📝 The Planning Crisis

Sunday 21st August 2022

High Road West Planning Approved: Slow Motion Regeneration in Haringey

A small but significant step was taken in Tottenham when Haringey Council granted hybrid planning permission for the High Road West regeneration scheme in August 2022. This project targets over 2,600 new homes, including a significant amount of social housing.

The challenge here is the sheer time it takes. The process has been running for years, and even with hybrid approval, the reliance on Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPO) agreed in November 2022 and subsequent detailed planning applications means the site will remain in flux for years. This volatility stalls local business investment and makes it challenging for smaller builders to find available brownfield sites. The planning machine, especially in complex regeneration zones, remains the single biggest bottleneck to home delivery across North London, far outweighing a lack of land.

Robbins Construction Ltd Opinion: The concept is vital, but the execution is too slow. Local authorities must be fully funded to hire more planning staff and accelerate the CPO process. We support new homes, but the uncertainty of long-term planning timelines harms the predictability that our clients need for their financial planning.