Residents near Islington Green are locked in a row with the Town Hall over plans to build a centre for adults with high-needs learning disabilities on a car park which backs onto their gardens.

Islington Council says the proposed three-storey block in Weston Street, off Essex Road, will allow 14 disabled people currently placed outside the borough to live closer to their families, and will save taxpayers £115,000 a year.

But some owners of four-storey Georgian terraces in Packington Street are concerned about the impact of the proposed building on their quality of life and question whether the new block is suitable for disabled people.


“We’re opposed to the height and design of the proposed scheme and we would welcome a properly-designed, two-storey building where the vulnerable residents are properly cared for,” said resident Gill Weston, 47. “We’re not objecting to the development but we want something that is not as high.

“I don’t just oppose it because it’s right outside my back garden. It’s going to be like a prison yard and I’m concerned about the individuals that are going to be living there.”

Her neighbour, Tessa Courage, who is in her 60s and whose garden also backs onto the car park, added: “We’re not Nimbys, but the council just seems to want to push this through and we’re treated like irritants.

“This three-storey building will give us a massive sense of enclosure, not least because the car park is at a much higher level than our gardens.

“It’s not Nimbyish to say this will take away our light. We should be allowed to say: ‘There’s another way round this.’”

There are currently 312 people in Islington with learning difficulties who need some kind of accommodation-based support.

Of those, 45 per cent are located outside the borough, due to poor planning and priority not being given to developing such schemes, a council briefing document states.

“This is a really simple issue,” Town Hall leader Councillor Richard Watts said. “We have a lot of adults with quite severe vulnerabilities who are placed in pretty unsuitable accommodation outside the borough. The most important thing is that we try to provide them with decent accommodation closer to their families.

“The scheme will save taxpayers a fair amount of money. I don’t want to downplay it but a relatively small number of people are voicing concerns and we have wider responsibilities to others, including people with learning difficulties placed in out-of-borough accommodation. We have to consider their needs as well.”

Claims that 14 residents could be accommodated on two storeys were rejected by Cllr Watts. “We've heard the view it should be two storeys and we’ve looked at it, but it’s not feasible,” he said.

“We can’t extend into the garden of the adjacent estate, and we can’t go underground. In order to cater for 14 people we need a three-storey building.”

The scheme is funded through the council’s capital programme and will require planning permission. If this is granted then the provisional completion date is October next year.

Last night, the Town Hall executive was expected to agree to start a procurement process to find a provider to run the service. The nine-year contract funded through the social care budget is worth £5.4million.

• Keywords
  PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT, FLATS, GARDENS
• Geographical keyword
  PACKINGTON STREET, WESTON STREET