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Abstract

There are few more thrilling sights than progressive politicians in hot pursuit of wicked developers displacing the ordinary citizens of London from their homes. In the emergency debate at last week’s full Islington Council meeting, politicians of both parties rounded on the landlord planning to evict the Islington Park Street commune from their home of 40 years, calling it a “fight for the heart of Islington”.

However, this developer is the respectable One Housing Group (OHG), formerly the Community Housing Association, which inherited this community home, established in 1976, from the short-life Patchwork Housing Association some years ago. It claims to be under pressure from its regulator to close it down.

OHG has tried this before, most recently in 2009, though the regulator confirmed to the residents that it was not against the shared home as such, but the tenure and the allocations did need to be regularised.

If these issues remain a problem with the regulator, after 40 years, this surely says more about OHG’s governance than alleged problems with the home. As grounds for eviction, they are risible. A sensible judge should tell the parties to go away and reach an agreement.

What is at stake here? OHG implies the residents are benefiting from a home they do not deserve, and, from the language quoted in the print press and social media, is keen to just get rid of these people.

However, “these people” are the creators and custodians of a unique caring community that has been sustained by self-management over 40 years. It provides a supportive environment, nurturing the personal autonomy of people with both physical and mental health needs.

It is the vision fulfilled of its founders – Greg Moore, Jon Cheshire and Cheryl St Clair – based on their research of similar communities in the US. As every public health expert knows, including the celebrated Sir Michael Marmot, personal autonomy is the single most powerful determining factor of good physical and mental health. You can’t have too much autonomy.

Across the UK, there is now a growing movement of people actively developing co-housing projects. Single people, families and now many older people, at every income level, want to live more sustainably in a neighbourly setting with shared facilities, providing support to each other to preserve their personal autonomy, particularly as they grow older. They are doing it themselves as, unlike in mainland Europe, neither public policy nor the market currently offers this choice.

For public services facing the growing adult social care bill, Park Street is a living example from which mainstream housing and care providers could learn.

Lisa Nandy, former Labour shadow minister for the voluntary sector, gives this good advice (writing in The Guardian last year): “Putting people back in control means there is not just one ‘right way’ of doing things, and no universal delivery mechanism, except to start with the energy, passion, creativity and strength in communities and build from there.” Sounds just like the Park Street community.

Personal autonomy was the golden thread running through the Labour Policy Review, so unwisely ignored by the party’s strategists. So it is good to see Islington Labour vigorously championing these ideas. In the procedural politics of the council chamber, they nevertheless voted down the wording of the residents’ online petition, outlining the essential steps needed from the council before their eviction on Sunday. Let’s hope the council is even now working with residents on those steps. The heart of Islington and Labour are at stake!

• Stephen Hill, who lives in Upper Holloway, was an advisor to the last Labour government on local government reform, planning and neighbourhood regeneration. He is currently chair of the UK Cohousing Network, and is advising Cambridge City Council on a pioneering multi-generation co-housing project on council land.