Highgate’s Lib Dem councillors have condemned the way wheelie bins are being rolled out in the area, as wheelie bins this week arrived earlier than planned, giving local residents virtually no time to object and to point out that their home may be largely unsuitable for the new containers.

Several residents in Cromwell Avenue and the surrounding roads have objected this week, but received little comfort from the Council or Haringey Accord. They are now collecting a petition objecting to the whole mess, and want many of the bins removed.

After the intervention of Lib Dem councillors, the council and bin providers Haringey Accord have agreed to come to Cromwell Avenue to try to sort out the mess.

In a further twist, Haringey Accord has told the Lib Dems that their database shows which houses should have wheelies – but when those distributing the bins go round doing so, they do not have this information to hand, causing completely unnecessary distress to residents who have found the bins foisted upon them this week, and must now battle at their own time and expense to have them removed.

Lib Dem councillor Neil Williams comments:

“The whole roll out has begun very badly in Highgate. The council and Accord are entirely responsible and must sort out this mess. It is a ridiculous approach, just dumping the bins on residents without observing the timetable and without checking their own lists to see if the property is suitable. Residents do not have to accept this fait accompli, and should call Accord on (020) 8885 7700 to object.”

• Budget of tax rises, not better services, say Lib Dems
• Haringey part of council tax to rise by over 17%
• Lib Dems predict council tax rise of over 50% rise over four years

Labour-run Haringey Council’s high tax budget was condemned by the Lib Dem opposition who accused Haringey Labour of making the council tax payer pick up the tab for their financial mismanagement.

The council has proposed a massive 17.4% increase in the council tax to cover the perceived £13 million hole in this year’s budget.

The Lib Dems argued that council tax rises were the result of two cynical moves byHaringey Labour in the run-up to the last council elections – holding down council tax increases and at the same time heavily overspending in an attempt to retain their seats at the May 2002 local elections.

The Lib Dems have also pointed out that on Labour’s current plans, council tax bills will rise by over 50% over the four year lifespan of the current council.

Lib Dem Leader of the Official Opposition, Cllr Ross Laird, lead the attack on the budget at this week’s full council, saying that Haringey had failed to convince the Government that it needed better funding, while at the same time wasted money on bureaucracy and expensive consultants, resulting in a large overspend.

Ross Laird comments:

“This budget shows the depth of Haringey Labour’s cynicism. They have pegged back council tax rises, and indulged in huge overspending, which will now have to be paid for. The tax increases for local residents will be huge, and some vital services will suffer. It is a budget of tax rises, not a budget for investment in the borough.”

Liberal Democrat opposition councillors have expressed dismay that leading Labour councillors in Haringey are seeking to cling on to their posts, following the publication of the Laming report. At the full meeting of the council last night, there were no personal apologies from Labour council leader George Meehan, nor was there an offer to resign, despite him being personally criticised by Lord Laming.

Lib Dem councillors also expressed disgust at reports that Labour councillors were whipped and threatened with disciplinary action if they voted against the motion put forward by George Meehan.

Speaking from the Civic Centre, Ron Aitken, Lib Dem social services spokesperson, commented:

“The council has shown tonight that they have not learned their lessons. Individuals, clearly held responsible by Lord Laming in his report, are going to try to cling on to office. It is a dismal spectacle. The matter must not be allowed to rest, and we must have a full debate on all these issues at a special Full Council now being called by the opposition.”

Haringey Council have agreed to a call from Lib Dem councillor Lynne Featherstone for schools to review their charging policies for hiring out school halls and to look favourably on local community groups.

Lynne Featherstone took up the issue following complaints from a local group who are facing large increases in hire charges and concerns that other groups may be suffering similarly. In this case, the price for hiring the hall had gone from £20 to £65 for two hours in the space of two years.

Commenting Lynne Featherstone said:

“This Community group came to me because they were being priced out of school halls. These groups are a vital part of our local community and I am delighted that the council now agrees with me and will be calling for a review.”

Note:

The agreement for a review followed a verbal council question from Cllr Featherstone and a subsequent exchange of letters between Ms Featherstone and Mr Meehan.

Lib Dem Parliamentary spokesperson Lynne Featherstone has attacked Haringey’s Labour MPs for failing to back Liberal Democrat plans to scrap the charges for personal care for the elderly.

The Government’s Community Care (Delayed Discharge) Bill had initially contained a power that would allow any future Government to introduce free personal care quickly by regulations without a new Act of Parliament.The Government, in which both local MPs serve, however, tabled an amendment to restrict free care to no more than six weeks after discharge.A future Government committed to introducing free personal care would now have to amend the law.

Commenting on the move, Lynne Featherstone said:

“It is very disappointing to see Haringey’s MPs lined up against free personal care for the elderly. It should be available on the basis of need. It is not a luxury, and would simply free help with feeding, dressing, washing and intimate care.

“In supporting the Government’s callous move, Haringey’s Labour MP seem to favour the prospect of our elderly citizens losing their homes to pay for personal care. This is in marked contrast to Scotland, where the Lib Dems have ensured that the elderly will be treated with dignity should they fall ill.”

Lib Dem Parliamentary spokesperson for Hornsey and Wood Green, Lynne Featherstone, has secured a commitment from the police to look again at reopening Muswell Hill police station, following a meeting with Helen Smith, the Met’s consultant for volunteer initiatives, who is coordinating efforts to secure police station volunteers across London.

