Highgate’s Lib Dem councillors are calling on Haringey Council to put pressure on Camden to reverse its unpopular decision to close the public toilets in Pond Square.

Cllr Bob Hare has written to the new Lead Member for the Environment urging him to make the reopening of the toilets a top priority.

Cllr Hare says that Camden closed the toilets without public consultation and without properly considering the needs of the local community. However, while Camden cite cost reasons for the closure, Cllr Hare says that because the building is listed, Camden will have to maintain it regardless.

Cllr Hare says the village has many visitors, especially during the summer. In addition to the pubs, bars and restaurants, the toilets are needed for people walking to the Kenwood concerts, Hampstead Heath and Highgate cemetery. In addition, Pond Square is a bus terminus and interchange, and both drivers and many people waiting may need toilet facilities.

Highgate Lib Dems say the two local councils should consider sharing the cost with the local bus company.

Cllr Hare comments:

“Haringey needs to push Camden much harder to restore the public toilets. Using the shops in the village is an everyday activity for very large numbers of Haringey residents, and a lot of people come to Highgate from much farther afield – especially in the summer.The toilets had at least 60,000 visits per year, probably many more, and the closure is not good for business in the village.”

Lib Dem councillor Martin Newton has expressed his concern with the reporton library strategy, due to go before the Executive tonight (14th June).

Cllr Newton, who sits on Haringey Council’s Library Advisory Committee, says thata key concern regarding how funding is to be given to two separate librariesfor expansion – Muswell Hill and Coombs Croft- had been raised andminuted, but in the final report it has been omitted.

At the meeting of the Library Advisory Committee, members requested, “thatfeasibility studies for improvements at Muswell Hill and Coombs Croftlibraries should go ahead without conditions so that all options areinvestigated.”

This was in response to the initial recommendations in the report that setout the conditions to make improvements on the libraries. Muswell Hill’simprovements were to be self-financed from the value of land to the rear.Lib Dem councillors said that this would be ridiculous given that many ofthe plans included expanding onto the land which would leave very little tosell-off.

However, for Coombs Croft Library the primaryrecommendation to the committee was to identify capital funds for theimprovements, with no mention of the library funding itself.

Cllr Newton has written to Haringey Council expressing his concern at the finalreport that, he says, does not reflect the points made and minuted at themeeting.

Cllr Newton (Fortis Green):

“I am appalled that decisions agreed by membersof the Library Advisory Committee are being ignored and find it whollyunacceptable that the Executive will be voting on recommendations that havenot been endorsed.

“The value of the Council owned land behind Muswell Hill library, needed toexpand the library, should not be the primary consideration of anyfeasibility study.”

Hornsey and Wood Green MP, Lynne Featherstone, supported the British Lung Foundation’s 20th birthday campaign by getting breathless on an exercise bike at the House of Commons during lung heath awareness day.

The Get Breathless! campaign encourages everyone of all ages and abilities to get breathless in aid of the British Lung Foundation, while thinking about their own lung health.

The British Lung Foundation is the only UK charity working to help people with all 43 lung diseases.It provides information and support to patients and their families, funds world class medical research to find solutions to lung disease and campaigns for improved treatments and services.

Ms Featherstone said:

“I am delighted to be getting breathless to support the British Lung Foundation in its 20th birthday year. One person in every seven in the UK is affected by a lung disease and has to live with breathlessness all the time. It is vital that people look after their lungs and taking part in this campaign is a great way to start!”

Dame Helena Shovelton, Chief Executive of the British Lung Foundation said:

“We are thrilled that Lynne Featherstone MP is taking part in the Get Breathless! campaign.The 8 million plus people in the UK living with a lung condition will know how hard it is to do day to day tasks when you are fighting for breath. By supporting our campaign Ms Featherstone was able to find out just what that is like.”

Note: Anyone who wants more information about the British Lung Foundation, Breathe Easy or Get Breathless! should visit www.lunguk.org or call the BLF Helpline on 08458 50 20 20.

Muswell Hill Lib Dem Councillor Gail Engert has secured a controlled parking zone (CPZ) for the small estate of Beattock Rise, off St. James Lane N10.

The action is to prevent cars from outside the estate parking on the small entrance road and blocking access to an estate which contains sheltered housing.

In correspondence received this week, Haringey Council confirmed that it had consulted residents and had received eight responses, all in favour of a CPZ, with one parking permit per household being issued.

This is welcome news to both local residents and Cllr Engert who has worked hard since her election last year to ensure that the residents, some of whom are elderly and disabled, are able to park their vehicles close to their homes.

Cllr Engert hopes that this will end years of parking misery for residents in the small road.

Cllr Engert (Muswell Hill) comments:

“Since I became a councillor last year I have campaigned for controlled parking for these residents. As some of the residents are elderly and disabled it is essential that they have easy access to their vehicles so they can live independent lives, and also any emergency vehicles like ambulances can gain entrance to the estate. I am delighted that the Council has finally acted and I will be eagerly awaiting the completion of the work.”

