Borough to pursue legal action over revocation by DCLG of Article 4 direction

Islington Council has threatened the Communities Secretary with legal action over the revocation of the authority’s Article 4 direction on office-to-residential conversions in certain areas of the borough.

In July the then Planning Minister Nick Boles revealed that the Government had cancelled Islington’s direction just days before it was due to come into force.

Boles said ministers had considered Islington’s further proposal for the Article 4 direction to apply to a reduced area but had concluded – in light of the tests set out in national policy and guidance – that it remained “unacceptably expansive and unjustified”.

He added that ministers had taken into account the background of the significant need for new housing in London in particular when deciding to cancel the direction.

But Islington has now called on Eric Pickles to quash the decision.

It claimed that the Communities Secretary’s decision to the direction was "based upon a mistake of fact giving rise to unfairness" and that he "failed to act fairly when considering whether to modify the Article 4 direction".

The council said: “Islington has consistently greatly exceeded its housing targets set out in the London Plan - and is set to continue to do so. However in justifying his action, the Secretary of State claims that Islington failed to deliver its housing targets over the period 2009 - 2013. In fact, Islington has exceeded its overall housing target by 43% over this period. The Secretary of State failed to take into account all the types of housing which the London Plan housing targets do.”

According to Islington, it was estimated that in 2013/14 more than 2,000 residential units had been delivered in Islington against a target of 1,172. “Islington has a very strong future housing supply, and delivery over the next five years is forecast to exceed the Mayor’s new higher targets by 38%.”

Cllr James Murray, executive member for housing and development at Islington, said: "The Government is trying to stop us doing what's right for Islington. Small businesses and charities have already been evicted from their offices to make way for bedsits. People in Islington are losing out on jobs, affordable housing, and any community benefit.

"The planning minister waited until the eleventh hour to overturn our decision, refused to accept a compromise we offered, and in his reasoning got his figures wrong. Given the circumstances, a legal challenge is our only option."