Councillors decide on 24 Harvist Estate council homes on Tuesday 13 October, then a Bunhill wine shop licence and care housing on Thursday. Times and agendas.

Three Islington Council meetings are scheduled between Monday 12 and Sunday 18 October. All are at the Town Hall on Upper Street and open to the public.

The one that decides the most is Tuesday’s Planning Committee, which votes on 24 council homes on the Harvist Estate. The Appointments and General Purposes Committee due on 13 October has been cancelled, according to the council’s meetings calendar.

Planning Committee: Tuesday 13 October, 7.30pm

Where: Council Chamber, Town Hall, Upper Street, N1 2UD. Agenda.

What is decided: two applications, both recommended for approval by officers.

  • Harvist Estate, Citizen Road, N7. The council itself wants to build 24 homes for social rent. An earlier scheme on the site started in 2021 and stopped in 2022.
  • Elia Mews car park, N1. Turning most of the underground car park beneath Elia Street, near Angel, into self-storage with 211 lockable units. It would take 80 of the car park’s 102 spaces.

We set out both officer reports, the objections and the history in our preview of Tuesday’s meeting.

Licensing Sub-Committee C: Thursday 15 October, 6.30pm

Where: Committee Room 4, Town Hall, Upper Street, N1 2UD. Agenda.

What is decided: a new premises licence for VomFASS, Unit 2, Block 7, 8 Bollinder Place, EC1V 2AN, in St Peter’s and Canalside ward. The address is part of the City Road Forum development.

The licensing officer’s report says the unit has never been licensed before. The application asks to sell alcohol on and off the premises from 10am to 10pm, every day. The shop would sell olive oils, balsamic vinegars, wines, spirits and liqueurs, with supervised tastings.

The case to watch is the policy, not the hours. The premises is inside the Bunhill cumulative impact area. There, Islington’s licensing policy presumes refusal unless councillors are satisfied there will be no adverse cumulative impact.

Who objected:

  • the council’s noise team, which withdrew once extra conditions were agreed
  • two residents, one of whom withdrew after the applicant wrote to them
  • not the police, nor any other council team

The applicant has paid a £315 fee, which is not refunded if the licence is refused.

Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care Scrutiny: Thursday 15 October, 7.30pm

Where: Council Chamber, Town Hall, Upper Street, N1 2UD. Agenda.

What is discussed: progress on housing for adults who need care. The committee made eight recommendations in a 2024-25 review, and the progress report says what has happened since. Nothing is decided; the committee is asked to note it.

What the report says is coming:

  • 19 studio flats for people with a history of rough sleeping, due to open in October or November 2026 on a disused site, funded by the Greater London Authority. Islington has nomination rights to 12.
  • Beaumont Rise, 17 homes for people with complex mental health needs. Building restarted in March 2026 after a new contractor was appointed, and it is expected to be ready in spring 2027.
  • Lindsay Apartments at Holloway Park, extra care housing for up to 60 adults, expected in November 2027. The council has 100% nomination rights.
  • 10 more extra care flats proposed at Mildmay, with nomination rights a condition of planning permission.

The report also records that the council has bought 80 former right to buy one-bedroom flats over five years to house former rough sleepers. Ten dementia nursing beds opened at St Anne’s care home in August 2025, replacing an underused rehabilitation unit.

It is frank about the limits. Care home expansion has “few opportunities” in a borough this small and expensive. Five care home contracts expire between 2028 and 2032.

What it means for you

  • Planning Committee: if you want to speak on either application, you have to register with the planning department in advance. The details are in our preview.
  • The VomFASS hearing: only the objector who has not withdrawn, the applicant and the council’s officers take part. Anyone can watch.
  • Scrutiny: committee meetings are public and you can sit in the gallery.

If you are driving to the Town Hall, our guide to parking in Islington has the bays and charges.

Coming up

  • Environment, Climate and Transport Scrutiny, Tuesday 20 October, 7.30pm (agenda page). No papers were published when we checked on 10 October.
  • Executive, Thursday 22 October, 5pm (agenda page). It is due to take the asset rationalisation key decision, which has capital implications of more than £1 million. The papers were not out on 10 October.

Sources