The annual battle by residents of Stroud Green and Finsbury Park to get Stroud Green Road decorated for Christmas has been won this week with the timely intervention of Islington Council. Lamposts and trees will be decorated with lights, which will be switched on between the 30 November and 5 December.

Stroud Green is a major local social hub and a popular shopping street, but represents the border between Haringey and Islington with Haringey Council being responsible for the north side of the street, Islington for the south. This unusual situation has meant that residents often don’t know which way to turn.

After a failure of negotiations with Haringey Council, Lib Dem run Islington Council has lobbied the Regional Development Agency and put up its own cash to get Stroud Green Road decorated in time for Christmas.

Cllr Ed Butcher, Liberal Democrat for Stroud Green, comments:

“It’s disappointing that Haringey’s Labour Council really doesn’t seem to care about Stroud Green Road and aren’t prepared to contribute their fair share to bring a bit of Christmas cheer to our corner of Haringey. We are thrilled that as local councillors from Stroud Green we’ve been able to work with Islington Council to help deliver Christmas lights for local residents and businesses on Stroud Green Road in spite of our own Council’s indifference. It will no longer be the road that Santa forgot.”

Local Islington Cllr Terry Stacy adds:

“People have told us that they want their street decorated for Christmas, and unlike the distinctly unfestive Haringey council, we’ve listened.We’re getting lamposts and trees decorated, and hopefully we’ll have them on by the 5th of December.

“It’s disappointing that Haringey haven’t contributed a penny towards getting the road ready for the festive season, but I’m glad that we’ve been able to go forward without them.Here’s wishing happy holidays to everyone in Stroud Green and Finsbury Park.”

The Liberal Democrats in Haringey have welcomed a humiliating Labour climb down over their attempts to make politically motivated appointments to a key Ally Pally body – but have criticised the waste of time and money poured into these manoeuvres.

Last night, Haringey Council voted to appoint a further Lib Dem member to the Ally Pally Trading Company Board (APTL), despite calling a special meeting only last Thursday to appoint a Labour member.

Liberal Democrat Leader Cllr Neil Williams comments:

“I welcome this climb down. We have demanded fairness and through intense pressure, we have achieved it. However, what has this cost the taxpayer? The Trust was taking legal advice only last week on whether it could get away with stuffing the board with Labour members. It is the latest in a long line of waste at the Palace.”

The Lib Dem leader added that he was not satisfied with the answers over ongoing costs to taxpayers as a result of the current predicament at the Pally and he would continue to pursue the issue:

“I am not satisfied that the taxpayers’ interests are being protected here. All these extra costs fall on the Haringey taxpayer, and action needs to be taken. The figure is already a million pounds and rising.”

Haringey Council has thrown a £17,000 lifeline to the Lemuel Findlay supplementary school, after removing its £67,000 teaching-grant earlier this year.

Haringey Council said it had to remove the anomaly whereby the school had received more funding during its 32-year existence than other supplementary schools, and that funding would cease entirely from December 31st 2007.

Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Community Involvement Cllr John Oakes, who spearheaded a campaign to stop the cuts, comments:

“Naturally I am pleased that Haringey Council has decided to throw this school a lifeline. This recognises its importance, and underpins the school’s day-to-day existence so that management can devote time and energy to looking for alternative funding.”

Residents in Haringey are likely to be more vulnerable in parks throughout the borough after it has emerged that the Labour Council plans to scrap the Haringey Parks Police next year.

Haringey Council’s newly published budget plans propose to reduce the service to a warden scheme without the power of arrest to save £200,000. Liberal Democrats have launched a campaign to stop the Labour-controlled Haringey Council from disbanding the Parks Constabulary, which has for the last five years patrolled parks and open spaces and given a vital police presence at numerous events.

They have launched their own plan for the service, which includes proper radio and CCTV links with the police, more training, and greater cover.

Cllr Ron Aitken, Lib Dem Crime and Community Safety Spokesperson, comments:

“Labour say they are in favour of more Police Officers on the beat to catch criminals, yet they plan to disband the Parks Constabulary and replace it with a warden service that will not have the power of arrest or sufficient training to protect members of the public.

“A promised radio link to the Met Police has still not materialised even though the Parks Constabulary has spent £8,000 on radios.”

