Controversial plans for Crouch End green space approved

A plan to build council housing on a “much loved” Crouch End green space used by children and their families has been approved.

Haringey Council won permission to build nine new homes next to existing flats in Ramsey Court, Park Road, during a meeting of the authority’s planning subcommittee on Monday.

The scheme will see six flats built on green space to the south-east of the existing Ramsey Court block, with three terraced houses planned for parking bays and adjoining green space in Barrington Road to the north.

The council says the development will help to provide “a new generation of council homes” with seven units available for council rent and the remaining two for market sale.

But the scheme has come up against a raft of local opposition, receiving more than 150 written objections during a public consultation. On top of that, an online petition urging the council to scrap the plans has gained 1,700 signatures.

During Monday’s meeting, opponents claimed the scheme conflicted with key local planning policies designed to protect open space, as well as the council’s pledge to tackle climate change.

Lea Govender, speaking on behalf of Ramsey Court residents, said: “This is our garden. Our children play here, as do those from the opposite block of flats adjacent to the medical centre. This space is vital for community relations in this part of Park Road.”

Council planning chiefs claim the scheme will improve the quality of the remaining open space, with a new communal garden planned for the site. In a report to the committee, they wrote that the loss of open space “is not significant” and would be “outweighed by the provision of affordable housing”.

But Lea told the meeting the proposed enhancements would not provide adequate compensation for the loss of existing amenity space, adding that the scheme would “massively impact” residents’ wellbeing.

Joe Banks, speaking on behalf of neighbours and friends of local residents, told the meeting: “This green space has been a much-loved feature and amenity within the local community for the past 70 years. As well as contributing significantly to residents’ sense of wellbeing, it provides a vital carbon sink alongside one of the borough’s busiest roads.”

Pippa Connor, Liberal Democrat councillor for Muswell Hill, also spoke against the plans, claiming they failed to align with several of the council’s own policies.

But Ruth Gordon, cabinet member for housebuilding, placemaking and development, urged the committee to support the plans. She said the scheme would include three-bedroom family homes at “genuinely affordable council rents”.

Cllr Gordon said the plans had been shaped by 18 months of engagement with local residents. She added that it was probably one of the greenest schemes the council had brought forward, as it would be carbon neutral and would increase biodiversity through the use of hedging and bird boxes.

Kiran Curtis, director at KC+A Architects, told councillors the new communal garden created to the rear of Ramsey Court would be more accessible and would not be open to the road.

Two Liberal Democrat committee members voted against the plans, but the scheme was approved when the six Labour committee members voted in favour of planning officers’ recommendation to grant permission.