News

New community centre on Edmonton playing fields given go ahead

The Selby Centre is being relocated from its original Tottenham location to Bull Lane Playing Fields, reports Grace Howarth, Local Democracy Reporter

Bull Lane Playing Fields and (inset) plans for The Selby Centre (credit Karakusevic Carson Architects)
Bull Lane Playing Fields and (inset) plans for The Selby Centre (credit Karakusevic Carson Architects)

Councillors have approved plans to build a new community centre as a replacement for a site set to be demolished.

The Selby Centre in Tottenham will be relocated to a corner of neighbouring Bull Lane Playing Fields, just inside the Enfield borough border, after the plans were approved by Enfield Council’s planning committee on Tuesday (28th).

A second phase of the development will see 202 social-rent homes built on the site of the old Selby Centre, subject to approval by Haringey Council’s planning committee in early March.

The existing community centre is housed in a “worn out” former secondary school building and is managed by The Selby Trust. It is home to over 100 diverse social action organisations primarily from black and ethnic minority backgrounds.

The new centre will be four storeys in height and accompanying it will be a one-storey sports pavilion containing storage space and locker rooms. 

The playing fields will feature a new multi-use games area (MUGA), a floodlit 3G pitch, a cricket and football pitch, an outdoor gym, padel tennis courts, and children’s play spaces.

There will also be a space for growing food, new wildlife areas, as well as specially-built pedestrian and vehicular access off Bull Lane to the community centre and the pitches, so visitors do not have to cross the playing fields. 

Titled ‘The Selby Urban Village’, the masterplan was designed in a partnership between Haringey Council and The Selby Trust, and was kickstarted by a £20million grant from the government’s Levelling Up Fund. 

In response to the plans, committee member and Conservative councillor Michael Rye said: “I think this is warmly welcomed because this part of Bull Lane has been a cause of concern between both Enfield and Haringey over many years, and this is a terrific application that I’m sure members will want to support.”

He raised concerns over the access and affordability of the MUGA and 3G pitch not being guaranteed, referring to the report stating the use of the pitches would be “free” in the event a booking hadn’t been made.

Cllr Rye sought to include a condition that the “free time be built in” in the case the pitches were popular. 

Enfield Council’s head of planning and building control, Karen Page, said: “In principle I think we’ve got no issues with that, we would need to take that away and confirm that and the number of hours to offer [free access] with the applicant.”

Other members agreed the courts being affordable to locals was a priority. 

A third phase involving a new sports centre was discussed, however Haringey Council still needs to raise money before submitting an application.

In the area designated for the padel courts, if funding is raised, a sports centre will be built instead. 

Otherwise, the case officer Maria Demetri confirmed, the old sports centre which currently supports The Selby Centre, housed in the former school, would be retained. 

Following discussions committee members voted unanimously in favour of the application and members of the public observing in the public gallery applauded. 

Local resident groups, who had fought and campaigned over the last 40 years to keep the playing fields in the hands of the community for sports instead of being sold to developers, voiced their support of plans which would permanently retain the field’s original use. 

Work is expected to begin on the site over the summer.


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