As Islington residents struggle to get homes, the construction of new houses in the borough almost halved by August 2014, as compared to last year, the newly published figures from the Department for Communities and Local Government’s website revealed.
Only 310 new houses were completed in 2013/2014 as compared to 590 a year before. The construction of 170 more houses has been started since July 2014, which is almost half as many as the previous year.
At that, Islington is the most densely populated borough in London with 145 people per hectare. It is also one of the most expensive places to live. The median house price in the borough is at least 11.4 times bigger than a median resident’s income allows.
Hillrise Labour Councillor Dave Poyser said: “There are some very rich people in the borough and a lot of very poor people, but not many in between. Middle-class people like primary school teachers or university administrators struggle to find accommodation in Hillrise. To fix this problem, we need to build more affordable houses.”
Cllr Poyser promised that at least 25 out of 50 new houses planned to build near Ashmount Street in Hillrise will be affordable.
Lack of affordable housing in the borough
In Islington’s housing strategy for 2014-2019, Councillor James Murray, Executive Member for Housing and Development, stated that one of the top priorities of a council is to fight for everyone in Islington to have a home that is decent, affordable, and secure.
At least 2,000 new affordable homes were projected to be delivered between 2010 and 2015, including new council homes. However, only 1,700 had been added to the housing stock by August 2014.
Islington’s Housing Aid Centre at Upper Street looks very busy on Wednesday lunchtime. Anna Grab, 27, came to check her housing status: “When our daughter was born, my husband and I couldn’t afford renting a flat at a market price any more. This forced us to move to my parents’ house who have other two teen children. We applied to rent an property, but we are still on a waiting list since April.” Anna doesn’t want to leave Islington because her mother helps her with childcare.
As of 2013, 42 per cent of all homes in the borough were categorised as affordable housing. The Council owns around 26,000 tenanted properties. In addition, more than 40 housing associations operate within the borough providing over 15,000 affordable homes. The rest of the houses and flats are either owner-occupied or privately rented.
