10:51am Friday 29th February 2008
By Elizabeth Pears
The battle to develop the "Gateway to Tottenham" stepped up this week as opposing visions for the future of Wards Corner go on show.
Grainger PLC, the council's preferred developer which has plans to build private homes on the site next to Seven Sisters Tube station, will exhibit its proposal this weekend.
The design includes a shopping area featuring a small supermarket, restaurants, a one-stop-shop for council services and a public square.
The developer, which turned over £60.9 million in the past financial year, submitted its planning application to the council on February 12.
David Walters, development director at Grainger, said: "People might think we are just another big, bad developer but our design complements Haringey Council's design brief and will do wonders for the area.
"We have consulted residents and have used their feedback to make changes to the plans."
Rival group, the Wards Corner Community Coalition (WCC), made up of local traders, conservationists and concerned residents, submitted an alternative application, the Community Plan, at the end of January.
It was showcased at a public meeting yesterday.
The design includes restoring of the Ward building and a public piazza with markets and cafés.
The coalition was formed in protest to Grainger's initial proposals which include bulldozing the prized Ward building, a former Edwardian department store, to make way for 200 homes. Critics say this will ruin the character of the area.
It would also mean the indoor market at Seven Sisters would be demolished, destroying the livelihoods of its traders.
Wendy Keenan, member of the WCC, said: "I don't see how private gated communities benefit the area. Grainger's plans feel like a rejection of the people we should be celebrating."
She believes there is nothing for market traders in the new design.
"The way the market traders have been treated is deplorable," she added.
Wards Corner has been earmarked by Haringey Council as a key site in the regeneration of the east of the borough to help reduce crime and introduce a better range of facilities to the area.
It is hoped the site, comprising Seven Sisters Underground station and buildings on Seven Sisters Road, West Green Road and Tottenham High Road, will become a landmark entrance to Tottenham.
The council will carry out a formal consultation with the community and other stakeholders.
A council spokesman said: "As is the case with any application, they will both be considered carefully."
Planning applications can be viewed at plann ingservices.haringey.gov.uk using reference HGY/2008/0303 for Grainger and HGY/2008/0177 for WCC.
For more information on Grainger's plans visit wardscornerregeneration.co.uk; to see the WCC plans visit www.wardscornercommu nity.org.uk.
Grainger's exhibition will go on display on the concourse between West Green Road and Seven Sisters Road today between 12pm and 7pm and Saturday between 11am and 3pm.
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