News

Broadwater Farm redevelopment delayed after mural given listed status

12 October 2022
2 Min Read

New protection for estate mural forces Haringey Council to re-evaluate its plans for demolishing tower block, reports Simon Allin, Local Democracy Reporter

The Equality-Harmony mural on the Broadwater Farm Estate (credit Google)

The proposed redevelopment of a Tottenham housing estate has been put on hold after a mural was given protected status.

Plans by Haringey Council to demolish buildings at Broadwater Farm Estate to make way for new homes are being temporarily delayed to allow officials to consider the impact of the proposals on the mural, which was created to promote reconciliation in the aftermath of 1985 estate riot and has recently become Grade 2-listed.

The council wants to knock down the Tangmere, Northolt and Stapleford North residential blocks at the estate and build 294 new homes for council rent, along with a modern health and wellbeing centre and affordable workspaces. The plans were drawn up after structural faults were found in the Tangmere and Northolt blocks, shortly following the Grenfell Tower disaster.

Councillors were due to consider the proposals during a planning subcommittee meeting on Monday, but they agreed to defer the application to a future meeting after the government told the council on 5th October that the mosaic mural on the side of the Tangmere building had been Grade 2-listed for its special architectural or historic interest.

The Equality-Harmony mural was created in the aftermath of the Broadwater Farm riot in October 1985 by Turkish artist Gulsun Erbil, who lived on the estate and witnessed the events. Gulsun described the overarching theme of the artwork as one of reconciliation between the races.

The official entry on the Historic England website states: “Through its depictions of cultural and community life on the estate, the mural celebrates the grassroots activism which helped shape it and counters a narrative of disaffection associated with the estate.”

According to Historic England, the mural was created using a Byzantine mosaic technique. It was listed “for its celebration of universal values of peace, equality and harmony, alongside depictions of the diverse cultural life of the Broadwater Farm Estate, and aspects of youth culture more broadly in 1980s Britain”.

Council officers said the plans could be brought back to a meeting of the committee in December but were unable to give an exact date. The committee then voted unanimously in favour of officers’ recommendation to defer the application.

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