The club has angered locals by protesting that the streets around its new £850m stadium are too dirty for fans and could damage its ambitions to establish “one of the world’s most unique entertainment venues”.
Confidential memos from senior figures in the Labour-run London borough of Haringey, seen by the
Observer, highlight Spurs’ complaints that excessive levels of litter and fly-tipping in
Tottenham will have a negative impact on the image of their as yet unopened ground, and that the local authority, which has suffered £280m of cuts over the past decade, should pay for cleaning after matches and events.
One memo, written following a meeting between club officials and the council, states: “Spurs were very dismissive as to the current state/appearance of Tottenham and implied that this was not an acceptable environment for their new stadium and supporters.” Another notes: “Spurs as you may be aware quite an aggressive operator [sic]. When the question of all the extra cleaning needed was raised and who would fund it it was made very clear that it would not be paid for by Spurs.”
