Haringey Council has said it does not have the power to withdraw planning permission for a development, despite new safety concerns raised by London Fire Brigade.

The Highgate Society has launched a petition calling for Haringey Council to "force" the developer of Townsend Yard, off Highgate Hill, to "redesign the scheme".

Sean Meadows was given the green light by Haringey Council to build seven mews houses in the Highgate Bowl after the fire service initially raised no concerns.

But in a subsequent memo to Haringey Council, the London Fire Brigade inspector Simon Dredge said the planned removal of access will increase the fire risk to 36A Highgate High Street, Shepherd's Cottage.

He wrote: “Should this access be removed as planned, leaving access to the front only, the buildings provision for firefighting would be reduced below that of its current and/or modern standards, which will more than likely increase the risk of harm to the occupants, firefighters and destruction of the building.”

He added: "Lastly once the planned buildings have been constructed, the house will be surrounded by other
buildings on all sides, making the application of water to a fire difficult...

"This delay will more than likely lead to increased destruction of this listed (heritage) house."

Cllr Dana Carlin, Haringey's lead member for planning, said: “We granted planning permission, following assurance from the London Fire Brigade (LFB) that they were satisfied with these proposals in terms of fire safety. We cannot withdraw planning permission once this has been approved.

“Subsequently, the LFB have now raised issues about whether the development can meet building control regulations.

“We have spoken to the applicant to remind them that the development needs to meet building regulations with regards to fire safety.”

Neighbours believe the scheme is too large for the space and central to the petition is the safety fears for Shepherd's Cottage, which abuts the site.

William Britain, chair of the Highgate Society, said: "When you build something new, the consequences of that new thing is not to make it worse for the other buildings impacted. You don't have to be a genius to see that this does make it worse."

Sean Meadows has been contacted for comment.

The petition can be found at www.change.org/p/demand-haringey-acts-now-on-fire-safety-in-townsend-yard-highgate