Lib Dem councillor Lynne Featherstone has welcomed news that Haringey Council andlocal traders in Avenue Mews, Muswell Hill, are cleaning up their act justweeks after she stirred Haringey Council into acting over the litter, fly-tippingand parking hotspot.

The Lib Dems have been contacting the Council about this area for manyyears, but it was only earlier this month that Haringey finally confirmedthat they were to take action to resolve problems over obstructive parking,fly-tipping and blocked drainage.

This week the Council reported to Cllr Featherstone that pallets that hadbeen dumped on the pavement had been removed but the general problem of bothAccord and privately owned wheeled bins causing an obstruction on thepavement appeared to have been resolved.

Cllr Featherstone is pleased with the report and other assurances over theprevious parking problems. However she says that there is still work to bedone to bring it up to an acceptable standard.

Cllr Featherstone (Muswell Hill) comments: “I am pleased that issues overwhich we have been pressing Haringey Council over many years are finally beingaddressed.

“This is a good start but we must remember that this road has been neglectedfor a long time and further effort needs to be made to ensure it is broughtup to an acceptable standard.”

Lib Dem councillors have welcomed the news that after initial teethingtroubles, Muswell Hill Broadway now has comprehensive and fully functioningCCTV coverage, despite being three years overdue.

Cameras were installed last year, but suffered a number of technicalproblems. Following tests and a repositioning of two that were poorly sitedcameras Haringey Council now says that the Broadway is ‘live’.

Cllr Lynne Featherstone, who along with local residents successfully securedthe re-opening of Muswell Hill police station front desk earlier this year,is pleased that cameras are finally up and running. However she said moreneeds to be done to improve safety in the borough.

Cllr Featherstone comments:

“I am delighted that CCTV is nowfully operational in Muswell Hill. It is long overdue but better late thannever.

“It is also important that we have more uniformed presence and the Lib Demswill continue to push for that at both local and national level.”

A Lib Dem councillor has filed a petition at the European Parliamentobjecting to the archaic Royal Charter that prevents traders using AlexandraPalace farmers’ market on a Saturday.

Cllr Jonathan Bloch, who representsMuswell Hill, says he has gone to Europe due to the virtual impossibility ofhaving the legislation withdrawn or amended due to time constraints in theUK parliament.

The controversial Royal Charter, granted by James I in 1618, gave the rightfor local notables to hold a market for the poor every Saturday in Enfield.Lib Dems say that the clause that has created problems for local traders andhas remained in force for almost 400 years is the statement that no othermarket or sale may be held within a radius of 6.66 miles of the EnfieldMarket on a Saturday.

After an unsuccessful approach to the Government’s Cabinet Office earlier inthe year, and with no help from Haringey’s Labour-run Council to lobbyParliament, Cllr Bloch believes that European Parliament is the only optionavailable.

He, along with local traders, feels that the Royal Charter iscontrary to EU competition law and as a result is a barrier to theestablishment of small businesses in the borough.Cllr Bloch is calling onthe European Parliament to ask the British Government to draw up a list ofRoyal Charters that contain restrictive clauses, to determine whether theyserved any beneficial social purpose and to remove those that do not.

Cllr Jonathan Bloch comments: “Local traders and my Lib Dem colleagues havecontinued to press both Haringey Council and Government but to no avail. This isan important issue for local small businesses and Haringey’s economy.

“I hope that by taking this issue to the European Parliament we can securean end to this absurd piece of legislation.”

Commenting on Haringey Council’s one star rating by the Commission for SocialCare Inspection (CSCI, 18th November 2004), Haringey’s opposition Lib Demshave expressed concern that the CSCI views the Labour-run Council’s capacityto improve children’s services as ‘uncertain’, despite very high levels ofover-spending on its children’s services budget this year.

The one-star rating puts the London Borough of Haringey above only the eight boroughs in thecountry that remain on zero stars. However, with the national statisticsshowing more boroughs than ever having been awarded two or three stars,including neighbouring Lib Dem-run Islington, Haringey Lib Dem leader CllrWilliams says there is plenty of room for improvement. Despite theconsiderable overspend over the last couple of years to pull up children’sservices, Haringey Council still appears to be failing to meet expectations.

Cllr Williams comments:

“Council staff in social services should be commended for their hard work insecuring an improved rating. However it is still worrying that the Councilhas failed to significantly improve children’s services, despite such heavyinvestment in the last couple of years.

“And while Labour politicians in the borough are seeking credit for theseimprovements, not one of them feels they can be held responsible for theterrible and tragic mistakes of earlier years. It’s a point that will not belost on local residents.”

Liberal Democrat leader councillor Neil Williams has poured scorn on claimsby Labour that councillors were consulted properly over the controversialpayment of one million pounds to fund consultancy fees in a flawed bid toturn the Alexandra Palace into a casino.

