Trump tariffs 'cancel' affordable housing scheme in north London
Plus: a Brockwell Park conspiracy, a Tube Girl takedown, and a Nicholas Cage look-a-like contest
Morning — the UK and US may have struck a trade deal this week, but for one north London council, the damage is already done. Or at least, that’s Islington council’s explanation for cancelling a flagship — and controversial — affordable housing project. Years of local opposition is one thing; Trump tariffs and disrupted supply chains is another. The final chapter in a long-running saga over council homes and football pitches in Clerkenwell leads your round-up below.
Plus: a Brockwell Park conspiracy, a Tube Girl takedown, and a Nicholas Cage look-a-like contest.
In case you missed it: last Saturday we published Josh Taylor’s look at how an athlete turned developer brought controversy to London Fields. A stone’s throw from Broadway Market, plans drawn up by a British Paralympian have sparked 1,200 objections, pulled in the borough’s rooftop nightlife venues, and drawn sharp questions about transparency and trust.
What we've spied
🏘️ Islington council has scrapped a controversial affordable housing project — and partly blamed Donald Trump's tariffs on US imports. Despite working on the project for over a decade, and despite already spending over £10m on it, the north London council has cancelled plans to build 100 council houses on the site of Finsbury Leisure Centre in Clerkenwell. Announcing the project's withdrawal at the end of last month, leader cllr Una O'Halloran pointed to "increasing risks from fast-changing global forces beyond our control" — a less-than-subtle nod to the economic turmoil caused by American trade policy in recent weeks. A report prepared for Islington's executive was more explicit: council officers warned the town hall's leadership of disruption to construction supply chains from "recent tariffs introduced by the USA on imported goods", and, in turn, inflationary pressures and borrowing cost volatility. The council had first earmarked the leisure centre for redevelopment in 2013, then unveiled outline proposals in 2022. But it's now back to square one, with local taxpayers set to foot the bill for writing off the £10.6m in spent funds.
That said, the council's statements do gloss over another likely factor behind the cancellation: a fierce campaign opposing the development pursued by locals in the Bunhill and Clerkenwell area. Though the leisure centre would have been rebuilt under the plans, four seven-a-side football pitches would have been paved over, prompting outrage over loss of open space and opportunities for grassroots sport for local young people. The group EC1VOICES led opposition against the redevelopment, which included getting backing from former Queen Park Rangers and Spurs striker Les Ferdinand and mounting a legal challenge. Opponents also criticised Islington for including 100 private flats in the plans, which the council said was needed to fund the other 100 affordable homes. Following the project's cancellation, EC1VOICES said: "We welcome the council's proposal to stop the Finsbury Leisure Centre redevelopment and protect the open space. It's a BIG step that reflects our community's voice."
The cancellation comes amid a wider downturn in affordable housing construction across London. Data for last year showed that the number of started affordable houses dropped by 88% annually, from 26,386 to 3,156.
🟢 It's against that backdrop that Sir Sadiq Khan made a major announcement on Friday: City Hall is planning to build housing on London's green belt. In a set piece speech in Greenwich, the mayor announced his team were exploring how to use the protected land that encircles the Greater London area to meet the "extraordinary challenge" of the capital's housing crisis. He cited the "pervasive and profound" damage a lack of affordable and high-quality homes was inflicting on Londoners, saying: "At stake is the fundamental promise of our city – the promise that if you work hard in London, London will work for you."
It's a change of position for Khan, who has previously "made no apologies for seeking to protect and enhance the green belt" and publicly hit out at borough councils that have attempted to build on it. But the new Labour government, which promised to unlock green belt land for housing in the 2024 general election, seems to have changed his mind — not least because London has been set a mandatory target of 88,000 new homes a year over the next decade.
Khan preempted some criticism for the U-turn in his speech, arguing that London's green belt isn't all "beautiful countryside" but often "low-quality land", and insisting that any approved development will be attached with the "right conditions" for the local environment. So far he's received the backing of London Councils, the umbrella organisation for the boroughs across the capital, as well as several London MPs and the campaign group Generation Rent. But others are livid. "You always promised you would protect the green belt," tweeted Susan Hall, the leader of the Conservatives at City Hall and Khan's rival in the 2024 mayoral election. "People believed you, even I believed you because you said it so often. No wonder people don’t trust politicians- you are a disgrace!" Nothing specific is planned on the green belt yet — Khan's speech coincided with him kicking off the process for drawing up the next London Plan, a citywide strategy document that's set to be finalised next year.
😶🌫️ A Lambeth councillor has been forced to deny masterminding an "astroturf" campaign in support of large-scale festivals in Brockwell Park. The past week has seen accusations of a PR conspiracy following the appearance of a new campaign group, SayYESLambeth, which has been set up to support music festivals like Mighty Hoopla and Wide Awake. The events are currently subject to a legal challenge brought against Labour-run Lambeth council by residents group Protect Brockwell Park, who argue the festivals are excessively damaging the park and shutting the public out. Enter SayYESLambeth, which appeared on several social media platforms on May 2 with a petition as well as an open letter that read:
For too long, a small but powerful group has dominated the debate about Lambeth's future — shouting down new homes, opposing events in our park, and trying to silence our vibrant night-time economy ...
We, the young people, the renters, the workers, the small business owners, the creatives — we are the majority. And now it's time to make ourselves heard.
