Monthly Archives: Jun 2007

Parkland Walk consultation meeting: 21st July

Posted on by

There’s an important consultation meeting coming up about the future of Parkland Walk – do make it if you can!

Here are the details I’ve been sent:

Dear All,

I am writing to invite you to a public consultation event that is being organised for the Parkland Walk (Highgate to Finsbury Park section) on Saturday 21st July. The aim of the event is to give members of the public an opportunity to participate in deciding and fine tuning the specific proposals to be implemented along the Walk.

Mayer Brown Ltd. is organizing the event on behalf of the London Borough of Haringey, as part of the overall project for Parkland Walk. Having received extensive public feedback during the consultations for the preliminary design stage, the Consultants are now amending and refining the design proposals for the Walk.

The amended and more detailed proposals will be displayed at the public consultation event, which is scheduled for SATURDAY 21ST JULY, between 10am and 5pm, at:

THE MEETING HALL, ALL SAINTS CHURCH, TALBOT ROAD, HIGHGATE, N6

The proposals for Parkland Walk will be displayed on large scale drawings laid out on trestle tables. The public are invited to drop in at any time to inspect the proposals, and indicate their preferences in various ways (e.g. by means of stickers, flags, post-it notes, comments form, etc).

The display will include photographs, illustrations of specific features, and various options that people can look at and choose between. Mayer Brown staff will be on hand to answer questions and record people’s comments.

It is hoped that this event will help to ensure that the proposals adopted are the best possible for the Walk and reflect the wishes of the majority. I hope you will be able to attend the event, which is open to everyone, and please do inform anyone else who might be interested about the event.

If you need any further information, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Yours sincerely,

Robert Gallagher
Principal Transport Planner
Mayer Brown Ltd.

Fortnightly rubbish collections – Liberal Democrats campaign launch

Posted on by

Haringey Liberal Democrats’ campaign against a future move by Haringey Council towards fortnightly rubbish collections received a warm reception from carnival goers at its launch at the Tottenham Carnival on 23 rd June 2007.

The Lib Dems have expressed their concerns that collecting rubbish only fortnightly would be inappropriate for an urban area like Haringey and would be likely to cause an increase in smell and vermin as well as escalating problems of rubbish volumes for residents living in flats.

They are arguing that there are much better ways of increasing recycling rates, such as by providing more flexible access for residents to recycling facilities, increasing the types of items that can be recycled, and encouraging much more business recycling.

At 27th March 2007 meeting of the Council’s ‘watchdog’ committee Cllr Brian Haley, Labour member for Environment and Conservation was less than forthcoming when he said that scrapping weekly collections was “not on the horizon for the near future” but “there was nothing ruled in and there is nothing ruled out”. Lib Dems have issued a challenge to the Labour Council to make their policy on fortnightly collections clear to residents.

Cllr Bob Hare, Lib Dem spokesperson on sustainability comments:

“Our campaign highlights the complete incompatibility of fortnightly rubbish collections with an urban area like Haringey. Our borough is too densely populated to scrap weekly collections without increasing the amounts of smell and vermin. Whereas rural areas may be able to cope with collections every other week, imagine a high-rise flat coping with the amounts of waste all residents must produce in two weeks.

“To increase recycling rates what is needed is a clearly thought out doorstep recycling scheme that maximises the amount that can be recycled. What we have seen from Labour is a co-mingled service that does not deliver the quantity or quality recycling that is needed.”

Cllr Richard Wilson, Lib Dem Deputy Leader said:

“We all remember the piles of rubbish and the stench caused by last summer’s bin strikes in Haringey.Fortnightly bin collections would cause these problems all year round.

“Labour need to make their position clear. They should listen to residents and the Lib Dems and say they won’t scrap weekly refuse collections.”

MP urges action on local commuter overcrowding

Posted on by

Local MP, Lynne Featherstone, has this week strongly back green group Transport 2000’s campaign urging the Government to tackle rail overcrowding in Hornsey & Wood Green and expand passenger services in its forthcoming 30 year strategy paper.

