Category Archives: News releases

Post Office closures: further evidence of longer queues

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Residents have to wait nearly twice as long at Post Offices today than they did six months ago it has been revealed. Postwatch, the government’s Post Office watchdog, showed that the average time taken for residents to be served was 28 minutes – up from 15 minutes. Local Liberal Democrats have highlighted that this is further evidence of the disastrous effect Labour’s Post Office closure programme is having on local communities.

The new figures uncovered by Postwatch coincide with the launch last week of the Liberal Democrat survey to uncover the impact on waiting times for residents in Haringey using Post Offices.

Cllr Richard Wilson, who launched the Liberal Democrats Post Office survey last week with Lynne Featherstone MP, commented:

“We all knew that the Post Office closures were going to impact heavily on the few remaining branches. Now we have the evidence that shows what we all knew would happen – longer queues and more waiting at our Post Offices.

“This comes just as our local services are needed most, residents have no where to turn.

“It is completely unacceptable but this seems to be a surprise to Labour who did very little to help locally to stop this mess.”

Lynne Featherstone MP, added:

“Evidence like this, together with the information we are collecting about local residents experience will hopefully force the Post Office to re-think its disastrous policy.I will not give up without a fight.”

Richard Wilson demands urgent action on dangerous electricity sub-station

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Liberal Democrat councillor Richard Wilson (Stroud Green) is demanding urgent action after a seven-year-old boy climbed into a dangerous electricity sub-station on a Stroud Green housing estate.

The sub-station at Chettle Court, Ridge Road has no roof and is next to an area where children play football.Residents had planted prickly bushes around the walls to discourage children from climbing in – but these were ripped out by Haringey Council.

The incident happened in August when the seven-year-old climbed into the sub-station to collect a football that had been kicked over the wall.Not only did the child risk electrocution, but he could have been trapped – as it is much harder to climb out than in.

Chettle Court residents want Homes for Haringey and EDF Energy (who own the sub-station) to take urgent action to make the site safe. Cllr Wilson contacted Homes for Haringey on 31 August, but despite promises from them and EDF, almost a month later the site remains dangerous.

Cllr Richard Wilson comments:

“I am angry that EDF Energy and Homes for Haringey have failed to act.I contacted Homes for Haringey as soon as residents told me about this frightening incident. A child could quite easily have been killed, and all the residents are obviously very anxious for the sub-station to be made safe.All it needs is a roof, so that footballs cannot be kicked over the wall, and children cannot climb in.

“This site needs to be made safe as soon as possible. It has been over one month since I raised this serious issue with Haringey, yet the substation remains dangerously unprotected. It is totally unacceptable.”

Liberal Democrats demand answers after child's death

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Liberal Democrats have demanded answers after Homes for Haringey admitted that more windows may have faults similar to those found on the window where a child fell from a third floor of a Tottenham tower block.

Last Friday Paul Bridge, Chief Executive of Homes for Haringey, wrote to six thousand homes identified at risk to contact his service for repairs. Local Liberal Democrats believe that this does not go far enough and have demanded that all Homes for Haringey’s properties should be inspected. Cllr Laura Edge has written to the Chief Executive of Homes for Haringey to express her immediate worries.

On 3rd September a 23-month-old boy died after falling from a window at Croydon House on the Broadwater Farm estate.

Cllr Laura Edge, Liberal Democrat Housing Spokesperson, commented:

“This is a very serious issue. Writing to residents is not enough. If there is any doubt over the safety of windows in residents’ homes then the Council and Homes for Haringey must act immediately.”

Liberal Democrats welcome end to KFC advertising

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News that banners advertising Kentucky Fried Chicken outlets in Crouch End will be removed this week has been welcomed by local Liberal Democrats. The news came in response to probing questions by Liberal Democrats asking Haringey Council how the banners were allowed in the Crouch End conservation area.

Liberal Democrats have consistently criticised Haringey Council for cluttering local areas with garish banners and have led the campaign demanding their removal. Last week Lynne Featherstone MP also contacted KFC directly to ask them to abort their advertising campaign.

