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Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

Council's head of strategic planning says the Sainsbury's store at Arena retail park is safe for 5 years. After that members of a pension fund, who own the retail park & will be due for reviewing the site, will decide what will be best for the site for them ... as an investment - may stay as is or go to housing for example.

Thanks to Ian Sygrave for this.

PS. Pension fund is Coal Pension Properties Ltd. of 1 Curzon st. Mayfair. No Web presence it seems.

Tags for Forum Posts: sainsbury's, site allocation plan

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Heres' the full statement from the Council via Ian Sygrave:

The intent of SA29: Arena Retail Park is to see comprehensive redevelopment of the entire site, making the most of the site’s proximity to Green Lanes Station and the potential to reduce traffic impacts currently experienced on Green Lanes.  As part of a comprehensive development, the allocation seeks the retention of a retail frontage onto Green Lanes, improved public realm, and new access routes into and through the site created. The remainder of the site would be mixed use, providing new residential development, employment floorspace and community floorspace.  The footprint of the units to front Green Lanes would depend on the overall design and layout of the scheme and, potentially, the need to re-house some the tenants should they wish to retain a retail presence in the area.

The allocation recognises that retail trends are changing rapidly, and the continued rise of internet shopping is impacting upon the long-term viability of big box retail parks in particular. It also recognises that supermarkets have, and are continuing to change their retail formats in response to significant competition between operators. In reality, I don’t think anyone really knows what the future retail landscape will look like in 5 - 10 years time. 

The site is currently in two separate private ownerships – Pension Funds. We have meet with them and they have confirmed their long-term interest in bringing forward these sites. We and the landowners are aware of the tenancy agreements in place, and hence why we do not expect any proposals to come forward until post 2020.  It will be for the landowner to then engage with their tenants about their redevelopment proposals at that time, including negotiations/buying out of any tenancy agreements or reprovision as part of any new scheme.

The two landowners would need to either work together to bring forward a comprehensive development – although this would not prevent each site being developed out separately if a masterplan has been agreed for the entire site area.  It is unlikely that the Council would intervene, as the use of Compulsory Purchase Orders is always a last resort and would need to be in the wider public interest. 

Original discussion of this topic here.

Thanks Hugh. Ultimately then the Pension Fund managers will decide what will make a safer profit for them, continued retail or residential evelopment.

Sounds like it. The statement says the the funds have "have confirmed their long-term interest in bringing forward these sites". I'm taking that as code for. "Hell yes, we'd love to cash in by turning these into housing". But you're better placed to read public sector related code. What say you? 

Bringing forward normally means redevelopment. With existing retail on the site it would seem an odd choice to go to all that trouble and deliver the same thing (I.e. a supermarket). They could go for a mixed use though, retail on the ground floor with residential above.

With that much residential above and around, perhaps a small(ish) supermarket, as in the Hornsey Depot development. As here (drawing).

I suspect it would be a smaller supermarket, and with much, much less parking space. This would release a lot of land for housing (and have a very positive impact on Green Lanes traffic).

Yes, the parking space shown in the Hornsey Depot development is much smaller than the current Sainsbury Harringay layout.

Maybe Hugh, the land owning pension funds could be prevailed upon to clear the site for a much needed dog-racing stadium and a large Ice-rink/boxing/show-jumping arena. It's what the area has been crying out for, for at least 30 years. It would bring employment and visitors to the area, The associated Ice hockey and speedway teams would install a sense of community and pride. Maybe we could convince a relative of the great evangelical speaker Billy Graham to open the new complex and possibly offer some hope and direction to the disaffected youth of the area. Whilst we're at it, we could demolish the Finsbury Park Mosque (Don't tell Jeremy Corbyn) and build a large Frank Matcham designed theatre, which would be bigger and grander than the Hackney Empire. Also kick out the church and reopen the Finsbury Park Astoria as an cinema, banish the bowling alley and reopen that as a cinema. Rebuild the the Sir George Robey as the spectacular Edwardian Gin Palace it once was. Make the Arse move back to Highbury and finally restore our area to North London's no1 entertainment destination. (Though it would probably be a good idea to stop short of turning the newly opened Tramp restaurant back into a brothel)... 

But with that many more residents how will the infrastructure support them if they keep cutting services? People need somewhere to buy food etc...
....and schools to send their kids to, doctors surgeries etc. You've hit the nail on the head Emma; more residential development without an adequate infrastructure in place will be a disaster.

It's up to the council to enforce a levy on the developers to make sure we have enough infrastructure. Expect a school on the site. We're becoming so densely populated up here that it's going to be very tough though.

Planning agreements often demand a financial contribution to education but I think a developer would balk at building a school. Although in most European cities a lot of schools are integral to housing. At the end of the street where I am right now there is a primary school that takes up the ground floor of an apartment block.

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