As part of plans to regenerate Wood Green, Haringey Council has today announced that a disused council staff car park will be transformed into a creative and artistic hub and cafe.
The plans will turn the former Station Road Car Park and adjacent empty office building into a cluster of timber work sheds, studios and offices to be used as workshops or retail units for local businesses. This space is situated close to Wood Green underground station on a route that people use to travel between the High Road and Alexandra Palace.
The Wood Green Campus project will also include a cafe in a Routemaster double-decker bus, as well as micro allotments, timber and metal workshops, an arts exhibition space, creative studios and offices. There will also be a central square for cultural events and market pitches. Completing in spring 2017, the project will bring 580 sq metres of vacant space back into use and create up to 30 local jobs.
The first part of the project is already complete with the opening of the Green Rooms, the UK’s first arts hotel, cafe-bar and restaurant, which is a social enterprise offering affordable accommodation to people working in the arts.
Haringey is calling for local residents to find out more and give their views on the plans at a drop-in information sessions at the Green Rooms, 13-27 Station Rd, N22 6UW on Thursday 22nd September (10am to 6pm) and at Wood Green Library on Saturday 24th September (12pm and 4pm). Members of the team involved in the project and staff from Haringey Council will be on hand to talk through the plans and how local people can apply to take up one of the units.
Cllr Joe Goldberg, Haringey Council Cabinet Member for Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Social Inclusion and Sustainability said:
“This is an exciting project to bring vacant land, a car park and buildings owned by the council back to life and deliver something really vibrant for Wood Green residents. The project is a clear signal that regeneration in the area is starting, and will provide local people with more training and employment opportunities and things to do.
“We want to support the local economy and need local businesses, retailers or small scale manufacturers to get involved. Whether they are filmmakers, florists or fishmongers we want a range of businesses to come forward with their ideas to make the most of this exciting opportunity.”