Cllr David Winskill, Crouch End, commented:

“It is incredible that Haringey Council would flog off advertising in one of our town centres to fast food outlets in the first place – it is even more incredible it has needed the end of the contract to get these things off our streets.

“These banners are gaudy, tasteless and unwanted in an area like Crouch End. This is a council obsessed with advertising with little thought of the impact on local communities and residents living in a conservation area.

“Now Haringey Council should at least make sure that future contracts only allow appropriate advertising sensitive to the local area but banning the banners must be their first objective.”

Lynne Featherstone MP added:

“It good news that Haringey Council has finally seen the light, but this is only one battle in the battle to preserve our conservation areas. I very much hope KFC will still respond to my plea to not use this obtrusive advertising in the future. I will continue to confront any organisation that fails to respect the special character of our unique parades.”

Alexandra Palace: Nigel Scott launches plan for the future

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Liberal Democrat campaigner and by-election candidate Nigel Scott has thrown down the gauntlet to Haringey Council by launching his plan for the future of Haringey’s historical icon Alexandra Palace.

The plan follows a tumultuous year for Ally Pally, which has recently seen the deal with property tycoon Firoz Kassam collapse and Labour-run Haringey Council mired in scandal over its handling of the negotiations.

Nigel Scott believes that his plan will work towards a restored Alexandra Palace which gives Haringey and London a resource that combines recreational and educational facilities with commercial activities in ways that will respect the charitable purposes of the historical building.

Along with local Liberal Democrat councillors Susan Oatway and David Beacham, Nigel Scott is campaigning to:

·Establish a new board with independent, expert trustees representative of local and national interests, with an independent Chair.

·Ensure proper consultation with residents about the Palace’s future.

·Refurbish the ice rink, make the Victorian theatre fully usable and multi-purpose, make the historic TV studios an educational visitor attraction and support the organ society’s restoration work.

·Protect the CUFOS community centre and its valued activities.

·Make getting to the site via public transport easier (such as Oyster at Alexandra Palace rail station).

·Provide the trading company with the room and encouragement to thrive, so that expanded charitable activities can be fully-funded.

·Actively seek funding sources appropriate to the charitable status of the Trust.

·Clarify the financial contribution of Haringey Council by an annual grant to the charity to cover the costs of maintaining the public road and park.

·Retain ultimate public control in the interests of public benefit.

·Fully recognise the increasingly unique value – as London gets ever denser – of Alexandra Palace and Park to local people and Londoners.

Nigel Scott comments:

“Alexandra Palace is a community treasure.Labour’s shady and incompetent dealings with the Palace’s have been fully exposed this week. This must now stop.

“We need a plan that will really engage with the people of Haringey, a plan that will provide independence from Labour’s incompetent meddling with strong independent leadership. We need a restored building that cherishes the Palace’s historic uniqueness and protects the good work carried out by CUFOS.”

Lynne Featherstone MP adds:

“Alexandra Palace is a cultural and historical icon that needs to be raised above the quagmire of Haringey Labour’s financial and political bungling.”

MP's plea to KFC to remove lamppost ads

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In the face of Haringey Council intransigence over the removal for KFC banners from lampposts in Crouch End, local MP Lynne Featherstone has taken matters into her own hands and made a direct appeal to KFC headquarters.

In a letter to Martin Shuker, the managing director of KFC UK, Ms. Featherstone requests the company takes action to ensure the withdrawal of the ad campaign because of its obtrusiveness to the Crouch End conservation area and its Victorian street scene.

Efforts by local councillors to get Haringey Council to remove the offending banners have fallen on deaf ears.

Lynne Featherstone, Liberal Democrat MP for Hornsey & Wood Green, comments:

“Before Haringey Council even started flogging advertising on our lampposts, they should have thought about the potential consequences.

“These adverts look completely out of place in Crouch End. I hope KFC bosses will see reason where Haringey Labour has not.”

Councillor David Winskill (Crouch End) added:

“KFC is ratcheting up a real PR deficit over these ads. It could earn a lot of brownie points by simply cancelling the contract and giving the money saved to the Mayor’s Charity.”

