View a webpage of our proposals

There are more than 15,000 households waiting for a council home in Islington right now. We know council homes can transform lives, and we need to make the best use of our land to help tackle the housing crisis.

The leisure centre is an important community building which needs significant investment to improve the facilities and make them more accessible, all within a new sustainable building.

This site offers a unique opportunity to provide space for an NHS GP surgery, delivering a new modern medical facility, in a building designed to best serve Islington communities as they grow.

The current streets and spaces around the site can be difficult to navigate and are not very welcoming. People have also said they sometimes don’t feel safe here.

We’ve been engaging with the community and consulting widely since 2017 to make sure we get it right.

Timeline so far

• 2013 Site allocated for redevelopment
• 2017 Engagement with local people about the future of the centre
• July 2022 Public consultation on outline masterplan
• January 2024 Public consultation on draft proposals

What we've heard

Most recently, we engaged with the community on a version of these proposals in July 2022 and received lots of helpful and detailed feedback. You asked us to:

• Provide more information and imagery so that it’s easier to understand the proposals.
• Keep a leisure centre on this site, improving and re-providing all the current facilities.
• Include green and outdoor spaces, for everyone to use and enjoy. Many people asked us to consider more planting and to make this a greener place for the community.
• Make sure the new buildings are designed appropriately for the area.
• Make this a safer place. You told us that there are problems with anti-social behaviour in the area and you would like to see the design address this.
• Provide more homes for local people with a particular focus on creating more council housing.

A - No above ground development because of sewer and power lines.

B - New leisure centre building here can re-use the existing basement.

C - Important heritage assets.

We’ve taken time to carefully review what you’ve told us at our last engagement. This is how the proposals have changed since we last spoke with you.

• A - Building 100 council homes that will help transform the lives of people waiting for council housing, with around 100 homes to help pay for them.
• B - Improved public spaces with new planting and greenery as well as improved walking and cycle paths.
• C - A sensitive design that reflects the character of the area with tall buildings placed away from St Luke’s Garden.
• D - A new café along Paton Street that will provide a space to sit, pause and meet friends and family.
• E -  A new and improved leisure centre, a flagship place for sports and leisure for Islington.
• F -  Space for an NHS GP surgery delivering space for a new modern medical facility, in a building designed to best serve Islington communities as they grow.
• G - A safer place to live and visit by designing out any dark corners and dead ends and installing new CCTV and lighting.

Islington has a shortage of council homes, including family-sized, larger, and accessible homes. We’re building 100 council homes that will help reduce over-crowding and transform the lives of people waiting for council housing, with around 100 homes to help pay for them.

The new homes will be high quality, including:

• Private outdoor space with gardens on the ground floor or balconies on upper floors.
• Good storage, so people can live comfortably without worrying about where to store day-to-day essentials like the vacuum cleaner.
• Most homes will have windows on two or more sides (this is called ‘dual or triple aspect’) which means light coming in from multiple angles, views from two sides, and a breeze to help cool homes on hot days.
• Access to a residential or communal garden. This will be designed for residents of all ages to enjoy and include play space for children.
• Designed to feel spacious, welcoming, and easy to move around, with a large proportion designed to be accessible for people with mobility issues.
• Energy-efficient design creating a lower demand for heating, while also helping to keep carbon emissions down, helping tackle the climate crisis.
• Secure cycle storage for all residents.
• Space to work or study designed into the layouts of each home.

1. Access gallery
2. Bedroom
3. Bathroom
4. Utility cupboard
5. Storage
6. Living/Kitchen/Diner
7. Balcony

Priority for local people

Priority for the new council homes will be given to secure council tenants living in the Bunhill ward who meet the lettings criteria and are looking to downsize, live in overcrowded properties or who have needs that are not being met in their current homes. For more information visit our housing webpage.

This will be a flagship place for sports and leisure for Islington. We understand that the existing facilities are well-loved, and our proposals will deliver a brand-new space with better changing rooms, new gym, and improved accessibility and sustainability.

The new leisure building will have four football pitches on the roof. These have been designed to Football Association specifications for five-a-side football and will be high quality facilities, similar to those found at Nine Elms or the Britannia Leisure Centre in Hackney.

• 150sqm of flexible studio space
• A new centre for sport
• A modern gym
• Cycle parking
• Four squash courts with a viewing gallery
• New and improved changing rooms
• Six-court multi-use sports hall 
• More accessible toilet and changing facilities

GP surgeries are overstretched across London and there are few sites available for new ones to be built, despite the hugely important role that they play in community wellbeing and access to healthcare.

The surgery has been designed with local GPs and their staff, with support from NHS design advisers GBP Consult. With their input, we have designed space for a new NHS GP surgery with flexible spaces so more treatment space can be added as local demand grows.

As part of our proposals, we’re taking a fresh look at the paths and public spaces around the site and exploring what improvements we can deliver to make them greener, safer and more useable.

Solar panels on the roofs of the new homes to help generate clean energy.

“Blue roofs” and smart planting to help with drainage and flood management.

Climate resilient planting to keep this a green place long into the future.

Residential gardens designed as a place that residents of all ages can enjoy with health, wellbeing and biodiversity in mind, including play space for children.

Safe and comfortable walking paths which are greener, easier to navigate and benefit from new lighting and overlooking, helping stitch together the existing network of footpaths in the area.

Play on the way opportunities for children to play as they travel through the new public spaces.

We’re working with award-winning architects to develop an ambitious design that respects and enhances the local area. We want each new building to have its own unique character, drawing inspiration from the local area by considering important buildings nearby.

Building heights

We have proposed a variety of building heights across the site, with the taller building placed on Central Street to balance the impact on our neighbours and nearby heritage buildings.

Building A: Has been designed to be as light as possible, with white bricks and metal balconies, so it reflects light into the shared garden and residential streets.

Building B: Has been designed with red brick to echo the traditional materials in its neighbours.

Building C: Has been designed with grey brick and architectural details to echo the historic buildings nearby.

Leisure centre: Has been designed to create views into the centre to encourage passers by to come inside and use the facilities.