Quentin Given, coordinator of Tottenham and Wood Green Friends of the Earth posted this article on HarringayOnline. I thought I'd nab it and re-post it here given that the public consultation on Haringey's Local Plan ends on April 28th (see below for links).
"The Hornsey waterworks site at the eastern end of Alexandra Park includes the open reservoirs and an area of hard standing that was formerly four filter beds. It is designated Metropolitan Open Land.
When the filter beds were operational they provided habitat for a lot of insects, which in turn supported the House Martins that nested along the houses facing the Park; and the many bats that roosted in the park or in the New River tunnel off Station Road.
Haringey’s Wood Green Area Action Plan proposes that the filter bed area should be designated for a medium rise housing development for 304 units. Thames Water – which owns the site - has previously argued that the MOL designation should be revoked for this area.
Friends of the Earth think that if the filter beds are going to lose MOL status and be designated for development, then at least 50% should be set aside to restore the rich habitat it used to be, to compensate in part for the impact on visual amenity caused by building housing several storeys high on the remainder of the site.
You can help by responding to Haringey’s consultation at localplan@haringey.gov.uk
- please use your own words but include the point that this is open land, and any development should be compensated for by high quality habitat creation within the site, and that shallow water habitats could provide the richness that used to exit here.
You can see more of the proposals in the main document here http://www.haringey.gov.uk/sites/haringeygovuk/files/aap_med_res_16... - the Hornsey Filter Beds site is discussed in WG SA25 on p161.
It says “Development will need to be consistent with green belt policy, i.e. it should not have a greater impact on the openness of the Green Belt and the purpose of including land within it than the existing development “ (Para 89 of NPPF).
It is hard to see how building medium-rise housing on what is currently open or low-rise will not have a greater impact on the openness of the Green Belt."
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