Save Haringey's recycling banks

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Liberal Democrats demanded a halt to the scrapping of Haringey Borough’s 75 recycling banks.The revelation that they are to be cut was unearthed this week in a cross-party Overview and Scrutiny review into the London Borough of Haringey’s waste management and recycling services.

The dedicated recycling facilities located through Haringey offer the only alternative to Haringey Council’s controversial doorstep co-mingling scheme.

Critics of the co-mingling scheme point to poor quality of the recycled material after it is recovered. For example glass recovered from the co-mingled process cannot actually be recycled into glass because of contamination and instead is used as road fill, losing much of the energy saving potential.

Commenting, Councillor Lyn Weber, Overview & Scrutiny Panel Member said:

“We couldn’t believe what we were hearing at the Scrutiny review meeting. Haringey Council should be aiming for better recycling standards not worse.

“Coming only weeks after Labour’s Greenest Borough initiative, the scrapping of this service shows that they haven’t got a clue when it comes to the environment.”

Councillor Ed Butcher, Haringey Liberal Democrat Environment spokesperson added:

“Whilst co-mingled is the best worst option for increasing recycling, it is ludicrous to make it impossible for those dedicated green souls who are willing to make the extra effort to save the planet.

“This decision proves that Haringey Labour carries out absolutely no green assessment of its decisions.If they had done so the evidence would have clearly shown that this bonkers plan will increase the amount of carbon dioxide Haringey Council is indirectly responsible for.”

Liberal Democrats call for Labour resignation over Alexandra Palace investigation

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Haringey’s Liberal Democrats are calling for the resignation of Labour’s finance boss and former Council leader Cllr Charles Adje following the publication of a damning report into how, as Alexandra Palace Chair, he pushed through the controversial licence for Firoka to operate in the building. The Liberal Democrats say the revelations in the report show he can’t be trusted to run the boroughs finances.

The report into affairs at Alexandra Palace was published late last week for consideration at an emergency Alexandra Palace board meeting this Friday. Among the most scandalous of many revelations in the report is an assertion that Cllr Adje pushed the controversial licence through for political reasons, so that he could tell the Haringey Labour group’s Annual General Meeting it had been achieved – at which time Cllr Adje was bidding for the job of Labour finance boss.

Whilst Cllr Adje claims to have had limited involvement in the process, the others interviewed for the report indicate that it was he who was driving the ill-fated process forward.

Haringey Liberal Democrat Leader, Cllr Robert Gorrie, comments:

“Firstly, it’s clear that Charles Adje must be removed as soon as possible as the Haringey’s finance chief. There are many damning revelations in the report, but suggestions that Cllr Adje was rushing this disastrous process forward, without proper procedures in place, in order to suit the needs of the Labour Group’s Annual General Meeting is an absolutely scandalous revelation. This point alone requires further serious investigation.

“This politically motivated incompetence has cost Haringey’s taxpayers millions of pounds. Why was Haringey Council so slow to take steps to bring the Palace into line? The Liberal Democrats, and local campaign groups repeatedly raised the issue from last July onwards. Cllr Neil Williams brought it to the Council, to the Cabinet, and to the media. It was raised repeatedly by Lib Dem Ally Pally board member Bob Hare, whose demands for answers were simply brushed aside.

“Following a request by council officers there will now be an action plan to ensure that this does not happen again – but this is as much about incompetence as it is about governance. No amount of procedural changes will protect the Trust from people in charge who have shown they should not be in such positions of authority. That’s why Charles Adje must step down.”

Lynne Featherstone MP adds:

“This is a flagrant abuse of power which appears largely to have been pursued because of political self-interest. This is not someone who should hold the purse strings to half billion pounds of public money through Haringey Council’s finances. Further questions must also be asked how this was able to carry on without the scrutiny of the rest of the Labour party and the Council.”

