Firefighters work to secure the building in Crouch End. Picture: Daniel Francis

Teenage shopper is hit as masonry falls 30ft from frontage

by Rob Bleaney Friday, June 29, 2012
12:23 PM

Calls have been made to secure the fabric of Haringey’s historic shopping parades after a teenage girl was struck on the head by a piece of falling masonry in Crouch End.

Luckily, the young shopper escaped with only a minor cut to her forehead after the debris fell at least 30 feet from the decorative frontage of a flat above Kinleigh, Folkard and Hayward estate agent in Topsfield Parade, Tottenham Lane, at around 1pm on Monday.

A butcher at Morley’s opposite the estate agent, who gave his name as Ian, said: “I saw the girl holding her head and looking upwards but she wasn’t rolling about on the floor or anything.

“It must happen quite a lot with these old parades but someone should do something as we can’t have shoppers being knocked out in the street.”

The incident was serious enough for the fire brigade to close the road and clear debris from the roofs, putting bus services on diversion.

It is not the first time crumbling debris from Haringey’s Victorian shopping parades has put shoppers in danger.

Last October mortar from a decorative feature fell off the flats above Rose Bakery in Green Lanes, Harringay, narrowly missing shoppers below.

Similar incidents have occurred in Muswell Hill, Crouch End and Wood Green in recent years, raising concern that the century-old buildings are not being properly maintained.

Crouch End councillor David Winskill said: “We’ve been incredibly lucky that no-one has been badly hurt.

“I will be writing to Haringey Council asking if they keep records of these incidents and if they will write to freeholders reminding them of their duty of care to shoppers and to suggest they undertake regular inspections of the fabric of these structures.”

A Haringey Council spokesperson said: “As a precaution, we closed the road for 30 minutes while we called in the fire brigade to help us to clear remaining loose masonry from the building and make the area safe.

“It is the responsibility of building owners to make sure that their property is safe and we will be writing to owners in Crouch End to advise them to check their buildings.

“Any building owner who has concerns about their masonry can contact Haringey Building Control for advice on 020 8489 1000 or email building.control@haringey.gov.uk.”

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