Local Lib Dems have taken their campaign for 10,000 more police to Wood Green. Lynne Featherstone, their party’s Parliamentary spokesperson for the area, says that by putting a halt toLabour’s controversial ID card scheme, enough money would be saved to fund 10,000 more police officers across the country.

Ms Featherstone, who also sits on the Metropolitan Police Authority, says that more officers are sorely needed in Haringey. This is reflected in the long wait to extend new schemes such as ‘Safer Neighbourhoods’ to some parts of the borough, and the lack of manpower for manning other police facilities such as the new police kiosk in Wood Green.

Cllr Lynne Featherstone comments:

“There is no doubt that the money being wasted on Labour’s ID card scheme could be put to good use, with more police on the beat on the streets of Haringey.

“We also have to cut the amount of paperwork being carried out by officers, as many police officers spend twice as much time on this as they do on real policing, out on the streets.”

Lib Dem Environment spokesperson Bob Hare has called on Haringey Council to remove fly-tipped junk from a garden in Alexandra Park Road that has remained there for nine months. The junk includes a trolley and armchair which have been sitting in the front garden of a small block of flats at 349 Alexandra Park Road.

Despite nine months of pressure from the Palace Neighbourhood Watch, the Council has taken no action. A representative from the Group contacted Cllr Hare earlier this week and requested his help in resolving the problem.

On the visit by Cllr Hare on Thursday (10th February), the representative confirmed that the Council did visit the site some time ago and assured the representative that they would be passing the information onto the Council’s waste contractors, Haringey Accord, to remove it. However, nothing happened and the group is still waiting, unable to get hold of anyone in charge.

Cllr Hare has contacted the Council and asked them to take urgent action to remove the waste. He is deeply concerned that after nine months of calling and writing, residents have been unable to get the rubbish removed.

Cllr Hare comments:

“This is completely unacceptable and I have asked the Council to deal effectively with the owners of the property who have permitted this unsightly accumulation of household waste to build up.

“I will also be pressing the Council to find out what action it will be taking against its contractor, Accord, over its failure to carry out the duties that residents pay such high Council Tax for.”

A Liberal Democrat councillor has expressed dismay at the reoccupation of numbers 15 and 17 Perth Road, Stroud Green by squatters.Laura Edge, who represents Stroud Green, says it is the third time in less than a year that the properties, which were managed by Haringey Council’s Temporary Accommodation Team, have been squatted.

Squatters first moved in immediately after the properties were emptied in June 2004. Following legal proceedings they were evicted and the properties secured, but new squatters were nevertheless able to get in. In October 2004 a further eviction notice was served and the properties were again secured.

At this time the Council informed local councillors and residents that the properties would be sold at auction but the sale was put on hold while the Housing Department looked at alternative uses for the properties. Before a solution was found, squatters again gained entry on Friday 4 February 2005.

The Council will now have to initiate legal proceedings against the squatters once again, a process which could take up to eight weeks. Officers have assured Cllr Edge that a definitive decision will be made on the future of the properties before the squatters are evicted to put an end to the cycle of misery for local residents.

Residents in Perth Road are furious that the Council has taken so long to decide on the future of the properties, which continue to deteriorate, while in the meantime allowing their lives to be blighted by squatters, who residents say have frequently held large and noisy parties into the early hours.

Commenting Cllr Edge said:

“I support Haringey Council’s desire to retain social housing stock wherever possible.

“However, in failing to decide on the future of these properties Haringey has caused untold misery to residents in Perth Road, not to mention the cost involved in the ongoing deterioration of the building and in constantly re-securing it. It is therefore imperative that the Council ensures that the mechanisms are in place to effect the sale as soon as this latest group of squatters are evicted.”

The Liberal Democrats have criticised Labour after Haringey Labour voted for a fourth successive year of inflation-busting increases in Council Tax.

Haringey’s Council Tax bills will increase 5% this year. The Government’s preferred measure of inflation, the Consumer Price Index, puts inflation at around 1.6% – only a third of Labour Haringey’s Council Tax increase.

