Highgate’s Lib Dem councillors have welcomed the clearance by the owner of the former ‘Pocket Park’ site on the corner of Southwood Avenue and Archway Road.

The site, which had been left to overgrow and was becoming a haven for dumping and rats, has finally been cleared this weekend. The move follows action from the Council and pressure from Highgate’s Lib Dem councillors. A Tree Replacement Order for the replacement of the seven mature trees felled several years ago has also been agreed as a result of pressure from the Tree Trust for Haringey.

The Lib Dems now want Haringey council to issue a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) to regain control of the site and prevent any future attempts to build on the property.

Lib Dem councillor Bob Hare comments:

“In the long running battle over the future of this site, at least it has now been cleared, and we look forward to the planting of the trees. However, we will continue to press Haringey to regain control of this site.

“We will work with others in the community to ensure that it is restored to proper public use, as a much-needed green lung and local facility. The site should never have been sold to a private developer in the first place, and we will continue to tackle this underlying root cause of the problems.”