Torino Piazza above

Muswell Hill could be treated to a European-style town centre piazza if a bid for money from the Mayor of London is successful.

A traders’ group in the area has applied for around £870,000 in the second round of bidding for the Mayor’s Outer London Fund.

The Muswell Hill Traders’ Group were granted £85,000 towards marketing the area in the first round, if they are successful with this bid they plan to pump the money into regenerating the town centre.

Emma Whittlestone, chairman of Muswell Hill Traders’ Group, said: “What we are looking to do is to improve the town centre and how it functions for residents, shoppers and people that use the town centre. We want to create a town centre feel that we haven’t had before – a focal point.”

The group submitted their latest bid to City Hall on November 14 and expect to hear the outcome by the end of December.

If successful, they plan to pedestrianise the slip road in front of the Odeon cinema, in Fortis Green Road, turning it into an open space called St James Circle.

Miss Whittlestone explained that the planned space could be used for outdoor dining or as a market place, describing it as “European town centre living”.

Under the proposals, the group also intend to add trees along the Broadway and hope to upgrade Avenue Mews for town centre users.

A Facebook group called Regeneration in Muswell Hill has been set up by members of the bid team and residents are encouraged to join to help in the decision-making process.