Builders and plumbers in Alexandra Park, N22

Historic England’s register entry for the park at Alexandra Palace records it in Haringey at Grade II, first listed on 9 May 1995. It describes a public park laid out by Alexander McKenzie and opened in 1863. The entry also notes that 150 acres of the scheme’s land were to be set aside as park, with the remaining 300 acres treated separately. Haringey’s introduction to its character study names Tottenham Wood as the site of today’s Alexandra Park.

Registration places no direct control on the houses around the park. It does mean the park’s significance can be weighed when the council decides an application that affects it. A roof extension, tall rear addition or new boundary seen from the park may therefore draw comment on setting. We read the policies map and planning history for the exact address before a design is fixed.

Haringey’s urban character study describes the Northern Heights falling steeply eastwards from Alexandra Palace. Where a plot shares that fall, the slope shapes decisions long before finishes are chosen. A rear extension may need stepped footings. A lower-ground room may hold back soil, and a garden terrace may depend on an older retaining wall.

We begin with a measured level survey rather than a judgement from the pavement. Trial holes then confirm the soil and the depth of existing foundations before a structural engineer designs anything. Retaining walls are checked for movement, weep holes and ownership, since a wall can belong to the house above or below. Scaffold on falling ground needs a base designed for the gradient. Building Regulations approval covers the structure and drainage of the finished work. It is a separate consent from planning permission, and one does not stand in for the other.

The council’s list records the Alexandra Palace and Park conservation area as designated on 22 September 1978. Haringey’s tree guidance says that six weeks’ notice must be given before work to a tree in a conservation area that has no preservation order. The notice rule applies to trees above the diameters the council lists. A tree with an order needs consent instead. For a garden near the park, the first questions are whether the tree stands inside the boundary and whether an order applies.

The council’s character study describes Parkland Walk as a woodland walk from Finsbury Park to Alexandra Palace, mostly birch and sycamore. Near any mature tree on a slope, roots can matter as much as the crown. A new footing, drain run or terrace can sever roots that help to hold a bank. We plot trees on the site and just beyond it before settling a layout, and bring in an arboricultural assessment where digging comes close.

Historic England lists Alexandra Palace, including the former Alexandra Palace Station, at Grade II, first listed on 1 October 1996. The entry says John Johnson and Alfred Meeson rebuilt the palace in 1873 to 1875, after fire damaged the first building. The station building of 1873 stands immediately to the north. The palace also appears on the Heritage at Risk register. The register records its condition as poor, its trend as stable and its priority in category E.

That entry also notes overlapping designations: a listed building, part of a registered park and a conservation area. The council acts as trustee of Alexandra Palace and Park under the Alexandra Park and Palace Acts, through a board responsible for maintaining both. None of this lists a private home nearby, though a visible change may be judged for its effect on a listed setting. Where a garden meets land the trust looks after, we identify that owner before any boundary work.

The council’s list gives no current adopted appraisal for the Alexandra Palace and Park conservation area. Bowes Park conservation area lies nearby, designated on 29 November 1994, and it has no adopted appraisal either. Without an appraisal, we read the designation alongside borough-wide design and heritage policies and recent decisions close by.

Article 4 directions add another layer. Haringey’s page on development in conservation areas explains that where a direction applies, planning permission is required for the specified works. That page does not name one for Alexandra Palace and Park, and we still confirm the position for each address. The borough’s direction on houses in multiple occupation lists fourteen wards, and Alexandra Park ward is not among them. The council consulted on a draft Local Plan from 10 October 2025 to 19 December 2025, so its stage is checked when an application is prepared.

Haringey’s development management policy DM18 governs new basements, including those beneath existing homes. It permits them only where the proposal is shown to meet its requirements. On a slope, a basement or lower-ground extension also changes how water crosses the plot. Run-off may then meet a new wall, and a lightwell can gather water from the ground above.

The council is the lead local flood authority, and we read its published flood information before drawing a drainage design. Our survey traces existing gullies, soakaways and connections, with a camera inspection where an older drain route is uncertain. Excavation within reach of a neighbour’s foundations brings the Party Wall etc. Act into play, and notices are served before digging. In a flat, the lease and the freeholder’s written consent come before any structural opening. Building Regulations approval then covers waterproofing, ventilation and structure, separately from the planning decision.

TfL’s data lists Great Northern and Thameslink at Alexandra Palace Rail Station, which TfL places in Zone 3. Bowes Park Rail Station is served by Great Northern, and Bounds Green Underground Station is on the Piccadilly line. Haringey’s study notes that Alexandra Park, Bowes Park and Hornsey offer access to mainline services. For a project, though, the road outside decides how materials arrive.

The council gives the Alexandra Palace controlled parking zone hours as Monday to Friday, 12 noon to 2pm. Other streets may differ, so we check the council’s map before a delivery is booked. The Highways Act 1980 requires a licence before a skip is placed on a Haringey road. Scaffolding or hoarding on a public road, pavement, path or footway needs a licence as well. Where kerb space must be cleared for a lorry, the arrangement is agreed with the council beforehand.

Work in Alexandra Park is carried out in-house by Hampstead Renovations or Hampstead Maintenance, once a written scope has been agreed. The scope separates what the survey confirmed from what only opening up will show. For a flat it names the lease clauses and freeholder consent the work depends on. For a house it lists the adjoining owners who may need party wall notices.

The council’s 2021 retail study puts Wood Green and five district centres at the top of its hierarchy, with a separate list of local centres below them. We check the policies map rather than assume town-centre policies apply. At handover, the file holds decision notices, building control completion evidence and copies of any tree notices. It also keeps photographs of footings, drains, retaining walls and waterproofing taken before they were covered. Where a variation was needed on site, the record shows who approved it and why.