Beloved bowling alley Rowans is under threat from a 190-home development

Dear Londoners — The capital is a huge place, full of diverse and diverging ideas, tastes and interests. It's rare that everybody in it can agree on anything; so, when that happens, it's worth paying attention. One such thing is a love for Rowans, the ten-pin bowling alley that's been opposite Finsbury Park station, in various guises, for as long as most people can remember. Young or old, newbie or lifer, I've never met any Londoner who doesn't know what it is — and more uniquely, who doesn't have some degree of affection for it. That's why, when I noticed that Haringey's new Local Plan consultation contained proposals to replace Rowans with 190 new flats, I thought it was crucial to dig into. That's your top story in today's Monday briefing, along with several other juicy titbits and recommendations.

Before that, we wanted to remind you of the heavily discounted gift subscriptions to The Londoner we have available. It's the perfect stress-free present — no last-minute delivery times to watch out for — and who doesn't wish they knew more about the city they lived in? You can get 44% off a normal annual subscription, or you can buy six month (£39.90) or three month (£19.90) versions too. Merry Christmas!

Big story: Rowans, Finsbury Park’s legendary bowling alley, karaoke venue and club, is under threat of being demolished

Top line: Haringey’s newly released draft Local Plan contains a proposal to build up to 190 flats on the site of Rowans, the iconic bowling alley opposite Finsbury Park station. 

The details: Full details remain relatively scant — all information comes from plans buried on p. 475–6 of part 2 of the Local Plan (titled “Neighbourhood Policies”), which you can access online here. What we do know is that there are proposals for a “landmark high-density, mixed-use development… bringing the land into more intensive use in this highly accessible location”. The report states that the site has the capacity for 190 homes, probably taking the form of a tower — it states that it has been identified as a potential site for a tall building that would contribute to a “distinctive cluster and skyline for the wider area that is centred on Finsbury Park station”. 

The council is quick to affirm that “existing community, culture and leisure uses should be re-provided”, emphasising that “existing public benefits arising from Rowans bowling alley must be re-secured, including providing affordable and inclusive facilities”.

Local residents have until 19 December to respond to the consultation. 

Cllr Sarah Williams, deputy leader and cabinet member for housing and planning at Haringey council, commented: “We know that Rowans is a much-loved local space for our community and there are no proposals to replace it.

“Should the owner of Rowans come forward at a future date with plans to redevelop the site, the Local Plan safeguards provision of community, culture and leisure facilities, including a bowling alley.

“The Draft Local Plan, which is currently out for consultation, is the council’s 15-year vision for new buildings and development in the borough. It sets out a borough-wide framework for placemaking and complements the council’s overall vision for Haringey.”

Context: The axe has been hanging over Rowans for over a decade now. Back in 2014, locals fiercely opposed plans from the council and the venue’s landlord, Parkstock Ltd, to redevelop the site. A year later, redevelopment plans were released as part of the 2015 Local Plan. Back then, only 71 flats were indicated. In 2017, it was again earmarked for redevelopment by the council. This year’s proposals constitute an updated — and seemingly more ambitious — version of the earlier Local Plan. These are now at the consultation stage and, if approved, are due to begin in 2032. 

Why does it matter?: Rowan’s is one of the capital’s storied haunts; a place so special that even south Londoners will make the hike up there. It began its life as a tramshed in the 1890s, then was converted into a cinema in the 1920s (an archival police file recorded the “disgraceful scenes” occurring in the velvet seats), a dance hall where The Beatles played, a bingo hall, a snooker club and then, finally, a bowling alley. It also turns into a club with DJs at night, and used to be open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Rowans’ layers of history make it feel utterly idiosyncratic, but it isn’t a museum piece: its £1 daytime entry fee ensures it’s genuinely buzzy and diverse (to the extent that it’s even been the subject of research at Goldsmith’s). It feels ineffably London in a way that feels fast-vanishing. And soon, it may be gone forever.

Your news briefing

🗳️ We’ve got wind that a former Labour councillor in Lewisham who defected to the Greens after The Londoner’s investigation into the local Labour party’s links to the UCKG church, is set to run against his former party for the borough’s mayoralty next year. “Lewisham Labour have become too comfortable, forgetting that they’re elected to serve ordinary working people, not their own careers,” Liam Shrivastava told us. The Londoner has also heard rumblings that more defections from Labour to the Greens in Brent are set to be announced tonight at an event featuring leader Zack Polanski. It's yet more worrying news for Labour — once dominant in much of the capital, they face losing control of inner boroughs like Lewisham to Green or Liberal Democrat challengers in next year’s local elections.

