Police in Muswell Hill have agreed to ensure that the boroughs’ new police community support officers (PCSOs) take a more active role in dealing with the problem of flyposting on the Broadway after local councillor Lynne Featherstone wrote to them expressing the concerns of local residents on the issue.

Cllr Featherstone (Muswell Hill) contacted community inspector Craig Middleton, who oversees beat operations in Haringey, detailing complaints that the Lib Dems had received on flyposting in recent months. Inspector Middleton responded last week confirming that the PCSOs would be directed to take a more active role in combating the problem on the Broadway.

Cllr Featherstone is pleased that the issue is being tackled and that PCSOs are being directed to serve the community effectively:

Lynne Featherstone comments:

“I am pleased that the issue of the flyposting is being taken seriously by the police in the area. It is a real scourge on the appearance of the Broadway. PCSOs have had a very positive impact on the streets of Haringey and they are ideally placed to tackle this problem in Muswell Hill.”

Lib Dem councillor Lynne Featherstone has secured an extension to the yellow lines at the Onslow Gardens junction with Muswell Hill Road, N10. The action was assured by the Council’s traffic and road safety team last week after Cllr Featherstone passed on concerns that the double yellow lines on the junction, implemented late last year, did not extend far enough to improve access to the road.

Cllr Featherstone (Muswell Hill), who was responsible for bringing the problem of access and visibility at the junction to the attention of the Council originally back in October 2002, is pleased that it is taking action to resolve the issue. She is hopeful that the proposed safety measures will resolve the problem.

Cllr Featherstone comments:

“The Council has assured me that they investigated the site and have approved an extension of parking restrictions in the area. I am pleased that I have been able to assist local residents in having their concerns listened to, investigated and actioned.

“Haringey needs to improve road safety and this kind of measure will improve visibility and access and will go some way to improving safety for both drivers, cyclist and pedestrians in the area.”

Lib Dem Environment Spokesperson Cllr Bob Hare is urging local residents to help crack down on the scourge of dumped cars in the borough. The Highgate councillor has launched a new abandoned vehicles factsheet which gives local residents all the information they need to keep on top of the acute car dumping problem.

The free Lib Dem guide contains details of how to contact the Council and explains the situations in which the Council will or will not act. Cllr Hare says that the problem has become so acute because one in ten vehicles in the borough are now on the road illegally – as many as 10,000 vehicles in total. Sadly, the easiest way for an owner to get rid of such a car when it becomes unwanted is to park it in the street and just walk away.

Bob Hare comments:

“I know from my own local casework that this is one of the most frustrating problems for residents. Cars not registered with the DVLA are often just dumped, even through if traced, the owners can face heavy fines or even imprisonment.

“This new factsheet answers some of the most common questions asked, and we will be distributing it to local residents and associations.”

The factsheet is available here (pdf format).

As controversial plans for the ‘rationalisation’ of vital maternity and children’s Accident & Emergency services in the North London area come before the Council’s key Overview & Scrutiny Committee today, Lib Dem Health spokesperson Cllr Neil Williams is raising concerns on how the changes may affect waiting lists and journey times for patients to local hospitals such as the Whittington and North Middlesex.

The current NHS plans involve concentrating children’s and maternity services at fewer sites in the five boroughs in the North London area, instead of the present spread of services across six north London hospitals. Cllr Williams says that children’s A & E services at certain sites could therefore close, and full reassurances must be given before any ‘rationalisation’ plan takes effect.

Lib Dem Health Spokesperson Cllr Neil Williams (Highgate) comments:

“I will be asking the health authority to explain how any rationalisation plan will affect patients. Parents may have to travel further to take their kids to A & E, and I want to know whether this will be as safe in an emergency.”

Lib Dem London Assembly Health spokeswoman Lynne Featherstone adds:

“Journey times are an issue, but it also concerns me how quickly will children be seen when they get to the enlarged services? If waiting times are increased because not enough extra doctors, nurses and beds are put in place in the centralised units, will children be put at risk? These are questions which must be answered before the Health Service pushes ahead with these plans for North London. I also want to know specifically how they will impact on the two local hospitals, the North Mid and the Whittington.”

A letter sent to Haringey Lib Dem Leader, Cllr Ross Laird, has revealed that Labour Government Ministers are determined to force the closure of London Post Offices. In a letter to Cllr Laird, Stephen Timms MP, DTI Minister, explained that while he was prepared to “prevent avoidable closures of rural offices”, there would be no such protection for urban ones and he expected the Government’s closures to go ahead as planned.

The letter has dismayed Liberal Democrat councillors, activist and local residents who have been campaigning and petitioning over the past year to save Post Offices across the borough earmarked for closure. Cllr Laird (Muswell Hill) believes that the letter displays the contempt that the Labour run Government has for consultation and public opinion.

Cllr Laird comments:

“This letter from the Minister demonstrates what a sham the whole Post Office consultation process really is. The Government has every intention of closing down our local post offices in London, with miniscule consideration of the affect this might have on local communities and local businesses.

