Penstock Tunnel under the railway provides a very useful (and enjoyable) walking and cycling route from Coburg and Western Roads in Wood Green, past the filter beds, to Alexandra Park and Hornsey. This is from Maureen Juliana Harvey, Community Engagement Officer at the Council:
... the Council has received approval to deliver improvements to Penstock Tunnel, which links Wood Green with Alexandra Palace and Hornsey. This project is part of our Shaping Wood Green programme and will extend and enhance Haringey’s routes for walking and cycling to increase access to green space. There has been a delay in starting works due to the pandemic and drainage issues within the tunnel.
Visuals of the proposals are attached – note there have been minor alterations to the scheme since they were produced.
The refurbishment works include the following:
- Drainage works
- Resurfacing of cycleway and footpath
- New lighting within the tunnel and the public realm
- New public realm at the eastern entrance including:
- New fence
- Public artwork
- Sustainable Urban Drainage
- New planting area with play features
Several key stakeholder engagement activities were held as part of the design process. These include walking workshops organised to demonstrate the importance of Penstock Tunnel as a link between Wood Green (in the East) and Alexandra Palace and Park (in the West). Please see attached Penstock Tunnel Walking Workshop map, which shows the route taken as part of the tour.
We wanted to inform you as early as possible of our plans to close the tunnel to pedestrians and cyclists from July to August 2025. This will allow for works to be completed within the tunnel itself. The tunnel will be reopened in early September 2025 whilst the remaining public realm works are delivered.
Please see attached an initial draft closure plan including proposed re-routing. We recognise that this is a significant diversion and apologise in advance for any inconvenience this may cause to you and the Alexandra Park Neighbours community. The temporary closure is necessary to allow for works to be completed in the tunnel itself.
Below is a proposed timeline of when we envisage the works will start and end (subject to final construction programme):
Mid July 2025
- Closure of tunnel and start of works
Early September 2025
- Tunnel reopened in time for schools starting
- Public realm works ongoing
November 2025
- Public realm works completed
A further update will be provided as soon as we receive the final construction programme.
Replies
The massive Haringey Heartlands/ Clarendon development, which is nearing completion is close to the Wood Green end of the Penstock Tunnel. The outline planning application for this huge scheme was approved by Haringey Council in 2011. At the time it was acknowledged that open space provision was very poor, only about 1/3 of the council’s guideline. Haringey planning claimed that proximity to open space in Alexandra Park, via the Penstock Path and tunnel compensated for this shortfall. This wasn’t convincing at the time and is less so now the high-density nature of Heartlands Clarendon, which is nearing completion, is so evident. There was supposed to be S106 funds from the developer to pay for access improvements and presumably what is now about to happen. Hopefully, the improvements now being implemented will make the tunnel a more agreeable experience to travel through.