Ducketts Common

Green Lanes/Turnpike Lane, N4

If you travel along Green Lanes in Haringey or use the Tube and bus station at Turnpike Lane it is difficult to imagine that little over 150 years ago you would have been in the middle of a large farm that extended from Hornsey to Tottenham. Ducketts Common is the green space that remains of that rural landscape.

The present Common is very different from what existed even just over a hundred years ago. It remains a welcome area of green space in the heart of Haringey and affords much pleasure to those who use it for children's play, physical activities or simply as a place to relax on a summer's day

The Common has always been a popular cut-through to the Turnpike Lane Tube, Wood Green shops and the bus station.

More information on the history of Ducketts Common can be found below in the attached files section. If you would like to become a Friend of the Common please visit the Friends of Ducketts website in the external links section below.

Ducketts Common Master Planning

Groundwork London consulted locally and with the Friends Group produced a draft Master plan for improvements to the Common (see attached files section below).

Within the plan are improvements to paths and entrances, the creation of a plaza to encourage people to stay and relax, an extension to the playground, resurfacing of the basketball courts, a new outdoor gym and new shrub and plant beds.

Playground improvements

Courtesy of £75,000 funding (£50,000 from HM Govt. Playbuilder programme, £24,000 from Marks & Spencer, £1,000 from the Woodland Trust) the Playground has been extended with new kit and landscaped, and is proving a very popular attraction.

Ball Court Area improvements

The Friends Group and one local resident in particular with designers Groundwork London and Haringey Council raised £250,000 for this phase of the Master Plan, all of which has been sourced from outside the Council. Funders included the London Marathon Trust, Big Lottery Community Spaces, the London Mayor's 2012 Legacy Plan and Sport England's Places People Play.

Converted to basketball some years ago from rarely used tennis courts the whole area was worn out, and had surface damage from tree roots and depressions caused by a softening sub base. Sport England funding in late 2011 allowed what was a repair job to become complete replacement thus adding value to all the funding inputs.

The new layout includes 2 full-sized quality basketball courts with an additional pair of practice hoops making 6 baskets to shoot at. In the remaining space there is a 5 aside football area, which can double for Netball or Volleyball.

Adjacent to the courts and principally funded by the London Mayor's Fund and London Marathon Trust is a quality 14 piece outdoor gym offering some 22 work out stations.

Attention will now turn to fundraising for the final phase of improvements to the north end of the Common where a plaza is proposed with seating and planting; a place to sit and relax.

Attached Files

Useful External Links

The following links are not part of the Haringey Council website. Please read our legal disclaimer before using these links

• Friends of Ducketts Common