Tottenham Hotspur Football Club has lost a legal battle to stop a proposed £2bn mixed-used development opposite its north London stadium from being built.
The Premier League took legal action over Haringey Council’s decision to giver housebuilder Leandlease the go-ahead to build 2,929 residential properties, and up to 445,000 sq ft of commercial and community space.
The council says it will provide a range of public benefits including parks, commercial space, a new library and hundreds of social-rent homes. But the plans have already been heavily criticised by some residents whose homes and businesses will be demolished to make way for the scheme.
But the football club’s lawyers argue that the planned High Road West development, located adjacent to the club’s 62,850-capacity stadium, failed to take “heritage impacts” and crowd control issues into consideration. However, High Court judge Sir Pushpinder Saini ruled in favour of the development, which is now expected to be completed in 2034.
However, in his ruling, High Court judge Justice Saini dismissed the claims. He concluded that the heritage impacts were “lawfully identified” and were “judged to be outweighed by the substantial public benefits which the scheme would deliver”.
He said that the council had reviewed material on crowd safety, sought advice from an independent expert, and “lawfully provided an overall mechanism whereby the key stakeholders would work together, acting reasonably and consulting key stakeholders, including the police”.
Justice Saini added that planning committee members “were not misled”.
In his ruling, he explained: “On the evidence before me, it is clear that in satisfying itself that it was appropriate to grant planning permission, the council reviewed the material on crowd safety submitted…and the criticisms of it put forward by the claimant; and it sought expert advice from an independent expert.
“The planning assessment of public benefits is clear. There is a clear development plan support for this development and the regenerative impacts of the scheme are of overwhelming significance in the planning balance.
