Let's hear it for Local Distinctiveness in Seven Sisters

I'm big on local distinctiveness, me. I'm big on it for Harringay and I'm big on it for any neighbourhood that takes the trouble to get its act together, stand up for itself and promote a vision it feels expresses the area.

The concept of 'Local Distinctiveness' was first described by Common Ground in 1983. They defined it as follows:

Distinctiveness is about particularity, it is rehearsed in the buildings and land shapes, the brooks and birds, trees and cheeses, places of worship and pieces of literature. It is about continuing history and nature jostling with each other, layers and fragments – old and new. The ephemeral and invisible are important too: customs, dialects, celebrations, names, recipes, spoken history, myths, legends and symbols.

I'm strongly of the opinion that distinctiveness, before all else, is what will be the catalyst to drive the future success of Seven Sisters. Imagine you're a local resident, what would make you identify with your area, what would bind it to your heart? Version A with it's mid rise flats and efficient shops, or Version B with its eccentric old buildings filled all higgeldy piggedly with a remarkable set of Latin American traders?

Now, imagine you're a prospective visitor, what would get you on a tube spending your money there? Version A with is carbon copy parade of Costa Coffee, Pizza Express etc or Version B with the potential to become North London's Brixton Market, Latin American style?

For me it's a no-brainer. Keep it distinctive. Keep it local. Both the soul and the future economic health of the area will stand a much better chance guided by the community inspired plan than by the developer led one. No prizes for guessing which is which.

Places that enhance local character and celebrate their unique identity will have a competitive advantage in terms of visitor economy success as people look to visit areas that offer something different from the norm. They will also inspire pride and and heighten the sense of belonging from within the local community.

Just because something's distinctive doesn't mean that it's a blueprint for success, however. It will take a lot of hard work and dedication to make it happen, but hey, doesn't anything that's worthwhile.

The community plan is simply the right thing to do. It's almost that simple. So, for what little it's worth, even though I'm not a Seven Sisters local (and certainly not a regeneration or urban planning expert), I'm putting my money where my mouth is and I'm going on record in support of the direction the community plan is taking things.

There's a community meeting next week to discuss options for the community plan after the Council voted in favour of the developer last month. I imagine that anyone's welcome. So if you're interested, do join them. Most especially, if you're local to Seven Sisters or know someone who is, do go along and get other locals to go along to hear what the community group has to say.

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