Bitter planning row escalates between neighbours in Stoke Newington square

Gibson Gardens in Stoke Newington. Photograph:  Fin Fahey (Creative Commons)

A bitter row has erupted between neighbours in a picturesque Stoke Newington square over one family’s plans to build a four-storey house on shared land.

Vishal and Abbie Vora said they have come “under attack” from their neighbours since their application to build a house on the Gibson Gardens estate was made public.

The couple called the police last week when they discovered that someone had tried to smash a window-pane in their front door with a terracotta pot.

Their neighbours accuse them of trying to build on communal land, arguing that the “luxury” house and roof garden would damage both quality of life on the estate and the architectural integrity of the Victorian buildings on the 150-home estate.

A petition started by The Gibson Gardens Community Group calling for the application to be opposed has gathered over 800 signatures.

A spokesperson for the group said: “The overwhelming majority of residents here are completely opposed to this project, and we are also deeply concerned that it would set a precedent for the freeholder to sell off further plots of communal land for building.”

The Voras, who are expecting their second child and who have lived in Gibson Gardens for 10 years, said they want to build the house to accommodate their growing family.

But neighbour Naomi Doran said: “When families outgrow their small Gibson Gardens flats they move on and live elsewhere they don’t build themselves whopping great luxury houses on shared land.”

Commenting on the petition, Saleem Saddiqui wrote: “This build is a travesty. Why would you consider taking land away from 150 flats to give it to one family.”

Under ‘attack’

Following the damage to their front door, Mrs Vora said she is concerned for her family’s safety. She told the Hackney Citizen that one of their neighbours had created a “sinister poster” with her husband’s face covered by the ‘V for Vendetta’ mask and posted it around the estate’s communal areas.

She also said the group is planning to use £3,000 worth of communal funds donated to the street as a location fee by a film crew last year to hire a lawyer to oppose their plans.

Residents who oppose the application have put green posters in their windows.

Mrs Vora said: “Needless to say Vishal and I feel under attack, literally, and worry for our family’s safety plus it’s a huge stress for me being seven months pregnant.”

A spokesperson for the Gibson Gardens Community Group said the door incident was “completely unacceptable”, insisting that the campaign was not a personal vendetta but a “legitimate protest on point of principal”.

Design

The Voras argue that the space has been used as a “dumping ground”, not a community garden, and insist that the contemporary design of their house would complement its surroundings.

Vishal Vora approached local conservation group The Hackney Society for feedback on his proposals.

Chair of the Hackney Society Nick Perry said: ” We have been broadly supportive of the design and the way it addresses both it’s abutting heritage context and the modernity of Rains Court, adjacent, and we welcomed amendments to the scheme during its design evolution.

Perry said that Gibson Gardens residents were better placed to comment upon any impact the building might have on their continued use of the land within the estate.