Muswell Hill Lib Dem Councillor, Cllr Ross Laird, has arranged a meeting at 7.00pm, 4 November at St Mary’s and St George’s Church Hall, Cranley Gardens, to discuss the future of Connaught House, Connaught Gardens.

The meeting has been called after a series of complaints by residents about the state of repair of the block of flats. The meeting will be attended by Housing 21, who manage the property on behalf of the Metropolitan Police, but the police have declined to attend, saying they could not at this stage bring anything useful to the meeting.

Cllr Laird commented:

“After months of relative inaction by the Metropolitan Police and Housing 21, we have had to set up this meting to try and force the pace of change. I welcome Housing 21’s decision to participate in finding solutions, but I am deeply concerned about the intransigence of the Metropolitan Police, who have refused so far to release the necessary funds to improve the property. We hope to have a positive meeting and investigate whether a residents’ association could or should be formed.”

Lib Dems have condemned what they describe as further attempts by Haringey Council to undermine Haringey’s vital new scrutiny system – this time over the council’s controversial budget setting process.

The council’s move to block a vital new Budget Scrutiny Committee was confirmed at Monday’s night’s meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee at Haringey’s Civic Centre.

The Lib Dems say that Haringey’s council tax, set to rise dramatically by over 40% in the next four years on current projections, will not now receive the proper scrutiny that it needs. The Lib Dems are accusing Haringey Labour of deliberate political manoeuvring to stop a new Budget Scrutiny Committee from coming into being.

Haringey Labour had initially agreed to allow the Lib Dems to chair the new committee – but then attempts were made to block a deal that would have given the new body an independent adviser to carry out its work – despite this being the norm on other council committees. The council’s budget setting process will now be scrutinised at just one special meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in November.

Lib Dem councillor Jonathan Bloch, comments: “This has been another disgraceful episode for Haringey’s handling of the scrutiny system. They have again shown contempt for the whole process, just as they did in the summer, when they insisted that Labour chaired all of Haringey’s new watchdog committees, breaking recommended guidelines. This is a very controversial budget process that could see council tax soar.It will not now have the vital scrutiny from councillors that it needs.”

A Lib Dem councillor has persuaded Haringey Council to start using much clearer envelopes when informing local residents about planning applications.

Lib Dem Jonathan Bloch (Muswell Hill) says that residents often complain that they have not been made aware of controversial up-and-coming planning applications, when in fact they may have thought that ‘just another letter’ from the council about a planning application was no more than junk mail.

Now, Haringey has agreed that it will order new envelopes for future consultations with residents, which clearly state: “This is not a circular, this letter affects your property”.These envelopes will be in use from next week, and follows good practice in other boroughs.

Lib Dem councillor Jonathan Bloch comments:

“I am pleased that this change is being made. Often residents don’t realise that they are receiving important mail from the council that affects their area.This should go some way to sorting out this problem, and hopefully make more residents take notice. It’s vital that as many residents as possible have their say on planning issues.”

Haringey’s Liberal Democrat councillors have criticised the Labour-run council after controversial revelations that it plans to spend much-needed extra money for the troubled Social Services department on improving its media manipulation and spin doctoring, rather than on frontline services.

The plans, now revealed in a document leaked to Liberal Democrat councillor Lynne Featherstone, state that:

“In June, the Executive agreed additional resources for Social Services. These will be used to audit and improve all Social Services publications and website information. Media plans will be prepared for key milestones such as the Star Ratings, PAF tables and the publication of the Climbie Inquiry report.”

The leaked document is the council’s redrafted ‘Draft Corporate Communications Strategy,’ dated 3rd October.

Lynne Featherstone comments:

“It is deeply depressing that Labour councillors seem more concerned with trying to spin their way out of trouble than in improving frontline services. The lessons of Victoria Climbie are that Haringey needs to sort out its social services department – not just try to spin things better in future.”

Muswell Hill councillors have succeeded in securing double yellow lines at a busy junction on Muswell Hill Road.

The Onslow Road turning was the only junction on the road not to have double yellow lines – a situation which greatly concerned residents worried about visibility at the junction, and the difficulty of access for cars, given the narrow width of the residential street.

Muswell Hill Councillor Lynne Featherstone, who lives nearby, comments:

“If properly enforced, the yellow lines should improve safety and access at the junction. We will be monitoring the situation now that the lines have been painted.”

Lib Dem councillors in Muswell Hill have succeeded in having a confusing traffic light moved.The change affects the left filter light at the junction of Park Road and Muswell Hill itself.

The traffic light, which directs drivers travelling up Muswell Hill from Crouch End, has been badly positioned for years, so that drivers at the front of the queue were often not aware that it had turned green. This caused general confusion, tooting and abuse from drivers further back, who enjoyed a clearer view.

The secondary filter light at the junction has now been moved to provide motorists at the front of the queue a clear view of the filter light.