Lynne Featherstone, MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, adds:

“The Parks Police play a critical role in keeping local residents safe.Sadly all too often our parks are the battlegrounds for anti-social behaviour – and the park constabulary, with power of arrest, are the key in this battle.

“Who is going to be on hand to take direct action when someone is tearing through a park on a motorbike in the summer and to check that our parks aren’t being used for drug taking and prostitution in winter?

“We have been calling for greater integration of our local police and the park team, but Labour now seem to be working away from this. It is park users who will suffer and who are going to be unnecessarily put at greater risk.”

Haringey’s schools and pupils have been dealt yet another blow after news that school funding in the next financial year is set to increase less than neighbouring boroughs, increasing the inequality of school funding in London.

Figures released this week by the Government show that Haringey schools will receive £881.75 less per pupil than inner London boroughs in 2008/09, an increase of £47.90 on last year.

Lib Dems have been fighting hard to end the disparity between London boroughs, like Haringey, who still face the financial strains of their inner London counterparts but without the financial reward. Lynne Featherstone MP lobbied Gordon Brown at Prime Minister’s Question Time on 10th October 2007, forcing him to admit that the issue needed ‘looking in to’.

Lib Dems are increasingly concerned that the new school funding settlement fails to address the situation of fair funding and only serves to widen the gap further.

Cllr Gail Engert, Lib Dem Children, Schools and Families spokesperson, says:

“Haringey’s schools have the same financial commitments and educational needs as schools classed as inner London. I am dismayed that no action has been taken to provide equal funding, not just for Haringey’s pupils but for all outer London schools that are in the same situation. We will continue to fight for a fair deal.”

Lynne Featherstone, MP from Hornsey and Wood Green, comments:

“Gordon Brown acknowledged that there was a problem in the disparity of school funding but now Ed Balls, his right hand man, has only sought to make it worse. This situation is appalling. A Labour government should be taking action to reduce inequality in education funding but instead they have widened the gap further.”

Children and residents in Hornsey have taken part in two sessions of bulb planting to celebrate the opening of the renovated and newly named Hornsey Gardens. On Friday, Lib Dem Cllr Robert Gorrie joined children from St Mary’s and Campsbourne schools to plant several hundred bulbs provided by the Council. On Saturday, Cllr Monica Whyte and a number of local residents joined members of the Steering Group that have managed the renovation of the Gardens in planting several hundred more.

The planting was organised by Joyce Rosser who is sharing her expertise from leading the Friends of Priory Common with local Hornsey residents and stakeholders interested in setting up a “Friends of Hornsey Gardens and the Green”.

Cllr Robert Gorrie comments:

“We hope that Hornsey Gardens can be another step in building a greater sense of community and identity for Hornsey. The bulb planting was a great way to celebrate a new name for the Gardens and involve people in the space. Joyce organised us all wonderfully. On Friday when I was there the kids brought loads of energy and enthusiasm and discovery to the planting. And thanks to the Council for providing the bulbs.”

Cllr Monica Whyte adds:

“Giving local people the opportunity to make a difference to their environment is central to creating an effective community. This weekend was a good example of that in action.”

Liberal Democrats have welcomed the move by the Labour Council to finally take seriously the problem of potholes and road repairs in the London Borough of Haringey – but fear that actions may be too little too late. Last week Haringey Council announced that potholes and road repairs will now be prioritised after consultation with the public. Lib Dems have criticised the move as a publicity stunt which has covered the inaction of the Council nearly two years after a major Scrutiny Review identified that pothole repair and highway maintenance were well below par.

Cllr Martin Newton, Lib Dem Traffic and Highways Spokesperson comments:

“For years residents and Lib Dem councillors have been urging Haringey Council to get its act together and sort out our roads, which are some of the worst in London. We have one of the lowest levels of investment and consequently a backlog of repairs that reflect this neglect. For Labour to announce now that they have been listening to the people of Haringey either means they have been ignoring them for years or that this is a publicity stunt paid for by Council Tax payers.”

Two years ago Lib Dem Cllr David Winskill chaired an Overview and Scrutiny Committee Review into highways and footways maintenance that reported in March 2006 making 16 recommendations on how the service could be improved. The report was adopted by Haringey’s Labour Executive.

At a recent update given by Labour councillor Haley to the Committee on 22nd Oct 2007 it emerged that virtually none of the recommendations had been implemented or acted upon.

