Extra cash for public spaces in Tottenham Hale after homes deal falls through

Haringey Council to invest £5.8m in two green spaces after affordable homes deal unexpectedly collapses, reports Simon Allin, Local Democracy Reporter

Haringey Council will invest an extra £5.8million in green spaces and social infrastructure in Tottenham Hale after an affordable homes deal fell through.

The funding will be used to carry out a series of improvements at Down Lane Park and The Paddock open space as part of a council pledge to “shape a fairer and greener neighbourhood for the future”.

Tottenham Hale has undergone major regeneration during the past decade, which is ultimately set to provide 3,200 new homes. The regeneration involved the council selling sites to developer Argent Related, raising £28.37m in capital receipts.

Of this, £7.35m was set aside to repay grant funding from City Hall that would support the delivery of an extra 113 affordable homes at Notting Hill Genesis (NHG) Housing Association’s redevelopment of the Ashley House and Cannon Factory site in Ashley Road.

But a report presented to a meeting of the council’s cabinet on Tuesday (13th) revealed the Greater London Authority (GLA) would no longer provide funding for the homes after NHG failed to meet “milestone dates” set out in an agreement with City Hall.

With the money no longer needed to repay the GLA grant, the council will invest £5.85m in a series of local improvements and retain £1.5m.

Ruth Gordon, cabinet member for house building, placemaking and local economy, told the cabinet meeting the extra money would deliver a “huge investment” in sports and playing facilities in Down Lane Park, as well as measures to tackle flooding.

She added that it would also help to provide the borough’s first new nature reserve in more than a decade at The Paddock.

Luke Cawley-Harrison, leader of Liberal Democrat opposition group, questioned why £1.5m was being returned to the council’s general fund instead of being invested in more affordable homes.

Cllr Gordon replied that the authority had already been able to meet its 40% affordable target across the Tottenham Hale regeneration, acquiring homes on sites being built by private developers and building its own council homes at the Ashley Road Depot site.

She added that increasing amenities for residents was a “balanced approach”, and the £1.5m would help with the council’s “general finances”.

Cllr Cawley-Harrison also asked why NHG had failed to meet milestone dates for the GLA funding and whether that was likely to be repeated on other projects.

Peter O’Brien, the council’s assistant director of regeneration and economic development, said the scheme had been affected by a “pretty difficult economic context” but added that work had now begun on site and was expected to finish in late 2025.

He also said there had been a “fundamental change in the purpose of affordable housing”, with the GLA shifting its funding priorities from shared ownership and London Living Rent tenures to providing council homes.

Peter claimed the authority had been able to provide “much better affordable housing” in the form of council homes, so that when NHG said it was not going to proceed with the original application the council was able to use the money to fulfil other pledges it had made to residents.

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