Government awards Haringey Council £20m to develop its vision for ‘Selby Urban Village’, reports James Cracknell

The existing Selby Centre building in Selby Road, Tottenham

A Tottenham community centre is set to be transformed after the government awarded Haringey Council £20million from its flagship Levelling Up Fund.

The redevelopment plans for the Selby Centre complex – which currently includes a community centre, foodbank, children’s play area, sports hall and offices used by more than 60 different organisations – feature the creation of an “urban village” with “state-of-the art community facilities”. A second phase of work, which will need to be funded separately, would see 215 new homes built on the Selby Road site.

The current Selby Centre buildings are around 50 years old and have high maintenance costs. The £20m government grant – the highest awarded from the Levelling Up Fund to any London borough – will help provide 4,820 square metres of multi-purpose office space, a new community café, a community hall, soft play area and crèche, health and care spaces, a boxing club for young people and the provision of a credit union to support low-income residents.

In addition, the money will also go towards a revamp of nearby Bull Lane Playing Field, which will be transformed with a “revitalised” sports and leisure hub containing a four-court sports hall, floodlit full-sized artificial grass pitch for football and rugby, two junior grass football pitches, an artificial non-turf cricket pitch and multi-use games area.

An “inclusive community park” will also be created to promote health and wellbeing and will include a new adventure playground, communal planting and food growing areas and new paths to encourage active travel and improve connectivity.

In a joint statement, council leader Peray Ahmet and cabinet member Ruth Gordon said: “I’m delighted we’ve been able to secure such a significant amount of funding, which is a real vote of confidence in our ability to deliver this fantastic new community facility for our residents.

“The ‘Selby Urban Village’ is an ambitious place-making project that brings together the knowledge, expertise and passion of the Selby Trust, users of the centre, the local community and the council.

“We are delighted that together we can bring forward the changes to the Selby Centre and Bull Lane that the community have asked for.

“This scheme will support local enterprises, provide much needed new sports and leisure space and give the community an opportunity to connect with nature. The economic, health and wellbeing benefits of this scheme for Tottenham and the surrounding area will be invaluable.”

Edward Ihejirika, chair of the Selby Trust board of trustees, has welcomed the news. He said “This is great news for the Selby community and brings much-needed resources to the neighbourhood. It’s a £20million kick-start for the Selby Urban Village and is an exemplar for how partnerships between community organisations and local authorities can work.

“The Selby Urban Village vision is for a sustainable partnership that has the Selby Trust’s culturally rich communities involved at its heart. The community will find high quality community services and inspirational spaces, which will provide connectivity, engagement and learning or all.”

The new Selby Centre and Bull Lane sports and leisure facilities form part of the first phase of works to the area, with the development of 215 new homes and further improvements to sports fields forming part of a second phase.

No timeline for the redevelopment scheme has yet been set out, with a full planning application still needing to be drawn up, submitted and approved.

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