£20m funding to transform Selby Centre

Plans to transform the Selby Centre in Tottenham into a brand new ‘urban village’ with state-of-the art community facilities have received a huge boost after the council was awarded £20 million of new funding.

The huge vote of confidence will unlock the construction of a high-quality, sustainable Selby Centre purpose-built to support the activities of the 60+ community enterprises, projects and training providers.

The money, which is the single largest in London, comes from the latest round of the levelling up fund, with councils and organisations across the country sharing a £2.1bn pot.

The scheme will provide 4,820 sqm of multi-purpose office space, a new community café, a community hall, soft play area and creche, health and care spaces, a boxing club for young people and the provision of a Credit Union on site, to support low-income residents in responsible and accessing affordable finance.

Cllr Peray Ahmet, Haringey Council Leader, and Cllr Ruth Gordon, Cabinet Member for Council House Building, Placemaking and Development said:

“I’m delighted we’ve been able to secure such a significant amount of funding, which is a real vote of confidence in our ability to deliver this fantastic new community facility for our residents.

“The Selby Urban Village is an ambitious placemaking project that brings together the knowledge, expertise and passion of the Selby Trust, users of the centre, the local community and the council.

“We are delighted that together we can bring forward the changes to the Selby Centre and Bull Lane that the community have asked for. 

“This scheme will support local enterprises, provide much needed new sports and leisure space and give the community an opportunity to connect with nature.  The economic, health and wellbeing benefits of this scheme for Tottenham and the surrounding area will be invaluable.”

Edward Ihejirika, Chair of the Selby Board of Trustee said:

“This is great news for the Selby Community and brings much needed resources to the neighbourhood. It’s a £20 million kick start for the Selby Urban Village delivery and is an exemplar for how partnerships between community organisations and Local Authorities can work.

“The Selby Urban Village Vision is for a sustainable partnership that has the Selby Trust’s culturally rich communities involved at its heart. The Community will find high quality community services and inspirational spaces, which will provide connectivity, engagement and learning or all.”

Bull Lane Playing Field will be transformed into revitalised sports and leisure hub with a four-court sports hall, floodlit full-sized artificial grass pitch for football and rugby, two junior grass football pitches, an artificial non-turf cricket pitch and multi-use games area.

An inclusive new community park will also be created to promote health and wellbeing and will include a new adventure playground, communal planting and food growing areas and new paths to encourage active travel and improve connectivity.

The new Selby Centre, sports and leisure facilities, park and improved connections are part phase 1 of the scheme. Phase 2 will include the development of 215 much-needed new homes, further improvements to sports fields and the creation of wider strategic links to connect the site with the surrounding area.