London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 24, 2025

Plans for 190 flats on London Latin Village site scrapped after protests

Plans for 190 flats on London Latin Village site scrapped after protests

Developer abandons plan for site in Tottenham, which would have involved demolishing Seven Sisters Indoor Market
Campaigners trying to save London’s only surviving Latin market have claimed a victory after the developer behind a multimillion-pound residential plan for the site pulled out.

Grainger on Thursday announced it was abandoning plans for 190 “build-to-rent” flats, with no affordable housing provision, on the Wards Corner site in Tottenham, north London, citing “rising costs” and the strength of local opposition.

The scheme, which was devised in 2008 and approved in 2012, would have involved Grainger demolishing the historic Wards building and Seven Sisters Indoor Market – known locally as the Latin Village and listed as an asset of community value – to build the flats in their place.

Grainger’s withdrawal follows 15 years of campaigning by market tenants and residents of the area. Opponents of the scheme had criticised it as a gentrification plan that would displace poorer, ethnically diverse communities from the area.

London’s fast-growing Latin American community would have been particularly affected: the demolition last year of the Elephant and Castle shopping centre in south London left the Latin Village as the city’s only surviving Latin cultural hub.

In a statement, Grainger blamed its decision to pull out on “the drawn-out nature of implementing the scheme owing to numerous legal challenges from a small but vocal minority, [as well as] the complexity of the site and the changing economic environment”.

In a further significant development, Haringey council, the local authority in the area, published a statement on Friday saying it now planned to work alongside traders, and with Transport for London, which owns the land, “to explore the vision of delivering a new community-led development, with Seven Sisters Market and the wider local community at its heart”.

For several years, local campaigners have been attempting to promote their own plan for redevelopment of the dilapidated site and surrounding neighbourhood. The community plan devised by the West Green Road/Seven Sisters Development Trust proposes the restoration of the existing buildings and their administration by a democratically run community benefit society.

They are now calling for urgent action. With the market closed since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, many traders have been forced to survive on hardship payments disbursed by Transport for London.

Peray Ahmet, the leader of Haringey council, said: “We are extremely concerned about the plight of the traders who haven’t been able to trade since March 2020. Our immediate priority is to ascertain from TfL their plans for a temporary market and, most importantly, when it will be up and running.

“Whilst TfL’s hardship fund payments to traders was a welcome intervention, we also need to understand their proposals and timeframes for continuing this much-needed financial support.”

Javiera Huxley, the co-chair of Save Latin Village, said: “Following the closure of the Elephant and Castle shopping centre last September in another redevelopment scheme, spaces like the Latin Village are more important than ever.

“We are heartened by Haringey council’s support for the community plan, which has the Latin Village at its heart. We also welcome their prioritisation of the temporary market, and their calls for further financial support for the market traders.

“We implore TfL, and the Greater London Authority, to move forward with these urgent matters as swiftly as possible.”

The Guardian has contacted the mayor of London’s office for comment.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Politic is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
×