Lib Dem councillor for Muswell Hill Gail Engert has secured assurances that some of the ward’s worst litter and graffiti blackspots will be cleaned up. This followed complaints from residents concerning the state of Parkland Walk.

The clean-up promises followed two separate site visits that environmental enforcement officers and park officers had with Cllr Engert last week, centring on the Muswell Hill section of the Parkland Walk.

Following lobbying of Haringey Council, Cllr Engert has already secured several successes including the clearance of the car park at the Dragon Club, for which officers served a notice for complete clearance, and the removal of tons of bottles, cans and litter behind the fencing above the Muswell Hill underpass. The Council has also done a thorough litter pick of the Muswell Hill stretch of the walk including the area outside Muswell Hill primary school.

However much remains still to be done. Cllr Engert pointed out to officers several other eyesores including the graffiti-covered tunnel under Muswell Hill, dangerous falling down fences, redundant posts, holes and graffiti on the St James’s Lane viaduct.

She is also concerned that many of the issues that she raised this week were raised by her Lib Dem colleague Lynne Featherstone MP and environment spokesperson Cllr Bob Hare less than 18 months ago.

Cllr Engert will be seeking assurances from the Council that these blackspots are regularly checked and cleared to prevent a reoccurrence of these problems.

Cllr Engert (Muswell Hill) comments:

“I am pleased that the Council has agreed to address these issues and I will be paying close attention to ensure the work is carried out swiftly. I shall also be doing regular patrols to make sure that the walk is kept litter-free and this clearance was not a one-off.”

Lib Dem councillor for Alexandra Susan Oatway has demanded Haringey Council resolves the street sweeping problem in Dukes Avenue following complaints that the Council’s contractor, Haringey Accord, was not sweeping properly.

Residents contacted Cllr Oatway reporting that the sweeper was picking litter rather than sweeping the streets properly and this appears to have been confirmed by Haringey Council in correspondence with residents.

Street cleanliness is an ongoing problem in the borough with the Lib Dems following up hundreds of complaints regarding this issue every year.

Cllr Oatway says that it is important that the Council rectify the sweeping problem to ensure that further problems are avoided this winter.

Cllr Oatway (Alexandra) comments:

“I have written to the Council demanding and explanation. Haringey Accord are paid to maintain Haringey’s streets and they appear to be failing to carry out their duties properly.

“With winter closing in it is essential that the problem is resolved to ensure that wet leaves are regularly cleared from gullies and pavements to prevent flooding and accidents.”

Lib Dem councillor for Stroud Green, Laura Edge has called on Haringey Council to invest more money in fighting the appeal to turn over the rejection of a planned concrete batching factory in Cranford Way, N8.

Local Lib Dems and residents group, Green N8 are concerned that with less than a month until the appeal is due to be heard Haringey Council is doing little to strengthen its case.

Despite assurances to both Cllr Edge and Green N8 that money would be made available for further independent environmental impact assessments should the application be successfully rejected and go to appeal, the Council appears to be stalling.

At a closed meeting of members of the Executive last night (Tuesday), the Council failed to come to a decision over additional funding for further studies.

One of the three main reasons given for rejection of the application last week was noise pollution, the evidence of which came from an independent assessment that would not have been carried out if it weren’t for persistent campaigning from Cllr Edge and Green N8 in the summer.

There is now growing concern that unless the Council provides funding soon there will not be sufficient time to carry out the additional independent studies that would bolster the Council’s case for rejection.

Cllr Edge says that many people involved in the battle against the concrete factory are frustrated that despite assurances at a public meeting last month by Labour councillors, funding has not been made available. She is pressing for urgent action from the Council to prevent a costly overturn on appeal.

Cllr Edge comments:

“The Council appears to being saying one thing in public and doing another behind closed doors. It is time for it to put its money where its mouth is.

“Action needs to be taken quickly to fund extra studies which will strengthen our case in time for the appeal. I will be working closely with Green N8 and Lynne Featherstone MP to continue to press the Council for this much needed funding.”

