Figures uncovered by the Liberal Democrats have shown the appalling number of families in temporary accommodation in Haringey. In figures released to Cllr Catherine Harris, Haringey Council confirmed that 5,688 people are currently living in temporary accommodation – only down 300 from last year. Lib Dems believe that this shows Labour’s dismal failure to tackle the burgeoning issue of those living in difficult and uncertain circumstances and a worrying prospect for those still in temporary accommodation and on the 13,000 housing list.

Cllr Catherine Harris, Liberal Democrat Housing Spokesperson, comments:

“I raised this issue publicly last August when I unearthed the deplorable numbers living in temporary accommodation.Last year this was 6,000 families, and very little improvement has been made. I am very concerned about Labour’s lack of visible effort in this area. Haringey also has one of the highest number in London of children living in temporary accommodation and this can cause difficulties with schooling and health for families as a result.

“People living in Haringey deserve a better service and the Labour Council needs to explain now why other boroughs can solve this problem and they can’t. People living in temporary accommodation are often also trapped on benefits because the charges are so high if they work. The whole thing is a mess for ordinary people trying to get on with their lives – sort it out Haringey.”

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

“In my regular surgeries I come across so many heart breaking cases where families have put their lives on hold waiting for a decent home.These depressing figures show just how many families are having to wait and Haringey Council’s scandalously poor performance in doing anything to make the situation better.”

Note:Shelter figures show that Haringey has a total of 8,700 children living in temporary accommodation

There seems to be no end in sight to the parking misery for people in Crouch End, say local Lib Dems.Residents have been inundated with cars displaced by parking restrictions in nearby roads after the implementation of Controlled Parking Zones (CPZs) in Highgate, Stroud Green and in Hillrise (Islington) coupled with the temporary closure of the Highgate station car park.

Local Lib Dem councillors have criticised Haringey Council for having no plan to help alleviate parking pressure in these areas until 2008/09. Lib Dems are demanding immediate action and the Council has conceded a meeting with residents’ representatives to discuss a way forward.

Cllr Lyn Weber (Crouch End) comments:

“I am disappointed that Haringey Council is again failing residents by not responding swiftly. Action is needed now rather than later. The agreement to a meeting is is a small step in the right direction but I will keep up the pressure.

“What is worrying is that Haringey Council does not have any plan to alleviate residents’ misery. Residents will have to put up with this until the next financial year. It is totally unacceptable that the Council implemented all of these CPZs in one go and did not seem to think of the residents in neighbouring streets. It’s another example of Labour’s careless attitude.”

Local resident, Rachel Allison, adds:

“Parking is a nightmare. Some people in Claremont Road cannot park in their own road let alone their outside their own house. The introduction of a CPZ into the bottom half of Northwood Road, a road that is not residential, beggars belief and is an example of the Council’s disregard for residents.”

Haringey’s Liberal Democrats have criticised Haringey Council for only providing a one-off free bulky waste collection to residents.

Residents with a front garden area will get one opportunity to dispose of up to fifteen bulky waste items for free in one go.

However, the Liberal Democrats have said this one-off opportunity – which is denied to residents without a front garden – is only a token gesture.

Cllr Bob Hare, Lib Dem Sustainability Spokesperson, comments:

“If the Labour Council were truly committed to reducing fly tipping and increasing street cleanliness then an all encompassing free bulky service would be more widely available than this token effort. People need this service when things become worn out, not just when Haringey Council decides to provide. The end result of the failure to provide a comprehensive service is dumping on streets. Neighbouring boroughs manage efficiently an on-demand and free wider scheme for all accommodation types so why cannot Haringey?”

Cllr Lyn Weber, Deputy Sustainability Spokesperson, adds:

“All Haringey Council Tax payers should have access to the same waste management and recycling services. Bulky waste collections become an unfair tax on those residents without a front garden who will have to pay for bulky items to be removed. The barrier to those living in flats and without front gardens which allows access to this facility is pitiful and inevitably unfairly charges poorer people more.”

