Lib Dem Environment Spokesperson Bob Hare has helped residents successfullylobby Haringey Council to alter plans for a new junction at the New River Villagein Hornsey to incorporate wider pedestrian pavements and ten new trees forthe area.

The news, announced last week, has pleased local resident andenvironmental groups whose requests to save a number of old trees at thesite of the junction were rejected by Haringey Council earlier this year.

Local resident and conservation groups along with Bob Hare had a number ofmeetings with both the Council and St James Homes – the developer of the NewRiver Village at the former Hornsey Water Works.

Early on in the planning process, local people including St Mary’s PrimarySchool opposite the entrance, had expressed concern at the loss of trees andthe creation of the large junction for the new development. The visual,traffic and noise effects made a ‘triple whammy’ on this sensitive siteopposite the old church tower and beside the Green, added to which, everychild going to school from the Hornsey village direction would have to crossone arm of the junction.

Even St James Homes had said that they would have preferred to have used theoriginal entrance which was further away and slightly down from Hornsey.However, despite being told by the Council that the location of the entrancewas not decided, it became clear that it had been. Moreover, in creating thenew entrance, a number of mature trees were lost.

However, after pressure by Lib Dem councillor Bob Hare, who attendedmeetings with the planners and the developer, alterations were made to thedesign of the junction.The new plans will mean that the pavement will bewidened slightly to shorten the width of the junction for pedestrianscrossing.

Also Haringey Council has added ten large trees to the plan, andconfirmed that the services of a planting company specialising in largetrees had been acquired to plant them around the new entrance later thisyear.

Cllr Bob Hare said:

“While obviously sorry to have lost the case for a moresensitively located junction, and to have lost trees that in some cases werewell over a hundred years’ old, I am very pleased that local people havesucceeded in getting some small improvements in design and that we will begetting ten new, large trees around the junction”.