Letter+to+Shifa+Mustafa+from+Matthew+Bradby,+Tottenham+Civic+Society+on+9th+August+2007+(not+responded+to+as+of+3+Nov+2007)

=//Tottenham Civic Society//= c/o 21 Gospatrick Road Tottenham London N17 7EH

9 August 2007

Ms Shifa Mustafa Assistant Director Planning, Policy and Environment 639 High Road Tottenham London N17 8BD


 * __Ward’s Corner Proposals__**

I am writing on behalf of Tottenham Civic Society to express our very serious concerns about the proposed redevelopment of the Ward’s Corner site, and the recent public consultation. We appreciate that the area has long been run down and needs investment, but we do not believe that the plans that have been put forward represent the best solution. We therefore wish to object to the existing outline proposals.

The public consultation only allowed people to comment on three different options regarding street furniture. It did not allow them to comment on the fact that an entire block of Victorian and Edwardian shops and homes of two and three storeys would be completely swept away and replaced with multiple blocks up to eight storeys tall containing up to 200 residential units in what is already the very densest part of Tottenham at a major traffic junction.

Our main concerns at the present time are as follows:

1. The structures proposed for the site do not reflect the spirit or quality of the area, and not represent an integrated approach to design that takes account of their historic, social or cultural context. The architects claim that the blocks will ‘reference the past’ through their large windows and terracotta panels, but this would not alter the essential fact that they are little more than blocks of high density flats that represent a radical departure from the three storey brick built shops and homes that characterise the area at present. The proposed pastel panelled duplex houses and flats on Suffield Road would be out of keeping with the Victorian/Edwardian terraced housing on the other side of the street. The main tower blocks are described as being six-storey but as they sit on a two storey base, I think this makes them eight stories tall. This will fundamentally and irrevocably disrupt the //scale and character of the conservation area// in which Ward’s Corner stands.

2. The proposed digital or other art installation on the front of their ‘leisure opportunity’ facing onto the High Road would in all likelihood follow the same trajectory as virtually every other similar piece of electronic corporate artwork in the public sphere – it would be expensive to maintain, would then cease to function, would be deemed beyond economic repair and ultimately would just serve as a monument to short-termism.

3. We are not confident in the argument that the residential units will attract more affluent people to the area. We think it is questionable whether these affluent people will wish to buy homes with balconies overlooking a very busy traffic intersection. It seems more likely that the flats will be acquired by investors and used as buy-to-let properties, resulting in more transient residents with little sense of belonging or connection with the area.

4. We are very concerned that if the proposed development does not incorporate some affordable housing, it will fail to meet the Council’s own published targets on providing integrated housing solutions that combine private and shared ownership schemes. It seems to us that this type of development is the most desirable in preventing social exclusion and social barriers between residents.

5. The mix of shops proposed for the area makes no reference to those that exist there already. We believe that the level of rents likely to be demanded by the developer in order to meet their profit targets are likely to deter small traders and independent stall holders, many of whom make a living in Seven Sisters market at the moment. At the new building at 1 The Roundway, N17, the retail space was let to Ladbrokes, which opened up despite the presence of William Hill directly opposite. At Turnpike Lane station we have a large new moneylenders that charges a typical 123% APR to local people. We fear that this is highly likely to be the same kind of retail experience that will capitalise on any redevelopment at Ward’s Corner.

6. Whether or not the units are let, the removal of the independent and popular cafes that colonise the pavement at present may lead to the area declining to its former status as a crime hotspot. If this were to happen, the negative effect on the retail premises and surrounding area would be contrary to the whole spirit and aspiration of the redevelopment.

7. There seems to be no clear ownership of the proposed roof garden. We are concerned that without adequate supervision this could become a hotspot for antisocial behaviour. This would not be mitigated by the fact that it cannot be seen from the road and only appears to have one entrance. Looking at the local map, the closest real open space is Markfield Park, some ten minutes walk away on the other side of a busy junction in this, the densest and most built up part of the whole of Tottenham. There could be a large number of children in 200 flats, and this seems a very constrained environment for them.

We believe that //regeneration must be heritage-led// in order to be successful and to //minimise the risk posed by unsustainable overdevelopment//. What we would like to see are a revised proposal that:

1. Restores and reopens the Wards Stores building on the corner of the High Road and Seven Sisters Road. Although not nationally listed, this building is unique to Tottenham and is an interesting example of an early 20th C steel framed building with large internal spaces and huge plate glass windows – it belongs to the same era of technological innovation as buildings such as Selfridges on Oxford Street and deserves to be conserved. At the recent Tottenham Carnival, we held an exhibition of photographs and, //more than any other single building//, Ward’s Stores was commented on by local people as one worth saving. Furthermore, I recall that when the receipt of Heritage Lottery funding was being celebrated at Bruce Castle Museum at an event a few years ago, the Ward’s Stores building was also held up as an example of one of the very best and most interesting on the whole historic High Road corridor, and a prime candidate for future restoration. It seems remarkable that the developer does not realise this, or does not choose to, but this is a betrayal of our heritage.

2. Retains the existing building on the corner of High Road and West Green Road and other retail premises in West Green Road. These are also early 20th C and are of high quality, part of Tottenham’s Edwardian shopping heritage. They are ideal for restoration.

3. Retains the terraced houses on Suffield Road. This is good quality family housing with private gardens for children to play in and providing green space in this built up area.

4. Retains an imaginative market space for existing traders and provides for its expansion if need be. This is the kind of regeneration that has worked very well, in Camden for example, which has embraced its Victorian heritage.

On a general note, other large new blocks of flats currently appearing in the High Road seem vast and cumbersome in their context. It does not appear as if the will of developers to maximise profit in our area is being successfully controlled and we risk a permanent transformation of the historic High Road corridor into a canyon of high rises lowering over their surviving neighbours. The agenda of development in the High Road is being set by developers and therefore it’s no surprise that all the new buildings are gigantic and out of character. It should also therefore be no surprise that local community groups such as ours will oppose these developments, and seek to make our voices heard.

The best way to improve the High Road as a place to live and work for the future would be to plant more trees where we can, create more green space (for example in the area opposite the massive block of flats going up opposite the Swan PH, currently a shabby car park) and seek to calm traffic. It will not be improved by continued unsustainable overdevelopment.

Kind regards,

Yours sincerely,

Matthew Bradby Chair

CC: Cllr George Meehan, Cllr Isidoros Diakkides, Cllr Harry Lister, Cllr Bernice Vanier