The limit on the number of non-football events such as boxing and Beyonce will now increase from 16 to 30, reports Grace Howarth, Local Democracy Reporter

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium preparing to host NFL in 2022

Plans to double the number of ‘major non-football events’ at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium have been approved.

Haringey Council’s planning sub-committee discussed the plans from Spurs to increase the yearly limit on large events, which includes boxing matches and music concerts, from 16 to 30.

Beyonce and Red Hot Chili Peppers have been among the big names to perform at the stadium in Tottenham High Road since it opened in 2019, while NFL games have also been hosted.

But councillors raised concerns over noise pollution, ticket touting, littering, and the impact on the traffic and transport, during the tense hour-and-a-half planning meeting yesterday (Thursday 1st).

When asked about the council’s approach on regulating the events, Gavin Douglas, head of regulatory services, said: “It’s a full-on operation, a real mixture of different issues that tend to happen, it does have a direct effect on the council’s revenue account in order to regulate those things.

“It would cost us if we were to regulate it [the proposal] properly, I have to manage and restrict the number of officers who are available in order to mitigate the issues because we simply don’t have the budget in order to do it.”

The financial pressure of the additional events was discussed, with an initial contribution of £2,000 from Spurs proposed for every event over 16 to help mitigate the impact.

Committee member Reg Rice proposed deferring the plan’s decision due to the amount of concerns raised, and committee member Sean O’Donovan seconded this.

Ibrahim Ali, who isn’t on the committee but was scheduled to speak as a Bruce Castle ward councillor, said: “I do want it to be noted that the application is contentious within the community […] there are 60 comments on this application online.”

He emphasised he wasn’t there to take a side but estimated that, for every one comment in favour, three were against.

He said: “People do want to see events, they see it as a way of driving jobs, driving opportunities to the area, driving attractions, but I do think in an ideal world we should have had a lot of these things addressed before reviewing this application today so people can see examples of this working in practice.”

Councillors continued to voice concern over the amount Spurs would contribute to regulating the events, culminating in Donna Cullen, executive director of Tottenham Hotspur, agreeing to contribute £4,000 for each additional event.

This was the sum the council had previously estimated was required.

Donna said: “On this point, if I can clarify, and I know this can’t relate to the existing 16, but if the issue relates to the additional events in excess of the already permitted 16 then the club will commit to the combined £4,000.

“I do not want to be in a position where the council is saying to us they have costs we’re not covering or meeting but I do want to better understand those costs and that they’re properly applied, so that we can get to our review at the end of the year and know that everybody stepped up to do what was needed in the interests of the neighbourhood.”

Following this, councillors voted unanimously to approve the application.

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