Row erupts over council's sales listing for Tottenham community venue

A petition is calling on the council to “honour” a recently-agreed one-year lease for the Tower Gardens site “to trial the space and build a proper community plan”, reports Joe Ives, Local Democracy Reporter

Tower Gardens Community Corner CIC and (inset) cabinet member Ata Berk Aksit

Haringey Council admits that its private listing of a Tottenham community venue “could have been communicated better” – following a public backlash.

The comments were issued this week by Ata Berk Aksit, cabinet member for communities at the local authority.

They come in response to concerns raised by a community interest company (CIC), Tower Gardens Community Corner, about the council’s decision to list the pavilion at Tower Gardens Park in Tottenham for private rental at £45,000 per year.

The venue is currently being used by the not-for-profit organisation, which says it organises activities “for the community, not for private profit”.

On Sunday, 27th September the CIC launched a petition calling on the council to take the Tower Garden’s Park pavilion building off the market.

This followed the venue being listed for private rent on the website of Bernard Gordon & Co, a commercial property estate agent based in Borehamwood. In the advert, the building was described as an “excellent” opportunity, with “ample outside space and parking”.

Although the original version of the advert appears to have been removed from Bernard Gordon & Co’s website, the company’s near-identical listing of the property on Rightmove’s commercial sales site remains live at time of reporting. This is despite the council saying it has now paused its rental plans.

Tower Gardens Community Corner says it “knew the pavilion would be marketed at some point” but argues that the timing and manner of the process is out of keeping with the original understanding it had with the council.

The community organisation is now calling on the local authority to take the building “off the market”.

It’s one of a number of demands listed on their online petition, which is also calling on the council to “honour” a recently-agreed one-year lease for the site “to trial the space and build a proper community plan, with a coalition of local groups ready to run it”.

The CIC says it wants to protect the venue and prevent the local authority from “carving up a small park for private use”.

A meeting of Tower Gardens Community Corner CIC

The organisation also believes the council should, it says: “Consult the community on the future of public buildings on the estate — no surprise rentals, no surprise decisions, and no gaps where we’re left with nowhere to gather.”

Responding to questions from the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), cabinet member Cllr Aksit said: “As an administration we are committed to keeping neighbourhood assets in the hands of the community.

“In August 2026 we entered into a lease with Tower Gardens Community Corner (TGCC) to ensure that the building remained occupied and available for community use rather than standing vacant. This was only intended to provide temporary and flexible occupation whilst a new long-term occupier could be found.

“Our administration is currently working within the confines of inherited policy, which takes into account social value when assessing applications to ensure that community groups can viably run activities.”

The cabinet member said the council communicated with Tower Gardens Community Corner “whilst plans progressed towards finding a long-term occupier, including advising them when the property was due to be marketed and when the advertisement went live”.

Cllr Aksit added: “We are sympathetic to the concerns of the group and want to clarify that the marketing related solely to the pavilion building. We appreciate this could have been communicated better.

“As a council we are working to resolve these concerns and to facilitate this we have withdrawn the advertisement whilst a way forward is agreed.”

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