Pressure from Haringey Liberal Democrats has forced Haringey Council into belatedly extending the consultation period into the future of the borough’s Parks Constabulary.

In April 2008, Haringey Council agreed in principal to a new scheme for supervising Haringey’s parks, which would see the Parks Constabulary abolished. The plan’s initial consultation period ended on 30th June 2008, however last week Haringey Council announced that residents can comment on the plans up until 26th September 2008.

While welcoming the extension of the consultation period, local Liberal Democrats criticised the council for not informing residents earlier.

Councillor Ron Aitken, Liberal Democrat Crime, Policing and Community Safety spokesperson commented:

“I’m pleased that Haringey Council have at last announced that the consultation into the future of the Parks Constabulary is to be extended. However, it’s unacceptable that the Council waited until 7th August to inform residents of this, when the initial consultation period ended on 30th June.”

Lynne Featherstone MP added:

“The Parks Constabulary have provided a great service over a number of years in providing help to victims of crime and anti-social behaviour in our parks.It would be madness to disband them. “

Highgate councillor Neil Williams has accused Haringey Labour’s embattled parking boss of ‘staggering and shameful incompetence’ for leaving Highgate residents high and dry when it comes to parking controls. He says the shocking parking situation in North Road leaves Haringey Council open to accusations of maladministration.

The complaint comes after Labour-run Haringey Council has refused, yet again, to set a date for completing works on parking controls in North Road, Highgate.

The situation is an outrage, says Cllr Williams, as Haringey Council only left this part of North Road without a CPZ by mistake. After pressure from Highgate councillors and residents, a consultation on correcting the blunder took place last year, which received an overwhelming ‘green light’ from hard-pressed residents.

However, despite promises of action, nothing has been done, and Haringey Council is still refusing to set a date for the works, despite the short stretch of road and the limited nature of the changes needed.

The latest excuse, offered to Cllr Williams on Friday, is that no funding has been agreed for the works, and it might be as late as March next year before residents get the parking control they have voted for and desperately need.

Cllr Neil Williams comments:

“Brian Haley is running an absolute shambles of a parking service. Solely through his own blunders, part of North Road is facing parking misery with no end in sight. The residents have been consulted and promises to take action have been shamefully broken. Other streets in Highgate are also crying out for action on parking. How long will local residents have to wait before these works are done?”

An investigation by the Liberal Democrats has revealed that Haringey Council has no policy for supporting the arts in the borough.

The revelation follows a Freedom of Information request by the opposition, amidst concerns over the future of the Highgate-based arts centre in Jacksons Lane. They are also concerned by the lack of any apparent strategy by Haringey to take advantage of the broad cultural diversity of the borough and the large numbers of local residents with a passion for the arts.

As well as stating that, “Haringey Council does not have a specific arts policy,” the council’s letter response to the Freedom of Information request also revealed the paltry sums for, and the haphazard nature of, arts spending in the borough.

While there is no overall budget for the arts, spend was just £106,000 from 2003 to 2006 in the form of two grants: one to the Collage Arts and the other to Jackson’s Lane in Highgate. However, spending has leapt to £306,000 this year, due to council funding for the Bernie Grant Centre, which received £205,000 – two thirds of the current total spend.

Highgate Lib Dem councillor Neil Williams has called into question the figures. He says that Jacksons Lane is funded as a community centre and that Haringey Council is guilty of disingenuous double-counting when it comes to its claims about funding arts at the centre.

Cllr David Winskill, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Libraries, Culture and Life long Learning comments:

“Haringey can rightly lay claim to be one of the most culturally active communities in London but this simply is ignored by this Labour administration. Their cultural strategy is little more than a tokenistic booklet. There is no real commitment to go out and find out what is going on and produce a coherent and well funded strategy of support.”

Cllr Neil Williams, Highgate councillor, adds:

“When it comes to Jacksons Lane, Haringey Council wants to have it both ways. It funds the centre for its valuable community work, in exactly the same way as other community centres, but then claims this is spending on the arts. This won’t wash.With the centre’s building suffering from lack of attention from the council going back many years, Haringey has a disingenuous and miserly policy. At least this is now out in the open.”

A station intended to be a main access route for athletes and Haringey residents to the Olympic and Paralympics Games in 2012 has come under severe criticism for failing to provide adequate access for disabled users.

The southbound platform at Tottenham Hale rail station, which serves trains travelling from Stansted Airport to Stratford, only has access via steps and an escalator that is impossible for wheelchair users and passengers with walking difficulties.

Liberal Democrats are appalled that passengers with disabilities planning to travel to Stratford would have to travel on the underground – a journey that would take four times as long. Disabled users travelling from Stansted would also face problems. If they wanted to exit at Tottenham Hale station from Stansted Airport they would instead have to travel to Liverpool Street station and change to return on the opposite platform.

To coincide with today’s Olympic Opening Ceremony in Beijing, Liberal Democrats are demanding urgent action, and have written to Transport for London and Haringey Council to reassess disabled access at the station.