To ease public safety fears, fading road markings on a road running from Crouch End to Highgate will be now part of Haringey Council’s remarking scheme thanks to local Haringey Liberal Democrat pressure.

Hornsey Lane is a busy main road which has various road markings to indicate speed humps, to distinguish lanes, lane dividers, and 20mph speed limits.

Local councillors noticed that these markings were well past their best, many of them worn away or hardly visible, and have requested that for public safety reasons these are remarked. The Council will now include these in their work scheme starting 20th August 2007.

Cllr Lyn Weber (Crouch End), who initially raised the issue, comments:

“This particular road is very busy and it is essential that the painted 20mph warning and the indicators for speed humps, road divisions etc remain visible. Safety is paramount for all users of roads and the pedestrians trying to cross the road. The Council have agreed to commence the reinstatement of the marking at the end of August. I must admit that with it being holiday time I did not expect such a speedy response.It is most welcome.”

Cllr Neil Williams (Highgate) adds:

“Public safety must be of paramount importance. The remarking of white lines ensures that road users and pedestrians alike are safe. Haringey Council must ensure that they have a proactive approach to ensure that the visibility road markings are monitored.”

Haringey Lib Dems have today called for a Labour councillor to resign from a vital body set up to secure much-needed regeneration in the Finsbury Park area – because of her failure to attend a single board meeting in over 18 months. Local Lib Dems, who have offered to serve on the body, say that local residents are being short-changed from not having local councillors actively involved – and Haringey Labour are showing contempt for the wishes of local residents.

FinFuture is a publicly funded regeneration project for the area around Finsbury Park station, with a £1.5m budget. The revelation that Labour councillor Gina Adamou has failed to attend even one single meeting of the FinFuture Board comes only weeks after Labour’s refusal to appoint a Lib Dem local councillor to the body (local Stroud Green councillor Ed Butcher), even though local residents in the area have elected five out of six Liberal Democrat councillors.

Commenting, Councillor Richard Wilson (Stroud Green ward) says:

“Clearly, Labour just doesn’t care about the Finsbury Park area. People from all across Haringey use Finsbury Park station and everyone knows how much the area needs a facelift. It is so disappointing to realise how low a priority Finsbury Park regeneration is for our local Labour councillors. FinFuture is a fantastic opportunity to bring together people from all the nearby boroughs to improve the area, and councillors have a vital role to play in making this happen.”

Councillor Ed Butcher (Stroud Green) adds:

“It makes me angry that Labour has put petty party politics before the interests of local residents. They are desperate to cling on to power, but they seem to have forgotten what the power is for. Whatever the excuse, local Labour councillors who have never even turned up for a meeting should not be pretending to carry out this important role on behalf of local residents.”

Liberal Democrat councillors in Wood Green have expressed their dismay at the sudden closure of Waterstone’s bookstore and coffee shop in Wood Green High Road.

Catherine Harris, local Lib Dem ward councillor (Noel Park), says that the store is a well used and well loved feature, where there has been a book store on site for years. She has been receiving emails from people saddened at the loss to the area.

Cllr Harris has also written to Haringey Council asking them to ensure their own policies attract quality businesses to the area, making sure there is a diversity of shops and businesses taking up the retail space in Wood Green. She points out that there is already an online petition calling for a halt to the closure, and that the bookshop provides an outlet for educational material, and mums with prams who use it as a meeting place for coffee.

Cllr Catherine Harris Comments:

“This is a very big blow for the High Road and it is terrible to see this kind of essential and much loved business closing.

“It is time for the Council to wake up, as they do not seem to have a proper business strategy in place for this major retail centre.

“Local parents will now have to travel further afield to purchase books for their kids and people are letting me know from across London how saddened they are by this loss to the area.”

A ‘Two Hour Notice’ was served last week on Telewest for its abandoned junction box on Fairfield Gardens following complaints from residents and action championed by local Liberal Democrat councillor Lyn Weber.

