Category Archives: News releases

Squatters move in after Haringey Council fails to act on empty home

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A family-sized home, left empty by Haringey Council for nearly a year, has now been taken over by squatters, despite promises by Housing bosses that it would be brought back into use this month. The property, at 15 Nelson Road, Stroud Green (N8), was occupied last week, three months after local Liberal Democrats raised the issue with Haringey Council.

In December last year Haringey Council promised that the property, which is a much sought-after three-bed family home, would be brought back into use by 26 March 2010. Yet no action has been taken on site by Haringey Council.

Liberal Democrat councillor for Stroud Green, Richard Wilson, has written urgently to the Cabinet Member for Housing to demand answers why Haringey Council has failed to act and what will be done to remove squatters.

Cllr Richard Wilson (Stroud Green) comments:

“Local residents were promised by the council that action would be taken to bring this family-sized house back into use.  Haringey Council has failed to do this and now squatters have seized on the opportunity to move in.

“One of the neighbours is an elderly lady in her eighties who, I’m told, is quite distressed about the situation.

“We now need a clear plan of action by the council to see what can be done about the squatters and bring this home back into use.

“Given the huge shortage of family council houses in the borough, Haringey Council’s failure to act is an absolute scandal.”

Lynne Featherstone, MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, adds:

“This home could be used by one of the many families in Haringey who are stuck on a waiting list, in overcrowded temporary accommodation.”

Comment on Whittington Hospital public meeting

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Commenting following the public meeting with NHS bosses about the future of the Whittington A&E on Thursday 4th March, Lynne Featherstone MP said:

“Thank you to the hundreds of residents who came out to have their voices heard. The mood of the meeting with clear, 370 against closure and zero for.

“Speaker after speaker condemned the closure. I am particularly grateful to the many heart-moving personal accounts of how the Whittington had made a difference to their lives.

“I hope NHS bosses will go back to the drawing board and take note of the clear message from our community – the Whittington A&E must stay.”

Local MP reads with local school children for World Book Day

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To mark World Book Day and to share the joy of reading a good book with local school children, Lynne Featherstone MP visited a special story- telling session at Noel Park Primary.

Lynne Featherstone reading at Noel Park Primary School

The Hornsey and Wood Green MP started off by reading ‘The Great Kapok Tree’, about the Amazon rainforest, to a year 6 class, and ended the special visit by reading ‘Funnybones’ with the nursery class children.

Lynne Featherstone MP comments:

“It’s just been an enchanted morning. There are few things as enjoyable as sharing a good story with children – they are so wonderfully enthusiastic and honest.

“It’s great to get the chance to read with the kids – and so important to help them develop an interest in reading, which will really serve them well in the future – both for work and pleasure.”

Liberal Democrats take Whittington Petition to Downing Street

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Lynne Featherstone and Robert Gorrie present Whittington petitionTo get the Prime Minister to intervene and stop the Whittington A&E being closed down, local Liberal Democrats Lynne Featherstone MP and Councillor Robert Gorrie presented the Whittington Petition to Downing Street.

The petition has been supported by over 2,200 local residents, with over 1000 people signing it in the first 48 hours alone.

Lynne Featherstone will also continue the fight against the threat of closure, by hosting a public meeting on Thursday the 4th March, at Greig City Academy in Hornsey, where local residents will get a chance to ask health care bosses directly about the threat to their A&E.

Lynne Featherstone MP comments:

“I want the Prime Minister to sit up and take notice – it’s this Labour government that has landed us here in the first place. With such evident strong support and local outrage at the risk of closure, I hope he will see no option but to stop this threat once and for all.

“Thank you everyone who signed the petition – please continue to support the campaign by coming along to my meeting next Thursday. Together, united, we can show them what madness closure would be.”

Councillor Robert Gorrie, leader of Haringey Liberal Democrats, adds:

“The enormous groundswell of support against A&E closures will mean that soon the government and the NHS will no longer be able to ignore local residents. We will continue to fight and I hope local campaigners will too.”

Local MP urging residents to come to public meeting on future of Whittington A&E

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Local MP Lynne Featherstone is this week calling on local residents to come along to a public meeting on Thursday to hear directly from health care bosses on the future of the Whittington A&E.

The meeting, which is being held at Greig City Academy in Hornsey, N8 7NU on Thursday the 4 March from 8pm, will give local residents the chance to put questions directly to Rachel Tyndall, Chair of the North Central London Review Panel, and Richard Sumray, who is Chair of NHS Haringey.

Residents who want to attend should use the Hillfield Avenue entrance to the Hornsey school, and follow the signs.

Lynne Featherstone MP comments:

“Things have moved on since we first heard about the proposal to close the A&E. There are now seven draft options, four of which end 24 hour A&E at the Whittington.

“This is your chance to hear directly from the NHS bosses on these plans, but more importantly, this is your chance to make sure your voice is heard.

“Please come along, and bring friends and neighbours. The more of us are there to show our concern, to ask a question or just to listen and understand – the better. Together we can fight this.”

Comment on the Whittington Hospital protest

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Commenting on the march to Whittington Hospital on Saturday the 27th February, Lynne Featherstone MP said:

“Local people turned out in massive numbers to send a very clear message to the health care bosses – hands off our A&E!

“We are fed up with unelected quangos dictating to us what they think is best for us. It’s our health. It’s our lives. It’s our NHS.”

