The development plans, approved by the council this week, are being criticised by environmental campaigners, reports Simon Allin, Local Democracy Reporter

A major housing scheme planned for the site of disused hospital buildings in Tottenham has been approved by councillors.

Catalyst Housing Association and developer Hill Residential have won permission to demolish parts of the St Ann’s Hospital complex in St Ann’s Road and build 995 homes in a series of flats up to nine storeys high.

Opened in 1892 as a fever hospital before becoming a general hospital in the 1940s, St Ann’s has recently undergone redevelopment and now occupies around a third of the original site. The surplus land was bought by the Greater London Authority in 2018 to increase the delivery of affordable homes.

Haringey Council’s planning subcommittee approved detailed plans for 239 homes and outline plans for a further 756 homes at the site during a meeting on Tuesday. The development is set to provide 595 affordable homes and 400 for private sale, along with a supermarket and other commercial uses such as affordable workspaces.

The scheme drew 389 objections and comments from the public, and a number of residents addressed the committee to raise concerns over its impact on the environment, neighbouring residents and children attending a local school.

When the plans were first submitted to the council, campaigners warned they would lead to the loss of nearly 50% of the trees on the development section of the site. A report presented to the committee by planning officers acknowledged that 114 of the 227 trees on site, and 30 of 32 tree groups, would need to be removed. However, it added that the plans had been amended to provide additional replacement trees, which would lead to “a net increase of 357 trees across the site”.

The report stated that the plans would lead to the loss of nearly 0.4 hectares of canopy under a “worst-case scenario”, but revised estimates showed a small increase in canopy cover. Even under the worst-case scenario, the report claimed, the lost canopy would be replaced over 20 years.

Russell Miller, from Friends of St Ann’s Green Spaces, told the committee that the development was bad for climate change, wildlife and air quality. Claiming the loss of tree cover would lead to “dangerously hot environments” and poorer air quality, he said: “we need to green the grey, not grey the green”. Russell also warned over the loss of a wildlife corridor running from north to south through the site, claiming it would lead to a decline in biodiversity.

Cathy Graham and Ross Milner raised concerns on behalf of Gardens Residents’ Association and Warwick Gardens residents. They said a seven-metre separation distance between the development and neighbours’ gardens was “not acceptable”, and the impact would not be mitigated by new planting proposed by the developers. They also raised concerns over loss of privacy and parking spaces, nuisance and disturbance, and reductions in trees and foliage.

Alexander Davies, a local resident and governor at Chestnuts Primary School, which is located opposite the hospital, warned new site entrances for cars and construction traffic would pose a risk to pedestrian safety, and increased pollution could have an impact on children’s health. He said the school had not been approached by Catalyst and was not mentioned in a construction plan published in October.

Milo and Delilah, year six council representatives at Chestnuts School, also warned over the impact on traffic and pollution on young children, pointing out that Article 3 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states that decisions taken by adults should take into account the best interests of children.

Tammy Hymas, ward councillor for St Ann’s, and Julie Davies, who represents Hermitage and Gardens, raised further objections to the scheme.

David Wakeford, Catalyst Housing’s project director for the St Ann’s developement, defended the plans, pointing out that the scheme would provide 595 affordable homes, including 320 for affordable rent and a “good proportion” of family homes.

Addressing the concerns raised by the school, David said construction traffic would be “managed safely” and that a traffic management plan had been adapted to ensure the gate closest to the school would be used for emergency access only and would “never be regularly used for construction traffic”.

Retaining trees had been a “key focus”, he added, and the scheme would involve the removal of fewer trees than any previous proposal for the site. David said the ‘Peace Garden’ at the heart of the proposed development would be tripled in size, a site of importance for nature conversation would be “enlarged by 50%”, and a new north-south green corridor would be created.

Adding that the proposals were “close to net-zero carbon”, David claimed the best way to tackle climate change was to provide “energy-efficient, modern homes”.

Mike Hakata, the council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for climate action, environment and transport, and Ruth Gordon, cabinet member for housebuilding, placemaking and development, also called on the committee to approve the plans. Cllr Gordon said there was a “massive housing crisis” and pointed out the scheme would provide 22 homes for NHS staff and 38 “supported homes for elderly residents”.

Alexandra Worrell, a Labour committee member, asked why it was necessary to remove so many trees and whether more could be saved. Daniel Monk, the council’s arboricultural officer, said there was no guarantee that removing two of the trees that were “at their prime” would be successful, and they would require “a lot of aftercare”. He added: “We have to make sure that we do not have a net loss when it comes to the trees”.

Committee members also raised concerns over parking provision, with 167 spaces planned for the development. Labour’s Cathy Brennan said she did not think transport links along St Ann’s Road were very good and asked if any improvements could be made.

Maurice Richards, the council’s transportation planning manager, said in response that it was “not a poorly serviced site” in terms of public transport. He said access to transport links would be improved by creating a new route through the site, and residents could use two existing bus services to reach local transport interchanges.

Liberal Democrat committee member Luke Cawley-Harrison called for Chestnuts School and other stakeholders to be involved in a “steering group” to monitor construction over the course of the St Ann’s project in order to ensure their concerns were addressed.

Robbie McNaugher, the council’s head of development management, said the construction management plan would be updated and conditions would be added to ensure there was engagement with local residents, groups and schools and “measures for ongoing engagement”.

Following a debate on the plans, the committee voted unanimously to approve the application.

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