The order requires immediate action from Telewest to fix the missing door or repair will be carried out by Haringey Council and billed to the company.

Councillor Lyn Weber comments:

“This is their kit but it is on our streets. Residents take a great deal of pride in their environment and so should the utility companies.”

Councillor Winskill (Crouch End) added:

“Keeping on top of this sort of problem avoids neglected street syndrome; broken boxes attract litter which can attract other forms of anti-social behaviour.”

Lynne Featherstone MP has made an urgent direct appeal to Sir Ian Blair, Commissioner for the London Metropolitan Police, calling for a review of its policy to bar Haringey Park Constabulary from its radio network.

Following the recent national upgrade of the police radio network, officers from the local park constabulary have found themselves unable to call for back up or co-ordinate spontaneous operations with the Met Police becausethey do not have access to the police radio network.

It is understood that Haringey Parks Constabulary invested months ago in the new equipment, but it has laid unused because of the Met’s intransigence on the issue.

Commenting Lynne Featherstone says:

“There is no rhyme or reason to this situation. We have officers in our parks protecting the public who have been trying for months on end to get connected to the Met radio system, which will make them and the public safer.

“Obviously you wouldn’t want any Tom, Dick or Harry accessing a police radio network, but we’re talking about trained and warranted police officers employed to keep our parks safe.

“The old radio system they are using is so antiquated and not properly monitored that a Park Officer in trouble would be just as well to dial 999 in emergency, which is plain ridiculous.”

Highgate councillor Neil Williams has slammed Haringey council for dragging its feet over a dangerous wall in Summersby Road, Highgate. The Liberal Democrat Leader has demanded immediate action to make repairs to the wall – which Homes for Haringey has admitted is dangerous and “could come down at any time”.

Cllr Williams wants the work to start urgently, as children from Summersby Road regularly play next to the dangerous wall, behind which is always piled large amounts of building materials in the builder’s yard next door.

Local residents have been expressing their fears about the wall’s safety to Haringey Council and Homes for Haringey since January. Haringey Council now says that it has tried to make repairs, but was unable to do so because this needs the cooperation of the next door builder’s yard. Cllr Williams says there have been months to sort the problem out – yet the Council hasn’t even bothered to install signs saying the wall is in need of repair and could be dangerous.

Local residents, including the Chair of the Summersby Road residents’ association, Sarah Mitchell, have been pressing Haringey Council to make repairs.

“The situation is very worrying,” says Sarah Mitchell.”Haringey Council and Homes for Haringey have been passing the issue back and forth. The wall is very dangerous, and is visibly failing.If action is not taken, someone could be injured or killed.”

Local Lib Dem councillor Neil Williams adds:

“Haringey Council, along with Homes for Haringey, has dragged its feet endlessly over this situation. Not for the first time, action was promised at a meeting of the residents’ association I attended in June, but nothing has yet been done. It is extremely worrying that on a matter of basic safety, effective action is not taken. It is an appalling example of buck passing where public safety is at stake.”

Councillor Wayne Hoban, Liberal Democrat member for Alexandra ward, has slammed Haringey Council over its failure to repair a large hole that has appeared in the middle of a busy road in Alexandra ward.

Cllr Hoban contacted the council on 25th July having observed that a large hole in the middle of Albert Road, opposite Albert Road Recreation Ground in Alexandra ward, had gone unrepaired for almost a week. However, Haringey Council has failed to acknowledge or respond to his request for urgent action.

Cllr Hoban comments:

“Albert Road is a major transport route through Alexandra ward and is heavily used by buses and heavy goods vehicles, not to mention local residents. The hole in the road is causing a major obstruction, particularly when the very popular adjacent recreation ground, which recently won a Green Flag Award, is being heavily used by local residents.”

He further states: “I am very unhappy with the fact that not only has Haringey Council failed to respond to my request, but also the fact that it has allowed a large hole on a major transport route to go unrepaired for so long. This is completely unacceptable and I have contacted Haringey Council to demand that immediate action is taken to repair it, or a serious accident could occur.”