Note:

Key information contained in the report shows:

1. Alexandra Palace bosses claim they were under pressure from Firoka, yet there is no direct evidence that Firoka were even planning to abandon the development.
2. The absence of alternatives to granting the controversial licence to Firoka is slammed as “unacceptable”.
3. The governance regime over the granting of the licence is found to be “questionable at best”.
4. The dire financial consequences of the licence were not even considered.
5. The lack of liaison with Haringey Council is condemned as “unacceptable”: Haringey Council was not adequately informed of decisions, despite the fact that that Haringey tax payers will have to foot the entire multi-million pound bill.
6. The report raises concerns that there is no explanation for the terrible financial position that the Trust found itself in at that time.

Post Office queue survey launched

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Every household in Hornsey & Wood Green has been invited to record how long they have to wait their local Post Office in a constituency-wide survey distributed this week by local MP Lynne Featherstone.

The survey gives local residents the opportunity to record the impact of the recent closures, which saw five Post Offices serving Hornsey & Wood Green area close. In the survey residents are asked to note their waiting times and the reason for their visit.

It is hoped the survey will give a comprehensive assessment of the level of service following the closures. The findings of the survey will be presented to the Post Office. Should the results indicate unacceptable waiting times, it is hoped it will add weight to the argument to review the closures.

The launch comes after a Freedom of Information request by Liberal Democrats revealed that the Post Office has so far failed to invest any more resources for surviving Crown Post Offices despite the greater demands that will fall on them following the closures.

Anyone who has not received the survey or requires additional copies should contact Lynne’s office on 020 8340 5459 or email lynne@lynnefeatherstone.org.

Lynne Featherstone MP said:

“The Labour leader of Haringey Council made grandiose promises to save our Post Offices but just a few months later he seems to have given up without a fight. Local residents really deserve better.

“The Government and the Post Office cannot get away with making out that these closures will have no impact at all.They have failed to pump in extra resources into Crown Post Offices to cope with the extra demand following the closures.

“With local residents’ help I hope to be able to demonstrate just how much our services have suffered.”

Councillor Richard Wilson, Deputy Leader of Haringey Liberal Democrats and ward member for Stroud Green that saw two of its local post offices shut, added:

“The Post Office seemed to make their decision based on very dodgy data; we want to put the record straight.

“Anecdotally I know already from several residents that the queues at the remaining Post Offices have got even worse, and I’ve seen myself people queuing out into the street at Crouch End. I dread to think how long the waits will get when Christmas approaches.Perhaps we should all start queuing now for the last post?”

Further fiasco for Haringey Council's parking department

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Haringey Council faces further embarrassment after it emerged that many of the borough’s parking bays do not conform to Department for Transport (DfT) regulations. Investigation by Cllr Martin Newton has revealed that Muswell Hill’s pay-and-display bays fail to have the correct road markings. Local Liberal Democrats are calling for a comprehensive review of all parking lines and signs in the entire borough.

This recent discovery follows a number of errors uncovered by Liberal Democrats that will put further pressure on embattled Labour parking boss, Cllr Haley. In February Haringey Council was forced by Liberal Democrats to replace confusing and contradictory parking signage – and also had to add further stickers to pay-and-display machines to try to explain bewildering restrictions.

Recent investigations by Liberal Democrats also uncovered that at five of the seven yellow box junctions enforced by CCTV, penalty notices had to be cancelled due to incorrect lines, signs or Traffic Management Orders.

Cllr Martin Newton, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Transport and Highways, comments:

“We need an end to confusion surrounding where and when residents and visitors can park. Only with a full comprehensive audit will enforcement be fair. Labour-run Haringey Council needs to make sure all lines and signs are crystal clear and that they conform to regulations. Penalty notices should not be issued where they know they have got it wrong.

“It beggars belief that this administration seems incapable of getting the simplest scheme right. Just how difficult is it to look at the illustrations in the guidelines from the DfT and replicate them in Haringey? If they can’t even paint a simple parking bay correctly what message does it send to residents that they are competent to run anything?

“It is time for Haringey’s Parking Boss, Cllr Haley to accede to our demands and order a thorough review of lines and signs and make sure they follow DfT guidelines.”

Lynne Featherstone MP adds:

“Given the number of parking scandals involving Haringey Council, you could start to think it’s a conspiracy rather than incompetence. The Labour council leaders need to act soon to resolve faith in our borough’s parking rules.”