Getting local people into jobs. That's the Tottenham Hotspur and Haringey Council 'regeneration' chant. But not everyone sings along.
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| Ledley King's shirt in the Spurs' dressing room © Paul Coleman, London Intelligence, 2012 |
Keeping the King onside
By Paul Coleman
Ledley King is a true ‘one of us’, chant Spurs
fans.
A Tottenham Hotspur Football Club legend.
Born and raised in this part of north London.
A Tottenham Hotspur Football Club legend.
Born and raised in this part of north London.
A commanding club captain.
A consistent,
powerful and skillful presence at the heart of Spurs’ defence.
Often compared with Bobby Moore, England’s legendary 1966 World Cup winning captain.
Sadly, persistent injury plagues King.
And so, finally, Ledley, the King of White Hart Lane, hangs up his boots.
Logic
Rewind to
November 2013.
Though retired,
King acts as a Tottenham Hotspur ‘Club Ambassador’.
For years now, Tottenham
Hotspur Football Club remains dwarfed in both football and financial terms by
rival north London club, Arsenal.
Spurs’
traditional 36,000-capacity White Hart Lane stadium cannot compete with
Arsenal’s new 60,000-seater Emirates Stadium just a few miles down the road.
So, Spurs’
owners and chairman Daniel Levy abandon plans to leave Tottenham.
They embark on
a plan to build a new 56,000-seater stadium right next to the club’s current
White Hart Lane ground.
Bigger crowds
means increased revenue.
Increased
revenue attracts better players.
Better players ought
to generate success on the field.
At least,
that’s Spurs' football business logic.
To become an
even more profitable football club with more trophies.
Maybe with even
more money and trophies than Arsenal just down the road.
Dreamy stuff.
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| Spurs' 115-year-old White Hart Lane ground © Paul Coleman, London Intelligence 2012 |
Radius
Hence, in
autumn 2013, ‘Club Ambassador’ King welcomes the opening of a new Sainsbury’s
supermarket, part of Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium development and ‘regeneration’
plan – known as the Northumberland Development Project.
“It’s great to
be involved in the launch of the fantastic new store which has created 280 new
jobs for local people in an area of high unemployment,” says King.
“It marks the
first step in our regeneration plans for the area, and I’m proud to be a part
of it having been associated with the Club and the local community since I was
a teenager.”
Store manager
Peter White says Sainsbury’s works closely with Tottenham Hotspur, Haringey
Council and local job centres to “support people into work who previously faced
barriers”.
Jobs go to local
people who live within a three-mile radius of the new store.
White doesn’t
elaborate on whether these barriers facing young jobseekers include race,
class, gender, age or a lack of government-led investment in their local
education and training.
But Tottenham
Hotspur, Haringey and Sainsbury’s emphasise that a new University Technical
College, based above the supermarket, will also provide training to over 900 students
aged 14-18.
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| A cautionary notice to Spurs players in their dressing room shower © Paul Coleman, London Intelligence 2012 |
Jobs card
Club chairman
Daniel Levy says: “Sainsbury’s new store represents the completion of the first
part of our new stadium scheme and the start of the regeneration of north
Tottenham…that delivers real employment and socio-economic benefits to our
community.”
Developers and
councils often herald new jobs as one of the main reasons why local people
should support such large-scale regeneration projects.
Leader of
Haringey Council Claire Kober says: “It is also extremely heartening to see
that Tottenham Hotspur, who are part of the lifeblood of this community, are
going the extra mile to ensure the regeneration of Tottenham delivers real jobs
and benefits for the local community.”
“We are
determined to see the jobs created by the Northumberland Development Project go
to local people,” chimes Levy.
Tottenham
Hotspur, under Levy, frequently plays this jobs card.
Partly, the
club knows it would be inexcusable if a new 56,000-capacity stadium failed to
create a welter of new jobs for local people.
Luxury
Local people express
worries that Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium could mean their homes are
demolished and redeveloped with luxury apartments.
Longstanding council tenants and leaseholder residents fear they will not enjoy a guaranteed ‘right of return’ to any new
development.
Spurs, their
local football club, could be the reason why they’ll be compelled to leave
Tottenham.
Tottenham
Hotspur, Levy and Haringey Council keep on playing the new jobs card.
Playing to the
plan’s strengths.
And, keeping Ledley King onside too.
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| Site for Spurs' new stadium adjacent to the North Stand of the existing ground © Paul Coleman, London Intelligence 2014 |
© Paul Coleman, London Intelligence, December 2014
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