On-line voters have signalled a resounding ‘no’ to local MP Barbara Roche’s backing for George Bush and Tony Blair over their plans for war against Iraq.

In an on-line poll on this website, 79% of the 225 people who voted said they were opposed to the Hornsey and Wood Green MP’s controversial support for the Prime Minister’s drive towards military action against Iraq.

Lib Dem Parliamentary spokesperson, Lynne Featherstone, comments:

“On the eve of what looks certain to be a military attack on Iraq, our poll strongly indicated that people in Haringey are strongly opposed to this war. It is a pity our local MP seems unable to heed their calls for more time to force Iraq to disarm, and to spare a humanitarian disaster for the people of Iraq.

“Mrs Roche should take note.Almost every other neighbouring Labour MP has opposed military action. It is bitterly disappointing to see our Member of Parliament so totally failing to reflect the huge concerns of the people of Haringey.”

Following a meeting this afternoon with Council officers, Liberal Democrat Councillor Stephen Gilbert (Fortis Green), has said that it is now “highly unlikely” that Haringey Council will go ahead with plans to impose a Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) in parts of Muswell Hill/Fortis Green.

Councillor Gilbert today met with officers to discuss the results of the Council’s recent consultation over the CPZ. A clear majority (62%) of residents who responded to the Council’s consultation were against the plans. With 30% in favour, participation in the consultation was a creditable 42%.

Councillor Stephen Gilbert comments:

“The Council’s consultation process has shown that the majority of residents in the area in do not want a CPZ. As local residents have spoken, this scheme will rightly not get the go-ahead.

“I’m delighted that so many people from the area took part in the consultation, and I’m even more pleased that this time, the Council is listening to their views.

“I acknowledge that some residents did favour parking controls, and the council must not lose sight of the fact that there is still a problem with commuter parking in some parts of the area. I will be working with local residents and officers to find an alternative way to solve this problem.”

Local residents are celebrating after illegally erected billboards were removed from the waterworks development in Hornsey following months of pressure from local residents and Liberal Democrat Councillors and activists.

The billboards were erected without Council consent nine months ago by an advertising company associated with Thames Water. Since then the Council has received complaints on a regular basis. Lib Dem Environment Spokesperson, Cllr Bob Hare and local activist David Burridge have worked hard to ensure that the Council has kept the pressure on the company to remove the billboards.

The Council finally served notice on Thames Water last month telling them to remove the billboards by this week (10th March) or have them removed by the Council at a considerable cost to the company. This week the eyesores were being removed by the advertising company and residents were celebrating.

Cllr. Bob Hare (Lib Dem) was delighted to see the billboards go. He commented:

“It is a great success to see these ugly billboards being removed. The Council officers have done a good job in applying pressure in a difficult situation, where none of the companies involved seemed willing to take responsibility for them.

“We have shown as residents of this community that we will not tolerate individuals or businesses who have such a disregard for planning regulations, the environment and the people of this borough.”

Crouch End Councillor Dave Winskill is to ask Haringey Council why it has taken so long for mobile CCTV to be installed in Crouch End and Muswell Hill considering decisions to install it were finalised almost two years ago.

Since the centralisation of borough police to Wood Green, areas such as Muswell Hill and Crouch End have experienced a serious decline in police coverage and an increase in response times. This had led to increases in various street crimes on property and individuals. After discussions between Crouch End traders and the police, a bid was put in for funding for CCTV.

However bureaucratic hold ups – including European tendering regulations – and British Telecom’s inefficiency in hooking up the equipment have meant that cameras installed physically last year remain unconnected to a central control room.

Cllr. Winskill and Muswell Hill Councillor Lynne Featherstone have been working hard to improve safety in the community. They are both disappointed and angered by the time that it has taken to get the cameras working.

Cllr. Winskill (Lib Dem) comments:

“The length of time taken to give cover to Muswell Hill and Crouch End is ridiculous. The decision to install cameras was taken almost two years ago and they are still yet to go ‘live’.”

