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CAMPAIGNERS have called for Haringey Council to halt another £1 billion housing development plan in the borough which will leave nearly 300 council homes at risk of demolition.
The council recently decided to scrap the proposed Haringey Development Vehicle (HDV), a joint venture company with the developer Lendlease to demolish and redevelop council estates and other public buildings.
Residents and the public have widely opposed the plans through lobbies and demonstrations since the previous council leadership decided to set it up last year.
Lendlease pushed unsuccessfully to persuade the new anti-HDV council, which was elected in May, that the plans should not be abandoned.
Paul Burnham, secretary of Haringey Defend Council Housing, said the decision was a “great victory for democracy and for people power.”
The tenant campaigner added: “It is a warning to councils and politicians not to put developer interests ahead of the needs of local people.”
But Tottenham Hotspur Football Club — which is having its new stadium rebuilt in the borough — and Lendlease are still locked in a development battle.
Lendlease plans to continue with the development of mainly private homes by the stadium in North Tottenham.
Spurs have now bought up 33 per cent of the 11.8 hectare site and awarded the land to Lendlease for development.
The plan to sell the housing land at the Love Lane estate, which consists of 297 properties, to Lendlease for demolition also depends on the consent of Housing Minister James Brokenshire.
Campaigners have objected and say there was supposed to be a site capacity of 1,400 new homes at the site, but Lendlease have increased the density to 2,500.
The site’s initially masterplan showed 1,200 new homes at a public consultation.
Mr Burnham said: “It is a scandal that Haringey Council have allowed Lendlease effectively to rewrite the planning policy at High Road West.”
Spurs’ corporate owners have repeatedly lobbied for the council housing next to their stadium to be demolished, with chairman Daniel Levy saying he “can’t be looking down at that” regarding a block nearby.
