Campaigners launch second legal bid to stop flats and store in Stoke Newington

Campaigners are planning to mount a second legal challenge against plans they say will “irreversibly damage” Stoke Newington’s character after the government refused to intervene.

In August, Newmark Properties successfully applied to build 53 flats and a Sainsbury’s in Wilmer Place, which is on the edge of Abney Park cemetery and nature reserve.

After campaign group Stokey Local applied for a judicial review on the application, the developer submitted a virtually identical proposal in December and this was also approved by Hackney Council.

The High Court approved the campaigners’ application for a judicial review on the first set of plans.

Stokey Local then applied to the Department for Communities and Local Government secretary of state Eric Pickles to call-in the most recent planning application and decide its fate, but this was refused last week.

The group now intends to apply for a judicial review of this application and, if accepted, it hopes to integrate the legal challenges against both applications.

Stokey Local spokesman Nick Perry said: “It was a long shot. We were not expecting to call-in to be accepted. We put a great deal of effort into it and the community showed it is willing to put the effort into making its views heard.

“We also had cross-party support from the Greater London Assembly. It demonstrates our support has not vanished and it’s as strong as it ever was.”

Newmark Properties and Hackney Council refused to comment.