Despite Highgate residents being overwhelmingly against the new development being pushed through for 69 High Street, the planning inspectorate has weighed in to overrule Camden Council’s decision to refuse consent. Planning permission has been granted for developers to demolish the existing structure and replace it with a brutal modernist four-storey building. Camden Council, Highgate Society and local residents’ concerns have all been ignored by the planning inspectorate.
Conservative council candidate Antony Denyer, who lives locally, says: “This development will significantly alter the character and ‘village’ feel of Highgate. It sets a dangerous precedent for other inappropriate developments in the area.”
Camden Council has buckled to pressure and decided not challenge the decision, leaving the floodgates open for further redevelopment in Highgate to be bulldozed through without respect for the area’s history and conservation status.
Meanwhile, uncertainty still hangs over the future of Highgate Bowl and the Magistrates Court on Bishops Road. There needs to be joined-up thinking between Camden and Haringey over planning in the heart of the village — otherwise planning approvals on one side of the High Street will set a precedent for the other.
Further information can be found at:
http://goo.gl/YGcNOS (Highgate Society)
http://goo.gl/Zwrz86 (Planning Application