Haringey closes road to enable historic wall repairs
Friday 15 August 2008
Haringey Council has today (Friday 15 August) closed off a stretch of a Highgate road after part of a historic wall was found to be at possible risk of collapse.
The council has closed some of The Bank, N6, to traffic after a survey indicated that part of the retaining wall above Highgate High Street was suffering from new structural damage.
Haringey has also closed off a 30m stretch of the footpath in Highgate High Street to safeguard pedestrians in the area. Six parking spaces in Highgate High Street and the nearest bus stop have also been suspended.
The council is now asking English Heritage to give an agreement in principle that the urgent repairs can go ahead to the wall, which dates back from at least the 18th century and is a Grade II listed structure.
If that agreement is secured, the council will start the repair work and submit a retrospective application for listed building consent. The works would involve part demolishing up to 20m of the wall and rebuilding it in its original form.
Cabinet Member for Environment and Conservation, Cllr Brian Haley, said:
"We apologise for any disturbance caused by the road and pavement closures but clearly the safety of our residents is paramount.
"Our new survey indicates there has been some structural movement and some cracks have opened up in the wall, and I'm grateful to local residents and ward councillors for initially bringing this to our attention.
"We will work closely with English Heritage to ensure any repairs are carried out as sympathetically as possible, so that we retain the wall's historic character."
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