Haringey chooses preferred partner for major regeneration amid judicial review threat

The Cabinet at Haringey Council has selected Lendlease as its preferred partner for a development vehicle that will drive one of the country’s largest regeneration programmes, amid threats of legal action.

Under the proposals, the Australian developer will become a 50/50 partner in the Haringey Development Vehicle.

The 20-year scheme would create “thousands of new jobs and at least 5,000 new homes”, according to the north London authority.

However, Gordon Peters, chairperson of the Older People’s Reference Group for Haringey, has issued a pre-action protocol letter.

The claimant, assisted by lawyers Leigh Day, has given Haringey’s leader, Cllr Claire Kober, until 27 February to reply. If no satisfactory response is received by then, he will seek judicial review in the High Court.

“I am acting on behalf of older people in the borough,” Peters told Local Government Lawyer. He is also preparing to have “discussions with key interested parties”, should the council decide not to carry out the steps he requests of it for further and deeper consultation and decision-making.

In the pre-action protocol letter, Leigh Day expressed concern that “the decision-making process undertaken to establish the HDV has been legally flawed and is amenable to judicial review”.

The firm said that the proposed grounds of challenge “in essence” concerned the absence of public consultation on the HDV plans. “This being despite the fact that the decision to transfer billions of pounds of the council’s capital assets into a 50/50 private partnership will affect thousands of residents and businesses in the borough and it being, in the words of the council leader, ‘a once-in-a-generation step for the council’.”

Peters said: “We think there is a democratic deficit in what they are doing. The key issue is the lack of proper consultation. Also, this is a major decision which should be taken at least by the full council. And there is a very high financial risk. There are human rights issues too.”

A spokeswoman for Haringey said: “We have received a letter regarding a possible judicial review, and this is currently being considered by our legal team. We’re unable to comment further at this stage.”