Liberal Democrat councillors in Alexandra ward have expressed concern after they failed to receive an explanation from Haringey Council as to why the raised flowerbed sited at the junction of Palace Gates Road and Crescent Road, Wood Green has not been planted for the last few years.

The Council’s Executive Member for Environment, in response to a written question from Lib Dem councillor Wayne Hoban, confirmed that although the site had been considered for inclusion in the borough’s site sponsorship scheme, Marketing Force, who have been contracted to seek sponsorship for such sites, had indicated from the outset in 2002 that they did not believe that there would be any commercial interest in the site.Since then, the flowerbed has been left unplanted and unattractive, collecting empty bottles and rubbish.

At a Triangle residents meeting held last week, a council officer informed Cllr Hoban that a decision had been taken to plant the flower bed, to coincide with the first phase of the Triangle Improvement scheme, funded through the Muswell Hill Assembly budget, which is due to start at the end of the year.

Although Cllr Hoban is pleased that action will now be taken to improve the flowerbeds, he is angry that Haringey Council seems to be doing little to assist in the improvement of this area despite the hard work of local residents and local Lib Dem councillors.

Cllr Hoban (Alexandra ward) comments:

“Despite persistent lobbying by myself, local residents and businesses since 2002, the council have allowed the site to be left unplanted and uncared for, which is clearly unacceptable.

“Although I am pleased that action will now be taken to address the problem, it is yet another example of a Labour council out of touch with the needs and aspirations of its residents.”

Lib Dem councillor for Alexandra ward, Wayne Hoban, has expressed astonishment that a new climbing frame installed in the recently upgraded Children’s Playground in Alexandra Park has been taken out of service pending repair.

The new high tech climbing frame was cordoned off just weeks after the Heritage Lottery funded upgrade had been completed in early summer and has remained closed for several weeks.

Responding to an enquiry from Cllr Hoban as to why the climbing frame had not been reopened, the Palace Manager confirmed that part of the frame’s mechanism had been stolen soon after it was installed and that it was proving difficult to replace the part.

Cllr Hoban is amazed that the Palace management has been unable to source the part needed to make the climbing frame safe and has asked them to address the problem immediately.

Cllr Hoban comments:

“It seems incredible that after waiting so long for the playground to be upgraded to a decent standard, local residents and children should be denied use of the climbing frame so soon after the playground was reopened.

“It would seem that something has gone wrong at the planning stage if it is discovered that the equipment can be disabled so easily and parts are so difficult to procure.This is yet another example of poor planning and execution of ‘improvements’ in the park. Local residents and children deserve better.”

Liberal Democrat councillors in Haringey have welcomed the clean-up of graffiti and dumped rubbish along Coppetts Road, Tetherdown and the junction with Creighton Avenue after Cllr Martin Newton photographed some of the eyesores spotted by children at Coldfall Primary School, and sent them to Haringey Council.

This followed a School Council meeting on 4th November attended by Lib Dem councillors Gail Engert and Martin Newton, where children were asked about any concerns they had about the area. Issues raised ranged from abandoned vehicles to smells from drains, as well as the graffiti and dumping. All these issues have been taken up with Haringey Council.

Coppetts Road is on the border with Barnet Council, who have also co-operated by removing graffiti from a wall leading to the recreation ground.

Cllr Newton (Fortis Green) comments:

“Young children care about their environment and can feel unsafe and intimidated if there is graffiti and dumping. Following this successful clean-up, we will continue to monitor the area and take note of issues raised by residents of all ages.”

Cllr Engert (Muswell Hill) adds:

“This confirms my belief that we should be listening to young people. They are our future and can often view their locality with an insight and freshness that adults often do not have the time for.”

Liberal Democrat councillors from Muswell Hill and Crouch End are urgently seeking details of the correspondence between Thames Water and Haringey Council with regard to the sitting of a new skate park in Priory Park, N8.

The call comes after it was revealed that Haringey Council was told as long ago as February that the site was unsuitable due to large open drainage chambers situated beneath the concrete area outlined for the construction.

