Have invited local neighbours in to discuss a planning application next to me in our road. It will be a nail in the coffin of the lovely Grove atmosphere of the road – but I doubt whether we will prevail. Everyone is against it – although the proposal is better than we might get from a commercial developer as it is supposedly by a local man wanting a small house for his daughter. Doubt is expressed by some of my neighbours who know this chap about the veracity of this being the case. Others say it may well be. We will do what we can. For me – if it were built as described and never expanded – it might be better the devil we know. But you can’t get guarantees – and Haringey don’t have a stunning reputation for enforcement or supervision – let alone protecting areas in Highgate. For me personally it will be horrible and invade my privacy with windows looking into my living spaces.

Heaven knows I have helped residents across the whole borough fight inappropriate planning applications – but it is very difficult for me. If it goes to committee – as it is a Labour controlled committee and despite it being required to act as a quasi judicial body – the sight of me would probably be enough to ensure they simply voted it through. The temptation would almost certainly be too strong for them to resist.

We will see.