Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Student Accommodation Block Planned for Lotus Building Site by Hornsey Station
It had to happen some time. That old 'birth of Lotus' building couldn't go unused forever and what with Jewson closing down some time back, it was only a matter of time.
On a quick look the proposal doesn't look too bad. They really seem to understand the need to preserve the Lotus building.
More on the developer's project website.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by rhianna on
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It will be great for the site to get a new lease of life, but let’s hope peak time public transport can be improved at the same time because Hornsey is rammed in the mornings.
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Since the council seems only to care about people who cycle or scoot, I wouldn’t put money on any public transport improvements!
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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on
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Haringey don’t provide or manage public transport Don. I don’t think any London boroughs do.
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No, I realise that, but they could work with TfL and could also prioritise buses, in particular, through traffic management. At the risk of repeating myself from other threads, Haringey’s promises to sort out Green Lanes (including public transport priority) have come to naught and the last transport strategy document was all about bike lanes, scooters and walking routes, not public transport. It needs collaboration and co-ordination between the council, TfL and the DfT to make life better for bus users, something so far lacking. So I’m not optimistic that the Hornsey problem, subject of the original comment, will be improved at a local level, and several floors of student housing seem likely to put even more strain on existing resources.
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Permalink Reply by Christina Davis on
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This is a good proposal. As you say, Lotus and its heritage is front and centre of it. I hope it gets permission.
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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That pathway between the bar and Lotus has a particular importance for us in Harringay. It used to be the start of the carriageway to Harringay House. Perhaps we should try and get them to name it Harringay House Lane!
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Seems like a good use of a neglected space and the drawings on the developer’s website look attractive, but there’s no indication of the height of the accommodation block. Some drawings imply three storeys, others much more. Is this another highrise, I wonder? Similarly, the finish seems to fluctuate between brick and concrete, depending on which image you look at. The feedback form only seems to exist via a QR code (I assume, as I can’t see it elsewhere), which is no use to those of us without a smartphone…
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Permalink Reply by Arkady on
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I went to the open day, and they suggested they'd try for 16 floors, which is the same as Altitude on the other side of the station.
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Minority report: I'm all for preserving built heritage, and it can demonstrably benefit a scheme and a neighbourhood - Kings Cross being an excellent example. But I don't think the Lotus heritage is sufficiently interesting (subjective, sure), substantive (they were only there for six years!) or the building of any architectural merit at all (it's a tiny little post-war shed!).
The whole frontage of Tottenham Lane from the station to to the junction with Church Lane ought to be masterplanned by the Council so that a coherent street frontage can be put in place. That could be done in a way that actually increases industrial space while adding housing and commercial space, and with an aesthetic that respects the 19th century terrace opposite. I suppose I should be pleased that heritage is a concern, and I recognise that earlier planning applications were blocked on account of the Lotus building, but it feels to me to be the very definition of sweating the small stuff.
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Yes, developers love a convenient historical reference point so that they can claim they're respecting the area's heritage (hence all the "quarters" that feature in new-builds) while distracting from the size, height and rabbit-hutch reality of what's actually being built. I agree about the aesthetics of the Tottenham Lane frontage and scope for improvement, but, given the probable plethora of different owners, tenants, leaseholders, etc, it seems improbable that much could be done unless the council have complete control of the whole site and draw up a masterplan. If I've got the right place, at least local residents saw off a cement factory once proposed for the site, which would have been much worse.
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Councils have the powers to be quite granular in terms of the acceptable design of development area, even one that is broken up into multiple sites. They just tend to be poor at using those powers, not least due to lack of resources, but also a reluctance to devolve decisions to Neighbourhood Forums and Local Plans that would do a lot of the work for them, in the right conditions.
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I agree with both you and Arkady that it's possible for a developer to use heritage to their own ends, but we need to accept that Haringey will presume in favour of development. In that scenario, this may not be a bad option?
Not sure locals saw off that cement plant though, Don.
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