Liberal Democrats are encouraging local residents to bring forward ideas onhow best to best to spend the £50,000 given to each of Haringey’s AreaAssemblies by Haringey Council to tackle small local projects and repairs.

However, while welcoming the scheme they expressed concerns at the fairnessof the allocation of funds.

The decision to distribute the £50,000 to each Area Assembly was met withstrong criticism by Lib Dems earlier this year, as residents in the west ofthe borough were left short changed.

The Muswell Hill assembly received thesame funding as other assemblies, despite being twice as large as some. TheLib Dems had suggested that money should be allocated proportionallyaccording to the size of the areas.

Instead Harningey Council pressed on with itsplans which have resulted in some small, two-ward Area Assemblies receivingthe same amount of money as a large Area Assembly such as Muswell Hill, which covers four wards.

However Lib Dems and residents are determined to make the most of the money.Suggestions last night were made for projects including extra streetlighting, litter bins and support for local voluntary projects such asgardening help or home security measures for elderly residents.

Lib Dem leader and Highgate Councillor, Neil Williams welcomed theresidents’ ideas despite the disappointing funding, but said it wasimportant that the projects do not duplicate the things that the Councilshould be providing as a matter of course.

Cllr Neil Williams comments:

“It certainly appears to residents that the Labour Council has playedpolitics with the distribution of money for this scheme, but we aredetermined to make the most of it.

“We will no doubt have good ideas from residents for small localimprovements.

“However, it isimportant is that we ensure that the money is not spent onsimply making good existing inadequacies in council services.”

Local Lib Dem Cllr Bob Hare is calling for improvements to cycle lanesaround Haringey. At Thursday’s Muswell Hill and Highgate Area Assembly, Haringey Council put forward their plans for cycle lane provision.

Cllr Hare welcomedthe attention being given to this subject and asked for further improvementsto be made to the plans.

The presentation on plans to improve and create cycle lanes started adetailed discussion with local residents, with many current problemshighlighted. These include cycle lanes which stop abruptly when they areneeded most – where roads become narrow and at junctions. One localresident, currently at university in Sheffield, explained that the councilthere had adopted a policy of pavement sharing between cyclists andpedestrians which had been extremely successful.

Cllr Hare, Lib Dem Environment Spokesperson and a keen cyclist, asked thatcycle ‘cut-throughs’ be provided at kerb build-outs. These build-outs areinstalled to improve pedestrian safety, but without cut-throughs they createserious dangers for cyclists who get squeezed between the build-out andpassing traffic.

“Haringey still has a long way to go before we will have a usable network ofroutes that might be used by, say, a twelve old,” said Cllr Hare.

“Nevertheless, there has been a useful discussion and a number of issues andconcerns affecting cyclists were raised with the Council, which I hope theywill take on board for their plans.

“I urge Haringey Council to install ‘cut-throughs’ for bikes at points wherekerbs have been built out to protect pedestrians,” Cllr Hare said.

“This will help improve cycle safety and convenience across the Borough andencourage more people towards environmentally friendly travel.”

Alexandra ward councillor Susan Oatway has given birth to a baby boy – a first child for her and partner Mike.

Both mother and baby are doing well.

Local Lib Dem councillors in Stroud Green and Crouch End have expressedtheir opposition to a controversial application to build a cement batchingplant at the Cranford Way Industrial Estate in Hornsey. The Lib Dems saythat the estate, surrounded by residential streets, is in no way a suitablelocation for such a heavy industrial activity.

Cllr Laura Edge (Stroud Green) and Cllr David Winskill (Crouch End) say thatfor three decades, local residents living near Cranford Way have coexistedhappily with the light-industrial businesses that operate from the site.Most firms located at Cranford Way are engaged in distribution andwarehousing activities, and have caused few environmental or neighbourhooddifficulties in the area.

Local councillor Laura Edge comments:

“The prospect of a cement plant on thesite is causing great concern to local people. To introduce such a heavyindustrial process involving noise, dust, hazardous substances andheavy-duty freight traffic to our local roads would be in no one’s interest.

“I am also concerned that Haringey Council has not done enough to inform localresidents of the planning application, with many local streets notinformed.”

