Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
What Makes a Neighbourhood a Friendly Place to Live?
Last week saw the publication of a paper which presented an aspirational vision of London "Where neighbourhoods thrive and everybody matters" and sets out a challenge for London’s next Mayor:
We want to live in a place that we love and we want to be loved in the place where we live. A place where people are friendly and generous
"The Good City" contains many innovative ideas about how London's neighbourhoods could be improved and changed for the better.
Have a read. How does Harringay measure up?
Tags for Forum Posts: finsbury park, finsbury park pavilion
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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Just in case anyone confuses the issue Robin has pointed up, the Green Lanes work was funded by the GLA. The funds were designated for outer London high streets and could be spent on nothing else other than our high street. The work was not funded by the Council (in fact the Council refused to back the application for funds made by the Harringay traders).
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Permalink Reply by ant on
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The dilapidated state may make restoration of this exact building unfeasible however even a "restoration" that involved a complete rebuild from the foundation up would be massively cheaper than trying to do a new build later somewhere else in the park.This building has a great location by the New River on a slight hill giving it a nice outlook over the playing fields. Its got easy access with the path to the Endymion Road park entrance, and we've always been talking about a better "Harringay" entrance at this end of the Park, so this could be the start of that and you can see why a cafe operator might be willing to fund repairs to get a cafe/theatre here.
Imagine trying to get permission to build a new building somewhere in Finsbury Park - it would be a bureaucratic nightmare and nigh on impossible for us to do.
Even if we did manage to get that permission then the costs for just things like access and new utility connections for water, electricity, sewerage would be massive and likely make it unfeasible. For example, for FoFP I've recently tried to get a tap installed into Fairland Park, there used to be a water connection less than 10 years ago but from the demolition of that building the water pipe seems lost forever and a new connection is problematic and costs thousands.
Or for a more of community oriented project the charities and companies that do community funding love giving for these types of projects. Veolia have funding specifically for these types of projects, and Thames Water too. TW gave us £4500 just for the Hidden River festival, i'm sure they give a lot more for a community building right by the New River if we included some sort of water angle. So that along with the councils demolition budget and a bit of other fund raising it probably wouldn't be too hard to get a good pot of money together.Anyway, like Hugh says, they should at least ask us about it. If the council just want to knock it down why not at least give us the chance to come up with an alternative plan? Emine, as you know the council have already said they'll fund a Harringay wide consultation for Friends of Harringay Passage on the things we'd like to do, i'm sure we'd be happy to add some questions about this building. -
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I wonder if the council would use some of this extra £500k for a more ambitious project?
(like the 'New River Pavilion' suggestion BTW)
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Yes, i'm on the friends groups for both Finsbury Park (FoFP) and Fairland Park (FoFP). The water connection was at Fairland, but i checked yesterday with Douglas the chair of the Finsbury Park friends group if he knew anything about this and he didn't.
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No one's talking about flogging it to a private business as far as I'm aware. The alternative to demolition is merely doing the same as with every other park building used as a cafe in every other park and renting it out (and in so doing creating a revenue stream).
As to the structural soundness, I've asked the Leader of the Council, our MP and our three councillors if a structural survey has been done. So far no one has been able to answer my question. If it has been and its been deemed beyond economic repair, then fair enough, but if not, on what basis has the decision been made to demolish it?
For me the issue isn't the demolition cost, it's the loss of a potentially great community amenity. The cost I quoted may be wrong. So don't get too hung up on that, till we have some verified facts to go on.
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Permalink Reply by Straw Cat on
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Is it on the list of local community assets under (if memory serves) the Localism Act? If not, anyone can apply to have it put on.
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Permalink Reply by rosyrose on
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This is on the baseball field isn't it? I bet they would love an on site cafe during the season. I wouldn't have thought there'd be enough business for three cafés in the park though - unless one of the existing cafe owners would take it on as an extension. Preferably Finsbury Park Cafe which is marginally the better of the two (not great) options.
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Yes, that wasn't sarcasm Hugh. I genuinely imagine that they would love an on site cafe!
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Permalink Reply by Old-Age-Emporium(OAE) on
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Strange how the last 80% of a discussion on the Friendliness of a Neighbourhood gets locked up in an ugly dilapidated pavilion (deriv. Lat. papilio; Fr. papillon = butterfly) which (I agree with Ant) looks just like a disused public inconvenience, and which will certainly have fallen down with fatigue and the weight of years long before the "Cabinet" Member for the Environment musters up a demolition team at the measly recompense of £60,000 - so far below the minimum salary most Ladderites pay their cleaners - and most probably long before this discussion reaches its statutory 66th Holpage.
Inspired by the fine photos from our Lead Harringay Councillor, Clive Carter, I recommend that Leader Kober appoint a committee of worthies with expertise in the observation of White Elephants. I am told that those redoubtable Six Men of Indostan are keen to tender for the work.
It was six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.
[There follows a series of 66 rhymed Hol-sestains through which all six have ample opportunity to express their expert opinions on the Pavilion]
And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong.
[In the interest of PC inclusiveness, all masculine pronominal adjectives in the above should be read as including the feminine while the six blind 'men' embrace 'women'.]
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