WHAT on earth is caring, sharing Haringey Council up to?

In defiance of its duty to consult widely and to take account of Tottenham residents' views, it seems that the council has decided, with virtually no public consultation, that the old baths next to Tottenham Town Hall and the Town Hall itself should be sold to developers.

These are both sites which must have originally been acquired to provide benefits for the residents. It is sadly indicative of the decline in standards of public service and architectural sensibility, that these fine and harmonious buildings, clearly designed by the same hand to achieve unity, while serving different needs of fellow residents, and to express civic pride, should be sold by the council without apparently, any guarantee that the developers will be required in perpetuity to provide any useful amenities for the residents of Tottenham, or that they will not be altered in such ways as to ruin completely their character.

I understand that, at a meeting on September 23, the purchasers of the old baths said that they intended to use the site for a multiplex cinema and multi-storey car park. However, no drawings, detailed plans, or an environmental impact assessment were produced, although clearly they must already have been provided to the council.

Instead, Haringey Council sought to excuse its failure to consult widely by producing vague promises that opportunities for local employment would be created, just as it did when overriding the objections of local residents when agreeing to the extension of Tottenham bus gararge.

Does the council intend to abandon its autocratic attitude and honour its commitment to convene public consultation meetings open to all on the future of the old baths?

If so, when are they likely to be held? How widely will the meetings be advertised?

When will detailed plans, drawings and artist impressions of proposed changes be produced for public scrutiny?

How much time will be allowed for comment before work on alterations begins?

Similarly, when will residents be consulted about proposals for Tottenham Town Hall?

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