Cllr. Featherstone comments:

“I hope that Haringey will review this whole process and feed back to all those concerned about how unacceptable this is. This is a matter of community safety and while the Council is being taken for a ride, local residents are paying the price.”

Lib Dem Parliamentary spokesperson Lynne Featherstone has congratulated MP Simon Hughes and MEP Sarah Ludford for their successful selections as London Mayoral candidate and head of the party’s list of candidates for the European Parliament.

Ms Ludford’s selection as the party’s top London European candidate was confirmed this week, following the landslide win for Simon Hughes in the Mayoral selection.

Ms Featherstone says both have taken a strong interest in Haringey and have been a boost the party’s local campaigns.

Lynne Featherstone comments:

“I am delighted that Simon Hughes is to be our mayoral candidate and that Sarah Ludford will lead our campaign next year for elections to the European Parliament. Simon will prove a worthy match for Ken Livingstone in the battle to become London’s mayor. London has many issues that these heavyweight campaigners will address, such as the state of the Tube, crime, and our overstretched health services in the capital. I look forward to working with them both.”

Council plans to enter into a development project to build a new arts centre in the memory of former Tottenham MP, Bernie Grant have been branded “irresponsible” by Liberal Democrat councillors following their failed attempt to have the plans reconsidered.

The development is set to be built in Tottenham and is being hailed by the Council as a centrepiece to the regeneration programme to the east of the Borough. However Liberal Democrats are concerned that far from regenerating the borough, it could plunge the Council further into debt with overspend being as high as £3 million.

Deputy Leader of the Official Opposition, Cllr. Wayne Hoban who asked for the decision to be referred to the Overview and Scrutiny Panel for further consideration, claims that much of the development plan is based on ‘assumed’ funding and tax breaks, although none had been confirmed at the time of the decision. A key ‘assumption’ is that VAT will be recoverable; if it is not, then the sum of £2.1 million will be added to the £12 million budget, which would make existing plans unviable.

Cllr. Hoban (Lib Dem) comments:

“I am very concerned that at a time when the Social Services budget is heading for a £4.2 million overspend, Haringey council is preparing to enter into a partnership agreement on terms which even the Director of Finance has confirmed is a high risk venture, and which could expose the council to a £3 million bill. We [Lib Dems] have no wish to see Haringey Council appear, yet again, in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.”

In the battle to keep open the Archway Road Post Office, Highgate’s Liberal Democrat councillors are calling on the Post Office to extend the consultation deadline so that local people can express their outrage at the closure plans for the Archway Road branch. They say the deadline set for 18th March, does not give residents enough time to consider the ill conceived plans.

Cllr Neil Williams had a meeting with local residents last night, who are up in arms about the planned closure. He says the Post Office has not done enough to let people know about the plans, which will be a severe blow to local residents and the hard pressed retailers along the Archway Road. Local residents and the area’s Lib Dem councillors have also started a petition to show the strength of local feeling on the issue.

The Post Office has earmarked two Post Offices on the Archway Road for closure (one in Haringey and one in Islington) as a result of Post Office restructuring plans for the area. The Lib Dems say there are many elderly residents in the Highgate and Archway areas who rely on their local Post office. Highgate is a hilly part of London and the walk up to the village branch can be a trek for some residents

Cllr Neil Williams comments:

“I am very disappointed with the way this issue is being handled by the Post Office, and I would like them to agree to an extra two weeks of consultation.

“The deadline of this Friday is not enough. Despite writing to object, I have still not even received a copy of their consultation document from the Post Office, and have had to obtain it from other sources. And all this despite their apparent desire to consult with local councillors.”

Greater London Authority member Lynne Featherstone, who has been warning for months that the Post Office was bound to target Haringey branches for closure, adds:

“I am concerned that the Post Office bosses are not doing all they can to bring their closure plans to the attention of local residents. If we don’t oppose these plans, Archway Road could be the first of many branches to close in Haringey. I hope that as many Highgate residents as possible will sign the local petition.”

