Under the plans the existing buildings forming the 1970s estate will be demolished and 10 new blocks, including a 20-storey tower, will be built to comprise over 250 new homes in total. Half of the new homes will be affordable and these will be spread across seven of the blocks.
The new development will also have shops and cafes as well as space reserved for start-up businesses.
The Council has developed the scheme as part of its Community Investment Programme, which was launched in 2010 and sets out the Council's 15-year plan for using its land and property to support investment into schools, homes and community facilities.
The Council's planning officers said in their report (101-page / 5.69MB) to the committee that the development would enable the provision of "considerable benefits" in terms of affordable housing provision which would fulfil a "key objective" in the Council's estate regeneration programme.
"Whilst the loss of the existing industrial estate is regretted, it has been necessary to strike a balance between the Council’s policy of protecting existing employment premises and achieving much needed improvements to the residential environment of the existing housing estate and how it relates to York Way and the adjoining areas to the south and east," the report said.
The officers said that the employment opportunities the development would bring to local people was a key benefit in itself and would "at least partly" compensate for the loss of the existing estate.
The Maiden Lane estate was identified within the Kings Cross Area Place Plan along with other "deprived estates" in need of investment that border Kings Cross Central. The officers' report said that, despite its close proximity to Kings Cross Central, the estate was seen as having "particularly poor" links to it and the wider Kings Cross area generally.
The grant of planning permission will be subject to any directions by the Mayor of London.
