Agenda item

Wood Green Investment Framework and Area Action Plan

[To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Housing and Regeneration. Report  of the Director for Planning, Regeneration and Development]

This report seeks Cabinet approval for the public consultation on Reg 18 public consultation on an Area Action Plan for Wood Green which is being delivered and consulted on in parallel with the Investment Framework (spatial plan and investment/economic plan for the town centre).

 

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Housing and Regeneration introduced the report which outlined to Members the four broad development options for Wood Green and the emergent preference for one of the options for how regeneration might take place in Wood Green .The report further sought approval to carry out a first stage public consultation on these 4 growth options through publication of the draft of the Wood Green Area Action Plan: Issues and Options Report (the ‘Wood Green AAP’).   There would then later follow a second consultation process on the preferred option.

The report also sought Members approval to the revised budget to complete the Wood Green Investment Framework in order to put in place the necessary staff and resources to manage the project effectively through to completion of the AAP and to commence the implementation stage. The Investment Framework would be reported separately to Cabinet in due course. 

 

Cllr Engert questioned the consideration being given to Cross Rail 2 in the plans when no decision by government had been made on this.  In response it was noted that the plans for Wood Green were much needed and were at an early stage so amendments could be made according to changes in London and regional plans. However, it was important to include a transport plan for Wood Green and give consideration to the impact of Cross Rail 2 even at this early stage.

 

Cllr Engert further asked a question about whether GP services had been included in the plans to regenerate Wood Green.  Councillor Strickland responded by setting out the importance being given to social infrastructure in Wood Green and the discussions already taking place with the community about schools, and health provision. The Council were alive to this issue and also speaking with the appropriate organisations.

 

Cllr Engert further asked questions about the community benefits of the AAP including a swimming pool for Wood Green.  The Cabinet Member for Housing and Regeneration was happy to speak with Cllr Engert on the leisure provision but no commitments could be made about a swimming pool for the local area.

 

 

 

RESOLVED

 

1.    To approve for Regulation 18 consultation purposes the publication of the draft Wood Green Area Action Plan: Issues and Options report (attached at Appendix 1) for a period of seven weeks commencing on 1st February 2016.

 

2.    To note the consultation programme set out at Appendix 2.

 

3.    To approve the revised expenditure budget and external funding plans to complete the Wood Green Investment Framework and AAP as set out in Section 6.

 

4.    To agree a maximum additional Council contribution of £694,000 to finance the current shortfall to the end of March 2017.

 

Reasons for decision

Haringey faces considerable challenges in planning for long term growth. Following the publication London Plan 2015, the Borough’s housing target has risen from 830 net new dwellings per year to 1,502. In parallel, the borough has a target to increase employment levels by 29% over the next 20 years.

 

The Wood Green area (which includes the Chocolate Factory and Clarendon Road sites) is identified in the London Plan and the adopted (2013) and emerging update to the Local Plan Strategic Polices DPD as a Growth Area able to accommodate a significant portion of the borough’s future development needs. Significant development opportunities have already been identified in the emerging Site Allocations DPD for sites along the railway, Clarendon Road, Cobourg Road and the Council’s own landholdings, including the Civic Centre, Station Road sites and the Wood Green Library site. However, at the moment there is no comprehensive long-term strategy for the future of the Metropolitan Town Centre and its hinterland to co-ordinate these development opportunities.

 

The Investment Framework and Wood Green AAP are required to ensure there is a clear and structured plan for delivering change within this area that delivers on Council’s and the community’s aspirations for the place and maximises the benefits to be achieved from new development and strategic investment in infrastructure.

 

Public consultation is an important statutory requirement in the preparation of the Local Plan and the documents cannot progress to the next stages in the plan-making process without carrying out appropriate consultation – for the AAP this will need to be in accordance Council’s statutory duty to consult and the adopted Statement of Community Involvement (SCI).

 

Alternative options considered

If an Investment Framework and Area Action Plan were not developed and adopted, it is expected that the market will respond to increasing demand for residential and commercial development.  This risks undermining the community and the Council’s ability to secure managed change in Wood Green against a backdrop of a coherent spatial vision and would be likely instead to see more piecemeal development in the area. 

 

Proceeding without an area specific planning policy framework also risks undermining the status of Wood Green as a Metropolitan Town Centre (in the London Plan), as the developers and investors respond to short term commercial demands which may not correspond with longer-term housing and employment growth aspirations.

 

Without clear and adopted area based planning policies and a coherent regeneration programme, the Council will have reduced control over future development of its own land and property assets in Wood Green, limiting what can be achieved in delivering the Council’s housing and employment targets.

 

Options regarding the content and timetable for the production of Haringey’s Local Plan, including the Wood Green Area Action Plan, were considered in January 2015 by Cabinet in the context of agreeing the revised Local Development Scheme. Therefore, no further options in respect of the preparation of an Area Action Plan or valid alternatives are considered in the context of preparing this report.

 

All local development plan documents must comply with the requirements of Section 19 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (as amended) and Regulation 18 of the Town & Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Act 2012.  There is therefore no alternative to progressing the statutory Development Plan Documents (DPD) other than in accordance with these provisions, Council’s statutory duty to consult and its adopted SCI. 

 

Supporting documents: