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If you would like to develop your green skills locally, why not join Living Under One Sun and the Orchard Project to find out how best to care for trees. These courses are supported by the Mayor of London’s Green and Resilient Spaces Programme and free to Haringey residents. Click here to find out more and book your space via Eventbrite. 

Click here for an updated series of Frequently Asked Questions, with responses to questions and queries posed by residents and park users, including those questions raised about tree works and materials used for pathways. 

On Saturday, 9th March Haringey Cllrs Ruth Gordon, Mike Hakata, Emily Arkell, and Sean O’Donovan met in Down Lane Park with members of the Community Design Group, who together with the council have over the past two years co-designed improvements to the park that are now be delivered. They were joined by the scheme landscape architects from Levitt Bernstein and Catherine Barber from the Greater London Authority.  Alongside council funding from developer contributions, the Mayor of London is co-funding the improvements through a £750,000 grant from his Green & Resilient Spaces Fund.

L-R: Cllr Mike Hakata, Cllr Ruth Cordon, Cllr Emily Arkell, Catherin Barber (GLA)

In addition to seeing the new sustainable drainage basins, wider footpaths, and viewing platforms that are currently under construction, the site visit afforded an opportunity to talk about how residents and park users can get involved in delivery of the Phase 1 improvements.  In the spring there will be opportunities for volunteers to get involved in constructing dead hedges and log piles, installing bird and bat boxes and bug hotels, and much more, to enhance the park’s habitat, biodiversity, and ecological value.  It will also give participants an opportunity to gain new skills and be part of the regeneration of their local park.

CDG members discuss community volunteering

 There was also an opportunity to hear from Chief Executive of Living Under One Sun and Community Design Group Member, Leyla Laksari, about the free to access sports, engagement, and green skills activities that are being delivered by LUOS this year and next, supported by Green & Resilient Spaces Fund grant funding. Residents and park users can participate in a range of courses, classes, and workshops, including arts and crafts, community gardening, tree care in collaboration with The Orchard Project, Microgreen and Aquaponics courses, cycle training, Little Buds Nature Club, social enterprise training, and so much more.  A full programme will be published soon.  For more information visit: www.livingunderonesun.co.uk or find out more via Instagram @livingunderonesun or contact chloe@livingunderonesun.co.uk 

Reducing our Carbon Footprint

To construct the wider footpaths that will improve accessibility and user comfort, and the sustainable drainage basins that will help mitigate flooding and improve the climate change resilience of the park, approximately 2,500m³ of soil has been excavated. That’s about thirty-seven 40ft shipping containers full of a soil, which is a lot! Some of this is being reused in the park to create new viewing platforms that will provide relief and places to rest, or to create planting beds. However, that still leaves a lot of soil to dispose of which would typically involve a lot of vehicle movements, carbon emissions, and cost to dispose of.

As part of our commitment to reduce council projects’ carbon footprint, we’ve worked collaboratively and creatively with Down Lane Park’s sister project at The Paddock, where the council is collaborating with The Conservation Volunteers to deliver a new nature reserve, to relocate and reuse the excess soil there.  By moving the soil to The Paddock ground levels can be raised to create pathways that are accessible for people with disabilities, as well as enhancing the general landscape design of the space.  The soil from Down Lane Park is ideal for this purpose as it is locally sourced, certified contaminant-free, and has a suitable composition.

Transfer of the soil took place in February resulting in reduced vehicle movements and emissions, and reduced costs for both projects in terms of disposal from Down Lane Park and import to The Paddock. By reusing soil in the local area we’ve managed to reduce the carbon footprint of both projects. Elsewhere, we have been able to donate excess soil to Harris Primary Academy for their planters, and arisings from trees that have been used to construct dead hedges around the school pond.    

https://downlaneparkimprovement.commonplace.is

In the past couple of weeks residents and park users have raised a number of queries and questions in relation to the Phase 1 works, including concerning the removal of some trees, lighting and safety, and accessibility. In response we have published a number of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) with responses on the project website on Commonplace. You can view the FAQs here. 

Community-led plans for the wide-scale transformation of Down Lane Park for the benefit of the Tottenham Hale community have taken a huge step forward. On Monday evening, Haringey Council’s Planning Sub-Committee gave approval for the park improvement scheme following 19 months of collaboration and co-design between the Down Lane Park Community Design Group and Haringey Council.

The £9m plus project will see the park revamped with a new energy efficient community hub, café and community garden alongside improved accessible and inclusive children’s play spaces, new unfenced and free to use basketball and netball courts and extensive landscaping and infrastructue features, including upgraded lighting and inclusive seating.

Accessibility will be improved with new entrances and wider more inclusive footpaths, and biodiversity boosted with meadow planting and fruit trees. Flood resistance and climate change resilience will be addressed through the introduction of new permeable paving and sustainable urban drainage systems.

Councillor Ruth Gordon, Cabinet Member for House Building, Placemaking and Local Economy, said:

Leyla Laksari, Chief Executive of Living Under One Sun and Community Design Group member, said:

Down Lane Park will see up to £9.1million invested over the next few years with funding from a combination of s106, land receipts from the Strategic Development Partnership, and funding from the Mayor of London' Green & Resilient Spaces Fund.

As well as physical improvements, the funding will enable a programme of community development activities which will upskill residents to get green jobs. For more information on the improvements at the park, visit here. To access the engagement, sports and green skills programme contact Living Under One Sun.

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.

You can view a selection of key images illustrating the proposals by clicking hereor you can view the full Planning Submission documents here(the Design and Access Statement provides an overview of the proposals).

After 19 months and 20 co-design meetings between the council and the locally representative Community Design Group, two rounds of independent design review, and two rounds of public engagement, co-designed plans for improvements to the park will be considered by the Council’s planning department.

The proposals include delivery of:

The proposals cover the most intensively used southern section of the park. The Council’s Planning Applications Committee will consider the proposals early in the New Year 2024.

Phase 1 improvements to the north-east of the park,adjacent to Ashley Road, do not require planning and will start in January 2024. Details will be published in December.

The Down Lane Park User and Community Forum will be holding it’s Annual general Meeting on Saturday 11 November from 2-3:30pm at Living Under One Sun Community Hub.

This is a big milestone for the group, which has been up and running for 12 months. View the groups Achievements from the last year and Next Steps in their Annual Report.

The Forum is a volunteer network of residents, park users, and members of the wider Tottenham Hale community who would like to play an active role in shaping the future of Down Lane Park. Visit the Forums Facebook Page here for more information.

Join the Annual General Meeting to help elect 2 Co-Chairs, 2 Secretaries and 1 Treasurer to the committee, as well as informal posts such as communications and funding champions.

If you'd like to nominate a member of the community for one of the roles, you can request a Nomination Form from the User Forum Committee at: downlanepark@gmail.com.

If you're unable to attend the AGM in person, you can also request an MS Teams link to join the meeting online from the User Forum Committee at: downlanepark@gmail.com. If you'd like to request a Nomination Form or want to join the AGM online, we recommend you contact the committee as soon as possible to allow them enough time to respond.

Working with Haringey Council to deliver Improvements to Down Lane Park

The Park User and Community Forum is independent of Haringey Council, but we are committed to working with the User Forum, Individuals, and volunteers to support community involvement in the delivery of the Down Lane Park Improvement Project.

This might include planting and horticulture; habitat creation; biodiversity surveys; inspections and monitoring; and co-designing public artworks in the park.

Since February 2022 Haringey Council and a Community Design Group (CDG) made up of local residents and community representatives, have been working with landscape architects Levitt Bernstein Associates, to co-design major improvements to Down Lane Park. Our co-designed plans for the park are built on what residents and park users have told us, supported by the council’s own, policies, strategies, evidence, and ambitions. The Summary of Public Engagement we’re publishing today summarises the findings from all of our public engagement activities between January 2022 and Summer 2023 and how this has shaped the planning stage designs for the park.

Alongside, we’re pleased to be able to share the final (planning stage) landscape masterplan for the park. This will be submitted to the Local Planning Authority in the coming weeks. Once submitted the Planning Authority will consult statutory consultees (Thames Water, Metropolitan Police, Environment Agency, Fire Brigade, etc). The application will be published on-line on the Council’s Planning Portal and will open for the public to view and comment. We will let you know when this happens so you can view the proposals in full.

