Holloway prison has been sold for a new housing development which pledges 60% to be affordable housing

By Emilie Warner

Holloway prison, which has been shut since summer 2016, has finally been sold for new housing to be built in the 10 acres of vacant land.

The former largest female prison in Europe was sold to Peabody housing association on Friday 8^th March, which bought the site to redevelop it into an estate of 1,000 houses including space for a women’s centre and a public green area.

The sale went through for £81.5 million, of which £42 million was funded by the Mayor’s Land Fund. Sadiq Khan worked with Islington Council to draw up a planning policy for the site to ensure that much needed affordable housing would be provided with the loan of this money.

Islington Council issued a statement saying: “The site represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver a considerable amount of much-needed, genuinely affordable housing for local people. We look forward to working collaboratively with the new owners to ensure the best possible outcomes for the community, including … vital social infrastructure, such as a women’s centre.”

The purchase has been long awaited by many local residents concerned about the future of the site.

Local campaigning bodies including Reclaim Holloway and Homes For All have been campaigning since the prison’s closure to make sure the site is secured for community use and not sold off privately for luxury flats.

Homes For All began a petition in November 2017 calling for Khan to step up and purchase the site for social housing as at the time there were 18,000 people in Islington on the waiting list for a council house.

Niki Gibbs, a local resident and campaigner at Reclaim Holloway – a group of passionate local residents who want to see the construction of a women’s building – told The Holloway Express: “The statements are saying a women’s ‘centre’ will be built but that isn’t what we want. We need a women’s building.”

As a group they believe the more affordable housing on offer, the better, but Gibbs is concerned that this focus will detract from the other conditions of the loan. “A centre is not going to work and is not a legacy to the women in that prison. We are going to be writing to newspapers because unless we say something about the women’s building, it’s going to get brushed under the carpet. It needs to be brought to the forefront.”

 

“I see it as a multi-storey building; a roof garden on the top for education purposes with a restaurant, below that an auditorium and offices, a floor for training and stake holders, a studio of workshops and therapy rooms, a crèche, a women’s library, a hot-desking space, a shop, museum, café, art gallery and swimming pool in the basement.”

She added: “So many have died in that prison and had their lives turned upside down, but a lot of women came out and made good. We need to celebrate that and have a legacy for all the women who have been through there.”