Plans were originally approved in 2014 for a footbridge to connect Tottenham Hale Station with Hale Village but the idea was scrapped five years later, reports Grace Howarth, Local Democracy Reporter

While Tottenham Hale’s new entrance opened two years ago, passengers are still waiting for a footbridge link to Hale Village

Councillors have rejected attempts to replace plans for a footbridge at Tottenham Hale Station with increased pedestrian and cycling space on its access road.

At a planning sub-committee meeting on Tuesday (8th) plans from Transport for London (TfL) and Haringey Council were rejected after residents called the proposal a “grubby deal” and “unsafe”.

Plans were originally approved in 2014 for a footbridge to connect Tottenham Hale Station with Hale Village to help “increase connectivity” in the area, as part of a wider station revamp that included a new entrance.

However, this was amended in 2019 to remove the plans for a bridge from the scheme.

Instead, changes have been proposed to the pedestrian and cycle lanes on Ferry Lane, outside the station, which would see the barrier between pedestrians and cyclists removed and both lanes widened.

Councillor Sheila Peacock said the new pedestrian and cycle pathways would be “very dangerous” as cyclists didn’t respect the lanes currently, adding they were a hotspot for phones being stolen by passing cyclists and e-bike users.

Matthew Yates, head of projects at TfL, said he believed the project was “safe” and the cycle lane at the moment was not of the “correct standard” and was “far too narrow”.

He said: “The barriers are between the cyclists and pedestrians, not cyclists and the road, so cyclists don’t feel necessarily safe using those cycle lanes and that’s why we’ve seen cyclists using the pavement.”

Speaking on the popularity of the original plan for a new footbridge connecting to Hale Village, resident Andrew Johnston said: “This is a grubby deal, because local residents have asked Haringey to get the footbridge built and our MP David Lammy and the mayor of London have actually supported building the link bridge.”

Andrew started a petition in 2019 calling for the installation of the bridge to go ahead, which he said received over 1,100 signatures.

He continued: “It’s a grubby deal because despite the millions of pounds invested from developers, millions from the council and the Church of England, TfL and Network Rail can still wash their hands of the residents of east Tottenham.”

Andrew called on the council to reject the proposal and for Network Rail and TfL to find the funding to deliver the original plan.

Cllr Peacock said she was “shocked” by the new proposal and said if the original plan had been delivered sooner and not delayed the cost would not have been an issue.

The cost in 2013 for the link bridge was estimated at between £2m and £3m but by 2019 this had risen to £9m due to new regulations required and increased demand forecasts from Network Rail.

Matthew explained the reason behind the higher costs, saying today the price of the bridge would have increased again to “£10m”.

He said: “TfL has secured £4m to provide an alternative [proposal] and meet not all but the majority of the objectives of that link bridge scheme.

“Once or if this application is approved it’s down to Haringey to undertake the delivery of this scheme.”

Another worry was that TfL could not guarantee the £4m would be available in perpetuity, meaning the committee felt pressured to “take hold of an opportunity now”.

Following discussions, the committee voted four against the plan and three in favour, with one abstention, meaning the plan will not go ahead.

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