Cllr David Winskill adds:

“This site is not a suitable place from which toestablish a distribution network for cement. We will be asking thedevelopers to think again about the application, and withdraw it, otherwiseit will be vigorously opposed in the area.”

Lib Dem Environment Spokesperson, Cllr Bob Hare (Highgate) has criticisedHaringey’s Environment Scrutiny Panel for not inviting local tree experts tolast week’s panel meeting – despite the fact that trees and parksmaintenance were on its agenda.

Lib Dem Councillor Hare, who helped found the Tree Trust in Haringey and whoattends meetings of the Friends of Parks Forum, invited all of these groupshimself, but by then it was too late for most of them to attend, and in anycase none would have had time to discuss the issues with their members andcommittees.

A key committee, Haringey Council’s ‘Environmental Scrutiny’ Panel meets 4 timesa year. Its purpose is for the public to ask questions about the Council’senvironmental performance and policies.

Cllr Bob Hare comments:

“The whole point of scrutiny is to ask questionsand to improve performance. Unfortunately, as the Audit Commission haspointed out, Haringey’s scrutiny committees are not run in an effectivemanner. Failing to notifying these key groups who know all about our localparks is a good way of avoiding criticism, but it completely misses thepoint. It is excluding a huge amount of expertise on the ground.

“I have asked that this agenda item be repeated at the next meeting of thepanel, so that all the Friends groups can be invited to have their say withplenty of notice. This mustn’t happen again.”

Local Lib Dem councillors Lynne Featherstone and Neil Williams have been assured by Transport for London that they will allow a couple of extra weeks for residents to respond to the vital consultation on the future of the 603 bus route between Hampstead and Swiss Cottage.

Agreement was reached at a meeting last week with the local steering group on the route between local councillors TfL representatives, and bus campaigners.

Local campaigners told TfL of the good take up of the trial service, which has been running since January, with certain signs that the buses would be popular if running all day long. Residents now have until 16th July to respond to TfL saying how useful they find the service.

Local Lib Dem councillors in Highgate and Muswell Hill are urging thousands of residents to participate, in order to keep the pressure on Labour Mayor Ken Livingstone to say yes to a full service on the route – something he has resisted so far.

Lib Dem councillor Lynne Featherstone, who has campaigned tirelessly for the route for many years, comments:

“A full service no the 603 is absolutely vital. It will hugely benefit public transport links in the area. We now have an extra couple of weeks to respond to the consultation on the future of the route, and I do hope as many residents as possible will respond.

Cllr Neil Williams adds:

“The more replies we have saying why we need this bus, the more pressure we can put on Ken Livingstone.”

Lib Dem Environment Spokesperson Bob Hare has helped residents successfullylobby Haringey Council to alter plans for a new junction at the New River Villagein Hornsey to incorporate wider pedestrian pavements and ten new trees forthe area.

The news, announced last week, has pleased local resident andenvironmental groups whose requests to save a number of old trees at thesite of the junction were rejected by Haringey Council earlier this year.

Local resident and conservation groups along with Bob Hare had a number ofmeetings with both the Council and St James Homes – the developer of the NewRiver Village at the former Hornsey Water Works.

Early on in the planning process, local people including St Mary’s PrimarySchool opposite the entrance, had expressed concern at the loss of trees andthe creation of the large junction for the new development. The visual,traffic and noise effects made a ‘triple whammy’ on this sensitive siteopposite the old church tower and beside the Green, added to which, everychild going to school from the Hornsey village direction would have to crossone arm of the junction.

Even St James Homes had said that they would have preferred to have used theoriginal entrance which was further away and slightly down from Hornsey.However, despite being told by the Council that the location of the entrancewas not decided, it became clear that it had been. Moreover, in creating thenew entrance, a number of mature trees were lost.

However, after pressure by Lib Dem councillor Bob Hare, who attendedmeetings with the planners and the developer, alterations were made to thedesign of the junction.The new plans will mean that the pavement will bewidened slightly to shorten the width of the junction for pedestrianscrossing.