To mark her support Ms. Featherstone joined forces with ‘The Railway Children’ star and Transport 2000’s patron, Jenny Agutter, and the ‘Sardine Man’ to highlight the common rail experience of her constituents.

Commenting, Lynne Featherstone says:

“Anyone who regularly has to wrestle their way on to a train at Alexandra Palace at nine o’clock in the morning will not need convincing that the Government should take urgent action to address the chronic overcrowding on Hornsey & Wood Green’s rail commuter services.

“At this time of year commuters also have to contend with soaring temperatures, making the situation particular unbearable at peak times.

“If the Government is serious about climate change then it must make environmental friendly travel options, such as rail, the natural first choice for every commuter – not the sweaty, overcrowded and often unpleasant option it is now.”

Liberal Democrat councillor condemns lack of Haringey Council action

Posted on by

Lib Dem councillor David Winskill has criticised Haringey Council for their continued failure to repair unsafe footpaths that pose a potential risk to residents’ safety. Cllr Winskill has repeatedly tried to help residents in Crouch End by reporting hazardous paving stones to Haringey Council but his efforts have been ignored.

On 7th June he reported two missing paving slabs and an uneven walking surface by the fountain at Hornsey Central Library in Haringey Park – these have yet to be repaired.

Cllr David Winskill (Crouch End) comments:

“Uneven and damaged footpaths can be a real danger to residents – especially the elderly. Haringey Council needs to ensure that it has a proactive approach. Two weeks after these hazards were reported the slabs are still missing.

“There are lots of other examples of problems of rats, pot holes, defective signage, dumped rubbish that have had to be pursued time and time again to get anything done.

“Haringey Council just can’t seem to get a culture of get it right and get it right first time.”

The best dog in Hillfield Park

Posted on by

Street Party season is in full swing – and I go to as many of those that I am invited to as I possibly can. Today first off was the Woodland Fun Day organised by the Friends of Queens Wood. Yes – of course it was a shame about the weather – but they had a really good turn out anyway because the activities for children were a big draw. And children need entertaining whatever the weather – and it is fantastic for parents to have such organised fun – story-telling and face-painting and a giant chess board, a band and much more.

Congratulations to the Committee for organising such a lovely day for local families. Huge amounts of work go into these events – and there is no better way for children to come into one of the most beautiful natural environments in our area.

Second Lynne Featherstone MP with Grace Parker and Vegas - winner of the Hillfield Park dog agility Olympicsoff was the Hillfield Park ‘Olympic Games’ street party. Peter Thompson (my local hero for the work he does in the community) and his team organise a really fantastic bash every year. During the afternoon there are organised competitions for everyone – from Grow your Own (a plant growing competition where we all got to vote); dog agility course (my personal favourite – see me pictured with the winner ‘Vegas’) and three-legged races, and much more – including in the evening the banquet and the bands. Well done Hillfield.

In fact, it is these events that I have put in my chapter in a book on social liberalism to be published this autumn. Without going into detail – I am suggesting that communities provide structures that we need to nurture. Did you know that crime falls in proportion to the number of people who know each other within a fifteen-minute walk from their house? I rest my case!

Failing to educate children

Posted on by

Save the Children published a report this week about our failure to get education to all children around the world. As their news release said:

Save the Children’s animated report reveals that at least 30 million children, most living in conflict affected countries, are still likely to be out of school by 2015, the target year for the Millennium Development Goals.
The Story of the Future, the first ever animated report of its kind published today, shows that the current trend of providing education for just over 4 million extra children per year is not enough to reach the 2015 education target the world set itself in 2000.

The animated report itself is at www.savethechildren.net

Fortismere School update

Posted on by

So – Fortismere – our local educational star in the Haringey firmament – has decided to move out of our close-knit school community and change to foundation status. That will now go out to statutory consultation for a very, very short four weeks – so if you want to have your say have it quickly. My understanding of the ‘informal’ consultation results were that there were 70% against this move albeit from a rather small response rate of 6%. I stand to be corrected on those figures as they are from reportage and memory.

