Friends of the Highgate Bowl

Highgate school has submitted plans for major redevelopments in Highgate village. They include a huge expansion of the rear of Dyne House on Southwood Lane which will overlook the open ground of the Bowl and temporary uses of the old parade ground in the Bowl. You can comment on the application on the Haringey Council planning portal -application HGY/2023/0328. Many Highgate residents are concerned about the proposals and the effect of construction on the village and Bowl over a period of several years. See http://www.savehighgatevillage,com

Omved Gardens have registered an application with Haringey Council for the construction of six single storey buildings on the site of the old contractors yard. It is described as ‘a sustainability hub with educational, hospitality and community facilities’. it will provide all-weather facilities for some of the sustainability activities previously held at the glasshouses including better catering and toilet facilities, and a seed bank. Full details on Haringey’s planning website, application HGY/2020/0223.

You can see the Friends’  comments there as part of the letter from the Highgate Bowl Action Group which brings together local environmental organisations. We are broadly in favour subject to certain conditions.

There has been good news for the Harington Scheme whose headquarters on the Highgate Bowl trains people with learning difficulties in horticulture and other skills. After  years of negotiation, it has signed a 50 year lease with NHS Property Services which owns the land. This secures the future of the site as predominantly open land and is welcomed by the Friends.

An application for a new modern house on the site of Whistler’s Cottage , the old bungalow used as offices by the former garden centre in the Highgate Bowl has been submitted to Haringey by the owners Omved. You can view and comment on the application on the Haringey planning website. The reference number is HGY/2018/2392. The application and the landscaping has been extensively discussed with local amenity societies including the Highgate Society and the Friends. Given that Omved have the right to replace the cottage, which is officially residential,we are generally pleased with the trouble they have taken with the design and will not be objecting.

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Omved gardens, which has been created on the old garden centre site, will be opening the garden and exhibition centre on various days from Saturday, May 19th to Sunday 27 May as part of the Chelsea Fringe.  Events, most of which are free, include  Japanese Flower meditation workshops, (Sat 19th and Sunday 27th at 11 a.m.), a concert by the Bushwood Ensemble  (Sat 26th at 2.30),a Kora recital (Sun May 27) as well as various food related talks and demonstrations in line with Omved’s commitment to sustainable food and the UN food programme.

For more details go on line to the Highgate Calendar or http://www.omvedgardens.com

Omved Gardens will host the Highgate Modern Homes Exhibition in its exhibition space in the Bowl on September 16 and 17  between 12 and 5 pm.

The exhibition, first shown this summer, shows how Highgate, perhaps surprisingly, is home to one of the largest and most varied collections of modern domestic architecture in the country, ranging from the celebrated Highpoint flats of the 1930s to imaginative developments and individual houses of the 21st century.

Admission is free. Entrance through Townsend Yard.

 

 

The Highgate Neighbourhood Plan won a big ‘yes’ vote in the referendum held on July 6th , as 88 percent of  the 2,361 people who voted backed the plan. Councils are now required to take the Plan into account when making their planning decisions.

The Friends worked closely with the Neighbourhood Forum in drafting the section on the Bowl which stipulates that any development ‘must ensure that the open character of the Bowl is maintained’. Chair of the Friends, Martin Adeney, said “We are delighted that we now have a new level of protection for the Highgate Bowl”.

You can read more on the Plan’s policy for the Bowl on the Highgate Neighbourhood Forum website http://www.Forhighgate.org on pages 72-5.

 

Our stand at the Highgate village Fair in the Square on Saturday June 17th sparked lots of interest and we were kept busy for five hours explaining the latest developments and the importance of the Bowl.

Over 50 new people have joined our mailing list and amongst those who dropped by was Karen from Omved Gardens the owners of the former garden centre. She told us that she was consulting her landscape architects about the next steps and she was considering opening the gardens again later in the year. We are giving her our encouragement.