A local Lib Dem councillor has accused Haringey of meanness and double standards after discovering that Labour-run Haringey Council is earning almost £50,000 from rooftop aerials installed in a Highgate council estate – while at the same time taking years to install a disabled ramp in one of the blocks on the famous Hillcrest Estate, Highgate.

The revelations on the income the council is receiving from the masts erected on the roofs of the seven storey buildings came in a written answer to local Lib Dem councillor, Neil Williams, at last week’s full council meeting.

Residents say that Haringey Council has not acted to improve access to Dowding House, on the Hillcrest estate, despite years of pleas from locals.The Lib Dems also say that if plans by telecoms firm o2 for another mast on Mountbatten House go ahead, the council windfall could increase to a massive £56,000 per year. To add insult to injury, not one penny is retained for estate improvements, or the much needed disabled access ramps.

Highgate Lib Dem councillor Neil Williams comments:

“There are huge sums of money pouring in to the council coffers from these masts. The residents have to live with them, and they make the tops of the blocks make them look like a miniature airfield.

“Haringey wants to have it both ways. It wants to cream off this money, taking advantage of the height of the buildings – but when it comes to much needed improvements, often needed as a result of their design, then the money is gone and residents have to wait for years. It is very unfair. At least some of the money should be ring-fenced for Hillcrest, as it is the residents who have to live with this equipment.”