Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Big new TfL Substation to be built on Green Lanes - but community voice silenced
Today's planning list shows that the space in front of the Piccadilly Line ventilation shat building is to be used for the construction of a new electricity substation.
I do not object to that but it is very odd that the application is being made as a certificate of lawfulness rather than as a planning application. This means that the public has no right to comment.
I oppose the way it is being handled for a number of reasons. I explained this to the responsible planning officer Anna Anderson (anna.anderson@haringey.gov.uk) in an email I sent to her today. I copied in one of our new councillors, Jo Kuper. I have also spoken with Ian Sygrave at the Ladder Community Safety Partnership who has said that he will raise it at this week's meeting and also write to Anna Anderson.
My email is reproduced below. Any resident can write to Anna about this matter, despite the attempt to cut out community involvement. The decision date is die to be 26th August.
Dear Anna,
Re: Planning Submission for Colina Road site (HGY/2026/1854)
I am a resident of the Harringay Ladder.
Today I noticed the above reference application. It is for a significant building which covers a good part of of the part of a plot that has been unbuilt on for almost 100 years.
I see that is had been made as an application for a certificate of Lawfulness. Can I ask why Haringey has agreed to handle this application this way rather than as a full application?
The site is a significant and prominent one which for that reason alone ought to be open to community scrutiny.
There are two aspects in particular which concern me.
1. The level of noise for nearby properties already flagged in the application,
2. The impact on visual amenity in this prominent site. This is not addressed at all in the application and there are no visuals to suggest that visual amenity has been taken into account.
In HGY/2016/1807, the applicant for 590-598 Green Lanes London N8 0RA (which you should note includes this site), made a specific reference in his application to the site in front of the ventilation shaft building that is the site for HGY/2026/1854. The 2016 application specified:
"..we are proposing to create a 'Pocket Space' on the corner of Green Lanes and Colina Mews. This space will be partly used for a few parking spaces allocated to the NHS facility, but the rest of the space during the week and the entire space at weekends could be used for a community led activity such as a pop-up cafe."
They included the following diagram.
This site therefore has a very recent planning history and I assume since the front of the 590-592 plot was not excepted from the decision its use as a pocket park was also given planning approval.
This makes it even more odd that the current matter is being handled under a certificate of lawfulness.
Yours sincerely,
Hugh
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson
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I definitely remember the pocket park as part of the deal in the permission for development behind it.
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Permalink Reply by Anna Abela
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Hi Hugh,
I appreciate I’m now a Harringay has-been, but I thought I’d chime in as I spent the year before I lost my Council seat advocating on behalf of the residents of the Evergreen development, through various meetings and correspondence with Clarion Housing Group and TfL on this and several other issues.
I suspect the answer to your first question is that there is a plethora of legislation that significantly protects TfL from intervention / enforcement by local authorities in relation to the development and maintenance of railway infrastructure. When I was a councillor, these legal roadblocks were often a source of deep frustration!
In this case, I would hazard a guess that the legislation in question is the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2015 which establishes a “general permitted development right” in relation to “development by railway undertakers on their operational land, required in connection with the movement of traffic by rail”. I believe this is the relevant legislation: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/596/schedule/2/part/8/cros...
I’ll caveat this by saying that I am not a planning law expert – so I am happy to be proven wrong and defer to Anna Anderson’s reply to your email.
In my last year as a councillor, I also held several meetings with Clarion Housing Group about the above-mentioned commitments in their planning application and various other promises they made to the residents of the Evergreen development. Although these meetings led to several improvements, including the removal of the hoarding on the perimeter of the site and the bulky waste and pigeon droppings in the area near the TfL vent shaft, Clarion Housing Group repeatedly failed to meet our agreed deadlines to deliver the promised greenery pockets and parking spaces for NHS staff.
Ultimately, I was left with no choice but to write directly to Clarion Housing Group’s CEO Clare Miller about this. To her credit, her Chief of Staff promptly replied to my letter with a commitment to deliver pockets of greenery and a small number of parking spaces for the staff at the NHS West Green Surgery later this year.
As I was not re-elected in May, I was not able to keep following up on this matter – but I would urge the new Green Party councillors to ensure Clarion sticks to this commitment.
Best,
Anna
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Admin for testingPermalink Reply by Hugh -
Thanks for your comment Anna and thanks for all the work you put in on this issue previously.
Whilst you may no longer be in a position to act in an official capacity, your knowledge and experience will be vey useful, I'm sure.
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Admin for testingPermalink Reply by Hugh -
Reply from Planning Officer Anna Anderson:
Thank you for getting in touch regarding certificate application HGY/2026/1854.
Development by railway undertakers on their operational land, required in connection with the movement of traffic by rail falls under Schedule 2, Part 8, Class A of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, which is why the applicant has applied via certificate. The application is valid as it meets submission requirements.
The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Engl...
However, I would like to reassure you, we will review the concerns you have expressed in connection with the proposal. Please do allow me some time to discuss in detail with my area managers & a fellow planning officer who I know has strong knowledge about the site’s context, history and local residents.
Once I have more information for you I will be in touch as soon as possible.
Best wishes,
Anna Anderson
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Permalink Reply by Zena Brabazon
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Hi Hugh
Anna is too modest. She was relentless in responding to residents and working to hold Clarion/Evergreen and TfL to account. The utilities and transport providers have an advantage as is made clear by Anna Anderson. Its now up to the new ward councillors, whoever is leading for the Green administration on Planning and the officers to sort this out. Its important residents have their say.
It is likely to be decided by delegated authority which is done by the officers.
Permission was granted for a green space initially, but we will now see whether that has any weight in deciding this certificate of lawfulness application.
Good luck,
Zena
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Admin for testingPermalink Reply by Hugh -
Thanks, Zena.
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Permalink Reply by Inkjetpack
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A new wooden fence has already been erected around this location, which before reading this post led me to believe that the previously promised improvements to this site were about to be actioned.
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