The group's fightback was featured in the Standard, but local paper Brixton Buzz was more sceptical about the group's origins. "It feels like residents are being astro-turfed by someone from within the Town Hall," suggested Buzz writer Jason Cobb, who went on to note that Lambeth councillor and cabinet member for digital inclusion cllr Diogo Costa was among the group's first followers and reposted the open letter on the day SayYESLambeth was set up. Claims Lambeth Labour were behind the group were also circulating on local Facebook pages.
But in an email exchange with the Spy, cllr Costa denied having any involvement with the group. "I've never posted anything on SayYesLambeth social media accounts or created the online petition. I came across this group on my X/Twitter feed," he told us. He added: "I’m just glad to see a group being vocal in support of events in Lambeth — that in itself is a brave and constructive contribution. I can understand why some might prefer to stay anonymous, especially given how vocally aggressive the other side has been at times". Indeed, Jim Waterson of London Centric has since made contact with the organisers of SayYesLambeth, who denied having a connection to Lambeth council or festival promoters. Instead, they say they're just "five gays with a laptop trying to make our voices heard".
Anti-festival campaigners have been keeping busy in the meantime — they organised a protest at the park on Sunday with 150 people lying on the grass to spell out "No Walls".
🚗 More courtroom drama for Lambeth: a group of Dulwich residents have become the first in the country to defeat a council over a low-traffic neighbourhood (LTN) scheme. On Friday the High Court ruled that the controversial West Dulwich LTN was unlawful, with the judge saying Lambeth council had failed to consider the impact of the LTN before beginning a trial last September. The scheme had seen cameras, planters and bollards placed to block traffic between Rosendale and Norwood Road. It's a victory for the anti-LTN West Dulwich Action Group, which celebrated the ruling but also criticised the council's decision to fight them in court as "a shameful misuse of resources". The council says it will be keeping the scheme in place in the interim while it considers the judgement.
🕺 Some really shocking stats have been circulating this week on how the cost of a night out in London has skyrocketed, courtesy of Time Out's India Lawrence. Lawrence has looked at the cost of getting two pints at a pub, getting the Tube to the club, paying entry, getting two more pints, then a Maccies and then a 20 minute taxi home — in 1995 that would come to £22.03 when adjusted for inflation, compared to £44.41 today. Many more inflation-adjusted comparisons including specific club entry fees in her full piece, featuring nice graphics.
🚇 "They have finally come for me," says TikTok star Tube Girl, who's been told by TfL to delete all of her videos promoting her single that were filmed on the Underground. Tube Girl, aka Sabrina Bahsoon, went viral on the social media platform in 2023 for posting videos dancing on Tube carriages with wind blowing through her hair, and in the past few months she'd been posting similar TikToks to promote her new song, 'Not my kind'. But on Monday, Bahsoon revealed she'd be deleting them all, after receiving a takedown request from TfL. It's not the first time Bahsoon has fallen foul of TfL's rules on commercial videos on the Underground — late last year she was also told to remove paid partnerships with fashion brands, unless she shared some of the income she generated with TfL. A spokesperson for TfL told the Spy:
While we are pleased that our iconic brand and services provide inspiration for creatives to use as a backdrop, when they’re being used for commercial or promotional use, we need to ensure filming is done under the proper permit with our Film Office…
These terms have been explained to Ms Bahsoon and her agent both on this occasion and previously and we remain happy to engage with her on any commercial and promotional content she wishes to create in the future. Doing this helps to protect our intellectual property and provide additional revenue that is then reinvested in the transport network to benefit everyone.
Tube Girl isn't too cut up about it though, as the rules don’t stop others posting her song. "I'll be happy to see some baddie shake their ass to my song on the Tube, because I can't do it anymore," she says.
💸 Elsewhere from TfL: new figures have revealed that free travel for over 60s on the London transport network is set to soar significantly over the next few years. Specifically, the cost of Oyster 60+ cards — which grant free off-peak travel on trains and buses to Londoners turning 60 until they reach the state pension age at 66. In total the perk cost TfL £125m in 2024, but in the next three years that figure is set to rise by 48% to £185m. That compares to free travel for children in London, which is set to rise more slowly, from £115m in 2024 to £135m, or 17%. The Sunday Times has tucked into the figures — one of Joey D'Urso's charts is below, and the full piece here.
🦌 Deer have returned to Greenwich Park after a four year absence. The park's herd of fallow and red deer were relocated to Richmond Park in 2021 during renovations, but eight deer are now back in Greenwich. Royal Parks rangers say they’re “enjoying a renovated and extended deer paddock”, though they won’t be that visible to the public while they settle in.
🔍 And finally, we leave you with:
The Nicholas Cage lookalike contest at the Prince Charles Cinema (YouTube)
If you ever feel useless just remember the Waterloo & City line exists (TikTok)
The return of open water swimming to Canary Wharf (Secret London)
And hitting London Fields too (TikTok)
London's greatest graffiti mission (TikTok)
The beginning of the Camden pedestrianisation trial (Reddit)
Paying £400 a month to live in an abandoned hospital in central London (TikTok)
POV as London's youngest cab driver (TikTok)
Asking Boris Johnson if you can take a horse on a London bus (TikTok)
Policing raiding an Oxford Street candy shop that charged £900 for sweets (BBC)