🥙 A dispute over a late night takeaway license in Farringdon has seen sparks fly at Camden council. Lebanese Grill in Leather Lane faced a council licensing committee hearing last week after a dossier of complaints came from locals angry at the store, which has gone viral on Tiktok, getting hordes of new late night customers. Among the complaints were a local residents association who said the increase in customers and trash meant their local “community has been destroyed”. That council meeting ended with the council cancelling the store’s late night licence. But today shop owner Zac Khan fired back, arguing the locals’ complaints and the council decision were the result of “racism”. Get the saga in full from the Camden New Journal. 

🏠 Notting Hill Genesis (a regular topic here at The Londoner) have been forced to evacuate around 300 residents residents from the newly built Stratford Halo estate, after serious cracking was discovered that posed a risk to the structural integrity of the building. The issues were first discovered over the summer but, according to the Newham Recorder, essential remediation work that had to be completed to ensure the blocks’ safety was never completed. NHG said every household affected is already or imminently being moved to suitable new homes nearby, but local MP Uma Kumar told The Londoner she was “deeply concerned” about the situation. “I have met with the CEO of Notting Hill Genesis twice in the last fortnight, including this week, to push for action and accountability,” she added. “I have also alerted the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to this appalling situation.”

In case you missed it…

• It’s Christmas, and we all need to decompress. So on Saturday, The Londoner spent the day at the Museum of Homelessness’ annual Christmas dog show with some of the cutest and best boys in all of the capital. 
• Axed county shows, plans for the largest public space in the City of London and the challenge of outshining the Muppets: all that and more were the subject of last week’s Christmas culture edition. Catch up on it here.
• Have you ever wondered why there’s seven different tube stations in Acton while there’s basically none in much of the capital’s southeast? Our Wednesday read was an explanation of the weird and insane history of London’s underground network. 

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One perfect pub

We’ve reached that time of year again: when the hordes of people filling London’s pubs with work Christmas parties make navigating the capital’s boozers to get the bar feel like trying to hitch a ride on the last chopper out of Saigon. What you need is one of those small, cosy — and not totally rammed — pubs to while away the increasingly long nights. So in that vein, my go to in this category is the Railway Tavern in Dalston. It ticks all the winter pub boxes (wood panelling, a roaring fire, an intimate feel) while also being both a good pub generally — and one of the more undiscovered spots in the otherwise perennially frantic neighbourhood.

Our favourite reads

Losing local radio — and my mum — David Lloyd, The Liverpool Post

A tear-jerking recommendation from our sister site in Liverpool today as writer David Lloyd takes a tour not just of the city’s local radio, but how they became such a central part of his relationship with his mother, who passed away in August. What results is a form of double mourning: equal parts deeply personal and strangely existential. 

Meet London’s most famous cats: Legz, Hodge, Lilibet and the rest — Ellie McDonald, The Times (£) 

In an effort to offer something a little lighter, our second recommendation is a recent piece in The Times cataloguing some of the capital’s most iconic serving cats: from Lillibet the longstanding resident of the elite Lanesborough Hotel in Knightsbridge to Legz, the three-legged ginger cat who lords over the Charlotte Despard pub in Archway. 

Brixton Soup Kitchen prepares for busy Christmas — Helen Drew, BBC

With the cold weather and the ongoing cost of living squeeze creating record need in the capital, a soup kitchen in Brixton is now serving 7,000 meals every month to hungry locals. The BBC spoke to founder Solomon Smith, who founded the kitchen using his wages from his job as a youth worker, and several of its patrons.

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To Do List

• The preserved 1950s Rivoli Ballroom in Brockley is hosting a pop-up Christmas cinema over the festive period that’ll feature the likes of Home Alone, Elf and Die Hard. Tickets here.

• Christmas in the UK is often seen as a Victorian tradition. But Wednesday’s Gresham lecture — the last of the year — is all about the Tudor traditions of Christmas that would see a “twelve-day-long festival of feasting, carols, gifts, mince pies and merrymaking”. More details here.
• Fresh from packing The Pogues (!) into the front room, much-loved south east London pub Skehan's is hosting cult pizza outlet D4100 on 17 December for an evening of pizzas and carols. If that isn't your thing, join them for the regular Irish trad music sessions on Tuesdays.

From the archive

Christmas shopping, it seems, has never not been a stressful activity. In this footage of an extremely snowy 19 December 1955, children are glued to shop windows on Regent’s Street, which display a rather charming animatronic chimpanzee playing a piano. Spare a thought for the real monkeys in London Zoo though — the baboons were not best pleased by the freezing temperatures.