Local Lib Dem Social Services spokesperson Cllr Wayne Hoban and Education spokesperson Cllr Gail Engert have welcomed calls from educationist Baroness Warnock for the Government to scrap its policy on mainstream schooling for all children with Special Educational Needs (SEN).

The independent life peer, who was one of the original thinkers behind inclusive schooling, is due to have her report published later this month in a pamphlet by the Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain.

In it she warns of the “wasteful and bureaucratic” statementing of SEN pupils and says that pressure on mainstream schools to provide support would leave a “disastrous legacy” if left un-addressed.

Councillors Hoban and Engert have been meeting regularly with concerned parents and the local action group, Haringey Autism, who have raised similar concerns. They say that mainstream schools struggle to provide the additional classroom support that many children with autism need. They say this often leads to behavioural issues that can cause the child to be excluded from school.

Haringey Autism have also highlighted the stress involved in getting a child assessed and issued with a statement of education needs as well as ensuring that the school meets those needs.

Both councillors say that the stress levels for many parents have been further compounded by threats to the future of Red Gables family centre which has provided high quality support for many years.

Cllr Engert comments:

“I am delighted that Baroness Warnock is pressing for a radical review of the current situation, which the Lib Dems fully support. It is clear that many parents do not have the confidence that mainstream schools can provide the same level of support for all types of SENs that specialist schools can.”

Cllr Hoban adds:

“It is important that the Government faces up to its misjudgement over this policy. Many children with SENs can benefit from being in a mainstream environment and that should be welcomed, but there is a need for choice, so those who want to remain in a special school environment can do so.”

Stroud Green Councillor Laura Edge has welcomed assurances from Haringey Council’s Parks Department that it will consult on the future use of Finsbury Park for large scale commercial concerts.

The assurance came at a meeting of Haringey Council’s General Purposes Committee on Tuesday 7 June to approve a licence for the Mean Fiddler’s Big Gay Out which will take place in the park on Saturday 23 July.

The Mean Fiddler has had contracts with Haringey Parks Department to stage large scale commercial concerts and other events in the Park since the earlier 1990s. Over the years the events have caused many problems in relation to litter, noise and damage. In addition, they result in a large portion of the Park being sealed off to local users for days either side of the events.

The management of individual events has improved in response to years of pressure from residents, park users and local Lib Dem councillors. However, residents, park users and other stakeholders remain angry that they have not had the opportunity to debate whether the Park should be used for such large-scale commercial events in the first place, and, if so, on what terms.

Concern about the use of the Park for such events has also led to fears it will undermine the improvements currently being made to the Park under a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Lib Dem Cllr Laura Edge (Stroud Green) comments:

“I am pleased to hear that the Council intends to consult on the use of Finsbury Park for large-scale commercial concerts. For too long the Park has been treated as a cash cow for the rest of the Parks Service rather than the vital community asset that it is.”

In a further development at the meeting, the managing director of the Mean Fiddler, Melvin Benn, agreed to look at the possibility of restricting the closure of the Richard Hope Play Space, commonly known as the Pit, to one day on the day of the event itself.

Laura Edge adds:

“The Pit is a fantastic play-space which brings hours of enjoyment to local children. Every year there is great disappointment when it is closed to make way for the concerts. If the Mean Fiddler can restrict the closure to one day it would be very welcome, provided of course that the space is fully cleaned up afterwards.”

Hornsey and Wood Green MP Lynne Featherstone and Lib Dem planning spokesperson Cllr Jonathan Bloch have welcomed the establishment of a new residents’ action group to fight the over-development of Wood Green.

The Watsons Road Action Group (WRAG) was formed last month following a special meeting of the Avenue Gardens Residents’ Association, attended by fifty residents, to discuss proposals to build 97 homes on the Watsons Road site – the latest of six major recent developments or proposals in the area.

The Lib Dems, who over the last few years have consistently campaigned against overdevelopment in Haringey, share the concerns of WRAG who feel that the proposals are too intensive and the multi-story architecture is out of keeping with its surroundings.

Ms Featherstone will be calling for an inquiry into the future of developments in Wood Green. She, along with Cllr Bloch and WRAG, feels that the local impact on traffic and transport, school places and healthcare of this planning proposal, along with four similar ones around the centre of Wood Green, needs to be properly considered.She has also called for more time over the controversial planning application in Lordship Lane after Haringey Council failed to provide all the relevant documents to local residents and campaigners about the plans. This is despite a council commitment that documents would be provided in time to allow residents to fully consider them and respond.Ms Featherstone says that no planning application should be considered ‘in play’ until all the relevant documents are available to the public – which they were not on this occasion.

Lynne Featherstone MP comments:

“There are now so many housing developments in Wood Green, either just completed, proposed or on the horizon, that Haringey as a borough needs to step back and take stock. Simply cramming in more blocks of flats, one by one, to meet Mayor Ken’s targets without considering the wider implications, is not the answer.”

