Pic: Open Dalston Blog

Hackney Councils’ planning committee has unanimously rejected the proposal to build an 18-storey high block of flats on Kingsland High Street.

Residents opposed to the plan gathered in the town hall while the committee considered arguments for and against the ‘Dalston Green’ proposal – a tower at 51-57 Kingsland High Street, containing 130 modern flats.

Council members had also received a petition against the £400,000 development, with the signatures of 1,328 people. Protesters from Hackney were joined by others from the neighbouring borough of Islington, who said they had not been fully informed or included in the plans.

A representative for the developer, Rothas, maintained that the building would “encourage urban culture”, and make Hackney “a more attractive space to use”, acting as “a catalyst for regeneration”.

It was also argued that the £1.7 million the developers would provide to the council in order to upgrade Dalston Kingsland station would be a huge help.

Campaign group OPEN Dalston argued that “this particular scheme is inappropriate, poorly designed and over scaled”. If planning was to go ahead, the council “would be putting themselves in the hands of the developers”, it added.

Similar concerns were voiced by members of the council, including chair, Councillor Vincent Stops, who rejected the development on the grounds that the plans provided no affordable housing and were of inappropriate design, due to the immense height.

Speaking to EastLondonLines, one woman, who wished to go unnamed, described herself as a “pissed off resident from Islington” who believed that it was “bad manners” that she, as somebody who would be affected, “was not consulted at all about the plans to build the tower block”. Her house would be facing the back of the building.