Cllr Rachel Allison, Liberal Democrat Regeneration and Enterprise Spokesperson, commented:

“The first thing international athletes competing in the 2012 Paralympics and arriving from Standsted will feel is that they are not welcome here. This is a terrible indictment of our borough and Haringey Council and Transport for London must do all they can to make improve access to this vital station.

“At present disabled users would have to take three underground trains taking forty minutes for a journey that should only take ten minutes if they had access to the platform from Stansted.”

Cllr Martin Newton, Liberal Democrat Transport Spokesperson commented:

“Transport for London have scheduled Tottenham Hale for an accessibility make-over after the Olympics have happened. They must bring this revamp forward so that all disabled users travelling from Tottenham Hale can have easy access to the Olympic and Paralympics Games.

“With the Beijing Olympics starting now, we have exactly 4 years to get Tottenham Hale ready for the 2012 Opening Ceremony.”

Tenants in Haringey’s Council owned properties are set to be hit by a series of inflation busting rent increases over the next three years.

Information revealed by the Liberal Democrats shows that average rents are set to increase by nearly 16% from £78.25 to £90.58 by 2011. Local Liberal Democrats have criticised HaringeyCouncil for adding yet more financial misery to cash-strapped residents crippled by rising food and energy prices and reeling from an unprecedented 6% hike in council rents this year.

Cllr Laura Edge, Liberal Democrat Housing Spokesperson, commented:

“This inflation busting increase will hit some of the poorest residents of our borough hard.They are already stretched by the unprecedented 6.5% increase this year and with the effects of the credit crunch looming large this is the last thing our tenants will want to hear.”

Hornsey & Wood Green Liberal Democrat MP, Lynne Featherstone, added:

“The Labour run council has clearly lost touch with the needs of local residents and the problems they face. They should be thinking of ways to help people through this difficult financial period rather than how to squeeze more cash from hard-pressed families.”

Local residents living in Redvers Road, Noel Park, will be relieved that bus drivers will now be able to use toilets installed after a successful campaign by Liberal Democrats.

Concerns were raised after bus drivers, caught short during the day, were using bushes and alleys behind the Hollywood Green cinema. After contact from Liberal Democrat councillor Fiyaz Mughal, Transport for London has now installed toilets for the drivers to use.

Local residents are also worried about the number of buses turning into Redvers Road causing damage to road surfaces and creating vibrations. Cllr Mughal will continue to press Transport for London to suggest changes to improve bus routes in the area.

Cllr Fiyaz Mughal, Noel Park, commented:

“Residents will be very pleased that drivers will now be able to use these facilities – it will be a relief to all.

“However this is only part of the problems created by buses using this small road. I will continue working with Transport for London to help residents who are concerned with the vibrations and damage caused by buses turning into Redvers Road.”

Lynne Featherstone signed up to be an organ donor last Saturday at an action day organised by Tottenham and Wood Green Rotary Club in Wood Green Shopping City to encourage local residents to sign up for organ donation.

According to official NHS statistics over 400 people died last year whilst waiting for a donor organ.

Anyone who missed the opportunity to sign up on Saturday can register to become a donor online by visiting http://www.uktransplant.org.uk or calling 0845 60 60 400.

Lynne Featherstone MP commented:

“Hats off to our local Rotary Club for giving up their spare time for such a worthwhile cause.

“They certainly found one new recruit. I’ve always been a bit squeamish about contemplating my own death so I’ve put off and put off signing up for organ donation so today was the day.

“I hope other Wood Green shoppers will have been as encouraged as I was to sign up for such an important and potentially life saving gift.”

Labour members of Haringey Council’s ‘watchdog’ committee this week voted to rubber stamp proposals to slap leaseholders of council properties with massive repair bills before any work is even done on their flats.

Leaseholders, who are liable to pay for a proportion of major works done by Haringey Council, will now be forced to pay thousands of pounds before work has been completed.

Local Liberal Democrats criticised Haringey Council’s proposals for sacrificing the best deal for leaseholders to increase the Haringey Council’s cash flow. The average bill for leaseholders is set to triple to £6,500 during the Council’s Decent Homes Programme, which will renovate the Council’s dilapidated housing stock.

Haringey Council was forced into an embarrassing admission that, even though they are going to force leaseholders to start paying for work before it has started, Haringey Council itself will only pay the builders for work after it is done.

Cllr Richard Wilson, Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader, who led the Liberal Democrat discussion at the meeting, commented:

“It is hypocritical of Haringey Council to force leaseholders to start paying in advance for building work, when the Council itself doesn’t pay the builders till later. This is a real slap in the face for leaseholders who will now face repair bills hitting the doormat before even a paint pot is opened.

“I’m extremely disappointed that Labour councillors refused to accept my pleas that leaseholders should continue to be allowed to wait until the work is complete before they start paying.With the credit crunch squeezing residents’ finances, this unfair decision shows just how out of touch Haringey Labour is.”

Lynne Featherstone MP added:

“Many leaseholders are not going to have the money to hand to pay these huge bills upfront. To add insult to injury the money won’t even be given to the builders until the end so the money will end up sitting in Homes for Haringey coffers. This is simply not a fair way to treat leaseholders.”