Saturday 10 September 2011

Haringey's Myddleton Road: Incremental improvements


Link to PDF file (6 MB)

"Myddleton Road sits within the Bowes Park Conservation Area, within the Bounds Green Ward, in the northern part of the London borough of Haringey.

"Myddleton Road was formerly the commercial heart of the residential suburb of Bowes Park, and historic photographs show thriving shopping parades, and an affluent and attractive street.

"Currently, Myddleton Road is in economic decline. It is secluded, physically isolated from its environs, and does not sustain enough footfall to support a vital degree of economic activity. Today, approximately 30% of the shopfronts are vacant or closed up.

"The street currently has an extremely high incidence of planning contraventions and unresolved enforcement issues, generally in the form of illegal satellite dishes, roller shutters and shop fronts, and this has lead to a serious corrosion of the street’s physical and visual environment, and sense of place. The sections of the local community which are committed to protecting the built heritage of Myddleton Road appear to be in a minority.

"The scope of this regeneration project is intrinsically defined by whether the shopowners/tenants are interested and willing to be involved, or not, in any future regeneration funding scheme. If implemented, the nature of this grant-aided regeneration is that improvements will occur on a fragmentary basis, and the overall effect on Myddleton Road would be an incremental improvement in the quality of the place, rather than an immediate and radical transformation.

"The funding of a regeneration scheme for active conservation and managed change is by no means a panacea for the range of problems confronting Myddleton Road. To have an impact, such a scheme will inevitably require the full cooperation of all sections of the community, and the immediate and unpopular enforcement of planning regulations. Myddleton Road could once again be a unique and distinctive place, and a “local hub”. Though currently degraded, it has the potential to re-establish itself."




Cllr Matt Cooke (Bounds Green, Labour) discusses the regeneration of Myddleton Road in Bowes Park, and outlines investment by Haringey Council and the future plans for the area. (Nov. 2010)




Courtesy: Bowes and Bounds Connected.

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