Haringey's Warehouse Districts Under Threat?

An item at tonight's Council Cabinet meeting has thrown into question the future survival of Haringey's two warehouse districts and the artistic communities who live in them.

Both the Harringay Warehouse District and the Fountayne Road community now face an uncertain future following the publication of a Haringey Council report, "Tackling Unauthorised Living in Industrial Areas". (Report attached)

The report, which was discussed at the full cabinet of the Council today, recommends a two-year project costing £600,000 which will seek to deal with "the growing problem of unauthorised residential and live work uses in and around (the) Industrial Sites" in Haringey. The recommended process is "to establish a special multi-disciplinary team to fully investigate and address the problem through a combination of regulation, improvement, enforcement and, where necessary, prosecution".

The alarm bells were ringing for me since earlier in the week I had discovered that these areas are earmarked as being amongst those that will "will accommodate the majority of development in the borough over the next 20 years".

In Facebook and Twitter conversations this afternoon, warehouse residents shared their fears that the vibrancy their communities bring to the borough will be overlooked and their communities sanitised and destroyed.

In response to my Twitter requests to Council Leader Claire Kober this evening to protect these communities, Cllr Kober sought to offer some reassurance:

@harringayonline some people in unacceptable conditions. My concern is for safe, decent properties. No intention to undermine communities

@harringayonline no intention to damage what's good. Priority is to go after rogue landlords just as we do elsewhere in borough

When I asked if she would ensure that warehouse residents will be involved, the Council Leader replied:

@harringayonline don't see any problem involving residents. Will ask officers to consider how best to achieve

I very much hope that the approach the Council takes in this project will support these communities rather than beginning the process of whittling them away.