Local campaigners are urging people to make their voices heard in Holloway Prison’s transformation into an expansive housing development. Proposals for what should be done with the site have been discussed at ‘Saturday stall’ events this month. The Community Plan For Holloway (CP4H) to feed back the residents’ comments to Peabody Group, which acquired the site early last year, at a roundtable.
HMP Holloway is famous for a number of its inmates, which have included Suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst and playwright Oscar Wilde. Now, the building is to make way for new housing, under Peabody’s ownership. Plans include a 16-storey tower block housing up to 1,600 homes, 60% of which would have affordable rent. There are also plans for a green community space and a women’s building.
Community Engagement Organiser for CP4H, Debbie Humphry says her role is to “bring people from diverse backgrounds into the campaign”. As a “conduit” for different interested people, CP4H has working groups discussing proposals like building social housing on the site, or a Women’s building. Each group meets fortnightly online to discuss their agendas.
Humphry said: “For Peabody, it is very much ticking boxes. We want to tell them what Islington residents want and why.” With Peabody’s final consultation set for early 2021, CP4H wants to collect as many responses as possible to strengthen the community’s input into the redevelopment.
For more information about the site and campaign, visit the website. Locals looking to get involved with the campaign can email engage.plan4holloway@gmail.com to find out more.
