Call to turn empty prison officer flats into homes
- Published
The flats have been empty for a decade
A block of empty flats once used by prison officers in London should be used for homes, according to a campaign group.
Islington Homes for All wants the 28 vacant Ministry of Justice three and four-bedroom flats beside Pentonville Prison to be converted to family homes.
The group said it would help ease overcrowding in the area.
The government said it was "continuing to look for the best way to use the property to get value for taxpayers".
Morag Gillie, from Islington Homes for All, said a friend of hers lived next to the empty flats with her daughter and two grandchildren.
"They could be living in one of these empty flats. They're facing the stress of overcrowding - you know, it gets fractious - and yet they could be living in one of the flats here," she said.
Islington Hones For All has staged protests to have the flats turned into homes
Islington Council deputy leader Diarmaid Ward said it was "really sad as it's just been neglected over the years".
With a housing waiting list of about 16,000, there was a "dire shortage in Islington for those large family-sized homes", he added.
In 2019, a council proposal to turn the homes into short-term lets failed and an application for a certificate of lawfulness for developers to transform the two blocks of flats was turned down at an appeal to the planning inspector in 2020.
Mr Ward is urging the government to make a full planning application.
Security has been stepped up
It comes as the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) revealed the Ministry of Justice had paid more than £604,000 to Islington Council in council tax charges for empty properties over the past seven years.
It is paying 300% council tax for all its flats that have been empty for over a decade.
Mailboxes were overflowing
Security has been stepped up since the LDRS reported mailboxes were overflowing outside some of the flats and some front doors were wide open.
In May, prisons minister Damian Hinds told campaigners that "the Ministry of Justice has been and still are considering options for the property, including potential disposal.
Additional reporting by BBC London's Jim Wheble
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