Local Lib Dem councillor Lynne Featherstone comments:

“Every couple of minutes, you would get an onslaught of angry drivers tooting their horns because the light was badly positioned. The move should sort the problem out.”

Local Lib Dem councillor and GLA member Lynne Featherstone has called for a meeting with London Mayor Ken Livingstone to protest about Haringey’s attempts to push through controversial ‘backland’ developments in the borough.

The Lib Dem leader says that Haringey cannot use the Mayor’s ambitious London development plan to push through such unpopular developments and she will be urging Ken to make this clear to Haringey in future.

Ken Livingstone’s London Plan requires Haringey to find 19,000 new homes over the next 16 years.

The Lib Dem leader says Haringey is using the target as an excuse to squash houses into inappropriate ‘backland sites’, despite the fact that this was never the intention of the Mayor when the plan was drawn up. On Friday, Ms Featherstone visited one such controversial development site in Hornsey, situated between situated between Priory Avenue, Clovelly Road and Lynzee Roads.

Lynne Featherstone comments:

“I am asking Ken to write to Haringey to make it clear that this kind of development is not what is intended by his plan. This particular application is an abomination and should be thrown out before it gets any further. The need for houses in Haringey can’t be met by tiny developments which stuff houses into inappropriate places like this.

“Haringey needs to fill up its empty homes and increase housing around transport hubs. I am sure Ken Livingstone will make it quite clear to Haringey that backland developments are not any part of his London Plan.”

Lib Dem leader and GLA member Lynne Featherstone has welcomed a vital new safety initiative launched by the London Mayor and the Met police.

The ‘Know what you’re getting into at night’ campaign warns Londoners, especially women, of the dangers of getting into illegal minicabs. In the past 12 months 214 London women were sexually assaulted after hailing illegal cabs, according to figures released by the Metropolitan Police.

The campaign will use poster sites, pubs and clubs to get the message across London.

Lynne Featherstone comments:

“We have to tackle the problem of the huge number of assaults reported by unlicensed taxi operators.There are alternative forms of transport, and minicabs are now being licensed and can be booked from a licensed operator.

“I hope women will heed the message from this excellent initiative and never take a taxi from a stranger in the street. It’s not worth the risk.”

• Dangerous pedestrian crossing corrected
• Confusing lights to be addressed
• ‘Wrong type of green light’ to be replaced

Transport for London has agreed to take further safety action following the many problems in evidence at the newly designed Highgate/Muswell Hill Road junction.

After meeting Highgate Lib Dem councillor Bob Hare on the site, Transport for London (TFL) have taken swift action to remove the worrying danger at the pedestrian crossing light on Muswell Hill Road, which was showing green in the face of oncoming traffic from Archway Road.

TfL have also taken action over potentially confusing signals for drivers travelling from Southwood Lane to Muswell Hill Road. Two sets of lights are visible from the Southwood Lane side, but one controls the Wood Lane pedestrian crossing and works to different timings.

The Lib Dems say the situation is a potential danger, and that Tfl has agreed to do the work in the next two weeks.

Furthermore, in an echo of that other autumn cry of ‘leaves on the line’, TFL have admitted that they have fitted the ‘wrong type of green light’ on the southbound Archway Road. The light shows ‘ahead only’, instead of the full green, now that the successful campaign to restore the left turn into Muswell Hill Road is complete. They have agreed to take action, again within two weeks.

Councillor Bob Hare comments:

“I am pleased that following our meetings, TfL has agreed to act on some of the major faults still at the junction. It is a vital and very busy link between Muswell Hill and Highgate, and we must get the junction working correctly. I am pursuing a number of other points with TfL which could solve all the outstanding problems, but it is safety first, and I am glad they have agreed to act on some of the major problems.”

Muswell Hill Liberal Democrats have unveiled the results of a poll of residents in Hillfield Park and St James’s Lane, Muswell Hill. The area has some of the most pressing traffic, parking and speeding problems.

The survey asked local residents in and immediately around Hillfield Park a range of questions about parking in the area, traffic accidents and speeding. The results of the survey found that:

• A majority of residents thought that there was a problem with speeding cars in upper St James’s Lane and Hillfield Park
• A majority of residents are in favour of a one way system in Hillfield Park and St James’s Lane (above the viaduct)
• Most residents did not favour speed humps to slow down traffic
• A small majority favoured the use of double yellow lines in selective places to try and calm traffic and reduce accidents
• A majority of residents want Haringey Council to rethink their decision not to alter the location of the Marks and Spencer car park exit, which adds to traffic problems on the roads.

Commenting on the results of the survey, Muswell Hill councillor Ross Laird said:

“These results clearly demonstrate that there are serious traffic management issues to be sorted out in Hillfield Park and St James’s Lane. There have been far too many car accidents in the area and action is needed.”

Cllr Lynne Featherstone added:

“We will be seeking a meeting with the Council’s highways officers to provide them with the details of our survey. What it demonstrates is that there are a wide range of views about the issue and the need for a range of solutions. I wish to personally thank everyone who returned the survey forms.”