Cllr Jonathan Bloch adds:

“Local groups such as RATT (Residents Against Twin Towers), WRAG (Watsons Road Action Group) and AGRA (the Avenue Gardens Residents Association) are rightly bringing this creeping overdevelopment in Wood Green to everyone’s attention.

“It is up to Haringey Council to subject all proposals to the most rigorous examination. There must be no room for second-rate developments in Haringey.”

Lib Dem councillors have called for an investigation into the clearing of drains in the borough following the flooding of Wood Green’s shopping centre last Friday afternoon. Cllr Bob Hare, who speaks for the party on environment issues, says that Haringey Council needs to seek immediate assurances from Thames Water that adequate systems are in place to prevent such floods in the future.

Cllr Hare says that following the torrential downpour last Friday afternoon, Wood Green’s Safeway arcade was flooded out. Further down the High Road, passengers who were taking buses outside Marks and Spencer had to wade through water to climb on board. Drains backing up spewed filthy water on to the streets, with consequent pollution from diesel and rubber particles coming back up the drainage system and onto the busy shopping street.

Cllr Hare is now seeking assurances from Haringey Council that its contract with Thames Water for clearing drains is being properly monitored and implemented. In recent months, he has taken photographs of many blocked drains across the borough, including drains in the Wood Green area.

Cllr Bob Hare comments:

“We need assurances from Haringey Council that drains in Haringey are being cleared at the appropriate intervals, to help prevent these sorts of floods. In major centres such as Wood Green, this should be done every three months, but many drains seem to be blocked. The disruption last week was unacceptable for local businesses, and will no doubt result in insurance claims from some of the businesses that were flooded.The Council needs to take urgent steps to ensure that the contract for drain clearances is being properly implemented. Haringey’s drains are generally in a poor state, and action needs to be taken.”

The Liberal Democrats have welcomed an agreement at the inquiry into Haringey’s UDP (Unitary Development Plan) that a revised map will be considered over the proximity of residents to green space in the borough. Lib Dem Environment Spokesperson, Bob Hare, who raised the issue a the inquiry last Thursday, says that the Council’s present definition of proximity to green space is selling residents short and could contribute significantly to future overdevelopment in the area.

The complex but vital issue centres round Haringey’s open space deficiency map, and how Haringey Council defines the benefit of nearby open space for residents. At present Haringey says that residents living within 400 metres of a green space enjoy such amenity. This means that those proposing development nearby might not have to provide much greenery with any new buildings. However, Haringey uses this definition for even the smallest of green pockets, even where the green spaces in question could not be regarded as green open land being enjoyed by residents.

The planning inspector agreed to accept as evidence a new map from Cllr Hare, which will give a much more realistic definition of residents’ proximity to green space – treating large spaces such as the Alexandra Palace Park differently from a small pocket park on a street corner.

Cllr Bob Hare comments:

“This is far more than a technical issue. How the Council defines existing green spaces will have an enormous impact over the years on what green spaces are preserved or created elsewhere in the borough.

“At present, Haringey is being far too generous towards development in its current definition of what is enough open space. This will only fuel suspicions that Haringey Council is too soft on the potential for overdevelopment in the area.

“A wide definition of proximity to green space will let the Council off the hook when it considers the issue in other proposed developments. If this issue is not resolved, it could have far reaching consequences for local residents for many years. I welcome the inspector’s call for more evidence on the issue and we will continue to pursue this at UDP inquiry.”

Lib Dem Deputy Leader Cllr Wayne Hoban has expressed shock and anger at Haringey Council’s failure to respond within the allotted time to the erection of a mobile phone mast and base unit in St Annes.

The mast is situated on a small patch of parkland on the St Annes Road / Seven Sisters Road junction. Residents complained to the Council as soon as they knew of the mast erection and asked them to contact the company, T-mobile, expressing their opposition and requesting a full consultation.

However, when Cllr Hoban met members of St Annes Residents Association during his election campaign, he was informed that Haringey Council had failed to contact T-mobile within the 56-day period allowed to respond to a mast erection.

Since meeting with residents he has contacted the Council and demanded an explanation. In response the Council have claimed in their defence that the letter was sent before the 56-day deadline had passed and that officers were unaware that the deadline existed.

They forwarded a copy of the letter sent to T-mobile which was dated two days before the deadline. However the deadline day was Sunday and consequently, the letter, posted on the Friday, did not arrive until Monday – after the deadline.

Cllr Hoban is angry that a rare piece of green open space in the ward has been ruined by a Council blunder. He adds that the failure of the Council to stop the mast goes against assurances made by the Council with regard to phone masts.

Cllr Hoban comments:

“Haringey Council Executive members in the past have assured me that where mobile masts adversely affect the environment, they would be opposed. With green open space at a premium in this area, the Council should have acted quickly and fought against this mast.

“They have failed to deliver and their incompetence has resulted in a permanent eyesore for the residents of St.Annes.If mobile masts and base stations were subject to the full planning process in line with Lib Dem policy, this situation would not have arisen.I will continue in my efforts to persuade the Council to adopt this policy in the interests of all residents.”