£91 million deal to boost council homes on Haringey scheme

The funding package was agreed for the 2,600-home High Road West scheme in Tottenham at a meeting of Haringey’s cabinet on Tuesday.

Made up of £70 million from the Government and £21 million from the Mayor of London’s Land Fund, it will be used to more than treble the number of council-rent homes on the development.

But while cabinet members hailed the benefits for Tottenham, questions over the impact of the scheme on existing residents and businesses continued to be raised.

Cllr Charles Adje (Labour, White Hart Lane), Haringey’s cabinet member for finance and regeneration, told the meeting the increase in council homes would enable residents on the Love Lane Estate, which is set to be demolished under the plans, to “remain together as a community”.

“The scheme offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to tackle the barriers of inequalities in north Tottenham and deliver comprehensive and co-ordinated change,” he added.

A CGI of the High Road West scheme

Haringey Council agreed a masterplan to regenerate the area of the High Road opposite the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in 2014.

A deal signed with developer Lendlease in 2017 included a plan for 30 per cent affordable homes and 145 social rent homes.

The funding approved by cabinet on Tuesday will boost the affordable housing level to 40 per cent and the number of council-rent homes to 500.

But Joe Olivieri, speaking on behalf of businesses on the Peacock Industrial Estate, which is also slated for demolition, told councillors: “It is not acceptable for you to go around and say, ‘we will take your land if you do not cooperate’.

“We will continue to defend our rights as owners of freehold properties,” he said. “Our freehold properties are not for sale.”

Council leader Cllr Joseph Ejiofor (Labour, Bruce Grove) said the council was seeking a “bespoke solution for each individual business” and pointed out most firms on the estate would not need to move for several years.

A CGI of the High Road West scheme

He added that the council aimed to ensure businesses could move to alternative sites close to the estate, such as Shaftesbury Road, which is around 650 yards away.

Cllr Ruth Gordon (Labour, Tottenham Hale) asked why a consultation with people living on the Love Lane Estate did not include an option for temporary tenants to be offered secure tenancies ahead of a ballot on the regeneration.

Cllr Adje replied that the issue would be dealt with at a later stage. “There is going to be a paper to discuss tenancies, which everyone in the borough will be consulted on,” he added.

Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Luke Cawley-Harrison (Crouch End) asked if some social tenants would see their rents increase in their new homes – in some cases by up to 50 per cent – as a requirement of Greater London Authority funding arrangements.

“What will happen to people who cannot afford such rents, and will social rents be set at London or Haringey levels?” he added.

Cllr Adje replied: “Our ambition is to continue to charge fair and equitable council rents. We will do everything in our power to ensure Haringey rents, in terms of council-owned properties, are reasonable and affordable for our tenants.”

Cabinet members agreed the funding package following a debate held in private session.

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