Planning inspector overturns local council鈥檚 rejection of 867-home proposals
Tottenham Hotspur FC and F3 Architects have had their proposals for an 867-home development on land near the football club鈥檚 north London stadium approved at appeal after Haringey Council rejected the scheme last year.
F3鈥檚 scheme would deliver the homes in towers of 32, 29 and 27 storeys 鈥� as well as lower-rise buildings 鈥� on land off White Hart Lane, to the west of Spurs鈥� 拢1bn Populous-designed stadium. The site brings together two plots known as the Goods Yard and the Depot, which already had existing planning consents for up to 650 homes. Both plots are owned by Spurs.
Haringey Council planning officers had recommended the Spurs proposal for approval. But councillors rejected it, citing concerns about the height, breadth and spacing of the scheme鈥檚 three towers, which they said would have an 鈥渦nacceptable adverse effect鈥� on views of the area.
Councillors also criticised the architectural quality of F3鈥檚 proposals and their impact on nearby listed buildings.
Following an eight-day hearing in July, planning inspector Jonathan Manning overturned the refusal in a second victory for Spurs and F3 in relation to the Goods Yard site. In 2019 the duo won approval at appeal for a twin-tower development that proposed 319 new homes.
Manning鈥檚 decision on the latest proposals, issued at the end of last month, acknowledged the scheme would 鈥渃ause harm in several ways鈥�, including a low-level of harm to the character and appearance of the local area and 鈥渓ess than substantial harm鈥� to the significance of several designated heritage assets.
However, Manning said the scheme鈥檚 benefits included delivering 867 new homes 鈥� of which a minimum of 35% will be 鈥渁ffordable鈥� 鈥� at a time when Haringey cannot demonstrate a five-year supply of housing land, and that the proposals would also contribute to Tottenham鈥檚 wider regeneration.
Manning added that the scheme would also secure the future of two early 18th century grade II-listed buildings on Tottenham High Road and the locally-listed Stationmaster鈥檚 House.
鈥淭he benefits of the scheme are very substantial indeed and the identified harm does not significantly and demonstrably outweigh those benefits,鈥� he said.
Manning acknowledged that a separate architectural assessment of the proposals had found that the height, breadth and massing of the tall buildings would 鈥渞esult in an abrupt change in scale鈥� compared with the local townscape, with an 鈥渋ncongruous effect鈥� on a number of views.
However he said the spacing between the towers in the appeal proposals was better than that in already-approved schemes for the site.
鈥淚n terms of architectural design, I am in agreement with the assessor that the proposed buildings would have highly articulated facades with a range of materials, textures, colours, tones and layers of depth that would be set out in well-proportioned bays that would result in an exemplary standard of architectural quality,鈥� he said.
The Goods Yard and Depot sites are also part of Haringey Council鈥檚 wider High Road West regeneration proposals for Tottenham, masterplanned by Studio Egret West. Those plans include the redevelopment of the Love Lane Estate to the south of White Hart Lane.
A 2,600-home version of that masterplan, developed in conjunction with Lendlease, was approved by Haringey councillors in late July. A 2,900-home version of the scheme was pulled from a meeting in March after a last-minute objection from Spurs.
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