Aspiring journalists from Hornsey School for Girls interview MP for special BBC report

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Lynne Featherstone interviewed by, from the left, Carenza Grant and Lina Chakri In order to help aspiring young journalists from a local school do a special piece on youth issues in Haringey for the BBC, Lynne Featherstone MP was interviewed by students at Hornsey School for Girls.

The Crouch End school is participating in the BBC school report for the third year running. The project allows students, with the help of mentors from the national broadcaster, to learn about making TV and to develop journalistic skills.

The Liberal Democrat MP was quizzed on issues such as unfair school funding and youth crime in the student-led piece, which will be shown on the BBC website, and hopefully on TV and radio, on the 11th March.

Lynne Featherstone MP, comments:

“I was really impressed by how expertly the interview was carried out, how well researched the questions were, and how much the students had learnt about technical stuff like filming and sound.

“This is a great way to teach the girls about making TV and to help them develop an interest in current affairs.

“And who knows, they may even end up working for the BBC one day! Hopefully their report will go all the way to the top – I’ll certainly be keeping an eye out for it on the 11th March.”

MP celebrates winning road safety designs with students from local school

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Road safety signsTo help celebrate the fantastic work students have been doing on road safety and announce the winners of a road safety sign competition, Lynne Featherstone MP visited a special assembly at Alexandra Primary School.

The Hornsey and Wood Green MP gave out prizes to the competition winners, Haidi and Zazia, who not only won brand new bikes, but also saw their winning designs put on road signs that will appear outside the Wood Green school.

The special assembly was the culmination of a joint effort between the school, the local police and neighbourhood management to help teach the children about road safety.

Lynne Featherstone MP comments:

“The winning designs are just fabulous and will hopefully make passing motorists slow down and think twice about road safety so close to the school.

“This area sees a lot of heavy traffic and it’s extra important for kids who live and go to school in such a busy place to know how to stay safe.

“And teaching kids about traffic awareness in this fun and innovative way really seems to work!”

Local Liberal Democrats welcome easy access to battery recycling in shops

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Bob Hare and Lynne Featherstone recycling batteriesLocal Liberal Democrats Lynne Featherstone MP and Environment spokesperson Cllr Bob Hare have recently visited a local shop to test out new battery recycling facilities. From February 2010 new rules passed by the European Union mean that shops must have battery recycling bins for residents to use if they sell the equivalent of 1 pack a day.

Haringey Liberal Democrats are also proposing to install 100 new battery recycling sites throughout the borough as an amendment to the Council’s budget to be discussed on Monday. The sites will be in libraries, schools and other community space and will make it easier for local residents to find a convenient battery recycling site near to them.

Lynne Featherstone MP comments:

“It’s great news that from this month, residents will be able to pop down to their local shop to recycle their batteries.

“Until now, people who wanted to do the right thing had to make their way to one of Haringey’s two recycling centres – and that’s not the best way to encourage recycling of some of our most hazardous waste.”

Councillor Bob Hare, Environment spokesperson for Haringey Liberal Democrats, adds:

“I very much welcome the fact that this will make it easier for people to recycle their batteries, but it can be made even easier. That’s why we are proposing to install 100 new battery recycling sites throughout the borough.

“Batteries are so bad for the environment, and most people do want to do their bit for our planet – it’s only right to make it as easy as possible for people to do just that!”

Liberal Democrat pressure pays off on Haringey digital aerials scheme

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Lynne Featherstone with a digital aerialHaringey leaseholders will soon pay less than half of the originally proposed cost to get digital TV, after a successful campaign by local Liberal Democrats and leaseholders.

Reports published recently detail a u-turn by Haringey Council and a notable victory for leaseholder groups and local Liberal Democrats on a change to the scheme which charged up to £1,000 for the installation of new TV aerials in housing owned by the Council.

Haringey Council’s Cabinet should agree to a new plan this week which will see full consultation, a cap on costs to leaseholders of £400 and a retrospective payment to leaseholders who have already had to pay up to £1000.

Liberal Democrats launched a campaign against the extortionate costs in June last year after it emerged that Haringey’s leaseholders had to pay up to ten times more than leaseholders in neighbouring boroughs.

After the decision was made by the Labour Cabinet to go ahead with the aerials scheme in July, Liberal Democrats forced a rethink of the scheme through Hraingey Council’s watchdog committee.

Local Liberal Democrats have today expressed concern at the fact that leaseholders and tenants still have to pay four times as much as some neighbouring boroughs to watch TV, and are now calling for the cost to be cut further.

Cllr Matt Davies, Liberal Democrat Housing Spokesperson, comments:

“I’m glad that finally the signal from local leaseholders and Liberal Democrats has got through to Labour loud and clear. Leaseholders did not want to have expensive, diamond encrusted aerial systems imposed upon them without any say.

“Unfortunately it took action by the Liberal Democrats and local leaseholder groups in July last year for Labour to realise their error. I am glad that our pressure will mean leaseholders get to pay less but it’s still quite a bit to fork out to watch TV. I know that leaseholders are still worried about the excessive cost, and the battle continues.”

Lynne Featherstone MP, adds:

“The digital aerial scheme fiasco is a prime example of how badly Labour runs Haringey Council. It fails to consult, it imposes an expensive system without considering the implications and only after intervention from Liberal Democrats and residents does it change its mind.

“I’m glad they have dropped the price but it’s still four times the price leaseholders in neighbouring boroughs pay  and we’re making that concern clear to the Council.”