Public meeting organised to discuss future of Highgate Bowl

The Highgate Society has called a public meeting on Wednesday to seek residents’ views on plans to build three luxury homes in the Highgate Bowl area.

The meeting, which has been organised by Haringey Council, will take place at The Mills Centre, in Bishopswood Road at 7pm. It will be chaired by senior planning officers.

The applicant will be at the meeting to explain why he wants to replace the Highgate Garden Centre with three, five bedroom houses.

A spokesman for the Highgate Society said: “This is local democracy in action, and everybody in Highgate is invited. At our earlier meeting on September 8 at which the Highgate Society sought to gauge local opinion on the matter, we did not have the privilege of hearing the applicant explaining his scheme. Here, you will be able to ask him questions about it.”

R&D properties lodged a planning application with Haringey Council in August to build three, five bedroom houses on the land - which is part of 11 acres of green, open space known as The Highgate Bowl, because of its sloping, curved hillside. The three houses would be built two storeys high, plus basements.

But some residents fear that if the garden centre is sold off to developers it could set a precedent and lead to the last piece of open space in Highgate being swallowed up.