Press+-+Haringey+Independent+-+English+Heritage+denounces+Wards+Corner+plan

=English Heritage denounces Wards Corner plan= Elizabeth Pears - Haringey Independent (Saturday 26th April 2008)

An organisation that fights to protect England's history has attacked plans to bulldoze Wards Corner as "unacceptable".

In a formal response to the planning application submitted by private developer Grainger for the Wards Corner site, English Heritage informed Haringey Council that knocking down the existing buildings would be unjustified. The site, above Seven Sisters Tube Station, falls within the Seven Sisters and South Tottenham conservation area.

It is also home to the Ward building, a former Edwardian department store, which would be knocked down to make way for luxury flats and retail units.

The response, sent to the council on April 10, noted: "We do not consider that the replacement buildings offer sufficient merit to justify demolition and consider that a scheme which takes a conservation-led approach should be pursued.

"By virtue of the removal of the existing street plan and all buildings of any historic note, the new development does not enforce the sense of place or local characteristics and cannot be considered to enhance the conservation area."

Liberal Democrat London mayoral candidate Brian Paddick visited the Wards Corner site, which houses the Seven Sisters indoor market, last Friday. He voiced his support for traders whose livelihoods could be in danger under regeneration proposals.

A community group, the Wards Corner Coalition, has submitted alternative plans to restore the building and retain the market.