Labour faced embarrassment at last night’s council meeting, when council leader George Meehan admitted that the council does not properly respond to queries from councillors, let alone members of the public. He asked the council to ensure that queries from councillors are in future answered.

The council has long been criticised by the Liberal Democrats for its abysmal performance at dealing with queries from members. The Lib Dems argue that if they can ignore councillors’ requests for information on an issue, what chance does an ordinary member of the public have?

During the local elections however, special measures were put in place to ensure that councillors, at that time the vast majority of them Labour, received replies to their queries. The Lib Dems say these mechanism appear to have been dismantled following the elections, and piles of queries are routinely ignored for weeks by the Labour-run council.

Lib Dem councillor for Highgate, Neil Williams, comments:

“In Highgate, I have piles of queries to the council that remain unanswered. When I was elected, I thought I would get replies, but it is quite staggering that emails and letters sent as a result of concerns raised with us by residents are either completely ignored, or left for weeks. At least the Labour council leader has now acknowledged the scale of this problem in Haringey. Let’s make sure he actually does something about it.”

Haringey is to be pressed into action by Lib Dem controlled Islington Council to improve the traffic chaos on Stroud Green Road. The move follows intervention by Haringey’s Lib Dem Leader Lynne Featherstone.

Ms Featherstone had asked Transport for London chief Derek Turner to help reduce the jams and bottlenecks on the busy road, which is often obstructed by traffic mayhem and illegally parked cars. The route, which forms part of the 210, W7 and W3 bus routes, is a vital link for Highgate, Muswell Hill and Crouch End, connecting them to the major transport interchange at Finsbury Park. However, bus journeys are often delayed by the jams on Stroud Green Road.

Co-ordinating the battle against illegal parking is not helped by the fact that the road forms part of the boundary between Islington and Haringey, and has in the past been victim of inadequate co-ordination between the two boroughs over the enforcement of parking restrictions.

However, as result of Lynne Featherstone’s intervention, Islington Council has told the Lib Dem leader that officials would meet with Haringey to set up a new joint initiative to tackle the problem. The two boroughs are now committed to enforcing their sides of the road together, which should result in a substantial improvement.

Commenting, Lynne Featherstone said:

“This is good news. However, the traffic and parking problems on Stroud Green Road have been around a long time. Haringey has dragged its feet in the past, but happily Islington is moving things forward. Buses must be able to travel freely and swiftly along their routes.”

Haringey Labour has been accused of underhand tactics by the opposition Liberal Democrats, after the ruling party pushed out all the Lib Dem oral questions at next Monday’s full council meeting.

The controversy has arisen as the Lib Dems discovered that Labour had quietly tabled enough questions from its own backbenchers before last week’s deadline to drive out all the questions being tabled by the opposition.

Question time has traditionally been an opportunity for the opposition party to grill the council on current issues. Last month, the Lib Dems pressed Labour with a series of questions on Haringey’s handling of the Victoria Climbie tragedy. However, this month, Labour has successfully blocked all the Lib Dem questions, with some rather sycophantic offerings from its own members, with no opportunities for the opposition to ask any questions at all.

Lib Dem Leader Lynne Featherstone has branded the move a disgrace, and has accused the Labour council of being terrified to face questions from the Lib Dems.

Lynne Featherstone comments:

“The public expect the opposition to be given the chance to ask questions, and this has always been the case.This move is both sneaky and underhand. Yet it’s all too typical of Haringey Labour that having had a drubbing in the elections in May they’ve suddenly decided to start tabling questions, attempting to stifle any examination of their record by others.

“But it will be a hollow victory, because in the long run, we will ensure that Haringey Labour has nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.”

• 14% of rents uncollected: well above the London average
• Rent arrears double the London average
• Percentage of housing deemed ‘not decent’: a staggering 30%

Haringey Liberal Democrats will tonight (22nd July) criticise Labour-run Haringey Council’s housing policy. With dreadful performance statistics, 30% of the Council’s properties deemed to be in a very poor state, chronic overcrowding and leaseholders deeply unsatisfied with Haringey Council, Haringey Lib Dems will warn that if Haringey Labour does not shape up, the Council will be under pressure to transfer its housing stock to another provider.