“I also asked what research had been commissioned into the effects of closures on small businesses and the Minister failed to respond. The Government and local MP, Barbara Roche, who fully backed the closure programme in Parliament, should be ashamed.”

If you thought that the end of the Cold War was ever likely to put the world’s spies out of business, you’d be wrong – that’s one message of a new book just published and co-authored by Muswell Hill Lib Dem councillor Jonathan Bloch.

Jonathan Bloch’s book, written with Paul Todd, Global Intelligence – The World Secret Services Today, explains how the war on terrorism provides a new working context in which the world’s intelligence agencies can operate.

The book represents a second book in a colourful publishing career for the Muswell Hill councillor. In 1984, his British Intelligence and Covert Action caused a national political storm, as the then Tory government was so annoyed by the book that the Home Secretary refused permanent residency to Jonathan, who was then a political refugee.

Jonathan Bloch comments:

“I wanted to write a book that looks at how these intelligence agencies have found new roles for themselves. We now face a large and unsolved, contradiction between protecting the liberties of individuals, and a growing world of secret and unaccountable agencies. This contradiction is one which we will all have to address.”

Liberal Democrat councillors have expressed their concerns over the future of bids made to Transport for London to improve road safety in Alexandra and Bounds Green wards. The concerns have been raised following reports that TfL are facing a £64m shortfall in their budget caused by lower than expected revenues from congestion charging. The concern is that the area including Alexandra Park Road (N22), Durnsford Road and Bidwell Gardens could be casualties.

The Council’s traffic management department has been positive about the future of the proposals claiming that both the £99,000 for the first phase of road safety improvements including a zebra crossing on Dukes Avenue, named as the country’s second worst ‘rat run’ last week and the additional £100,000 for improvements to the Dukes Avenue / Alexandra Park Road (N10) area had already been secured.

However, Alexandra ward councillor Susan Oatway, who has been involved in the consultation and development between the local residents and the Council from the beginning, is keen to have confirmation from TfL that the funding required to improve road safety throughout the rest of the ward is secure as originally promised. Subsequently the Council has requested a meeting with Mayor Ken Livingston on the issue.

Despite her concerns, Cllr Oatway (Alexandra) is pressing on with the consultation over the spending of the additional £100,000 on the second phase of safety improvements to the area with the next resident/council officer meeting scheduled for early September.

Cllr Oatway comments:

“No news is good news, but we want assurances from TfL that the Council will have the money to carry out the improvements that the residents and officers have worked so hard for.

“This funding is vital. We know that Duke’s Avenue is a very dangerous road as recent national media coverage has highlighted, but there are rat runs that are just as bad just a few streets away.

“Residents of these areas were assured that they would be next on the drawing board and to withdraw funding for the project would be a travesty.”

Lib Dem councillors are calling on Haringey Council to improve access for disabled residents in the borough, following the release of figures which show that the Labour run council is well short on its target for disabled access to council buildings

Figures released in the Council’s Best Value report show that only 6.25% of local authority buildings open to the public have suitable access compared to the Council’s own modest target of 9%. Haringey’s figures are also substantially lower than the London-wide average of 22%.

Highgate councillor and health spokesperson Neil Williams comments:

“These figures are very disappointing. I know from my own experience in Highgate that lack of disabled access for residents and visitors to council properties is a serious problem. Much better use can be put to buildings’ which have proper access. The council is way below its own modest target, and it needs to perform better.”

Lib Dem councillors are calling for CCTV cameras to help tackle a dumping problem at a Fortis Green depot. Muswell Hill councillor Lynne Featherstone, and Fortis Green’s Matt Davies say that there is a severe dumping problem at the Lynx Depot site near Coppetts Wood, and that the Council has been asked several times to help tackle the problem.

Ms Featherstone says that Haringey has even approached Lynx about installing CCTV at the site and for the installation of more secure fencing, but this has been so far resisted on grounds of cost.

Lynne Featherstone comments:

“Dumping hot spots like this need to be tackled, and the Council must ensure that it works closely with the staff at Lynx Depot to see that the situation improves. I have been receiving complaints about this problem for months now.”

Cllr Matt Davies, Fortis Green Ward, comments:

“Lynx and the Council must look more closely at installing CCTV at the site, and catch the dumpers red handed. Action has got to be taken to stop dumping in the area, as one item successfully dumped only encourages more dumping.”

Commenting on the decision to award Dukes Avenue, Muswell Hill, runner up in the Worst Rat Run in Britain competition, local Lib Dem councillor Susan Oatway comments:

“Though not exactly welcome news, let’s hope this leads to a greater acknowledgment of the severity of the rat run problem in Dukes Avenue and in the whole of the Muswell Hill area.

“We must have some action from Haringey council and Transport for London to properly engage with local residents about traffic calming in the area. The raised crossing at the primary school is a start, but we know that proper funding can be made available, and a decision is long overdue.

“This rat run award should focus minds on the need for action now.”