Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
North Tottenham
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by VIX on
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Morning
We have lived in Tottenham for 5.5years and its getting better and better, we are Hampden Lane just by the job centre and there is a lot of development/regeneration going on. Bruce grove is a good commute and not crowded or its 5/8mins to SevenSisters. Spurs day if you get stuck in traffic can be a pain but only ever happened once to us in five years. It's very well policed so is have to say the Spurs isnt a problem for us.
We have a big muse cottage that most of friends cant believe we got for how much we paid and our daughter goes to Pembury Nursey which I can praise enough. Bruce Park is lovely too.
We could have a few cafes and places to eat but im sure that will come with the redevelopment.
Have to say we are very happy living here and lots of local friends and good neighbours.
Best
Vix
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Permalink Reply by Taz Gray on
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Hi Tindara,
I live in the middle of Turnpike Lane and Tottenham (probably more Tottenham tbh). I've been living in the area since Sept 2011 and it's been great so far. I live quite close to Bruce Castle and it's a great place to visit as they have lots going on all the time. Lordship Rec which is one of the biggest parks in Tottenham, has had a lot of money pumped into it and looks absolutely amazing. There aren't any decent cafe's around in Tottenham but they will be opening the 'HUB' building on the Rec in March which will house a new cafe near the lake. (Can you sense the excitement emanating from this message?)
I haven't found many restaurants in Tottenham yet (I still actively scout around) but I would recommend San Marco restaurant on the corner of Bruce Grove Station which is a great Italian restaurant with an amazing pizza selection. Their alternative hot meals are great too. I have taken several family members there who have loved the place. Very good value for money.
The Elmhurst pub opposite Bruce Castle is now under new management so hopefully they'll start selling food there and opening up the beer garden during the summer. Still has a very 'local' feel.
A few local fish mongers at good value on the High Road.
Can't fault the transport links from Tottenham into town. Very quick and quieter from my experience.
Good luck.
Taslima
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Permalink Reply by Rob H on
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Hi,
We've been living in in the bruce grove area for 6 - 7 years now and find it a great spot to live. We live on chandos road, and it really is a pleasant spot to live. The transport links are really great, into town is very quick. It is lacking a few cafes but from what seems to be happening in the area in the last few years I think it's only a matter of time before a few pop up, there is a place called marmalade which I hear is good. San Marco is a really great Italian, I can't recommend it enough as a place for a meal and a lovely atmosphere to sit in for a coffee/drink. The Elmhurst is a grand spot, it's usually quiet enough (except match days!!) and I've never seen any trouble there, has a good large beer garden for summer. Overall I think it's an area worth investing in, we've just completed a 2 year renovation on our house (2nd one in the area). As for match days, as you'll know the fixtures just avoid driving 1hr before and after the game!! So basically I can confirm the above replies.
Best of luck,
Rob
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Thanks Rob for heads up on Marmalade. Went and had some nice lunch in there yesterday. Lovely little place to go in Tottenham. The breakfasts looked really good too. Can't believe it was just 10mins down the road from me and didn't know it existed. Looking forward to now discovering Bob's suggestions below.
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I love Tottenham! I used to live in St Ann's (still work there) but bought a new build off Tottenham High Road - best thing I did. Being a spurs fan who attends the games, I'm probably part of the problem on match days BUT it's not every week and I think just don't drive pre or post a game. Transport links are great, poeple I meet are very friendly and Tottenham is going through a regeneration programme at the moment, which is creating new homes and ultimately bringing new people into the area. Many years ago, Crouch End was not a place you would even consider living but now you can't buy a 2 bed flat for under £300k. Properties in Tottenham are generally cheaper compared to St Ann's, Green Lanes but I think this will chance in the future. There are cycle paths (Lea Valley Way), canoeing and a new football stadium coming soon. What's not to love.
Great community spirit as well.
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I live by Lordship Rec. Looking forward to the Hub cafe too. Great community in Tottenham, transport links, parks. High Road has lots of grocery shops, with exotic veg and fruit. TFC is great too on Lordship Lane. (ottenleghi mentioned it in a recent article as a place he sources cheeses and veg)
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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Tindara, it depends where you're considering in "North Tottenham". At different times my partner Zena and I have lived in flats about a kilometre from the Spurs ground and now in a house not far from Bruce Grove Station - though we almost always use the Victoria Line. (In Council-speak our neighbourhood would be called mid-Tottenham.)
You've had some pretty positive views from people replying so far. And I endorse those views - especially with respect to the people living locally. Zena and I chose to live here and we don't regret that decision. I'm also one of the ward councillors for Tottenham Hale - the northern boundary of which is 250 metres from the Spurs.
But I don't believe in one-sided feelgood PR., whether it's from the Council or anyone else. There are problems and drawbacks as well.