A Lib Dem councillor is calling for Haringey to clean up Hornsey after citing a catalogue of environmental neglect in the area. Lib Dem Environment Spokesperson Cllr Bob Hare’s comments come following reports from residents about the state of the area. Cllr Hare has visited a number of Hornsey sites and found a cross-section of problems, from tree loss to the dumping of car parts.

Tree Loss
Cllr. Hare has contacted the Council to express his concern over the loss of Hornsey’s trees and has urged Haringey to engage with residents and plan a tree-scaping strategy for Hornsey High Street. He highlights Rectory Gardens and the green by the Great Northern Pub, which have both lost a number of trees over the last few years due to storms and disease, as a major concern. Cllr. Hare is keen for the Council to act now in replacing the losses before the end of the current planting season.

Cllr. Hare Comments: “I am concerned that we are losing a lot of greenery in the area. Trees are felled and are not being replaced. I have written to the Council urging them to invest some of their regeneration money in a tree-scaping initiative for Hornsey High Street.”

Dumped Car Parts
The car park to the east of Newland Road is not only the site of abandoned cars but a dumping ground for old car parts. Cllr. Hare has contacted the Council to bring their attention to the large amounts of rubbish in the bushes as well as old tyres and exhaust pipes just dumped amongst the shrubbery.

“This area is in a really terrible state,” says Cllr Hare. “I have contacted the Council to draw their attention to the problem and I will be keeping a close eye to ensure that they clean up an area that is fast becoming a health and safety hazard.”

Unpaved Footway
Cllr Hare is also calling for urgent repairs to the footpath outside North Point flats, Tottenham Lane. The area remains unpaved, although the development is now occupied and the work complete.

Bob Hare comments: “I am concerned about safety here. The footpath is in a bad state of disrepair, and I have written to the Council to ask what is going to be done to restore the footway and when it will be completed.

Bob Hare concludes:

“All of these issues contribute to an unpleasant environment in Hornsey, and they must be addressed. Rubbish, broken footpaths and a lack of care for our trees just encourages others to do more damage to the environment. Hornsey is an area where action is needed now on a number of fronts.”

Lib Dem councillors for Highgate are calling for a wider consultation of businesses over the proposed CPZ scheme following a meeting at the Civic Centre where only four business representatives were present.

The meeting, which was the final one before the evidence goes to the steering committee, was lively and productive. However Lib Dem councillors are concerned that it only allowed for a snapshot of how Highgate’s diverse business community view the possible CPZ.

Cllr. Hare comments:

“Those that were in attendance made some invaluable contributions to the discussion but we need to hear from more sections of the business community. Businesses in Archway Road who bear the brunt of the area’s traffic problems, have not been encouraged to attend tonight.

“It is important to involve everyone in this decision and cross-party we are all trying to get a consultation that is fair, well informed and representative of the residents of Highgate. We will be encouraging the Council to ensure that they consult businesses on a wider scale before making any final decisions.”

Residents of Cranley Gardens, Muswell Hill, have this week made progress towards ending the road crossing problem after Haringey Council promised to inspect and renew a badly faded zebra crossing in the road, near the junction with Park Road.

The action comes after local Lib Dem Councillor Lynne Featherstone raised the issue with the council. For some time, Cllr Featherstone (Muswell Hill) has campaigned for Cranley Gardens to be made safer, not just for the residents, but for parents with young children who have to cross the road to reach the playgroup facilities in the nearby church.

Cllr. Featherstone comments:

“The crossing is in a terrible state. The markings are badly faded and the beacons are constantly broken. Residents have been very concerned that traffic does not always stop for people waiting to cross.

“I am pleased that the council has agreed that improvements are necessary and are likely to happen soon. I have asked if the zebra crossing can be upgraded to a pelican crossing and they are looking into this too.”

“We have long campaigned for some traffic calming measures to this road and I will continue to press for interactive speed signs to be introduced to the area. However, I think that this is a good start and will a step towards making Cranley Gardens a safer place for pedestrians.”