Also Haringey Council has added ten large trees to the plan, andconfirmed that the services of a planting company specialising in largetrees had been acquired to plant them around the new entrance later thisyear.

Cllr Bob Hare said:

“While obviously sorry to have lost the case for a moresensitively located junction, and to have lost trees that in some cases werewell over a hundred years’ old, I am very pleased that local people havesucceeded in getting some small improvements in design and that we will begetting ten new, large trees around the junction”.

Liberal Democrats in Haringey have again condemned the way in which Labourcouncillors on the Social Services and Health Scrutiny Panel voted againstusing legal powers to refer the closure of two mental health day hospitalsin the borough to the Secretary of State for Health.

This is the second time Labour councillors have ignored the pleas of mentalhealth users and thwarted the Scrutiny Panel from exercising its legalpowers. A similar vote in March was lost because Labour members wanted togive the Mental Health Trust a further three months in which to consider theissue.

Lib Dem Social Services and Health Spokesperson Cllr Ron Aitken moved thereferral to the Secretary of State on the grounds that the Trust has now hada year in which to reverse its decision to close Kate Marsden and CanningCrescent Day Hospitals.

This time the vote was 2-2 and the Labour Chair used his casting vote todefeat the proposal.

“It beggars belief that Labour members of the Scrutiny Panel voted alongparty lines to frustrate a move to use the Panel’s legal power to refer thematter to the Secretary of State” said Cllr Aitken.

“For mental healthpatients and their carers this is a slap in the face from Labour who saythey care but in practice toe the party line”.

Liberal Democrat Environment Spokesperson Bob Hare has called on the Councilto address the lighting problem on the Muswell Hill section of the ParklandWalk, N10.

The tunnel that runs under Muswell Hill currently has six of itseight lights out of action. This makes the tunnel very gloomy, even duringthe daytime. Cllr Hare has written to Haringey Council requesting that theyinvestigate the issue and take immediate action.

Cllr Hare says that Haringey Council should increase its efforts in maintainingParkland Walk including removal of graffiti and litter, and regular lightingmaintenance to ensure that the walk, enjoyed by thousands, is welcoming andfeels safe.

Cllr Hare comments:

“I am requesting that Haringey Council takes immediate action to repair thelighting and clean up the Parkland Walk. It is a wonderful resource forHaringey to have and I am keen to ensure that the Council does not neglectit.

“People need good illumination to feel safe. When most of the lights in atunnel are not working, and when there is graffiti on the walls, the placestarts looking derelict. This is why I am requesting immediate action to getthe lights working and to have graffiti painted over as soon as possible.”

Liberal Democrats in Haringey have expressed further serious concerns thatthe lessons of the Victoria Climbie case have not been learned by Haringey social services and other agencies involved in serious child protection cases.

Liberal Democrat Social Services Spokesperson Cllr Ron Aitken wrote to Haringey Council in December last year demanding answers about a serious case involving a nine year old boy who was branded by his father with an iron.

It emerged in court that the father believed the boy to be possessed by the devil having taken him to an evangelical Church in Finsbury Park.

Last week, the Council was forced to reveal a Part 8 Serious Case Reviewabout the accidental scalding of a two year old boy which revealed seriousshortcomings in social services and NHS handling of child protection whichechoed the language of Lord Laming’s criticisms in the Climbie Report.

In the hot iron case, the boy’s neighbour took him in and called police.The father was later jailed for what the judge called “a campaign ofcruelty”. In the Victoria Climbie case, Lord Laming examined the role ofan evangelical church in Finsbury Park and a subsequent Charity Commission Report instructed the Church to institute a child protection policy.

It is also unclear which case the SSI and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate ofConstabulary cited in their joint inspection of Haringey Social Servicesin March and June 2003, when they stated that police expressed concernsthat they were not informed of suspected serious abuse of a child.

Lib Dem Social Services Spokesperson, Cllr Ron Aitken, comments:

“It appears that there is yet another serious case in addition to that ofVictoria and boy Adam which reveals appalling failures by Haringey SocialServices.

“Lessons have not been learned, and the same people are in charge andrefuse to be held accountable for these failures. Ministers should becalling for their resignations.”