Haringey Council are currently consulting on a proposal for a small social housing scheme on the American Car Wash site within the Wellington Gyratory (where the A1 enters Highgate from the North). You can see the detail and comment on it here.

The HNF have a number of concerns about the scheme:

• While we appreciate the urgent need for more social housing and that Haringey’s design team have made considerable efforts to ameliorate the environmental constraints of the site, we remain convinced that this site, as presently configured, is completely unsuitable for a housing development.
• We are horrified that they are proposing to place social housing tenants (who may have little choice in the matter) on what is currently a traffic island, surrounded on three sides by heavily used roads and on the fourth by a petrol station.
• Haringey’s own measurements show dangerous levels of air and noise pollution and it will hardly be of comfort to tenants on the lower floors that these improve at higher levels.
• The quality of this development will not be improved by sealed windows along one side and balconies which face a very noisy and busy Bakers Lane. In addition there is v little green space, should the tenants decide to venture out into this unpleasant environment.
• If they do venture out, there is currently no safe crossing of busy roads to connect them to the rest of the neighbourhood.
• We have urged Haringey to put this proposed development to one side until they have talked urgently to TfL about removing the Gyratory, not only to improve the environment for tenants in the proposed scheme, but also for pedestrians, cyclists and other residents in this neglected part of the Borough.
• To that end, we have proposed a possible traffic scheme that would eliminate the Gyratory and also provide a larger area for housing in a much improved environment.

We have also written to the GLA asking them to encourage TfL to meet with us and Haringey to see how this site can be improved.