Haringey (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Art project unveiled in Tottenham Hale, Haringey, to create cultural legacy for new council housing development, celebrating community and creative expression.
Liz Hingley, an anthropologist and artist, collaborated with local schoolchildren to create eye-catching hoardings featuring birds at the former Ashley Road Depot site.
The photographs represent the diversity of the Tottenham Hale neighborhood and are inspired by the migratory birds that visit nearby Tottenham Marshes from all over the world.
When finished, the development will be called Wingspan Walk, in keeping with this idea, with each block being named after a species of bird.
Liz Hingley, Holy Trinity CE Primary School teachers and students, Cllr. Sean O’Donovan, and contractors Formation Design and Build Ltd. joined Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning Cllr. Sarah Williams and Cabinet Member for Placemaking and Local Economy Cllr. Ruth Gordon at the ceremony.
Cllr Williams said:
“The Ashley Road Depot scheme is one of the largest in our ambitious housebuilding programme and will benefit hundreds of Haringey families.
Having the opportunity to meet the children and artists and see their amazing work first hand has been extremely rewarding and inspirational.
The project, especially the children’s involvement, will create an important legacy and help the community feel ownership of the new estate. Thank you to everyone for their hard work.”
Liz Hingley said:
“The vision for this project, which has been exciting to work on, was to create a relationship between the places, houses and the different species that reside in the neighbouring area connecting them together.
Naming the buildings after birds will cement that relationship, deepening the understanding of the place and the different species the residents will live alongside.”
The visuals were developed with hundreds of children in response to the different languages that they speak and their physical and poetic contributions.
The legacy of this project will be sculptures, wayfinding and playful features of the 10 birds showcased throughout the scheme.
There are plans to build 272 new council homes on the Ashley Road Depot site. All of the residences on Park View Road, near Tottenham Hale Station, will be rented to people on the council’s housing registry.
More than a third of the project will be much-needed family-sized homes, making it one of the biggest plans in the council’s housebuilding program.
With almost 2,000 now under construction or finished, the council is on track to provide 3,000 new council homes by 2031.
With 74 more trees planted on the property and shrubs that will enhance the landscape and benefit animals, the plan will create new entries into Down Lane Park.
High insulation and solar panels will keep energy bills low, and the homes are being built using environmentally friendly and responsibly sourced materials.
What are the key aspects of this art project?
Liz Hingley, an anthropologist and artist, is collaborating on the project with hundreds of Holy Trinity CE Primary School students. Because to this partnership, there are now eye-catching images of birds on hoardings outside the former Ashley Road Depot location.
The artwork with a bird motif, which represents the diversity and global ties within the Tottenham Hale community, is inspired by migrating birds that visit Tottenham Marshes.
To strengthen the link between the new residences and the natural surroundings, each block in the development will be named after a species of bird. The goal of this naming scheme is to promote a feeling of community and enhance locals’ awareness of their surroundings.
Throughout the project’s development, ten different bird species will be featured through sculptures, wayfinding features, and entertaining aspects. These elements will improve the public space.