Lib Dem councillor for Stroud Green Laura Edge has called on Haringey Council to review its mailing system after residents received multiple copies of the Council’s public magazine, Haringey People.

On top of this a number of residents also received duplicate letters regarding renovations to Wood Green parking shop and the meeting about plans for a concrete batching plant in Hornsey.

Cllr Edge is concerned at the environmental and financial wastage involved in these duplications. In the worst case reported to her a resident received eleven copies of the same Haringey People within two days.

Cllr Edge (Stroud Green) comments:

“This issue has been brought to my attention by a few local residents. However I am concerned at how many duplicates of letters and magazines this group alone have received and I am sure that many more residents have encountered a similar problem.

“I have written to Haringey Council and ask them to review their delivery system to ensure tax payers money is not wasted on duplicate mailings.”

Lib Dem education spokesperson Gail Engert joined pupils from Hornsey School for Girls as she took part in ‘take a Councillor to school’ event as part of National Local Democracy Week.

Cllr Engert attended a school council meeting where she underwent a grilling from class representatives on a range of issues from recycling to youth centre provision.

Cllr Engert, who was one of the members of Haringey Council’s Scrutiny Review on Youth Democracy, is passionate about the need to include young people and their views at every level of the Council decision making process. Amongst the recommendations put forward by the review, she particularly supports Haringey Council signing up to the ‘Hear by Rights’ advanced standards for active involvement of children and young people, the election of a Haringey member to the UK Youth Parliament, the setting up of a young people’s consultation panel and the appointment of a council officer solely responsible for developing youth democracy in partnership with young people.

She is delighted to have taken part in this event and she hopes that the pupils feel they have been given the opportunity to scrutinise the work of local councillors.

Cllr Engert comments:

“It has been a pleasure visiting the school and I am very grateful to the schools citizenship co-ordinator, Michele Lambert for organising the visit.

“I was very impressed with the quality of questioning from the representatives. It is important that young people are engaged with politics and politicians. I hope that the Council can arrange more events so young people feel that they are truly part of a democratic system.”

Lib Dem councillor for Alexandra ward, Susan Oatway has demanded Haringey Council resolves the street sweeping problem in Dukes Avenue following complaints that the Council’s contractor, Haringey Accord, was not sweeping properly.

Residents contacted Cllr Oatway reporting that the sweeper was picking litter rather than sweeping the streets properly and this appears to have been confirmed by the Council in correspondence with residents.

Street cleanliness is an ongoing problem in the borough with the Lib Dems following up hundreds of complaints regarding this issue every year.

Cllr Oatway says that it is important that Haringey Council rectify the sweeping problem to ensure that further problems are avoided this winter.

Cllr Oatway (Alexandra) comments:

“I have written to the Council demanding and explanation. Haringey Accord is paid to maintain Haringey’s streets and they appear to be failing to carry out their duties properly.

“With winter closing in it is essential that the problem is resolved to ensure that wet leaves are regularly cleared from gullies and pavements to prevent flooding and accidents.”

Lib Dem councillor for Stroud Green, Laura Edge, has secured some small improvements to the exterior of Stroud Green Library in Quernmore Road, N4 which will make a big difference to many local residents.

Cllr Edge has secured the removal of a vandalised bench and two stumps from a previous library signpost in Quernmore Road that had been an eyesore for years. She has also gained agreement from Haringey Council to provide a wheelie bin for the library so that rubbish is no longer left outside in black bags between Saturday evening and Monday morning.

Cllr Edge says that these small improvements will contribute to the continued improvements to cleanliness that the Lib Dems are working hard for in all parts of the borough to make it a nicer place to live.

Cllr Edge comments:

“The vandalised bench and stumps outside the library have been an eyesore for a long time. However Haringey Council until now have failed to complete the simply job of removing them.

“Similarly a wheelie bin for the library rubbish will mean that no more piles of black bags are left cluttering the area and encouraging fly-tippers to add to the pile.”