Helen Smith has told Ms Featherstone that she agreed it believed it would be possible for the police to try again, when the introduction of new police community support officers brings new impetus in policing to the area.

This latest development follows the disappointment in Muswell Hill earlier this month, when Haringey Police announced they were putting on hold plans to re-open the front counter at Muswell Hill police station.

Liberal Democrats have mounted a long campaign for the front counter to reopen, with a system of trained volunteers already successfully used elsewhere. Last year they organised a public meeting to give the police the chance to explain how such a scheme would work, attended by over 200 residents.

Lynne Featherstone comments:

“I feel that the discussions with Helen were constructive and there is every chance that the bid to reopen the station can be put back on track.I welcomed her commitment to look again at the issue, and to continue discussions with the police in order to make this happen.Then, we can get back to work to find a way foreward. The battle to reopen the station is far from over.”

Lib Dem councillors in Crouch End and Muswell Hill have expressed satisfaction following Haringey Council’s decision to introduce a door-to-door recycling scheme in the two areas as a first step in the roll out of the full collection scheme across the borough – a Lib Dem manifesto commitment and an initiative that the Lib Dems have been campaigning on for the past two years.

The door-to-door scheme will begin in March and will be an upgrade from the current paper collection services. It will require residents to place recyclable materials in a green box provided by the council which will be collected once a week.

Cllr. Lynne Featherstone, Muswell Hill, comments:

“I am pleased that Haringey council have finally taken steps to improve their dreadful record on recycling in the borough. Residents in Muswell Hill and Crouch End are keen recyclers. This initiative is long overdue, but we are pleased that after two years of campaigning the council has started to adopt Lib Dem polices on recycling.”

However Cllr Featherstone was keen to point out that Lib Dems would not stop campaigning on the issue:

“This is a welcome step, but there is plenty more that we would like to see the council doing to make recycling a part of everyday life for the residents of this borough and we will continue to campaign for improvements to recycling facilities across the borough.”

Proposals to scrap the Finsbury Park Bus Interchange have been branded “bitterly disappointing” by Liberal Democrat councillors in Haringey.

The interchange was due to be expanded to improve bus services to and from the station. But it looks like it will not get the go-ahead following the Strategic Rail Authority’s (SRA) announcement on Thursday that they were facing a cash crisis. The SRA has stated that Government’s 10-year plan for modernising Britain’s railways would have to be completely revised.

Lynne Featherstone comments:

“It is disgraceful that the Government and the SRA are unable to successfully manage a long-term plan that was meant to bring our infrastructure into line, and the Finsbury Park Scheme may be lost as a result of their short-sightedness.

“One of the vital parts of regeneration in any area is good road and rail links. It is a major set back for the residents that the scheme looks doomed. However I will be pressing the SRA and the Government to keep its promise and upgrade the interchange.”

Local Lib Dem councillor Dave Winskill (Crouch End) has been inundated with letters and calls from residents worried about an application for a public entertainment licence recently applied for by Crouch Hill Community Centre.

The Lib Dem councillor says that the application, which seeks to allow the centre to operate up to midnight during the week and until 1 am at weekends, could bring excessive noise, traffic and parking problems and increased night time activity in what is a predominately residential area.

David Winskill comments:

“I am concerned about this application. Although it is just on the Islington side of the boundary, many Crouch End residents will be affected. I have agreed to represent the local residents at the Islington licensing hearing, which is due to take place on 4th February.”

Highgate’s Liberal Democrat councillors have voiced their fierce objections to renewed plans by a developer to build houses on a controversial former park on the Archway Road. The Lib Dems instead want the Labour run authority to make up for its past blunders with the site, and pursue a compulsory purchase order (CPO) on the land, to create a valued and well maintained park for local people in the Archway area.

The ‘pocket park,’ at the junction with Southwood Avenue has been a long standing source of grievance between local residents and the council. Its run down state has a sorry history of Haringey Council mismanagement, say Lib Dem councillors. Since their election last May, the Lib Dems have supported local people in getting the council to serve an order for the site to be cleaned up by the owner, and have pushed at a full council meeting for the Tree Replacement Order agreed early in 2002 to be served on the owner requiring that the trees he felled on the land are replaced.

Highgate Lib Dem councillor Neil Williams comments:

“If the pocket park were restored, we would have a highly visible green area along this very busy urban road. It would be a vital green lung for the Archway Road. Our preferred option is a compulsory purchase order (CPO) on the site, and this must be pursued with vigour. Whatever happens, the present application must not be allowed to succeed, and other avenues must be pursued.”

Lib Dem Parliamentary spokesperson Lynne Featherstone, who has lent her support to the objection, adds:

“We will fight this application, as this space must be returned to the public – who should never have been deprived of it in the first place. Giving in because of past planning blunders is all too common in Haringey – and it is totally wrong.”

Background:

This site will be well known to all familiar with the Archway Road and is one of at least two former pocket parks in the Archway Road that, incredibly, the council failed to respond to the Department of Transport when the DoT offered them back to the council following its abandoning of Archway Rd widening scheme. The parks therefore ended up in a public auction, and were bought very cheaply by a developer. There was a previous application for a house on this site which was refused. The site is a mess. Seven mature trees have been felled, the stumps of several of which are still there and sprouting in summer. The council has failed in its duty to prosecute on this, not doing so over the four years permitted for action, despite requests from the Tree Trust and many other organisations, and despite pictures run in one of local papers.