This news has alarmed Lib Dems who earlier this month received a response to a question regarding consultation between Thames Water and the Council that stated:

“Farrer Huxley Associates (Landscape Architects) undertook preliminary consultation with Thames Water between February and March 2005; however no conclusive feedback was received from Thames Water.”

They now are demanding all correspondence between Thames Water and the Council to establish what comments Thames Water have really made about the sitting of the skate park.

Councillors Gail Engert (Muswell Hill) and David Winskill (Crouch End) are concerned that once again councillors and local residents are being kept in the dark over the skate park development. They say that if the reports are true, Haringey Council has abused its power, wasted public money, and failed to answer Council questions openly and honestly.

Cllr Engert (Muswell Hill) comments:

“It is deeply worrying that ten months after Thames Water apparently said the site was unsuitable, Haringey Council continues to waste thousands of pounds of local tax payers money pursuing something that is a non-starter.”

Cllr Winskill (Crouch End) adds:

“If the reports are true then Labour-run Haringey Council has deceived councillors and local residents about their discussions with Thames Water. We are urgently seeking the correspondence between Thames Water and the Council to establish the facts.”

Lynne Featherstone MP has praised a new website aimed at encouraging MPs to report back to their constituents.

The website www.HearFromYourMP.com was launched in Parliament this week.The site allows people to sign up to receive a report on the work of their MP.It also uses the internet as a forum for discussion and feedback on the MP’s report.

Lynne, who was one of the first MPs to pilot the new website, commented:

“We are seeing an increasing number of sites appearing on the internet that are designed to help people to participate in democracy.I want to use these resources as fully as possible, and I want to encourage people with internet access to sign up to them as well.This site nicely ties in with my award winning-blog diary on my own website http://www.lynnefeatherstone.org

“This site is all about building up a closer relationship between an MP and their constituents.It is not just about making the MP accountable, but making sure people are informed about what their MP is doing and improving access to what can sometimes be a daunting political system.”

The website works by building up a list of people who want to hear from their MP.When enough have signed up, the MP will get sent an email with a message saying, for example, ’20 of your constituents would like to hear a report of your recent work’.Nearly 60 people have already signed up to hear from Lynne Featherstone MP.

The site is one of a number created by the group mySociety to improve the civic and community aspects of people’s lives.MySociety Director Tom Steinberg commented:

“The aim of HearFromYourMP is to give people a means of finding out what their MP is doing in the same way as http://www.theyworkforyou.com is, but in a way that enables direct public debate on issues raised.

“We have already received a good response to the site from MPs and the electorate, and we hope it will be a valuable addition to the growing number of websites encouraging democratic participation.”

Liberal Democrat Transport Spokesperson, Cllr Susan Oatway, has stepped up her campaign to tackle the problem of HGVs using residential roads in the Alexandra/ Muswell Hill area by contacting the police about the problem.

Cllr Oatway, who met with Haringey Council earlier this month regarding this and other transport issues, is seeking clarification over whether the police would provide enforcement if HGV restrictions were applied to certain areas.

Furthermore she is keen to establish what powers to prosecute the police would have and be willing to use should a member of the public photograph an HGV violating restrictions. This follows residents in one of the worst affected roads, Dukes Avenue, offer to monitor and photograph HGVs violating any restrictions applied to these vehicles in the area.

Cllr Oatway will meet again with Haringey Council in January, where she will view traffic data for the area which is being collated as part of survey for the A406 project. This will detail HGV use and will give both Cllr Oatway and the Council an idea of the real scale of the problem.

Cllr Oatway (Alexandra) comments:

“HGVs rumbling through residential roads at all hours of the day can be a source of great misery to residents so it is important that this issue is addressed.

“I am currently investigating the practicalities of enforcing HGV restrictions so that come January I should have the information I need to suggest solutions that the Council will take up.”

Haringey Liberal Democrat council group will be supporting an event hosted by the Islamic Society of Britain North London this Friday (25th November) to celebrate Islam Awareness Week which runs from 21st – 27th November.

The event, which will take place at Haringey Civic Centre, is aimed at increasing awareness and understanding and to celebrate 1000 years of Islam in Britain. It is open to all and begins at 6.30pm.

