New council homes in Seven Sisters win permission

The 45-home scheme is part of Haringey Council’s pledge to build 3,000 homes by 2032, reports Simon Allin, Local Democracy Reporter

A CGI of the plans for 45 homes in Brunel Walk

Plans to build 45 new council homes on a Seven Sisters housing estate have been given the go-ahead.

The scheme will see four blocks ranging from three to four storeys high built near existing social homes in Brunel Walk and Turner Avenue Estate.

Part of Haringey Council’s plan to build more than 3,000 council homes by 2032, the scheme will provide 39 apartments and six maisonettes. The council says these properties are intended for social rent.

Set to be built on the site of recently-demolished council-owned buildings, the development will be “car free” except for the provision of two wheelchair-accessible parking spaces. Although parking for the existing estate is set to be “rationalised”, the plans state that all 29 bays will be re-provided following the changes.

The council received nine objections to the scheme and one letter of support, according to a report by town hall planning chiefs. Concerns included the potential for the development to have an overbearing impact on existing residents, cause overshadowing and loss of light, and lead to overlooking and loss of privacy to properties in Seaford Road.

Other objections focused on the scheme’s potential to cause parking congestion, access issues, and noise and disturbance for existing residents during the construction phase.

Council planning officers said in their report that properties bounding the site “will not be unduly affected by the proposed development”, despite admitting that several windows and gardens would not meet recommended levels of sunlight and daylight set out in Building Research Establishment (BRE) guidance.

Officers said the guidelines are supposed to be interpreted flexibly and would be offset by other benefits provided for residents.

Planning officials added that there would not be an unacceptable impact on privacy and outlook, with the new building separated from properties in Seaford Road by between 20 and 27 metres. Angled bay windows and “carefully positioned” balconies had been designed to avoid direct overlooking, they claimed.

According to the report, residents of the development will be unable to apply for on-street parking permits and no “adverse parking impacts” are expected.

The council confirmed that the plans were approved by its planning subcommittee during a meeting last week.

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