YMCA plans aim to make Crouch End site a more fun place to stay

Existing Tottenham Lane site described as “not fit for purpose” would be replaced with new building containing 174 en-suite rooms for homeless young people, reports Joe Ives, Local Democracy Reporter

YMCA in Tottenham Lane, Crouch End (credit Google)

A public consultation on controversial plans to redevelop the “no longer fit for purpose” YMCA hostel building in Crouch End is due to close at the end of this week.

The application, currently under review, was submitted to Haringey Council by YMCA London City and North and its agent, CMA Planning, last month.

The project would see the demolition of the YMCA hostel, described by the charity as “no longer fit for purpose”.

The building in Tottenham Lane currently provides “safe and stable accommodation to 155 young people aged 16 to 35 years with pressing housing needs”.

The redevelopment would see the existing building replaced with 174 en-suite rooms to meet the “growing need” of young people experiencing homelessness. Around 10% of the new rooms would be “wheelchair accessible or adaptable”.

Shared social spaces, “community rooms”, staff facilities and a landscaped courtyard would also be put in place. YMCA says the project would, overall, help create “housing that works better for residents, staff and the wider community”.

In its formal response to the application, The Hornsey Historical Society said it recognised the importance of the YMCA’s work and had “no objections in principle” to the objective of having more rooms of a higher quality at the site.

Nevertheless, the group raised concerns about the size, scale and, in particular, height, of the proposals, with worries it could impact “the recognised quality of Crouch End’s townscape and architectural character”.

How the redeveloped YMCA building could look (credit CMA Planning)

The society believes that the impact of the new height, described as “a five-storey frontage” with set back top floor, has been understated in planning documents submitted for the project.

However, CMA Planning argues that the scheme has been “sensitively designed to ensure that the proposed scale, massing and height are reflective of the surrounding built form and would significantly enhance the appearance of this part of the area”.

The agent also claims that the project would create 231 full-time equivalent construction jobs as well as an overall “biodiversity net gain”.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) was contacted by a representative of a number of residents living around the existing YMCA building. Among other things, they raised concerns about disruption and antisocial behaviour issues they feel are left unaddressed in the application.

In a planning statement submitted to the local authority, CMA Planning acknowledged that “the existing building has experienced historic issues with antisocial behaviour”. However, the agent argued that the redevelopment project would “deliver significant improvements in this regard through both its design and operational management”.

In its application, YMCA described itself as “one of the UK’s best-known youth charities”, which works to provide services “across North London, supporting young people through housing, advice, wellbeing services and opportunities for personal development”.

It describes the facility on 184 Tottenham Lane as “an established part of the Crouch End community landscape for the last 100 years”. The redevelopment scheme, it argues, “is intended to continue that role in a form that is better suited to present day needs and standards”.

A public consultation on the plans is set to end this Friday (2nd October) and the council has a “target” decision date for the application of 23rd November.

The application can be found on the council’s planning portal, using reference HGY/2026/2308.

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