At the last local elections in 2002, the Labour party told Haringey residents that the “days of large increases in Council Tax are over”. Despite this election promise, the tax on an average Band D home in the borough has risen by 37.7%.

Commenting on the budget debate, Lib Dem Finance spokesperson, Cllr Stephen Gilbert (Fortis Green), said:

“A rise of this level is totally unacceptable. At the heart of this is a very simple question: we are paying 38% more, but have services improved? I think most people would give a simple answer: no.

“It’s clear that Labour can’t be trusted on tax, and is unable or unwilling to deliver value-for-money services. We need a complete review of how Haringey spends taxpayers’ money, particularly looking at the cost of consultants and temporary staff.

“Only a complete rethink, with a local income tax, would give residents an equitable and stable system with manageable levels of local taxation.”

Note:

For more about the Lib Dem alternative to Council Tax – replacing it with a tax based on ability to pay – see www.axethetax.org.uk

Lib Dem Health Spokesperson Wayne Hoban has called for urgent action to be taken to reduce waiting times for council tenants to be rehoused on medical grounds in the London Borough of Haringey.

The call comes following a response to a council question from Cllr Hoban where the Executive Member for Housing confirmed that over 500 council tenants currently applying for rehousing on medical grounds are being kept in a queue awaiting processing.

It currently takes over 8 weeks for Haringey Council to process each medical letter. This is largely due to the fact that, despite receiving an average of 35-40 medical letters for processing each day, only two members of staff are assigned to process them.

Cllr Hoban is deeply concerned at the length of a process designed to determine whether someone’s health is affected by the conditions they are living in. He says that many applicants may have suffered the consequences of anti-social behaviour, which can severely affect their health and prolonging the process simply compounds the problem.

Lib Dem Deputy Leader Cllr Hoban comments:

“It is clearly unacceptable that council tenants who may need to be urgently rehoused on medical grounds have to wait for over two months for a decision.

“Haringey Council must ensure that sufficient resources are made available to deal with this urgent problem and I will be pressing them to do so.”

Figures obtained by Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Environment Spokesperson, Norman Baker MP, has revealed worrying statistics showing Labour’s failure locally and nationally to address the issues of recycling and waste minimisation successfully.

Haringey Lib Dems are concerned that the figures reflect Haringey’s poor record for recycling. Although things have improved following years of Lib Dem pressure, Haringey’s recycling rate remains below the national average of 12%, with the 2005 Government figures giving Haringey Council a 9% recycling rate.

The Labour Government has consistently said they would put the environment at the centre of policy making; however in 2003 alone it can be estimated that:

5 billion disposable nappies were BURIED

Over 10 million tyres were BURIED

Close to 1 million more tyres were illegally FLY-TIPPED

There were 5,000 reported incidents of FLY-TIPPING

94,000 fridges were DUMPED

5,600 tonnes of furniture, equivalent to 82,000 double beds were DUMPED

42.2 million bags of rubble were DUMPED

Over 310,000 vehicles were ABANDONED

1,635,300,000 plastic litre bottles were BURIED

360,180,000 glass litre bottles were BURIED

32 million printer cartridges were BURIED

2 million mobile phones were BURIED

468 million batteries were BURIED

Haringey Lib Dem Environment Spokesperson, Cllr Bob Hare, says that Haringey Council needs to better inform residents about recycling and to put in the facilities needed to ensure that everyone in the borough is able to recycle easily. He also says that the Council need to heed advice from the Lib Dems and curb fly-tipping by abolishing its bulky waste collection charge.

Cllr Hare (Highgate) comments:

“This borough needs to buck the national recycling trend and improve its recycling figures dramatically. This will only come through greater information and accessibility to recycling facilities, something the Lib Dems have been promoting locally and nationally for years.

“We will continue to press Haringey to improve these measures and to review the issue of charging for bulky waste collection – which has contributed to so much more illegal fly-tipping in the borough.”

