Islington Council has approved the final element of Arsenal Football Club’s masterplan to regenerate the wide area around the premiership club’s Emirates Stadium.

The council’s planning committee yesterday approved plans for the Queensland Road area which is closest site to the stadium. The development of the Queensland Road site, which forms part of a larger regeneration scheme at Ashburton Grove, will comprise a sports centre and four residential towers which have been reduced in height.

Extra children’s play spaces and a community sports centre have been included while half of the proposed 730 residential units have been designated as affordable housing.

It follows revisions to the original masterplan made in response to the football club’s public consultation and following discussions with Islington Council.

Four areas - Eden Grove/Hornsey Street, Drayton Park, the old Highbury Stadium and Queensland Road make up the entire masterplanned development.

Piers Gough, a partner at CZWG Architects who designed the scheme, said: ‘We are so delighted. The club has shown itself to be the most enlightened and proactive of developers in Britain.

‘This approval is for a development of dramatic and exciting buildings and spaces making a lovely mixed use area to live, work and play.’

Savills and Anthony Green & Spencer is providing development and planning advice.

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