Cllr David Winskill, a member of the Haringey Council Overview and Scrutiny committee, adds:

“A lot of hard work went into the report – by residents, councillor and officers. We made a lot of common sense suggestions and it was acknowledged as a good report. It has been virtually shelved for all this time and the roads and pavements have been getting worse and more dangerous – not just for drivers but for pedestrians and cyclists. Action is certainly overdue, but this latest announcement by Labour will be greeted with some cynicism.”

Liberal Democrat councillors are delighted that all children in the London Borough of Haringey will now benefit from valuable partnerships between independent schools and community schools.

Opportunities, pioneered by Lib Dems, have now been developed in conjunction with Highgate School, including Oxbridge Tuition for secondary school pupils, Gifted and Talented sessions for aspiring Years 9-13 including Music, Sciences and Environmental subjects and Summer Schools aimed at Year 4 pupils from Haringey and Camden including Design and Technology, Science, Music and Maths.

As part of a scrutiny review into the ‘extended services’ provided by schools, Lib Dem councillors proposed that Haringey Council should seek links and partnerships with independent schools and the councillors discussed their ideas with the Masters and Bursars of both Channing and Highgate schools, who responded very positively to this pioneering proposal for the benefit of pupils from both the state and independent sector.

Cllr Martin Newton, who chaired the review, and Cllr Gail Engert, member of the review, and Lib Dem spokesperson for Children, Schools and Families, comment:

“The review was an opportunity to see if potential links and partnerships with Haringey schools were possible. We were delighted by the wonderfully positive response we received. It is fantastic that this pioneering idea has now been taken forward and that real benefits are being provided by Highgate School for the children of Haringey. It is vital that we keep looking for innovative ideas to ensure that all Haringey’s children receive a better education.”

Lib Dem councillors in Crouch End have vowed to keep up the pressure on Labour parking boss Brian Haley to ensure that solutions are brought forward for the parking chaos in the Crouch End area.

Residents of Crouch End met with Cllr Haley for a tour of streets affected by acute parking displacement. During the two-hour tour he met with four groups of residents.Lib Dem Cllr Lyn Weber instigated the tour to firmly ram home the seriousness of the parking problems.

Cllr Haley heard from residents about the severe problems in the Claremont Road and Stanhope Gardens, as well as several other areas in Crouch End with severe parking problems. He witnessed vehicles reversing down roads; the difficulties posed by no parking spaces, and heard distressing stories of a young child in pain who had to be carried to a far-off car to get to the Whittington Hospital; a dog being hit; road rage, small business being affected by lack of access to houses, and much, much more.

Several times the Safer Neighbourhood police team, whom Cllr Weber had invited to give advice to residents about how to handle increasingly angry incidents, were also put to good use directing traffic.A ballet of vans was reversing, but Cllr Weber says that when the police are not about there have been incidents of no one wanting to give way and a lot of shouting, vehicles being damaged and frustration boiling over.

Cllr Lyn Weber comments:

“Cllr Haley was very late, and I can’t begin to describe the frustrations we went through. However he has now seen and heard for himself, that a large swathe of Crouch End is having serious difficulties and he needs to be kept to a plan of urgent action.”

Traffic calming measures in seven roads in Stroud Green are unnecessary and are likely to cause unwanted noise and vibration at the cost to the taxpayer say the area’s Liberal Democrat councillors.

They are concerned that speed humps earmarked for Albert, Lorne, Marquis, Osbourne, Beatrice, Dagmar and Cornwall Roads, part of proposals to reduce speed in Victoria and Florence Road, are not suitable. Lib Dems are asking local residents for their views on the issue.

Cllr Richard Wilson (Stroud Green) comments:

“Speeding and rat-running is a problem in Victoria Road and Florence Road, and a 20mph zone and speed humps will help. But installing speed humps in the shorter roads is not the answer. It is likely to pose more problems than solutions.

“It would be a total waste of time and money to install these speed humps in roads that do not suffer from the same problems as the larger roads. All it would do is create noise and vibrations that residents would not want.

“Once again the Labour Council seems unable to understand the consequences of their actions. It is another example of Haringey Council dictating to residents rather than asking those that live in the area what would be best for them. I have asked residents to contact me to see whether they believe that these are needed.”