Two deputations were received by the
Panel.
The first deputation was presented by Faruk Tepeyurt
regarding the High Road West regeneration scheme. Mr Tepeyurt said that
he had spoken to the Panel about this issue previously and that he
was speaking on behalf of businesses on the Peacock industrial
estate, White Hart Lane and Tottenham High Road. Mr Tepeyurt said that under the proposals for the High
Road West scheme a total 120,000 squares metres of land would be
given to Lendlease plc and that
business owners would have to give up their land and become
leaseholders rather than freeholders. He said that the views of
business owners had not been taken into account throughout the
consultation process and that the existing businesses should be
protected.
In response to questions from the Panel, Mr
Tepeyurt and others supporting the
deputation said:
- That the existing
businesses include coffee shops, a photocopying shop, eateries and
dry cleaning on the High Road and mechanics, upholstery shops,
joinery shops and timber yards on the industrial estates. There are
more than 250 people employed on the industrial estate with a
turnover of over £10m.
- That a previous
Haringey Council report had stated that 92 businesses would be
disrupted by the regeneration scheme. Not all of these businesses
have an alternative space to which they can relocate.
- The businesses in the
industrial estate currently own around 20,000 sq/m of land of which around 10,000 sq/m is designated for ‘B1’ business
use. However, Mr Tepeyurt said that in
he understands the proposal to be that only 1,000 sq/m had been allocated for the businesses under
the new development so 90% was being lost.
- That his request to
the Panel is that a thorough scrutiny review of the High Road West
regeneration scheme be carried out.
The second deputation was presented by Joanna
Morrison, Chair of the Love Lane Temporary Accommodation Group, who
also spoke about the High Road West regeneration scheme. The Love
Lane estate is also included in the High Road West regeneration
area and, following the change in the administration at Haringey
Council which has different aspirations, Joanna Morrison said that
there should be a fresh review of the current situation related to
High Road West. She said that the tenants had suffered from poor
standards of treatment and that all temporary accommodation tenants
of the Love Lane estate should be rehoused in permanent
accommodation.
In response to questions from the Panel, Joanna
Morrison and others supporting the deputation said:
- That the length of
time that the tenants have been in temporary accommodation varies
significantly with some there for less than two months while others
had been on the waiting list for up to 11 years.
- That the impact on
tenants of their situation can include a lack of stability in their
lives causing anxiety and depression. Having to move regularly
because of a lack of permanent accommodation particularly affects
parents and children due to changing environment and
schools.
- That there had been
some positive changes to the general upkeep and maintenance of the
estate since the TAG’s previous representations to the Panel
last year although some concerns had not been
addressed.
- On whether it would
be fair for temporary accommodation tenants to be prioritised over
others on the housing waiting list, there were some tenants being
moved into sites already earmarked for redevelopment and then moved
out again so there should be a specific change in the policy to
find permanent accommodation for these people.
- On the proposed
ballot of residents on the redevelopment it was felt that there was
pressure being applied by the Council for residents to move away
and that the alternative options being highlighted in recent
letters to tenants, such as moving into the private sector, are not
really viable options. There had been very little communication
about the ballot which had already been delayed on more than one
occasion.
Cllr Gordon proposed
that the topic of High Road West be taken on by the Panel as a full
scrutiny review. Cllr Moyeed confirmed
that this was the intention of the Panel and that further
discussions with Panel members would be necessary in order to
determine the terms of reference for the Review.