Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Should Haringey follow Glasgow?
In a quite extraordinary move Glasgow will blow up 5 residential tower blocks as a part of the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony.
The chairwoman of the Glasgow 2014 ceremonies said: "By sharing the final moments of the Red Road flats with the world ... Glasgow is proving it is a city that is proud of its history but doesn't stand still, a city that is constantly regenerating, renewing and re-inventing itself."
Could Haringey learn from this explosive approach to change? Don't we need a Civic Centre/Town Hall that we can be proud of?
Why not;
- blow up the Haringey Civic Centre (button pushed by ... 'suggestions here please') as part of a Haringey (regen) One Borough One Gigantic Party road map
- having moved our Civic Centre to Alexandra Palace's 'west wing' (great place for ceremonies such as weddings or, meetings with property developers)
- replace blown up site with ... you guessed it, housing (keeping the cherry blossoms out back obviously)
Look at our neighbour down the road, Islington. What a wonderful Town Hall they have. Haringey could be just as proud.
I commend this strategy of re-branding to the community of HOL (and all who join us from the off-line world)
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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Actually, as it 'appens, if you take another look at our Civic Centre, in my opinion it's a much underrated piece of fine fifties architecture that just in need of a little love. I'll post some pics I took a while back in which I've tried to show this.
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Permalink Reply by Liz on
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I'm inclined to agree with Hugh. The Civic Centre needs restoration but isn't awful. I'm not that keen on big piles of pseudo-classical architecture. Give me rather the optimistic architecture of the post-war period, but the council should do much more to look after it.
I think I'd prefer if if River Park House (empty naturally) was given the Glasgow treatment. Walking down that stretch past the bus station is horrible. It's soulless.
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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While Glasgow pulls down a tower block, Haringey's Kober Regime is busy canoodling with Boris, planning to build them anew.
And why not? As someone who worked in Harlesden in Brent in the 1970s I remember how deeply local people came to love and admire the Stonebridge Estate.
Of course, any little problems which may have occurred in the past will undoubtedly be solved in the newer versions of such highrise.
In fact, so confident am I that the plans for Tottenham's regeneration will work faultlessly, that as my original April Fool spoof I'd planned to take photos of the homes of Claire Kober and Joe Goldberg in Muswell Hill. Then photoshopping in some new "projected" highrise towerblocks.
But I gave up this idea. I realised it would have sent house prices spiralling upwards uncontrollably as billionaires from around the globe rushed to try to buy the spoof flats off-plan.
(Tottenham Hale ward councillor)
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Permalink Reply by matt on
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Oh on the whole Station Rd is uninspiring but the Civic Centre is meant to be the beating heart of the Borough and really, it just comes across as tired. Ally Pally is stunning and needs a beating heart. Marriage made in heaven! Turn the Civic Centre into housing if you have to ... but our Glaswegian cousins wouldn't be impressed
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Permalink Reply by James R Grinter on
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Tottenham has a nice town hall building they could have decamped to (was a popular venue for weddings, etc) but it got sold off instead.
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Yes a beautiful town hall, much like the town hall at Hornsey. Creating the Borough of Haringey in 1964 meant however finding a location in the centre for running the administrative functions of the new borough. Wood Green was chosen and it seems that the Civic Centre was born out of that need.
There was a recent plan to move the Civic Centre functions to the building in Woodside Park . Woodside House was Wood Green's Town Hall. Budget tightening scuppered that.
Maybe the Woodside House plan should be re-born?
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