The joint vice-chairman of the Tottenham Business Group speaks out against current plans that could wipe many of them off the map – and says their input for change is vital.
Local people have shown overwhelming support for the local business community to remain and be part of the High Road West Development.
The Tottenham Business Group will present a petition signed by more than 4,000 people from the local community to the cabinet meeting on Thursday.
The business community has been part of the fabric of Tottenham in most cases for over 20 years, and in some cases for more than 50 years. Local opinion is that it shouldn’t be thrown out to make way for a football fans’ walkway. The petition shows overwhelmingly that local people are against this.
These figures should have been added into the recent High Road West consultation, which goes before the cabinet tonight for approval. If they had, the result would have been a resounding NO to the present plans. However this was not allowed to happen. When the petition was presented to Cllr Alan Strickland, the cabinet member for economic development and social inclusion, in June he neglected to tell the delegation, led by local shop owner Alex Tryfonos, that it had to be formally presented for the figures to be included.
There has been no engagement with local business about the development of this regeneration plan. Local business feels it has been lied to and ignored by its own elected representatives.
The key decisions for the High Road West masterplans were made long before the consultation. Key factors were decided at the beginning of 2012. That’s when the small businesses were sacrificed in order that one very big business could become even richer.
The demolition of the shops and businesses became non-negotiable in every one of the three masterplan scenarios presented. Where is the democracy in that?
That is why the petition was started, to give the community a chance to show how they felt about it; an option to comment which was not given to them in the consultation forms.
Mr Tryfonos, chairman of the Tottenham Business Group, said: “It’s shameful that we have come through recession and through riots to have our businesses blighted like this. Are successful businesses that we have worked and developed over many years to be snatched away and given to developers for their profit?
“The consultation is a sham. It is not an independent study. Figures are inaccurate and manipulated to achieve the preferred scenario.
“The plans were misleading: Marking new buildings for community use when they will in fact be retail outlets which incorporate community facilities.
“The 68 per cent figure, which has been widely quoted as a figure that shows overwhelming support for the demolition plans, is not justified. As a percentage of the total households on the Love Lane Estate it is just 40 per cent. In the wider community of 4,000 homes and businesses it constitutes just three per cent in agreement. That’s using the figures quoted in the report – and, of course, 70 of the business replies were never included in the figures but were placed in the appendix to the consultation report.
“Regeneration is not about providing a football venue or boosting land values to justify an investment. The council should not be acting like a corporation.
“Regeneration needs to create hope for the existing community by building a better neighbourhood. Regeneration is not about moving the existing community OUT so more ‘upmarket’ people can move in.”
In 2011, after the riots, the council ran an “I Love Tottenham” campaign. Its tag line was “Support your local traders”.
It needs to stand by that promise today. Recognise the value of the established community and its contribution over many years. Recognise and accept the wishes of the community. Freeze this planning process and let’s sit down to design a new scenario – one that includes the existing business community and allows it to move forward and grow within the regeneration process, not be excluded from it.
Tottenham Journal
