Residents have vowed to fight plans for a major regeneration project amid fears it could lead to ethnic minorities being pushed out of Haringey.

At a meeting in Tottenham last night (September 4), councillors opposed to the regeneration urged local people to lodge planning objections against developer Argent Related’s proposals for six tower blocks of up to 38 storeys in Tottenham Hale.

The plans have been attacked over their lack of affordable housing – just one in four flats in the developments would be classed as affordable, with none available for social rent.

Residents attending the meeting, which was held at The Room in Holcombe Road, raised fears that people from ethnic minority backgrounds would be pushed out of the borough because the new homes would be unaffordable.

One woman present, who said she had campaigned against the Haringey Development Vehicle, said: “This has been going on for the last five years. Ethnic minorities have been removed from this area.

“What I want to know is what kind of protection or policy can be put in place to protect these ethnic minorities?

“They move them out of this borough. Some have been moved as far as Birmingham. How can we work together to prevent that happening?”

Another resident said people from Haringey’s black and minority ethnic community have lower savings and higher debts than other groups in the borough – making them less likely to be able to put down a deposit on the flats.

Labour councillors Zena Brabazon and Ruth Gordon told people to make sure their objections were ‘material considerations’ – meaning they would have to be considered by planning officers.

Cllr Gordon explained that equality was a material planning consideration, so the planning committee would have to consider the development’s impact on ethnic minorities.

Other material considerations include reduced air quality, the impact on health and schooling in the area, and the development’s effect on natural light levels.

Haringey Council leader Cllr Joseph Ejiofor yesterday revealed the council was negotiating with Argent to push for a higher number of affordable homes in Tottenham Hale.

Cllr Noah Tucker told the meeting Argent could change the application so that it would include a very small number of homes at social rent – so objecting on the grounds that there would be no social homes would not be valid.

Instead, residents were urged to object to the low number of affordable homes being provided.

The official deadline for planning objections is September 17 – although councillors said objections received after that date could still be considered.

Cllr Brabazon said: “The difficulty is, the cabinet that made the agreement (with Argent) is not the same as it is now. Getting out will probably cost us a lot of money – if we can get out.

“We can keep protesting.”

Cllr Joseph Ejiofor, leader of Haringey Council, said: “This administration has been crystal clear that we intend to build council homes, for council rent, on council land – 1,000 by 2022 in fact.

“Across the Tottenham Hale development there will be a genuine mix of tenures, including affordable and social housing.

“The deal for this particular site was agreed by the previous administration; however, we are doing everything we can at this very late stage to get council housing and genuinely affordable homes included in this scheme.”

Objections to the Argent development can be made by visiting the council’s planning portal and entering reference HGY/2018/2223