Speaking ahead of tonight’s housing debate, Lib Dem Deputy leader, Cllr Ross Laird, said: “It is all very well for the Labour Council to run bleating to the Government for extra cash, but it needs to get its own house in order first.There can be no doubt that the Council can still improve its rent collection – which is still well below the London average. Rent arrears still stand at nearly double the London average. The percentage of the Council’s housing stock which is deemed to be ‘not decent’ still stands at a staggering 30%.”

Lib Dem housing spokesman Cllr Ron Aitken said: “For New Labour Councillor Josie Irwin to put down a motion on housing and refugees is hypocrisy. New Labour has cosied up to its friends in the national press, even though they often falsely portray Britain as a paradise for refugees. In reality they are often exposed to racism, vulnerability and poverty.”

Muswell Hill’s Liberal Democrat councillors are to demand action in today’s full council for a clear up of the chaotic and confusing ‘street furniture’ on busy Muswell Hill Road.

The move follows months of inaction from the Labour council.Haringey told Lib Dem leader Lynne Featherstone that action would be taken during a meeting in April on the excessive and confusing yellow lines, lampposts and signposts.However despite repeated requests since, nothing has been done. The Lib Dem leader is therefore raising the issue with a question in full council.

Residents and confused drivers and pedestrians in Muswell Hill road have had to suffer a glut of street furniture in recent years. When new road humps and lampposts were installed, Haringey left the old lampposts in place for a year until a meeting between Ms Featherstone, a local resident and a senior council officer in April. At that meeting, a whole list of problems was discussed and action agreed. Three months later, while Haringey has taken action to repair dangerous kerbing and has removed some lampposts, the bulk of the work has not happened.

Commenting, Lib Dem councillor Ross Laird said:

“Despite the efforts to Lynne and myself in recent months, it is depressing that Haringey can’t implement this straight forward clear-up. We should not have to raise these issues in the chamber, but it is often the only way to get Haringey Council to act. Even the local Labour MP has now joined Lynne Featherstone’s call for the Labour council to act on the problems, so it’s surely about time that Haringey made moves to sort the problem out.”

Local Lib Dem councillors have moved to put a stop to plans to allow lorries of up to 30 tonnes to enter a quiet residential road that is being besieged by building works at a nearby school. Residents of Burlington Road in Muswell Hill have had to put up with months of mud, disruption and even subsidence to their houses from the near constant access by contractor’s lorries during the construction of a new sports building at Fortismere School.

However the already bad situation is set to worsen as, until now, there has been a restriction placed on the contractors by Haringey’s Planning Committee limiting lorries to 7.5 tonnes. Now, an application has been lodged to allow lorries of up to 30 tonnes to use Burlington Road between September 2002 and April 2003.

Local Lib Dem councillor Stephen Gilbert (Fortis Green ward) and Opposition Leader Lynne Featherstone are both campaigning with the local residents on the issue. Cllr Gilbert has written to the council, both objecting to the application and also to the plans to make the decision behind closed doors by council officers using delegated powers.

Cllr Gilbert is insisting that this application come to a proper planning committee and also that it is not swept through in August when many people are away.

Meanwhile, Cllr Lynne Featherstone has arranged a meeting with Paul Smith, senior planner, to present in person the residents’ objection and to try and persuade him to recommend refusal of this variation. The meeting is arranged for Friday 26th July.

Commenting Lynne Featherstone said:

“This change in the restriction is unacceptable. The original condition was applied particularly ‘to minimise the impact on residential amenity.’ As nothing has changed since the restriction was imposed, I can see no reason for this condition to be removed.”

Crouch End Lib Dem councillors Ron Aitken, Peter Floyd and David Winskill have pledged to support residents of Wolseley Road and Shepherd’s Hill. They are campaigning for traffic calming measures to prevent a serious accident along the busy through-route which connects Crouch End with the A1 Archway Road.

The Lib Dems are campaigning to hold Haringey Council’s Traffic Management Group to a pledge that traffic calming measures will be introduced in the 2003-2004 council budget.

