News on Down Lane Park Improvement

Following nearly two years of co-design with the local community, 20 co-design meetings with the local Community Design Group, two rounds of public engagement, and two rounds of independent design review, the first phase of improvements to Down Lane Park will get under way next week.

Banners and posters were put up around the park in mid-December notifying residents and users of the planned works, which will be focused on the north-east of the park adjacent to Ashley Road (north) and Harris Academy Tottenham. A diagram llustrating the extent of the Phase 1 works,access restrictions, and diversion routes has been published on the project website. These meaures will be in place for approximately six months through to June 2024.

The first phase of improvements will deliver:

Improved accessibility and movement through the park through:

Improved infrastructure, including:

New Sustainable Drainage system that will:

Woodland edge planting, meadow and long grass, fruit and edible tree planting and mixed hedgerows, providing:

Landforms/viewing platforms adjacent to the grassed football pitch

Improved Habitat through:

The railings along Ashley Road north (only) will be removed entirely and replaced by wooden bollards, creating a more permeable boundary to Ashely Road and Harris Academy Tottenham, whilst continuing to inhibit unauthorised vehicular access. This change will complement Ashley Road north’s existing School Street designation, which restricts vehicle access during school hours. It will also dovetail with the live development on the former Ashley Road Depot Site along the northern boundary of the park, which will deliver 270+ new homes by mid-2026.

Phase 1 improvements are being supported by £750,000 grant funding from the Mayor of London’s Green and Resilient Spaces Fundalongside £1.3m of council investment, made up of developer contributions negotiated by the council to mitigate the impacts of wider developments that have been delivered or are being delivered across the Tottenham Hale neighbourhood.

£157,000 of the grant funding from the Mayor of London has been allocated to support a two-year programme of engagement, sports, and green skills activities open to local residents and park users. The programme is being delivered by the council’s voluntary and community sector partner Living Under One Sun. It provides an opportunity for local people to receive green skills training and to get involved in planting and other improvement park activities in the Spring. For more information visit LUOS’ website or contact them direct.

The Park improvement works will progress alongside improvement to the Park View Underpass ‘colourway’connecting Ashley Road and Down Lane Park to Tottenham Marshes and the Lee Valley Regional Park. The Colour Way will transform the Underpass into a safer, more accessible, and engaging route for pedestrians and cyclists, through physical improvements and colourful artwork. An update on the commencement date for improvements to the underpass will be provided in the coming weeks.