Environment Report May 2026
1. Haringey Parks Department – General
We have not heard anything back from Chris Cavalier since our walk around with Cllr Cathy Brennan on Monday 9th February 2026, he had promised an “improvement plan” for Muswell Hill. As Cathy has not been re-elected we will need to find one or more of our new councillors to work with us to follow this up. We have written to Cathy Brennan to thank her for all the assistance she has given the Association during her time as a councillor.
Some of the items discussed during our walk around and to be addressed by the Council are:
• Blaenavon park (top of Eastern Road) – the rose beds require attention, new roses required to fill in the gaps
• Midhurst Gardens – the rose beds require attention, new roses required to fill in the gaps. Some of the stone edging needs replacing
• Fortis Green Road raised beds – both require attention
• Pocket Park – CC was amazed by the improvement works at the Pocket Park. The main outstanding issue is the uneven pavement
• Woodside Avenue beds – these were being looked after by the Marwood Square residents but now are in a bad condition
• Sitting area top of Muswell Hill. This whole area and the path down to the Parkland Walk needs a lot of work on it
• Grove Lodge Gardens – the path is quite overgrown, the vegetation needs cutting back
2. Pocket Park
Christine continues to look after the park and to make improvements, planting new plants, tidying up etc. Last week Christine tidied up a large pile of deadwood from underneath the trees; we asked Haringey to remove the deadwood which has been done.
Due to the lack of rain Christine is having to water again. The spring flowers are looking fantastic and the park has never been in such good shape.
The uneven paving is the main item to follow up with Haringey Council through our new councillors.
3. New Tree at the Muswell Hill bus terminus
As previously reported the planting of the tree was rejected by TFL due “the impact of sightlines and the area being extremely constricted”. This is another item to be followed up with our new councillors.
4. New Bench – Eastern Road green space (Blaenavon)
The replacement bench has been ordered through Haringey and paid for, we are waiting for the contractor to install the bench complete with MHFGA plaque.
5. Muswell Hill Broadway Flower Boxes and the Trough
We will be planting the new geraniums during the month, hopefully we will have some rain!
6. New Trees on the Broadway
Haringey have been informed that the tree planted last year outside Miller & Carter has died. Hopefully this will be replaced in the Autumn. We have also asked the Council when they will start watering the new trees.
7. Grove Lodge Gardens Path
As outlined in item 1 above Chris Cavalier is due to let us know what work the Council can carry out on the path. You will have seen the item in our Newsletter about the recent fire in the trees which is very concerning. We visited the area and we will be taking this up with the new councillors to get Haringey to remove the fire damage and other rubbish.
8. 100 Woodside Avenue
We attended an organised tour of the development in mid-March. There will be more tours arranged towards the end of May, we have asked to be notified of these so we can inform our members. We was impressed by the development and the quality of build which is based on the Parrivhaus design principles to achieve the highest levels of energy efficiency including triple glazing and wet underfloor heating provided by central heat pumps on the roof. There are 3 blocks, Block A includes 31 council flats, a mixture of 1,2 and 3 bed flats, four of which have full wheel chair access. Block B includes 7 flats for sale on the open market (999 year lease and annual service charge), a mixture of 1, 2 and 3 bed flats. Block C includes two 4 bed houses (freehold) with private gardens. There is an attractive central communal courtyard including landscaping, irrigation and a children’s play area, over 40 new trees have been planted. There is also a new public staircase access to the Parkland Walk at the junction of Woodside Avenue and Muswell Hill Road, and the existing step-free path has been re-paved. There are some great views from the flats.
9. Neighborhood Community Infrastructure Levy (NCIL)
The round 2 NCIL funding allocations of £1.73m was announced in March, this amount was split between Muswell Hill wards, Highgate Neighborhood Forum area and Crouch End Neighborhood Forum area. The Muswell Hill allocation is £161,373 and includes £19,500 for London Borough of Culture murals, £100,00 for St James’ Viaduct (Parkland Walk North) resurfacing and CCTV, and £31,873 for Alexandra Park play improvements.
