

Members of the KXRLG, the Cally Rail Group, the Regent’s Network, 38 Degrees and other sympathisers had alerted the developers that they would be arriving with the petition, but were left to voice their frustrations to a receptionist.

Sian Berry, the Highgate ward councillor who is running to be the Green Party’s candidate in next year’s mayoral elections, said: “People need these homes. It would be a brilliant gesture for Argent to stick to their promises. It would cost Argent around £3million and, with flats in the area changing hands for more than a million pounds, it’s not that much money. They should pay it.”

Del Brenner, of the Regent’s Network, added: “We’re here to tell them to change their minds, to be more fair-minded and restore the original social housing commitment that they agreed to. They signed a legal agreement, and to go back on it is just not fair.”

Argent have said that they need to change the affordable housing provision because of a lowering in grant funding from the government. Asked why no senior staff were present to meet the campaigners, a spokeswoman said: “We have no further comment to make.”

In an opinion piece that appeared in the New Journal earlier this month, Robert Evans, from Argent and partners in the King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership, insisted that promises were being kept, adding that “development costs have climbed significantly faster than anticipated” and that while Argent was “honouring its commitments”, there had been a fall in public sector funding.