New Spurs stadium to kick off major homes plan for Tottenham

Published by Jon Land for 24dash.com in Housing and also in Communities, Local Government

Developers and selected housing associations were alerted last night to over 25 ‘key development opportunity sites’ across the north London borough of Haringey, writes Paul Coleman.

Haringey Council leader Claire Kober presented a selected audience at Tottenham Hotspur Football Club with Haringey Investment Potential. Invitees included Newlon Housing Group and Family Mosaic.

Notable development sites in the ‘investment pack’ included Alexandra Palace - a Grade II-listed iconic north London landmark - St Ann’s Hospital, Haringey Heartlands where the council seeks 1,000 new homes, and Haringey’s own Civic Centre.

Guests inside the club’s plush Bill Nicholson Suite also received a copy of the council’s 'A Plan for Tottenham'. Endorsed by Mayor of London Boris Johnson, the Plan promises ‘up to 10,000 new high quality homes and over 5,000 new jobs’ for Tottenham by 2025.

Kober said Spurs’ £400 million new 56,000-seater stadium would provide Tottenham with 300 new homes and 800 ‘match day’ jobs. The Tottenham area of Haringey is still recovering from the August 2011 riots.

“We were prepared to reduce Section 106 terms to get the Spurs scheme moving,” said Kober, referring chiefly to the absence of affordable homes at the new Spurs stadium site. “We want to see new housing and estate renewal in Tottenham benefiting old and new residents.”

Spurs finance director Matthew Collecott announced a main contractor had been appointed to build a new Sainsbury’s supermarket, the first stage of Spurs’ stadium plan. The stadium leads the regeneration of the Northumberland Park area of Tottenham.

Collecott hoped the new stadium, scheduled to open in Summer 2016, would “act as a catalyst for further regeneration and investment for Tottenham which is currently undergoing a major transition”.

Collecott said: “Last year’s huge unrest starkly showed how things can go wrong very quickly. Clearly, it’s in all our interests for local people to gain employment and for Spurs to help businesses grow the local economy.”

Sir Bob Kerslake, Head of the Civil Service and Permanent Secretary for the Department of Communities and Local Government, said: “Transformative change is exactly the right response to the disturbances of 2011. The government will be right behind you.”

Haringey Council’s Tottenham project director Anne Lippitt told 24dash regeneration could include a new Victoria Line tube station at Northumberland Park and increased overground rail commuter services.

Lippitt added Tottenham needed more owner-occupiers and better shops. “Tottenham has a lot of fried chicken shops,” said Lippitt. “It’d be good if Tottenham had places like Costa Coffee.”