Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

Haringey's Warehouse Districts Under Threat?

An item at tonight's Council Cabinet meeting has thrown into question the future survival of Haringey's two warehouse districts and the artistic communities who live in them.

Both the Harringay Warehouse District and the Fountayne Road community now face an uncertain future following the publication of a Haringey Council report, "Tackling Unauthorised Living in Industrial Areas". (Report attached)

The report, which was discussed at the full cabinet of the Council today, recommends a two-year project costing £600,000 which will seek to deal with "the growing problem of unauthorised residential and live work uses in and around (the) Industrial Sites" in Haringey. The recommended process is "to establish a special multi-disciplinary team to fully investigate and address the problem through a combination of regulation, improvement, enforcement and, where necessary, prosecution".

The alarm bells were ringing for me since earlier in the week I had discovered that these areas are earmarked as being amongst those that will "will accommodate the majority of development in the borough over the next 20 years".

In Facebook and Twitter conversations this afternoon, warehouse residents shared their fears that the vibrancy their communities bring to the borough will be overlooked and their communities sanitised and destroyed.

In response to my Twitter requests to Council Leader Claire Kober this evening to protect these communities, Cllr Kober sought to offer some reassurance:

@harringayonline some people in unacceptable conditions. My concern is for safe, decent properties. No intention to undermine communities

@harringayonline no intention to damage what's good. Priority is to go after rogue landlords just as we do elsewhere in borough

When I asked if she would ensure that warehouse residents will be involved, the Council Leader replied:

@harringayonline don't see any problem involving residents. Will ask officers to consider how best to achieve

I very much hope that the approach the Council takes in this project will support these communities rather than beginning the process of whittling them away.

Tags for Forum Posts: local plan, local plan 2014, site allocation plan, warehouse district

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Attachments:

$informalliving5XBXBXBXB.docx.pdf, 3.1 MB

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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on March 21, 2014 at 15:38

At Woodberry Down they did it this way.

1. Announce that they would try to CPO people's flats (values plummeted)

2. Announce permission in general to CPO (further value decline)

3. Announce specific CPO details (value stabilised).

So there is a three bed flat, big rooms and in one of the nicer old blocks on Seven Sisters with curvy balconies etc going for £210,000. One of the new build three bed flats can be had for £700,000.

I have noticed a massive disparity anyway in prices between private flats and ex-local authority flats. The only difference I can put the 30-50% discounts down to is the quality of your neighbours.

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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on March 21, 2014 at 21:20

There are all sorts of games played when Councils and developers want to carry out a "clearance" of poorer people from an area they want to exploit. Including demonising an estate or neighbourhood by exaggerating the extent of crime. Or not doing proper maintenance. Or buying up and boarding-up property so it all looks grim and uncared for.

You might find it interesting to look at Sarah Glynn's website. (A lot of stuff freely downloadable.) Especially her writing about Dundee.

For instance, I was intrigued to read "Regeneration In Interesting Times"; and to spot the same fallacious arguments and misleading terminology used as in Haringey to justify redevelopment by - as she describes - "dismantling the physical structures of social housing and other low-cost housing that literally stood in its way".

(Tottenham Hale ward councillor.)

Permalink Reply by Abi on March 21, 2014 at 15:42

Due diligence? How on earth would you do that. Private detectives?

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Permalink Reply by Jacqueline Hancher on March 21, 2014 at 12:01

Dear Simon

Would you like to visit my Units at Omega , to satisfy yourself , that the the facilities provided for Tenants are of a standard which I believe is far greater than the average local properties available in Hermitage Rd ?

Regards

Jacqui