“Let’s make Wood Green a major shopping destination” says Christine Patterson

Chris Lane (Tottenham TP), Shef Mehmet (Harringay TA), Christine Patterson (Chair - WG Business Forum)

Tottenham and Wood Green are important parts of the Haringey borough and residents and entrepreneurs are hopeful at the prospect of local regeneration. The borough council’s Wood Green Area Action Plan (WGAAP) which was announced in 2016 is expected to make a variety of positive changes to the area including a revamp of Wood Green High Street, job creation opportunities, additional housing, and transport improvements.

To find out more about local traders, how their organisations plan to play a leading role in the renovation process and what they hope the locality will gain from it, the Harringay Traders Association Magazine got in touch with Christine Patterson, the Chair of the Tottenham Traders Partnership (TTP) who also works as a Local Business Manager at Wood Green’s Metrobank branch.

Born and raised in Tottenham, Christine explained that she “grew up with a deep knowledge of the community and its vibrant high streets.” Her passion and dedication to improving her local area led her to become a part of the TTP. “When I became the business manager for one of our major high street banks it brought me into even closer contact with the Tottenham traders. It was a seamless transition to becoming an active committee member and then Chair of the TTP and its wonderful group of volunteers promoting the cause of a dynamic business sector in Tottenham,” she said.

Christine is especially proud of the TTP’s work supporting local businesses against difficult odds. “To keep any sort of organisation ongoing year after year based entirely on the voluntary work of committee members is something of which we are all very pleased! In addition to that we are immensely proud of the TTP and our fellow local business people in the Green Lanes Traders Association who came together recently to promote the foundation of the Haringey Business Alliance. The HBA is now the coordinating body for all our fellow local business trader’s groups right across our wonderful borough.”

She also explained that Wood Green and Tottenham have potential for even greater success and that regeneration could make both even better places to live and work. “In many ways these two parts of our borough are similar. Both have vibrant communities with a well-established cultural, ethnic and religious mix. And they both have developed local business structures. We share a dynamism and determination to improve our society,” she said. “We all want to see progress and build upon our successes of the past. I have not seen such an honest commitment to community activity in any other London borough. Of course, we have our problems, but rather than being defeatist there is a massive pool of residents and business leaders who are positive in their optimistic approach to 2018 and beyond.”  

When asked about the WGAAP, Christine said traders “are convinced the Action Plan will be the most significant contributor to the much needed and long overdue economic regeneration of the Wood Green High Street. It is time for a change in Wood Green.”

She added that with “improved transport links through Crossrail we can expect an increased demand for new homes and a subsequent demand for bigger and better high street outlets.”

“The local business community are determined to play the major role in promoting a total makeover of our high street,” she continued, saying “we are at one with our local community activists and councillors in our shared belief that we must make significant investments to ensure Wood Green becomes the major shopping destination for all our borough’s residents.” 

Christine added that traders could contribute to the project by “bringing together all Wood Green businesses, be they national chain retail outlets, supermarkets, pubs, cafes, restaurants, banks, hairdressers or any service to the public on our High Street.”

She also warned that the involvement of business is crucial for the regeneration to be a success, but vowed that the changes had local traders’ support. “Without the business sector being fully committed to the regeneration process it will not happen. And that would be bad news for the borough.” Wood Green’s traders however “are determined to support the regeneration process to create a modern high street serving all our community needs,” she concluded