Chaired a meeting of a new group keen to raise the issue of what barriers exist to black and ethnic minorities in the police.

The idea is to hold an event for young people where we can really examine the truth of what it is like in the police force if you are not white. It isn’t only about attracting ethnic minorities into the police – but also tackling the reasons why so many leave – many more than white officers.

This meeting was really still at the early stages of discussing how best to go about it, what were the aims and objective, how could its success be managed and so on.

Off to big local public meeting organised by a group of residents fed up with Haringey Council (so quite a big group) who are campaigning to stop Haringey flogging off Hornsey Town Hall.

I don’t think either Haringey Council or Crouch End for People will get far if they remain at loggerheads. Crouch End for People have come up with some fab proposals for an arts and performing arts centre and some commercial development – and funnily enough the council’s proposals are not that dissimilar, but residents in the area don’t believe or trust them not whack in a huge residential development on the back area.

I am there to raise the issue of transport planning in terms of access to the site and to have some consideration as to what it would do to Crouch End town centre if a 1,000 cars per night were attracted. Planning and increase in capacity for public transport are the name of the game there.

It was a huge turn out – thus illustrating when there is a key issue the people will come.

I will remain involved on transport issues as well as campaigning to help something good for local people to be delivered – as opposed to Haringey’s normal stuff-ups.

Speaking at Highgate Library AGM on libraries. And what bliss it was to speak on something other than transport. As much as I love transport (and I do to nerd-like levels) a change is as good as a rest.

The previous day, Libri, a charity that supports library development, had published a report warning that if the current decline continued there would basically not be any libraries after 2020. With this depressing news to bring up, it was interesting in that during the AGM business before I spoke, they were discussing how the book club was dwindling away and whether a change of timing would help.

Now in thinking about what I was going to say – apart from the statistics and the general stuff on the importance of libraries – I had already fastened on libraries seeming inability to market themselves.

Now, since we all (especially Highgate Library Action Group) saved Highgate Library from closure and have seen it, with investment, be renovated and modernised, we all want it to survive.

Around 60% of the population have a library card – and libraries need to reach out to more of those people to encourage them to use libraries more frequently. And also attract the other 40% in for whatever reason to a community facility. There are lots of tricks to doing this – and I hope that my talk will have given them ideas about a marketing group, about the use of email to members, about members’ skills databases, about using the local cinema to promote them to young people and other ideas.

There was a great deal of enthusiasm and love of libraries – but the age of the audience probably averaged over 60. So my challenge was that by next year’s AGM there should be 10 people under 40 in the audience. It’s not only the Government that can set targets!

Their challenge to me in turn was to get benches agreed on the London Underground land outside the library. So I will try and deliver too.

The last Mayor’s Question Time of this term of office.

Half of Kensington and Chelsea had turned up to witness the presentation of a 30,000 petition to Ken not to proceed with his proposed extension to the congestion charge westwards. The Lib Dems have also come out against the proposed extension. In brief the Mayor has just got it wrong and not thought it through.

I pointed out to the Mayor during the session that:

a] one year’s figures are not enough to soundly make decisions because the economic, business and social impacts are still not clear

b] as the proposed extension is not a second zone but an enlargement of the first zone it runs the risk of destabilising the first zone by giving the residents of K & C free entry to the first zone

c] the boundary is wrongly sited

d] the demography is wrong: two thirds of the area is residential

e] the cost is £100million to set up (money the Mayor doesn’t have) and there would be no revenue from the scheme

Haringey Full Council meeting. Trouble at mill (for Labour). To summarise my earlier blog entries: a building in Queen’s, Avenue Muswell Hill fell down – the developer excavated far deeper than allowed by planning permission, undermined the facade – and it all fell down. Why didn’t the council see this coming – they are meant to ensure that planning permissions are kept to.

A deputation of local residents were coming to put their case for an independent inquiry – something I called for as soon as I saw the devastation that was once a fine example of Edwardian building. Then we LibDems put down a motion calling for an inquiry which was debated. Needless to say, Labour amended our motion and refused an inquiry.

The real problem is, apart from laying blame and costs on this debacle, what will stop it happening again?