The community is upset and divided on this issue. My personal position – as I am asked continually – is that the school should simply stay a good local community school. My role, however, is to try and make sure that the parents and community have a fair say in the future of this excellent school.

This proposal and decision has set parent against parent and has been extremely distressing for many of those involved. Parents of statemented children have come to me worried that the school will reduce their number. Parents in favour of the proposals have contacted me to say that they have been intimidated by those against the proposals – to the point of feeling unable to even voice their views in public.

I receive so many different stories about promises unmet on mode and extent of consultation, on one group thinking x and another wanting y. That is why I very early on wrote to the Head and Governors to hold an all-parent ballot. This was refused. But how else can we really know what parents want as a body? And the teachers? And the pupils? And the local community? We are all inter-linked.

The LEA are not blameless in all of this either. Nor the Government. One of the factors that prompted the school to take this path – or at least seems to have confirmed it in the direction it is bent on taking – is the Labour Government and the Labour LEA between them refusing to grant enough capital funding to deal with a degrading sixth form building and Portacabins that have been there for decades.

I went with the Head and school governors to Ministers before all this started because the Building Schools for the Future fund provided by the Government for new buildings and apportioned to Haringey schools by Haringey Labour LEA had put Fortismere at the very bottom – with clearly no potential to solve their building problems for the next ten years. The Government wouldn’t consider giving any more money – saying it was up to the LEA to distribute that fund. The LEA said they couldn’t distribute it any other way as the Government controlled the funding allocation by criteria which were weighted less to do with the need for new building and much more to do with deprivation factors. Inevitably the poorer areas received more funding – even if buildings in less deprived areas were more in need of work. That means that a high-achieving school like Fortismere with a relatively comfortable catchment wasn’t even in the game despite having crumbling building fabric.

So – I feel that the combination of LEA and Government has given the school the ideal excuse to go to parents and explain that if they didn’t take this path etc etc they would not be able to have the desperately needed new buildings. Only control over their own assets – which comes with this change – would supply the funding they need. Of course – a whole raft of other concerns are involved from possible selection to reducing the numbers of statemented children. Denials of this from the school. Counter denials from the campaigners who want to keep the school comprehensive.

I don’t know if the moves to call for a judicial review on the grounds of flawed consultation will come to anything – there may well be some mechanism and maybe some mileage. I still believe that there should be a ballot – not just to canvas true opinion but also so that once the decision is finally made it could have been fair and seen to be fair and therefore all parties could move forward together and put this miserable experience where no one trusts anyone behind them.

I offered to broker a meeting between Fortismere and the LEA but the LEA could not find a suitable time or date for such a meeting. A great shame – but seemingly the process rolls on, and now – in the last phase – there is just this statutory consultation and that will finish mid July.

Why should you have to ask the police eight times to help?

Posted on by

Last stop of the day is the Kurdish Community Centre in Portland Gardens N4. It is the start of the three-day festival celebrating women. Tonight I am on a panel of four women – two of the others of whom are famous Kurdish human rights campaigners and we are speaking on: ‘Kurdish Women – Fighting for Freedom Against Violence’.

The struggle of Kurdish women is astonishing – the violence against them (and of course other women too – sadly it’s universal) is too terrible.

But so is the reaction of our police – sadly. You may have read recently of Banaz Mahmod – the so-called Honour Killing. Domestic violence is what that was – men dominating women’s lives as if we are still their chattels. Makes me sick. But Banaz went to the police six times – and they took virtually no notice.

A woman in the audience this evening raised her hand to say that it happened to her too. She went to the police eight times – and they did not help her. I said to the women there – that if they find themselves in that position and the police do nothing after even the first time they go for help – then they must go to their Member of Parliament. For if I have a Kurdish (or any) women come to me who says she is in danger and the police are doing nothing I will raise it in Parliament and in the media and anywhere to get attention. The police have come a long way on rape and domestic violence – but clearly not nearly far enough.