Press+-+Haringey+Independent+-+Plan+a+fiasco

=Seven Sisters plan a fiasco= Haringey Independent (Thursday 2nd August 2007)

I agree with Jane Ansell, the Tottenham Civic Society and the Clyde Circus Conservative Area Residents' Association for condemning the proposed 'regeneration' of Wards Corner, which is likely to add a further blot to the landscape.

Having grown up in South Tottenham, I was delighted to hear of the news, albeit decades late, that the area around Seven Sisters Tube station is to be regenerated. However, on closer inspection, the council's plans are ugly, unimaginative and totally out of character with the area's rich architectural history.

We should be preserving period buildings not only because they are often well-built and beautifully designed, but for future generations to appreciate.

The infrastructure isn't there to support 200 new housing units - schools, GPs and dental surgeries are already packed to the rafters. It is a disgrace that traders have not been consulted by Haringey Council. The majority have been there trading and employing people in good days and bad, contributing to Tottenham's often depressed economy. Theirs is a voice that needs to be heard. Can you imagine if Labour tried to foist these plans on middle-class areas such as Crouch End or Highgate? Our western neighbours would be blockading the streets in their Porsche Cayennes and people carriers.

Not a single local Labour politician has voiced concerns over this fiasco. This is yet another example of Labour Haringey riding roughshod over the people of Tottenham.

Justin Hinchcliffe Chairman Tottenham Conservatives