Vulnerable young people face eviction from Fonthill Road after complaints of anti-social behaviour

Published: 11 March, 2011
by TERRY MESSENGER

YOUNG victims of “sexual, physical and emotional trauma” are set to lose their homes after councillors voted to shut down their housing complex in Finsbury Park.

The move by Islington Council’s planning committee follows “a catalogue of complaints” from nearby residents about anti-social behaviour.

Councillors refused to grant planning permission for the continued use of two houses in Fonthill Road as semi-independent living units for vulnerable youngsters aged 16 to 18. And they overturned a recommendation from Town Hall officials to allow the youngsters to stay. The decision was described as “shocking” by a social worker who spoke up for the youngsters at the meeting last Thursday.

But Labour ward councillor Phil Kelly, who is supporting local residents, said: “It was the correct decision and it will come as a great relief to the people who live nearby. I have no idea what will happen [to the young people] but they don’t now have planning permission to carry on.”

The youngsters were placed at the premises by neighbouring councils including Camden and Barnet.

The two houses are divided into 14 single person studios with an additional two rooms used as offices by six support staff who work from 9am to 5pm. Two caretakers supervise the building 24 hours a day.

Planning committee chairman Labour councillor Martin Klute said that Islington would not use such a large complex to house so many challenging youngsters.

The houses, known as Olympia House, are run by private company Active Serve Ltd.

A planning official told the committee that young people were placed in Islington deliberately to get them away from areas where they had previously got into trouble.

Kurtis Ashington, who had worked with the teenagers as a social worker, told the committee: “Many of the young people have experienced domestic violence, fam­ily breakdown or have had parents with drug or mental health or alcohol problems.

“Many have experienced sexual exploitation or have been abandoned by their parents.”

He quoted a female resident of Olympia House as saying: “My mother was an alcoholic and my father was violent. I needed to get away and live with people who really cared about me.

“Olympia House has really helped me. I have enrolled on a hairdressing course and I want to become a hairdresser.”

But residents of the nearby Haden Court estate are celebrating the decision to remove the young people. 

They complained to the committee of threats and abuse from the teenagers; rubbish being thrown from windows; teenagers climbing up drainpipes to access their flats and damage to cars.

The officials’ report also noted that “there has been heavy reliance on police attendance at the premises” – although the police raised no objection to the planning application.

Cllr Kelly questioned whether previous planning permissions were valid on the grounds that the complex was a hostel – rather than straightforward bedsits for which permission was granted.

A planning history of the site in the officials’ report revealed that the council was considering revoking a Certificate of Lawful Use granted to Active Serve “as a result of limited information provided”.

After the meeting Cllr Klute told the Tribune that Active Serve were likely to appeal and that no action could therefore be taken for “quite some time” to evict the young people.

Speaking yesterday (Thursday), Olympia House manager Stephen Poirazi said: “We are very, very disappointed and we will be appealing.   The process could take months and there are no plans for enforcement as far as we are aware until that process is finished.”