Barnsbury Estate

Hybrid planning permission for 914 new homes (50% affordable) with a 50% increase in Site Green Infrastructure and new buildings up to 11 storeys.

Mount Anvil and Newlon Housing sought the transformation of the post-war Barnsbury Estate. To viably redevelop the site, the project required a certain quantum of development that required tall buildings outside of a designated location in Islington.

Montagu Evans’s role was to work closely with Pollard Thomas Edwards, the scheme architect, to develop and promote a scheme that balanced the requirements of the development with the heritage and townscape sensitivities of the Site. The project involved continual analysis of emerging proposals in VuCity with regular presentations to LB Islington and the GLA.

Montagu Evans were instrumental in preparing a persuasive justification for buildings that were taller than their neighbours (a mix of five to 11 storeys). The identified harm to the setting and significance of adjacent heritage assets, including the Barnsbury Conservation Area, was considered by LB Islington to be demonstrably outweighed by the public benefits delivered by the development, including the delivery of new housing, 50% of which was affordable.