Cllr Williams was reacting toclaims by Labour councillor Andy Krokou, who in response to a question atlast night’s Full Council meeting, said that the matter had come to Haringey Council and had been “approved unanimously”.

Cllr Williams says that claims that councillors were adequately consultedare a far cry from reality.In truth, councillors were presented with alarge pile of paper as they arrived at the last council meeting on 4thOctober, which included as a “late item” the report of the last meeting ofLabour’s Alexandra Palace Board (in fact, held thirteen days previously,giving plenty of time to have circulated the single sheet report).

This bundle included the statement that the Board would be requestingfunding for the appointment of advisors, although the massive amountrequired was not specified.

Far from “unanimous agreement”, there was novote because the reports of the Alexandra Palace Board do not need to beapproved. The astonishing request for one million pounds was only revealedthe following day, when it was presented, yet again as an urgent item, atthe meeting of Labour’s ruling executive.

Liberal Democrat councillors immediately tried to bring the matter beforethe Council’s scrutiny committee (a process that can be completed within amatter of days) but they were told by the Council’s legal services thatsince it had been presented as an urgent item, the Labour Council’sconstitution did not permit any challenge. Even more worryingly, it turnedout that the contract would be awarded without any need for a tenderprocess, and would include further contracts also to be awarded withouttender.

Councillor Neil Williams comments:

“Labour’s claims that councillors had a say over this massive andunacceptable bill are a fantasy.They know perfectly well that councillorshad neither the details of these payments, nor any notice of them to allowthem to be questioned in a full and proper manner.

“When such large sums of Council taxpayers money are involved, this wholeprocess is completely unacceptable. Labour have chosen to present these sumsfor approval by their Executive in a way which almost completely avoids anytransparent and democratic examination by the opposition or the public.

“With Labour’s absurd plans for super-casinos coming off the rails bothlocally and nationally, this is looking more and more like an enormous wasteof money.”

Lib Dem Parliamentary spokesperson, Cllr Lynne Featherstone, adds:

“Labour have wasted many millions at the Alexandra Palace over the years,and it looks as if they haven’t learnt a single lesson.It is even moreworrying that there is absolutely no accountability in Haringey overproposals to spend such large and unplanned sums of public money.”

Following the publication of Haringey Council’s recommendations for a controlledparking zone (CPZ) around Highgate Tube station, the area’s Liberal Democratcouncillors are seeking assurances that Haringey Council will consult fully atthe second, statutory stage of the consultation process to ensure that theviews of local residents are fully heard.

The result of the first stage of the consultation has indicated strongsupport for controls in Priory Gardens, but that residents in Shepherd’sHill and Shepherd’s Close did not wish to be included in a CPZ.

In addition, a smaller majority of residents were in favour of parking controls in anumber of streets on the other side of the Archway Road. The Council hasalso received a number of representations from adjacent streets, expressingconcerns that they should be included in the zone, should it get thego-ahead.

Liberal Democrat leader and Highgate councillor Neil Williams,says that these streets must be the subject of a full consultation beforeany decision to include them within the zone takes place.

Cllr Neil Williams comments:

“I recognise that the Council has had enough support to proceed to thesecond stage of consultation, and I welcome the fact that they have beenwilling to exclude two roads that clearly said ‘no’ to the proposals.

“I also recognise that many residents just outside the initial consultationarea have said they want their views to be heard.If they are to beincluded in any zone, they should also be the subject of a fullconsultation, and we will be pressing Haringey Council to ensure this is done ina thorough way.”

At yesterday’s full meeting of Haringey Council, Lib Dem councillors Lynne Featherstoneand David Winskill pressed a representative from London’s Olympic bid’s teamto ensure that Haringey benefited from better facilities should Londonsucceed in securing the 2012 Olympic games.

Councillor Featherstone, linking the issue to Lib Dem support for betterskateboarding facilities in the borough also debated at last night council,asked what mechanisms would be put in place to ensure that the Olympic bidresulted in funding for local schemes that would provide better facilitiesfor youngsters in Haringey.

Councillor David Winskill expressed concerns that the bulk of the benefitsof the Olympics would go to the lower Lee Valley and action needed to betaken to ensure that Haringey did not lose out if regeneration funding wasconcentrated in just this area.

Lynne Featherstone comments:

“While it’s great that London is bidding forthe Olympics, as much as possible must be done to ensure that Haringey getas many of the spin-off benefits as possible.At the moment, this does notseem to be happening.”

Councillor David Winskill adds:

“The borough desperately needs bettersporting facilities for young people, and I fear an opportunity may bemissed for Haringey unless the council’s regeneration team carefullyanalyses the downside to the Olympic bid and the robustly fights Haringey’scorner.”