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Camden News - by TOM FOOT
Published: 24 July 2008

MP backs Argent housing plan

A GOVERNMENT minister has ended a year-long legal battle to build more affordable housing as part of the £2billion redevelopment of King’s Cross.
Hazel Blears, minister for communities and local government, upheld an appeal from developer Argent against a decision to block 250 homes on the site known as The Triangle.
Camden Council approved the plans – a 17-storey development flanking York Way and the east coast railway line – but Islington planning chiefs rejected the scheme claiming too few of the homes were affordable.
Campaigners from the Cally Rail Group and King’s Cross Railway Lands Group (KXRLG) warned a planning inquiry in April that noise from passing trains made the site unsuitable for any housing scheme.
But following a week-long planning inquiry, held in a conference centre in Holloway, Ms Blears upheld Argent’s appeal on all counts.
KXRLG chairman Michael Edwards said: “It wasn’t a surprise. The odds were stacked against us. It’s bad news for the people of Camden and Islington because there was a chance for more affordable homes. I think we will have to wait for British politics to change before we can win battles like this.”
A spokesman for Argent said: “This decision is fantastic news for the King’s Cross Central development.”
Islington Council can appeal the decision in the High Court.

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