Not quite 50,000

Published: 11 June, 2010

• ON page two of the recently delivered Islington Council magazine, Islington Now (annual production cost of around £250,000), there is an article written by the new council leader Catherine West, headed “Welcome”. 

In the third paragraph, it states: “The Mayor of London has pledged to build 50,000 new, affordable homes in the borough so I will do all I can to ensure we get our share of these.”

I slept on this and the other morning I awoke to think that this would solve all our social housing needs in the borough – the needs of the 13,000 people on the council housing waiting list plus all those already in Islington Council- owned homes, who are living in overcrowded accommodation waiting for transfers, for example, the family of 10, including the mother-in-law, I four-bedroom house. 

When I telephoned the Mayor of London’s office today, I found that the figure of 50,000 “affordable homes” was for all the boroughs in London, that is, to cover 33 boroughs and not just Islington and includes those properties which are currently not in use. Not “new” builds and is the target set for delivery by 2012. 

The actual figure for Islington has already been agreed at 1,902 – which is somewhat removed from 50,000. 

This needs to be made clear before the next issue of the magazine appears.

ORIEL HUTCHINSON 
Organising Secretary Islington Conservative Federation