Muswell Hill is a fantastically vibrant area with lots of shops – that’s why everyone wants to come here. But where you get residents and shops and staff and tradesmen, shoppers and everyone else wanting to park, the limited available space (despite two car parks) means some sorting out inevitably becomes necessary. So, on the back of requests for some parking to be made available on the limb of the Broadway that goes off to Colney Hatch Lane – as the shops here suffer from virtually no on-street parking – and to free up what on street parking there is on the main shopping streets – Haringey Council has decided to introduce pay and display in the main streets for short stay parking.

Not unnaturally – there are a number of aspects that will concern local people. There may be increased pressure on the surrounding residential roads as people try to find a free parking place. Removing the free parking on Fortis Green Road – where there are lots of flats – may well result in residents looking for parking on the surrounding residential roads. It may also mean that we lose more front gardens if pressure mounts to the point of people concreting over their front gardens. However, shops should benefit from shoppers being able to find short stay parking and the displacement may not be huge.

Given the high blood pressure that is caused by any proposal to introduce parking restriction or charging, it is vital that local Haringey Council considers all aspects including operating times, charging structure and position of bays to make sure that any scheme that goes ahead is seen as fair, easy to use, and with clear signage that avoids motorists getting parking tickets through misunderstanding the parking times or where they can stop. And above all, Haringey Council must really listen to the views of residents and local shops.

This is where you come in. Copies of the consultation document, including a map of the plans, should be available in Muswell Hill Library during the consultation period, as well as being available from Haringey Council’s website www.haringey.gov.uk.

It is really important to let Haringey Council know your views – so please write to the Council with any comments, support or objections, on the proposed ‘Stop and Shop’ scheme. Please write to Haringey Council, Traffic and Road Safety Group, River Park House, 1st Floor South, 225 High Road, Wood Green N22 8HQ or by email to Streetscene.consultation@haringey.gov.uk. Please also let me know your views.