Hosts of the event, the Islamic Society of Britain, were established in 1990 as vehicle for committed British Muslims to promote Islam and Islamic values and its relevance to modern British society.

They have been heavily involved in the successful promotion of Islam Awareness Week, which is now in its twelfth year.

The two local MPs, councillors and representatives from the police, the three local mosques and other local faith leaders have been invited to attend the event.

Speakers will include the Mayor of Haringey, the Bishop of Edmonton and representatives of Islamic Society of Britain.

Haringey Lib Dems, who have assisted in setting the event up, are delighted that an event to celebrate a 1,000 years of Muslim contribution to Britain is going to be held in Haringey.

Lib Dem Community Involvement Spokesperson, Cllr Susan Oatway comments:

“It is great that an event to celebrate Islam Awareness Week is being held and I hope that people will take this opportunity to learn about what it means to be a Muslim in Britain.”

The Sustainable Energy Partnership, which represents all the major environmental and ‘fuel poverty’ NGOs has today written thanking Lynne Featherstone MP for being present in Parliament on Friday 11th November to support two vitally important Bills dealing with climate change and fuel poverty – The Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Bill and the Management of Energy in Buildings Bill.

Both of these Bills were debated in parliament on Friday, and Lynne Featherstone MP helped the former Bill to pass its second reading.

Partnership Organiser Ron Bailey said:

‘The Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Bill is a vital measure. Emissions of CO2 continue to increase and rising energy prices will mean that even more people will suffer from cold homes and fuel poverty this winter. This Bill contains practical measures to deal with both problems.

‘We appreciate that it is difficult for MPs to be in parliament on a Friday, so we are especially grateful to Lynne Featherstone MP for being in the House. This is exactly the example that MPs need to set – action not just fine words. We thank Lynne Featherstone MP for making this commitment to the environment and to ending fuel poverty.’

Labour-run Haringey Council has revealed that it is planning to double its publicity budget for its ‘Better Haringey’ scheme to a massive £400,000.

The Lib Dem opposition have expressed their concern at the doubling of this publicity budget, which effectively reduces the amount of money available for frontline services.

Cllr Bob Hare, Lib Dem Environment Spokesperson comments:

“Some of this money is necessary, for example publicity to encourage recycling and providing the leaflets with instructions is very useful. But there is so much work still to do on environmental issues in Haringey. Publicity for the Council is not the best use of £400,000. Local residents would much rather see the money spent directly on areas like recycling, street sweeping, rubbish collection, graffiti and sport and other activities for kids, to name just a few.”

Cllr Neil Williams, Lib Dem Leader and Highgate Councillor comments:

“At £200,000 the current budget for Labour’s Better Haringey publicity is already a very significant. To suddenly double this to £400,000 is not acceptable. At this rate, there is a real risk that residents will see more posters than improvements.”

Lib Dem councillors in Crouch End have succeeded in fighting the erection of a 48-sheet poster site on Crouch Hall Road and now want to see it removed by Christmas.

The calls came last month after councillors discovered that the poster site had been erected illegally some years ago and the company responsible for it were now seeking retrospective planning permission.

Crouch End Councillors David Winskill and Ron Aitken wrote to Haringey Council objecting to the poster site, which is situated in Crouch Hall Roadjust 50 yards from the Grade Two listedClockTower .

Councillors Aitken and Winskill said that the sign was an eyesore and damaged the character and appearance of the Crouch End conservation area

Last week, Haringey Council reported that it would be refusing the belated application. Since then, Cllr Winskill has requested the Council’s enforcement team gets in touch with the site operator and demand its removal.

They are both delighted with the news but want Haringey Council to ensure that the illegal billboard is removed swiftly. They also want to see the Council doing more to monitor and enforce the removal of illegal poster sites in the borough.

Cllr Winskill (Crouch End) comments:

“Crouch End is a conservation area and this is a complete eyesore. We want it taken down by Christmas and myself and Cllr Aitken will keep on the case until it is removed.”

Cllr Aitken (Crouch End) adds:

“This is one of a number of billboards that have appeared in the borough without planning permission. It is time the Council started getting tough on businesses when they show a disregard for local planning rules.”