Seven Capital showed their new plans for the Archway Campus Development in February 2023. You can see the plans here:
Most of the images on this site are from the consultation.
Quick summary: They propose cramming 250 units into the site on top of a 30+ storey tower block for student accommodation - a further 300 units. The northern building right up against the border so that it looms over and crowds the Academy / Lidyard / Despard Road neighbourhood.
Their plans are a desperate attempt to balance competing pressures:
1) They want to fit as many units on the site as possible to achieve 50% affordable housing. Thinking about the number of units, rather than people, means prioritising smaller one-bed units rather than families and key workers. Viability concerns means this promise would likely be broken once planning is granted.
2) The tower plan contravenes Islington’s own tall buildings policy, has a significant visual impact and will create even greater issues around wind than we already have in Navigator Square.
3) The only neighbouring community, just north to the site on Highgate Hill, Lidyard and Despard Roads, are unhappy about the proximity and height of the proposed northern buildings. Rather than using the topography of the site they have put the taller building higher up the hill, right against the boundary.
4) Islington Council claims to be committed to 2030 net zero targets but are not considering more sustainable plans that retain more historic buildings and better comply with the Conservation Area Statement for the site.
5) Seven Capital’s financing and the transaction for the site with Peabody are opaque and raise significant questions of whether the project could be financed and completed. A viability statement should be provided with the planning application.