One word of caution, I'd suggest you base your decision on what you see now. Don't rely on promises about regeneration in the future kick-started by Spurs. Or by a fake "Civic Heart" or "Cultural Quarter" at Tottenham Green. Or anyone else offering their bag of magic beans. I sincerely hope I'm wrong, but after thirty plus years in the area and fifteen years as a councillor, I strongly suspect that with the current plans, "regeneration" is likely to be to the bank balances of: Spurs football club; consultants; property dealers; and landlords.
Choosing a home here is the same as anywhere else. It depends on all sorts of very personal factors. For example, if you have children and their ages and whether you want them to carry on at their current schools. Where do their friends live? And there are always immediate local factors - we have very good neighbours. We have friends not far away and Zena's sister also lives nearby.
Find a house you like and could grow to love in a pleasant street. (Liz Ixer used a great phrase about doing up the house she and her husband chose: "Putting a smile back on its face.") Check how easy it is to reach your workplaces, friends and family, and the things you enjoy doing.
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It's an area with many people who through no fault of their own may only stay
for a year or two, but there are also lots who have been here much longer than
I have (17 years), and give it a sense of community.
You are probably near Bruce Grove but for those like myself who are a bit
further north the post office, chemist, Caribbean bakers and newsagents in
Park Lane are much more personal, and usually less crowded, than the big ones.
Interesting places, apart from those already mentioned:-
Pistachios Cafe in Markfield Park (OK, it's outside the area, but is just a bus
down to South Tottenham station, and walk along Crowland Road). Good food and
ice cream (for later). Then you're by the River Lea, which is another hidden
wonder of Haringey!
Glickmans ironmongers on the High Road, for just about anything metal/plastic!
Coombes Croft Library opposite Spurs for books (of course), helping kids, and
various events. They'll get you a book from any other Haringey library in a
couple of days.Tottenham Community Sports Centre near there, and its wonderful Thursday
morning boot fair.
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I also lived in Highbury - in the 70's. The area was rapidly changing demographically and Arsenal later rode the wave of this change. The theory that the same thing will happen in Tottenham is just that: a theory. There may be evidence to support a claim about "Major Sport-Led Regeneration for Tottenham" but I've never seen any.
Billboards outside the Spurs Stadium also announce their aim of a "vibrant area 365 days a year". Which is something of an irony since one reason this stretch of the High Road is bleak is because Spurs bought-up and boarded-up the buildings.
But great! If councillors Claire Kober and Joe Goldberg think having a stadium that's running every day of the year on your doorstep is such a marvellous idea, I look forward to them moving to Northumberland Park from Muswell Hill.
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I disagree with some of your comments, Alan Stanton. The area has already seen many new developments in recent years, a clear sign that the area is already receiving an added boost financially from local councils and private investors. I live in one of those new builds, which was not there a year ago! I do agree that it may take a while, years even, but it will happen.
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It's an interesting debate, Dee. And I'm certainly not dismissing the positive impact of all the new developments. Although in some cases it is over-development with not enough regard for amenity space including play space for children, health provision etc. Or even for basic essential issues such as where the waste bins go.
My concern is with what passes for the big regeneration strategies. Because I've been hearing and reading the same stuff for years about big schemes which "kickstart" the regeneration of this or that part of Tottenham.
The thing is, I used to believe it. And why wouldn't I? Senior officers in Haringey - regeneration experts - told councillors these big schemes would work. But as the years passed, my doubts got ever stronger. Yes, small schemes often do work well. But the big stuff never seemed to have the impact promised.
Which didn't stop the focus on the big schemes - often involving important lunches with developers and large public subsidies. Sometimes selling off public land at below market value; or even giving it away.
One fascinating question was posed by Albert Einstein. Why do people do the same thing over and over again, expecting different results? I recently read a 1990 book by James Ferguson called The Anti-Politics Machine. He is an anthropologist and was writing about Lesotho in the 1970s and 80s. Ferguson asked why international development agencies kept offering the same standardised prescriptions despite their repeated failures.
Ferguson's suggestion was to ask the classic question: 'who benefits'? (Cui Bono?) One group of people who did benefit were the development professionals who had jobs and a career structure, conferences, awards, nice hotels etc. Regeneration in Tottenham has some of the same outcomes, with highly paid professionals and higher paid consultants.
Ferguson observed other groups of beneficiaries, including the Lesotho Government. In Tottenham the beneficiaries include business interests happy to exploit public cash. (In her comment on the Stuart Lipton Report Joyce Rosser, mentions how Spurs were excused their legal obligations to pay Section 106 money for local improvements.)
Please don't get me wrong. The fact that I don't wear an "I love Tottenham" badge doesn't mean I don't care about the place. Of course I do. About the place; and about the people; and what happens here, now and in the future. So I'm glad you're happy in your newly built home. We were tickled pink when we moved into our - rather older - little house.But I don't go along with regeneration fantasies and fairy stories whether from Council "leaders" ; or planners; or property developers. However glossily designed and poetically written.
(Tottenham Hale ward councillor since 1998)
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