Islington Council has announced plans to make the borough greener, but residents claim the programme is meaningless when the council is planning to build on current green spaces.
Campaign group EC1Voices say that the council’s initiative, the Greener Together programme, is hypocritical as they are planning to demolish local outdoor sports and leisure space at Finsbury Leisure Centre. Eva Guerra, a member of the group, says that the programme feels like a “kick in the teeth”.
The council plans to build one-hundred council homes on the leisure centre site, in an attempt to tackle a lack of social housing in the area. They also plan to find space for an NHS GP Surgery.
A football pitch that would be removed under the proposals
While EC1Voices do not condemn the desire for more social housing, they see this proposal as a “short-sighted overdevelopment with misleading advertising”.
They believe the proposed transformation will result in “insufficient new amenities and green spaces”.
According to data from Islington Council’s biodiversity Action Plan, only 13% of the borough’s land is green space. This makes it the second-lowest proportion of any local authority in England.
Islington has the second-lowest proportion of green space in any council in England.
The campaign group think that the beginning of Islington’s Greener Together Programme, which started on Monday, blatantly contradicts the council’s plans to remove one of the few green spaces Islington has.
The group hopes that their resilience will make Islington Council reconsider these plans.
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Standfirst
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HeadlineLocals accuse Islington council of “PR stunt” over green spaces
Short HeadlineLocals accuse Islington council of "PR stunt"
StandfirstAn Islington campaign group believes the council's "Greener Together" programme is hypocritical
Islington Council has announced plans to make the borough greener, but residents claim the programme is meaningless when the council is planning to build on current green spaces.
Campaign group EC1Voices say that the council’s initiative, the Greener Together programme, is hypocritical as they are planning to demolish local outdoor sports and leisure space at Finsbury Leisure Centre. Eva Guerra, a member of the group, says that the programme feels like a “kick in the teeth”.
The council plans to build one-hundred council homes on the leisure centre site, in an attempt to tackle a lack of social housing in the area. They also plan to find space for an NHS GP Surgery.
A football pitch that would be removed under the proposals
While EC1Voices do not condemn the desire for more social housing, they see this proposal as a “short-sighted overdevelopment with misleading advertising”.
They believe the proposed transformation will result in “insufficient new amenities and green spaces”.
According to data from Islington Council’s biodiversity Action Plan, only 13% of the borough’s land is green space. This makes it the second-lowest proportion of any local authority in England.
Islington has the second-lowest proportion of green space in any council in England.
The campaign group think that the beginning of Islington’s Greener Together Programme, which started on Monday, blatantly contradicts the council’s plans to remove one of the few green spaces Islington has.
The group hopes that their resilience will make Islington Council reconsider these plans.
