Developers set to build £18million worth of private flats in Holloway Road tried to reduce the number of affordable housing on offer, the Gazette can reveal.
Optic Realm bought the land containing the Gulf petrol station and the flats next to it from Junction Road Property, which had already been given permission to transform it.
The agreed plans were for 11 of the 40 homes built in the £11.5m project to be affordable – which at 28 per cent was still way below the 50pc target for Islington. Eight were to be for council rent and three for shared ownership.
But Optic Realm appealed to Islington Council planning bosses, saying the development was not viable, and requested the number of affordable homes be reduced to six.
After the town hall rejected the bid, the company appealed to the Planning Inspectorate. But last month it was thrown out, with the independent inspector ruling that the number of affordable homes did not impact the viability of the project.
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