Haringey Council to rule on Haringey Magistrates’ Court tower plans

A proposed seven-storey tower on the site of a former magistrates’ court would cause “irreparable damage”, campaigners have warned days before a committee is due to rule on the plans.

Officers at Haringey Council have recommended that councillors approve plans to demolish Haringey Magistrates’ Court and Highgate Police Station, in Bishops Road, Highgate, at a planning committee meeting on Monday at Haringey’s Civic Centre.

Developers Bellway Homes want to replace it with a block of 82 flats rising from three storeys to seven facing Archway Road.

More than 130 people have joined community groups the Highgate Society, Highgate Action Group and Highgate Conservation Area Advisory Committee in objecting to the plans.

Only one has written in support.

Elspeth Clements, chairwoman of the Highgate Society’s planning and development committee, said: “The scheme is too high and too bulky for the conservation area and it is going to cause irreparable damage.”

A spokesman for Bellway Homes said: “We are supportive of the officers who have concluded that the proposed development has been well designed to respond to its context, creating a well-composed piece of high quality architecture. “Officers have also concluded that the reinstatement of the street frontage along Bishops Road and Church Road will create a landmark feature that would enhance the conservation area and the assets within it.”