Haringey's Job Crisis Intensifies

• Over 10,000 unemployed in Haringey for 5th month in a row, 80% of whom reside in the East.
• Northumberland Park has highest number of unemployed in all of the 634 wards in the capital
• Case for an enterprise zone in Tottenham is “impossible to deny”
• Redevelopment of White Hart Lane essential to turn around Tottenham’s fortunes

Yesterday’s release of the labour market statistics for June 2011 made depressing reading for Haringey residents. The number of claimants in Tottenham is 680 higher than in June 2010 and 70 higher than in May 2011, making it the constituency with the highest unemployment in London and the 9th highest out of all of the 650 constituencies in the United Kingdom.

The release exposes the brutal inequalities in Haringey, which show that over 80% of the borough’s unemployed reside in the East. Northumberland Park ward – where Tottenham Hotspur’s White Hart Lane stadium resides – has the highest number of unemployed out of all 633 wards in London.

Commenting on the release, David Lammy said:

“This is yet another kick in the teeth for the people of Haringey, but it’s something that doesn’t come as a surprise.

“This government has taken an axe to jobs in the public sector with no growth in private sector to replace the jobs they destroyed. They talk up the benefits of their “work” programme when they’ve made no effort to create the jobs to go with it. Not for the first time in our lifetimes, our community is being betrayed by a Tory government.

“In a couple of weeks, the government will have a choice. It can designate Tottenham as an enterprise zone. It can do what it can to mitigate for the economic whirlwind it has beset upon Tottenham. The latest figures show that Tottenham’s case for an enterprise zone is impossible to deny.

“Tottenham needs a game-changer to tackle the jobs crisis. The redevelopment of White Hart Lane can be the light at the end of the tunnel for this community but the Mayor and the Government have to give the club, the council and the community the support to make it happen.”

The London Borough of Haringey has submitted a bid for an enterprise zone for the Upper Lea Valley, covering Tottenham, Edmonton and West Walthamstow. An enterprise zone provides new businesses discounted rates and ensures that all money raised is re-invested in the infrastructure of the area. The Chancellor is due to announce a further 10 enterprise zone locations later this summer.

The redevelopment of White Hart Lane, known as the Northumberland Park Development include the building of a 56,000-seater stadium, a 150-bed hotel, 200 new homes, a supermarket and considerable new office space. The plans are central to the regeneration of the North Tottenham area, creating over 2,400 local jobs and protecting 1,000 existing jobs.


Notes

1. The latest labour market statistics can found at https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/Default.asp
2. There were 6,550 JSA claimants in the Constituency of Tottenham (highest in London, 9th highest in the country) and 10,514 in the LB of Haringey.
3. Northumberland Park ward has 1,087 claiming Job Seekers Allowance in June 2011, the highest in London, ahead of Coldharbour Ward in Lambeth (1,032).
4. There were 8,477 (80.63% of the total) JSA claimants East of the railway tracks in Haringey, compared to 2,037 (19.37%) in the West.
5. Figures relating to the Northumberland Development Project are from Spurs’ Regional Growth Fund bid.