Haringey’s Lib Dem leader Neil Williams has expressed hope that improvements might be made to controversial attempts by developers to erect a large new building on a site in the Campsbourne, Hornsey, which would have a severe impact on local residents and the immediate area.

After a long-running campaign by the Lib Dems and local residents, Haringey Council discussions with developers of the site may lead to a reduction in the overall height of the building and a proper planting scheme for the site.

Builders are trying to erect nine new business and residential units on a small site at the end of ‘The Campsbourne’ cul-de-sac, off Hornsey High Road. The buildings would rise immediately behind the residential blocks in nearby Pembroke Road. Current plans allow for three-storey buildings with a 13 metre high brick wall (the rear wall of the proposed buildings) to be erected within 27 feet from the windows in the rear walls of the Pembroke Road residential properties and sited immediately in line with the bottom of the gardens of Rectory Gardens.

Lib Dems say that if the plans are realised, local tenants and residents would only have a view from the windows of their homes of a blank wall approximately 39 feet high – depriving them of direct air flow and light. Such large buildings would also overshadow further nearby properties on Rectory Gardens, The Campsbourne, and Campsbourne Road.

Lib Dem councillors Neil Williams and Lynne Featherstone have submitted a petition to the Council demanding action over the site. The help of Planning Aid for London has also been enlisted and they are keeping up the pressure to limit the impact of the development.

Cllr Neil Williams comments:

“I am hopeful that the continued pressure will make the developers think again about the impact of this enormous new building on those living nearby. It is true that they have a valid planning permission from Haringey, but in my view this should never have been granted.

“We can only hope that they see sense and agree to lower the height of the building.”

In the increasingly tight contest for the Hornsey and Wood Green Parliamentary seat, the Liberal Democrats have received a further boost with a website for dismayed Labour supporters urging local voters to back the Lib Dems.

The website, www.sonowwhodowevotefor.net, says sitting Labour MP Barbara Roche, having voted for the war in Iraq, tuition fees and foundation hospitals, is part of the problem and urges visitors to back the Lib Dems instead.

The move comes hot on the heels of a frank admission by a senior local Tory that the election battle was between the Lib Dems and Labour in the seat. Former Tory councillor Peter Forrest commented to a local newspaper:

“This election is a desperately keen fight between Featherstone and Roche, and what happens to the Conservative vote will be absolutely crucial.”

Lib Dem Leader Neil Williams comments:

“With former Labour supporters urging a vote locally for the Lib Dems, it certainly promises to be an interesting election.

“I’m not surprised though, as the Labour MPs support in Parliament for the war in Iraq, tuition fees, post office closures and foundation hospitals has gone down very badly in this area. A lot of Labour voters have already switched to the Lib Dems, and more and more are doing so.”

Lib Dem Parliamentary Spokesperson and local councillor Lynne Featherstone has launched an information card advising residents how to protect their mobile phone against theft and offering advice on what to do if it is stolen.

Ms Featherstone, who also serves on the Metropolitan Police Authority, says it is vital that people know about the mobile phone registration scheme and take steps to register their phone.

Lynne Featherstone comments:

“This is a very useful scheme, as many people are not sure how to have their phone disabled quickly if it is lost or stolen. This information card for local residents will keep this information right at hand.”

Note:

You can download the phone card (pdf format)

A Liberal Democrat councillor has expressed concern at the growth of a builder’s yard on the covered reservoir at the corner of Mount View Road and Ferme Park Road, N8.

Ron Aitken says he is worried about the impact the yard could have on the local environment.

Local residents and environmental groups have fought for many years to preserve the area of green space on the hill above Crouch End, with its open feel and fine views down the hill towards the City of London. Cllr Aitken will be writing to Haringey Council’s Planning Department and Thames Water to seek assurances that the local environment will not be compromised by this expanding business.

Cllr Aitken (Crouch End) comments:

“It is essential that Haringey Council and Thames Water address concerns about this site. I will be writing to both to get clarity over planning permission for the site and what they are doing to protect the environment in the area.”