PLANS for a massive development of 475 student flats behind Finsbury Park Station have been thrown out by Islington Council.

PLANS for a massive development of 475 student flats behind Finsbury Park Station have been thrown out by Islington Council.

Family business John Jones Ltd employs 100 people and has been based in Morris Place, Finsbury Park, for the last 20 years.

With business booming and clients including some of Britain's leading artists and galleries, the firm insists it must bulldoze its current workshops on the site and build a new state-of-the-art HQ - financed by hundreds of adjoining student homes.

But an Islington Council planning committee slammed designs for the six-storey, 4,800 square metre scheme as "out of keeping" with the area.

Councillor Martin Klute said: "I agree the site needs to be regenerated - it's shabby and depressing and offers nothing but weeds and blank walls. But all the surrounding buildings are three storeys high. This is out-scaling them by a scale of two to one."

Earlier, Matthew Jones, managing director of John Jones Ltd, told the committee: "We have explored various options for moving but have been unable to meet our requirements. John Jones is a well-known business within Islington. Our proposed development has been designed to reflect the character of the area."

The council is hoping to limit the number of student homes being built in Islington in its new draft core strategy - a set of planning guidelines for the borough which go out for public consultation in November.