Residents are particularly worried about an accident occurring as large numbers of school pupils cross the road at the junction with Montenotte Road, which is made particularly dangerous by lorries and buses speeding down from Shepherd’s Hill.

“We welcome commitments from Haringey Council that this problem will be addressed,” says Crouch End Lib Dem councillor, Ron Aitken. “Along with my Lib Dem colleagues Peter Floyd and David Winskill, I will press for the decision to be implemented as soon as possible to ensure the safety of schoolchildren and residents.”

Haringey police have agreed to provide extra patrols in Crescent Road, Wood Green, after pressure from the local Liberal Democrats. The pressure follows complaints from residents about drug-dealing and anti-social behaviour in the area.

Lib Dem Leader Lynne Featherstone and Lib Dem ward councillor for Alexandra, Susan Oatway, who took up the complaints from residents, have welcomed the news.

Lynne Featherstone comments:

“I am pleased the police have responded on this issue, and we will continue to work with them to monitor the situation.”

Ward Councillor Susan Oatway adds:

“Crescent Road is at the heart of what should be a very quiet residential area, and we need to keep it that way. We are keeping a close eye on things, but any resident seeing suspicious behaviour should of course report it to the police.”

Haringey’s Lib Dem Opposition is writing to residents in the Wood Green area, to ask for their views over major new works planned for the North Circular Road. Local Liberal Democrats, including councillor Susan Oatway, have secured a commitment from Haringey Council to meet with representatives from local residents associations to consult on their views.

Lib Dems say that the issue strongly affects residents in the Bounds Green area, yet while Enfield has been consulted, very few residents on the Haringey side of the borough boundary have been given sufficient opportunity to feed in their views on the new plans.

The Transport for London proposals, which involve changes to several junctions between Bounds Green Road and Green Lanes, are certain to affect Haringey traffic flows. A dedicated cycle network is also being mooted, along with restricted access to several side roads.

Lib Dem Leader and GLA member Lynne Featherstone comments:

“Residents can reply to our letter, either before or after the meeting, or let me have their views through my website. It is vital that the views of Haringey residents are not ignored on this scheme.”

Councillor Susan Oatway adds:

“I am glad that the council has listened to us and acted promptly to carry out some consultation with local residents.”

As part of the Lib Dem campaign to recruit volunteers to secure the reopening of Muswell Hill police station front counter, local Lib Dem Leader Lynne Featherstone has visited two volunteer-manned stations on Thursday 10th July.Ms Featherstone went to the south London stations with Helen Smith, the Metropolitan Police consultant for volunteer initiatives. The visits have happened alongside plans by local councillors in the Fortis Green ward, where the station is located, to hold a public meeting on the issue on 18 September.

Ms Featherstone has been seeing for herself how the scheme could work in practice in Muswell Hill. She first went to Worcester Park police station, where with a pool of 12 volunteers ensure an open station for three days a week from 10am until 2pm. The scheme has been running for some seven months and a fourth day of opening is now imminent.

Volunteers are given training to enable them to carry out a range of tasks, which vary from dealing with lost property inquiries, to the production of driving licenses and minor crime reporting.A police-trained civilian supervisor who looks after the local operation oversees volunteers. There are always at least two people on duty and if a real policeman is needed they can call one immediately. Ms Featherstone also visited New Malden where there is a pool of 40 volunteers with a station open six days per week.

The Muswell Hill public meeting set for September 18th is being organised by Fortis Green councillors Barbara Fabian, Steve Gilbert, and Matt Davies, along with Lynne Featherstone, in response to a suggestion from the police that such a meeting should be held in order to help them explain how a volunteer scheme might work and to gauge possible support for it.

Lynne Featherstone comments:

“The meeting will allow the police to explain the scheme in detail to residents. Helen Smith, who co-ordinates the Met’s programme for volunteers, will be there, and will be a good judge of the level of local support.It will be a good opportunity to make things happen.”

Steven Gilbert, Fortis Green ward councillor, adds:

“We are really looking forward to the 18th September meeting, as we believe we can show this scheme will work for Muswell Hill and Fortis Green. Residents in my ward desperately miss that open front counter, and we now have a chance to put that right.”