Tottenham Hotspur now want to build hundreds of student flats on the site instead of residential units and a cinema, reports Simon Allin, Local Democracy Reporter

Revised plans for the Printworks site in Tottenham (credit F3 Architects)

Tottenham Hotspur Football Club has drawn up revised plans for building student flats on the site of a former printworks near its stadium.

The Premier League club wants to build 287 “student bedspaces” in blocks up to six storeys high at 819-829 Tottenham High Road.

Spurs won permission for a residential development providing 72 homes, including 23 classed as affordable, together with a new cinema, at the same site in January last year.

But the revised plans would instead provide purpose-built flats for students, with 100 units, comprising 35% of the overall scheme, classed as affordable. The flats would be made up of 231 “cluster bed” units, which would include shared kitchen, living and dining spaces, and 56 studios.

The plans state that there is “an undeniable demand” for student accommodation in London and note that universities located within 40 minutes of the site include University of Middlesex, University College London, Queen Mary University of London, University of the Arts, and City University.

The Printworks scheme would also provide four “flexible commercial units”, but the club no longer plans to include a cinema as it did previously.

Located within the North Tottenham Conservation Area, the site once housed the head offices of the Tottenham and Edmonton Weekly Herald newspaper and printers Cusha and Son, and it is home to several listed buildings.

Although most of the listed buildings fronting the High Road would be retained, other structures to the rear would be demolished to make way for the flats. The locally listed 829 High Road would also be demolished to create a wider Brunswick Square public highway.

Tottenham Hotspur has been pursuing ambitious housebuilding plans in the area for several years. In July this year, the club won permission to build 844 homes at two adjoining sites known as The Depot, in Tottenham High Road, and Goods Yard, in White Hart Lane.

In July last year, Haringey Council and its development partner Lendlease won permission to build nearly 3,000 homes in a scheme known as High Road West, which encompasses the Printworks, Goods Yard and Depot sites.

However, Spurs’ plans state that this is “fully compatible” with its own proposals, and the club still intends to develop the three sites itself.

Residents can view and comment on the football club’s plans by visiting Haringey Council’s planning portal and entering reference HGY/2023/2306.

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