Inherent in co-design are the principles of collaborating with the community and ensuring local expertise and lived experience shapes design. Whilst it’s never possible to accommodate every wish or desire, we believe we’ve realised a design that responds directly to what you told us, whether that’s widening pathways to enable people to move around more comfortably, upgrading and expanding lighting to increase safety, including a Community Hub building that is open longer and welcoming to all, introducing naturalistic and inclusive play for all ages and abilities, or designing in new basketball and netball courts with seating and lighting that appeal to young people and women and girls alike.

We hope you’ll agree the designs respond positively to the community and the council’s shared ambitions for Down Lane Park and we look forward to getting started on site from January 2024. Details to follow. For an update on the timeline you can view that here.

Information about community access to Harris Academy Tottenham’s sports and performance space facilities can be viewed via the promotional flyer and bookings can be made via: https://www.school-space.org

View the full update here and Watch Cllr Gordon, Cabinet Member for Council House building, Placemaking, and Local Economy's, video message.

As we look forward to the upcoming phases of the improvement scheme, we invite you all to stay engaged with Down Lane Park’s journey. You can find more information about the project and get involved through our dedicated website: downlaneparkimprovement.commonplace.is/

Thank you for being an integral part of this remarkable transformation.

Cllr Ruth Gordon, Cabinet Member for House-Building, Placemaking and Development, invites residents and park users to attend one of a series of public engagement events or complete the on-line survey and feedback on the latest design proposals for improvements to Down Lane Park.

The first of two themed workshops on ‘sports, recreation and spaces for young people’ is happening 4.30- 7.00pm 18th May at Living Under On Sunin the park. There are spaces still available. Register to attend here.

If you can’t make it along tomorrow, you can view the latest design proposals here and fill out the on-line survey or attend one of our up and coming sessions, as follows:

You can view all the engagement dates and times on the project landing page here.

Your feedback is really important to us and will be used to inform the refinement of the proposals and subsequent planning application.

If you do not feel confident providing feedback in English, please email jacob.sturdy@haringey.gov.uk to request a survey in an alternative language. Will we do our best to accommodate this.

Haringey Council

The latest park design proposals draw on the valuable feedback and advice provided by park users and residents, received through early engagement in October 2022. You can access a summary of the feedback here.

From Monday 15 May to Sunday 28 May,we’ll be sharing the updated design proposals for the park on-line on commonplace and running a series of in-person events. Check out the dates and times here.We will also be holding themed (in-person) workshops where you can help shape improvements to sports and recreational facilities, spaces for young people, and plans for a new inclusive children’s play spaces.

Places on the workshops are limited. Please register your place on Eventbrite.

Find out about other ways to get involved.

More about the events, dates, times and locations of in-person events, discussions and themed workshops can be found here.

There will also be an opportunity to provide feedback via an online survey, which launches on Commonplace onMonday 15 May. We’ll let you know when it is live.

You are Tottenham’s Voices. Make sure you have your say!

Community-led plans to improve Down Lane Park have received a £750,000 boost from the Mayor of London’s Green and Resilient Spaces Fund (GRSF) round two. The project received GRSF development funding in round one.

Alongside Council investment, the grant award will fund delivery of Phase 1 of the masterplan co-designed with community representatives over the last year, focused on the north-east of the park. This will support the delivery of sustainable drainage; accessible pathways; improved connectivity; and woodland, wildflower, meadow, and tree planting, supporting habitat creation, biodiversity, and climate change resilience.

The funding will also enable a programme of local resident and park user engagement, capacity building and community-led activities. This will be delivered in partnership with Living Under One Sun and other community partners and will complement the physical improvements, tackling the barriers some of our resident’s experience to accessing greenspace and supporting the development a fairer, greener neighbourhood.

Cllr Mike Hakata, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Climate Action, Environment and Transport and Cllr Ruth Gordon, Cabinet Member for House Building, Placemaking and Development, co-chairs of the resident and park user Down Lane Park Community Design Group, said:

“We’re passionate about tackling the climate emergency and for our residents to have access to great parks, so are delighted to have secured this funding from the Mayor of London. It’s a real vote of confidence in our ability to build a fairer, greener borough.

