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New River Village
London
The regeneration of the Thames Water pump station site has been considered since the late 1990s when an application was turned down for 200 cul-de-sac units. A new proposal by developer St James Homes and architects Stock Woolstencroft has fulfilled the requirement for a high-density scheme with a high quality contemporary design.
Planning permission was granted for 463 units in 2002 and this was later revised to provide a total of 622 units. The scheme is a mix of 1-4 bed affordable, shared ownership and market sale units in 7 main blocks up to 7 storeys high. The 1901 listed pump house has been refurbished as a restaurant bar, with a gymnasium attached, and separate gallery and with an artist in residence.
The main spine of the site runs parallel with the waterway/rail lines and a fall of 8m across the site has been used to create two levels of underground parking. A compromise was found between housing density, building mass and public space resulting in a 450m, 2 hectare linear park with wide walkways and cycle ways that connect Hornsey High Street to Wood Green and Alexandra Palace, helping to integrate with existing communities.
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