Sixteen new council houses have been unveiled on top of the new Cat and Mouse Library in Archway.

They’re part of a 34-flat development in Dalmeny Avenue – and represent a small but positive step towards the council’s plan to serve up 2,000 affordable homes by 2020, including 500 council houses.

Larger ambitions to meet this target include the construction of 900 homes on the site of Holloway Prison.

But even that is only a drop in the ocean. In 2016 the council let out 1,250 properties: 7 per cent of the 18,000 households on its housing register.

The homes are on the site of eight derelict bedsits in Bramber House, demolished in 2011. Three of the flats are equipped for wheelchair users, and all are designed to be energy efficient.

Housing chief Cllr Diarmaid Ward said: “London is in the grip of a major housing crisis and Islington Council is doing everything that it can to help tackle the problem. I’d like to thank all the local residents and community members involved in this project for their patience, support, and feedback.”