“This co-designed programme of improvements to a vital open space at the heart of the Tottenham Hale neighbourhood will bring huge benefits for the local community and play a pivotal role in creating a healthier future for generations to come.

“It’s a fantastic example of us working in partnership with the community including Living Under One Sun, the Park User Forum, and others to address our shared priorities and strive together to reach the bold and necessary ambition of becoming a net-zero borough by 2041.”

Co-design and design development has been supported by Coherent Citiesand landscape architects Levitt Bernstein Associates.

With support from the Mayor of London via his Green & Resilient Spaces Fund, the council is working with Kaizen Partnership to train young Tottenham Hale residents to become Community Researchers. This has involved capturing park user data; speaking to park users about how they use the park; and what they’d like to see improved.

Kaizen Partnership have trained eight young local residents, to date, who have spoken to 147 park users so far. Those that have received training, will continue to capture data in the park, in Spring, Summer and Autumn. Participants have benefited from acquiring new knowledge, skills, and experience that will boost their confidence. Participants were paid to receive training and undertake data capture.

Outputs from the exercise are helping to inform designs and improvements for the park. So far, their findings have shown 72% of respondents had not shared their views before, and respondents were more representative of the neighbourhood’s diverse community than during earlier public engagement. For example, 29% of respondents identified as Black and 41% were younger than 30 years old.

The Community Researchers will be in the park again in May, speaking to park users and residents and asking them to share their views about the park. We will be wearing one of the badges; if you see us, feel free to come and say hello and tell us how you use Down Lane Park and how you’d like to see it improved.

Thank you to everyone who shared their thoughts on plans for early-stage designs for Down Lane Park. In total, we welcomed 100 people to three in-person engagement events and received 134 responses to the online survey. You can now read a summary of resident and park user feedback and advice on early stage park designs provided during public consultation Oct -Dec 2022.

We recognised that several groups were under-represented during our engagement to date, including a very low level of participation from younger residents. Initial steps to address this included running three further in-person workshops during November and December 2022 with young people at Welbourne Primary and Harris Academy Tottenham, where over 500 surveys were completed and a playground pop-up event took place.

The two Engagement Summary reports published on-line provide a short form, info-graphic based summary, and a longer form, more textual and more detailed summary. These reports summarise the findings from contributions provided to date. This will be fed into the co-design journey and inform a developed design for the park.

There will be further targeted engagement with under-represented residents and park users, and a second round of public engagement around the updated design in Spring 2023.

Down Lane Park_Frequently Asked Questions_Dec 2022.pdf

Further to the FAQs and clarifications shared by the Council online on 31st May 2022, this update provides further information related to the Ashley Gardens development to the east of Down Lane Park. In particular this FAQ provides information on the Ashley Gardens development and the Berol Link and how this interfaces with the park and adjacent former park pavilion building, which now serves as a Community Hub.

If you can’t make it along, you can view the designs on-line here and fill out the on-line survey here. The survey closes on Sunday, 23rd October 2023.

Supported by the Mayor of London, the two early-stage design options for Down Lane Park have been reviewed by Urban Design London's Environmental Design Review Panel. UDL is a not-for-profit organisation founded in 2002 to support London’s built environment professionals to create well-designed spaces and places. The aim of the UDL Environmental Design Review Panel is to provide expert impartial design advice and guidance not routinely provided by local authorities or other design review panels.

Join us at our next in person 'drop in' engagement event 3.30 - 7.00pm, Thursday, 13th October 2022 at Mitchley Road Hall, N17 9HG

11.00 -4.00pm, Saturday 8th October at Living Under One Sun Community Hub in Down Lane Park, N17 9EX

3.30 - 7.00pm, Thursday, 13th October at Mitchley Road Hall, Mitchley Road, N17 9HG

or

You can view all the engagement exhibitions boards here or visit the outdoor exhibition by the tennis courts in the park any day and any time.

The boards provide information about how you can provide your feedback.