Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

Feeling suspicious: Hawes & Curtis outlet store

So today I was in Wood Green and I noticed that a row of shops are undergoing renovation (Previously Thomas cook and phones 4 u). I then noticed a sign which said that a Hawes and Curtis shop was to be opening soon in place of the previous shops.

When I got to green lanes, I saw the existing H&W outlet shop which looked like it was closing down. On the site there was a demolition company van (I have forgotten the company name) and a team of people looking around the site. It looked to me like they were planning to demolish or redevelop the building.

If this is the case whilst I agree that the building does need to regenerated I certainly to not want to see it demolished! Its a very impressive period building and personally one of my favourite landmarks in the area!

Does anyone have any more information on this? Surely they can't just knock it down I thought it was listed!

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Permalink Reply by Peter on June 3, 2016 at 10:08

I think the original building on the site is actually very impressive and think it could be beautifully restored and improved on like the Paul simon new studio flat buildings opposite the site.

Have you seen some of the "modern" buildings they have built in the local area. Take the ersan and co building opposite the salisbury - In my opinion it does no justice to the immediate surrounding area and is ageing really bad! however look at the H&C building well over 100 years old, neglected, trashed and abused by large corporate companies however its still standing strong and solid and is in no way an eyesore to the surrounding area.

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Permalink Reply by Mavic Starfish on June 3, 2016 at 10:11

I have to say I've never once been into that building, cycled past it hundreds of times. I do wonder how many people who live in the area actually use it. It's also a revelation to find out that their is a building of significant architectural import confined within it's boundaries, hopefully that will be more on view in the new configuration. Shame about the bike cafe, but I always though that would be the first thing to get nixed by the developers.

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Permalink Reply by Don on June 3, 2016 at 14:20

Sapphireblue - Just for the record, you may not know that the H&C building was previously an electrical distributor's warehouse and trade counter, so the "waste of space" was originally set out as access and parking for vans and lorries. As a building, it's already been re-purposed once as H&C and it's possible it's now come to the end of its natural life, even if it is a solidly-built building.

Isn't the main priority now to try and ensure that the redevelopment has a balance of types of properties and is designed on a human scale to fit in with existing buildings and its surroundings? And on a separate thread, there's also been scepticism as to whether the "NHS health centre" that will supposedly front onto Green Lanes will ever materialise or has just been included as a way of persuading the council to give permission and, perhaps, avoid having a formal S106 agreement.

Ersan and Co (mentioned by Peter) are relatively recent arrivals on the corner of St Ann's Road, having taken over premises that had been vacant for a long time since an estate agency moved out. The development here was a speculative build of flats and shops (I think by the development arm of Paul Simon, also estate agents, though I may be wrong); it replaced a long-derelict former cinema on this corner, called The Coliseum, which I remember as largely inhabited by pigeons and in a really bad state of repair when I first moved in nearby in 1988.

This flats/shop complex is hardly a thing of beauty, so commenting and trying to influence the design on the H&C site is even more important if there's any chance of avoiding another eyesore on Green Lanes.