Neighbours have slammed a “nasty” bid to build flats and an 82m student tower in Archway as MP Jeremy Corbyn adds his name to a growing list of opponents.

Developer SevenCapital wants to tear down parts of the former Archway Hospital site while repurposing some buildings to make way for housing.

The firm claims that plans for 178 new homes and 242 student rooms were lodged with Islington Council after three years of “working with… local stakeholders”.

But neighbours say that their concerns about the development – which they describe as being too big and too close to their homes – have been ignored.

Mark Davies, whose home in Lidyard Road backs onto the development, said he agreed that the site, which has been vacant for the last decade, needs to be repurposed.

But he had hoped that the developer would have listened to pleas for the nearest of the three new housing blocks on the site to be built further away from existing homes in his street.

Instead, the proposed seven-storey affordable housing block is just metres from their windows, creating issues with light loss, overlooking and privacy, Mark said.

He explained: “We’re not NIMBYs, we’re YIMBYs. I know there’s a housing shortage, and we have sympathy for all of that.

“But we’ve been talking to the developers for years and they’ve completely ignored everything. That’s why I’m very angry.

“The block is right on top of us. One of my neighbours said we’ll be on stage every day. It’s evil and it’s nasty.”

Mark also questioned why the developer had scrapped alternative proposals for the site – known as ‘Plan B’ – which would have repurposed existing buildings for student rooms and housing.

This would have delivered roughly the same number of homes – although slightly fewer would have been affordable – and around 50 fewer student rooms.

Instead, under the submitted plans, most of the student accommodation will be housed in a 27-storey tower that will dominate the area’s skyline, standing around 25 metres taller than Archway Tower.

A 27-storey tower and three new housing blocks are planned for the siteA 27-storey tower and three new housing blocks are planned for the site (Image: GRID Architects and Níall McLaughlin Architects)

Opponents, including Liz Morris from the Highgate Society, have said the tower will “blight” the area, and provide an “eyesore visible from as far away as Hampstead Heath”.

Islington North MP Jeremy Corbyn has now also joined calls for the current scheme to be rejected.

He said: “I do not understand how the developers can reasonably expect to get approval for a development proposal which simply adds a tower block at the last stage of the development. This is unacceptable.

"If Islington does not reject the proposal, I would expect the Mayor and Secretary of State to call it in as an inappropriate development.”

He also raised concerns that only 60 of the new homes would be for social rent. The remaining 33 "affordable" homes would be for keyworkers, while 87 homes would be sold at market rates.

A spokesperson for SevenCapital said: “We have explored various options for the development of the site, but a key requirement has been to meet the local authority need for a significant element of affordable housing to be delivered as part of the proposal.

“The “Plan B” scheme that residents refer to cannot deliver this.

“The submitted scheme will address local housing needs by delivering over 50% affordable housing, alongside student accommodation, and make a lasting, positive contribution to the community and wider area through public realm enhancements and the provision of flexible community and commercial space.”