The planning department’s judgement is on the Council’s website and it is clear that the 41 objections and the petition did make an impact.  I’m pleased to see the points from my objection and from the Stroud Green Residents Association were included in the report – it shows that determined local action can make a difference.

As the department’s report says, allowing this development would have set a precedent across the Borough that would have allowed garden areas to be broken up and developed.  So these objectors in one corner of Stroud Green have helped to protect gardens across Haringey – Well done!

Afte meeting with local residents and visiting the site, I’ve urged the Council to reject the application for a number of reasons:

1. Poor access:  Access to the site is extremely poor with the path down the side of 2 Elyne less than 1 metre wide in places.  This will make construction very difficult and building materials cannot be delivered to the site without causing a great deal of disruption – as they will have to be unloaded onto the street and then carried up the path.
2. Loss of green space and natural habitat:  The gardens between Stapleton Hall Road, Quernmore Road and Elyne Road – with this site at its centre – are an important green space for local residents and for birds and animals.  Building in the middle of the site will badly degrade this green space and destroy the habitat of the animals and birds that residents regularly see in their gardens.
3. This is a greenfield not a brownfield site so building housing here will not help the Council meet its targets for building new homes.
4. Bulk and density:  The proposed dwelling is too large and bulky for the site – taking up a very large proportion of the plot and goes up very close to the borders of neighbouring gardens.  It is therefore an unacceptable increase in the housing density in the area.
5. Loss of amenity for residents:  There must be well over a hundred residents living in homes that back on to the site, who would all have their view from their back windows and gardens affected by this development.  Many of these gardens will also duffer from overlooking from the new dwelling.  There would therefore be an unacceptable loss of amenity from residents who will lose some of the enjoyment of their gardens.

The decision on the application won’t be taken till early September and there are already over 40 objections submitted on the Council’s website.

Last week I attended a Stroud Green Residents Association meeting, where it was clear residents wanted to try to stop the development.  The official deadline for objections is next week, but I’m concerned that the summer holidays mean many people wont get a say.   The site is bound by Elyne, Quernmore and Stapleton Hall Roads, but many people on Quernmore and Stapleton Hall have said they never received any notification from the Council about the planning application.

I’ve written to the Council conveying residents concerns and demanding an extension to the consultation to make sure everyone can have their say.  I’ve also provided them with a list of 13 properties that did not receive any notification from the planning department about the plans.

I can understand why people are so keen to object to this proposal.  I don’t think the site is really suitable for development – and certainly not for a house of this size.  I hope that the consultation period is extended so that all residents can make their views known to the Council.

This is one of the most distinctive houses in the Stroud Green Conservation Area, and I agree that hiding it behind a high wall would not be right.  So I put in an objection to the Council’s Planning Department – supporting the concerns that have been raised about the wall.

UPDATE:  I’ve now been told that the application has been completely withdrawn and the wall will not be built.   The owners have told me they understand and sympathise with the concerns about the wall and it won’t be included in any new application which they submit.

The development is on the Islington side of the road, and Haringey don’t seem to have made much effort to get involved in the process.  Councillors such as myself weren’t alerted to the event - which meant I couldn’t advertise it on this website.  So I immeadiately put an email into Haringey Council asking how they were going to ensure that residents on the north side of Stroud Green Road were able to have a say.  This week (5 weeks later) I got a response just directing me to Islington Council’s website and saying no Haringey panning officers had even attended the December consultation event.

Clearly this development would have a major impact on Stroud Green.  Its great to see people wanting to invest in Stroud Green Road, but this proposed building does seem quite tall, given the height of the Victorian terraces surrounding it.  I think everyone should have their say on this development – regardless of which side of the borough boundary they live, and  I will press for wide-scale consultation when the planning application is submitted.

The Stroud Green Conservation Area stretches from Mount View Road in the north to Stroud Green Road in the south.  A map of the conservation areas on the Haringey website can be found here.

Local residents are trying to organise a first meeting with planning officers to discuss how the committee would work in mid December.  If you care about your local area and would like to take part in this excellent initiative then please get in touch and I’ll pass on your details.

The site is a complete eyesore at present, so its brilliant that someone wants to invest some money in improving the building.   However, at the recent Stroud Green Residents Association (SGRA) meeting people were keen to ensure the development fits in with the nearby Victorian buildings (this is a conservation area).  And concerns were also expressed about the possibility of 5 new flats generating 5 new cars in an area with an extreme shortage of parking space.

The application can be viewed on the Council’s website (link here).  The official deadline for sending in comments was earlier this month, however not many people seemed aware of the application, so after the SGRA meeting I contacted the planning officers and they have assured me they will continue to consider any comments they receive before the decision is made.  Apparently, the deadline for the Council to decide the application is the 2nd December – so if you want comment, support or object to the proposal please do so ASAP.

‘the Victoria tube line would have residual capacity of some 52 and 69 per cent in the morning and evening peak hours’.

I’ve asked officers to clarify what exactly that this jargon means (no response so far), but it seems to me they are saying that there is over 50% spare capacity in the peak morning period!  What fantasyland is the Council living in if they think the Victoria Line is half empty at rush hour?
 
I’ve also asked a whole load of extra questions to find out what the Council is playing at – and have asked to see this strange transport study.  I think it deserves scrutiny, as I dread to think what the Victoria Line would be like if Haringey Council had its way and doubled passenger numbers!

However, the inspector did put 44 conditions on the development (many relating to dust and noise)  and on Tuesday the Committee looked at London Concrete’s proposals for meeting these conditions.    Some of the detail is good – the conveyor belt and the lorry loading areas will now be fully enclosed, which should reduce some of the noise and dust impact.  However, some aspects are inadequate, such as the boundary only being surrounded by a chain fence, which will do nothing to contain dust or noise. 

My colleague Cllr Ed Butcher addressed the committee to complain about this and other problems with the proposals.   As usual he was very forceful in standing up for residents concerns, but the committee had its hands tied by the inspector and could do little to change the proposals.  My only minor success was to get a commitment from council officers to look at the safety of the junction of Cranford Way on to Tottenham Lane, because of concerns about the concrete lorries crossing this busy walking route for local commuters to Hornsey Station.  The Committee also pressed the developers to ensure there was a clear phone number for locals to complain to about any problems at the site.

Obviously building a concrete factory in a densely populated area like Stroud Green is insane, and nobody wants to see this go ahead.  But despite the lack of democracy in our planning system, Ed, Laura and I are trying to reduce the impact of the development.