📝 Infill vs. Community

Wednesday 4th May 2022

The Crouch End Planning War

Ramsey Court, Park Road, N8 8JU

The N8 Infill Challenge: When Garages Become Houses on Park Road
The area around Crouch End (N8), known for its Victorian and Edwardian character, faces enormous pressure for housing delivery. Haringey Council has been actively using small, under-utilised sites—like garage blocks—to build new council homes.

A key approval was granted on May 4, 2022, for the redevelopment of the Ramsey Court garage site on Park Road (N8 8JU), to deliver three two-storey houses and six apartments. While this small-scale infill is smart use of public land, it ignites fierce local debate.

The Debate: Residents often argue these micro-developments are 'garden grabbing' (even if it's derelict hardstanding) or compromise the character and amenity space of the surrounding estates. The community engagement for this site in 2021 was intense.

The Builder's Reality: For us, these sites are challenging because of logistics. Squeezing a mini-development onto a tight site in a dense residential area requires careful traffic management, specific construction sequencing, and high professionalism to manage noise and dust. The Timeline is inherently complex on infill sites compared to a clear, open plot.

Robbins Construction Ltd Opinion: We support Haringey's use of infill to boost housing, but these projects must be designed to a high standard, as was the case here. The council must stand firm against 'Not In My Back Yard' (NIMBY) opposition when the design is genuinely appropriate, or else these crucial small sites will never deliver the hundreds of homes Haringey needs.