Haringey Lib Dems have uncovered shocking figures showing Labour-run Haringey Council’s failure to tackle the problem of dog mess in the borough for the past five years.

The figures, published following a question from Alexandra ward councillor Susan Oatway, reveal that not one single person has received an on-the-spot fine for dog fouling in the London Borough of Haringey between January 2001 and September 2005.

Cllr Susan Oatway says that little has been done at all to address a problem which is a health hazard, particularly to young children.

She hopes that the publicity brought about by the publication of these figures will shame Haringey Council into taking action to improve dog bin facilities in the borough and enforce fines on those who allow their dogs to mess the parks and pavements.

Cllr Oatway comments:

“The majority of owners in the borough are very responsible and clean up after their dogs. However there is a small group who show a disregard for public cleanliness and children’s safety by not scooping their poop.

“Until the Council starts enforcing fines on these people the problem will continue.”

Liberal Democrats in Haringey have pledged to support the popular Neighbourhood Wardens scheme, which is under threat because John Prescott’s Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has withdrawn funding.

Labour’s cuts have left the Council with a £600,000 funding gap and the wardens, who cover Northumberland Park, Bruce Grove, Tottenham Green, Noel Park and Bowes Park, Seven Sisters and West Green, facing redundancy.

Lib Dem Spokesperson on Policing and Community Safety Cllr Ron Aitken has called for the scheme to continue as the wardens provide visible patrols, enforce against environmental and other offences such as abandoned vehicles, as well as providing sports projects in the summer to hundreds of young people.

Cllr Aitken comments:

“The Council’s own research indicates that crime is the number one concern of 49% of Haringey residents – an increase of 10 percentage points since 1994. It does not make sense to withdraw funding from the wardens, who provide reassurance to the citizen and vital intelligence to the police.

“We will be urging John Prescott to reconsider this decision and will also be supporting other sources of funding if the worst comes to the worst.”

Lynne Featherstone MP for Hornsey & Wood Green and Lib Dem spokeswoman for Police, Crime and Disorder added:”This is typical of the Labour Government, happy with the kudos from a good headline but unwilling to fund the real work on the ground in the longer term.

“I will be writing to John Prescott to ask him to re-consider this decision.”

Councillor Wayne Hoban, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats, has expressed concern over future provision for young people in the west of the borough after yet again the Labour Executive member for Children & Young People failed to confirm whether the much loved family centre Red Gables in Crouch End will be closed despite the promised review and consultation over the original decision.

It is almost a year since Lib Dem councillors voted against the closure of Red Gables at a scrutiny meeting in November 2004, blowing the whistle on Labour plans and forcing them into a review over the decision. Since then Haringey Council has failed to confirm whether or not the future of Red Gables is secured.

Red Gables is a vital and well-used service, providing quality support for families from all areas of Haringey. However its future is under threat following a new Government agenda that will see Haringey Council establish 18 new smaller ‘Children’s Centres’ across the borough.

Cllr Hoban says that the Labour Leader’s own report to yesterday’s council meeting on the establishment of Children’s Centres highlighted that most of these centres will be developed in the east of the borough. He is also deeply worried about the sustainability of the planned new centres after it was confirmed that revenue grant funding for Children’s Centre Services was not guaranteed after 2008.

Cllr Hoban comments:

“There is clear pattern emerging from this out of touch and complacent Labour-run council. Despitewidespread support expressed from all sections of the community that Red Gables should undoubtedly be retained, it unfortunately does not fit the Labour model of how and where services should be provided and is therefore considered expendable.”

Education spokesperson Cllr Gail Engert who has also been involved with Red Gables adds:

“The Labour-run council’s desire to please the Government’s agenda is to the detriment of the needs of residents in this borough. We will continue to work alongside local residents and our MP Lynne Featherstone to fight for the retention of this invaluable service. The failure of Labour to listen to the users of Red Gables will not easily be forgiven.”