Revealed: the 26 "priority one" roads that Haringey Council failed to grit

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As the cold snap tightens its grip, local MP Lynne Featherstone has sent Haringey Council bosses a list of 26 “priority one” roads and a further 64 “priority two” roads in Haringey that were not gritted during December’s snowfall. Local Liberal Democrats have said that this calls into question Haringey Council’s ability to cope with the severe weather and have demanded that HaringeyCouncil is better equipped.

The lists, which were put together after over 200 residents responded to Lynne Featherstone’s call for evidence, shows how widespread dissatisfaction with gritting of local roads has been.  The list shows that 26 of the roads reported are “priority one” roads, despite Haringey Council saying that these are supposed to be gritted first as they are major thoroughfares and bus routes.

Earlier in the week, Lynne Featherstone and Cllr Robert Gorrie contacted Haringey Council, demanding that more grit be made available so local residents can grit untreated pavements after reports that grit bins were empty.

Lynne Featherstone MP comments:

“It’s deeply worrying that so many roads which Haringey Council said would be prioritised were not treated properly after the first heavy snowfall in December. Now that the cold weather is continuing I hope that Haringey Council learns from its mistakes and ensures that these major routes are clear and safe.

“It’s clear that better preparations are needed to protect residents from the major risk of accidents and falls that come with the icy roads and pavements.”

Martin Newton, Liberal Democrat transport spokesperson, adds:

“Having seen how poorly stocked the grit bins in Muswell Hill and in many other places throughout the borough are, I really worry that residents, especially the elderly and vulnerable, are put at risk every time they leave their homes.

“The pavements are so icy and residents need to have the opportunity to treat the surface themselves if Haringey Council is not doing it for them.”

The 26 “priority one” roads:

Albert Road, N22
Alexandra Park Road, N22
The Avenue, N8
Cranley Gardens, N10
Crouch End Hill, N8
Crouch Hill, N8
Dukes Avenue, N10
Elmfield Avenue, N8
Ferme Park Road, N4, N8
Fortis Green, N10
Fortis Green Road, N10
Inderwick Road, N8
Middle Lane, N8
Mount View Road, N4
Muswell Hill Broadway, N10
Muswell Hill Road, N6
North Hill, N6
Oakfield Road, N4
Ridge Road, N8
Rokesly Avenue, N8
Shepherds Hill, N6
Station Road, N22
Weston Park, N8
Woodside Avenue, N6
Woodland Rise, N10
Southwood Lane, N6

The 64 “priority two” roads:

Beech Drive, N22
Avenue Road, N15
Arcadian Gardens, N22
Berners Road, N22
Birkbeck Road, N17
Blake Road, N11
Bloomfield Road, N6
Causton Road, N6
Cecile Park, N8
Causton Road, N6
Cavendish Road, N4
The Chine, N10
Cholmeley Crescent, N6
Cholmeley Park, N6
Claremont Road, N6
Coolhurst Road, N8
Cranbrook Park, N22
Crescent Road, N8
Cromwell Avenue, N6
Crouch Hall Road, N8
Earlham Grove, N22
Etheldene Avenue, N10
Farrer Road, N8
Florence Road, N4
Gathorne Road, N22
Gisburn Road, N8
Gladwell Road, N8
Glasslyn Road, N8
Granville Road, N4
Grasmere Road, N10
Grosvenor Gardens, N10
Grove Avenue, N10
Grove House Road, N8
Haringey Road, N8
Hermiston Avenue, N8
Highgate Avenue, N6
Langdon Park Road, N6
Lascotts Road, N22
Lyndhurst Road, N22
Montenotte Road, N8
Muswell Avenue, N10
Myddleton Rd, N22
Nightingale Road, N22
Onslow Gardens, N10
Palmerston Road, N22
Park Avenue South, N8
Parkhurst Road, N17
Roseberry Road, N10
Southwood Avenue, N6
Southwood Lawn Road, N22
Stanhope Gardens, N6
St Albans Crescent, N22
St James’s Lane, N10
Sylvan Avenue, N22
Talbot Road, N22
Tivoli Road, N8
Twyford Avenue, N2
Western Road, N22
Wolseley Road, N8
Womersley Road, N8
Woodfield Way, N11
Woodside Road, N22
Woodstock Road, N4
Vallance Road, N22

We shouldn't face being sued!

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My Aunt Hettie is not going out of her flat during this period. She broke a hip last year, is 90 years old – and very sensibly she is holed up for the duration.

But most of us have to go out. Most of us understand that when it snows it can be dangerous and slippery and we may well fall over.

I want us to be like Canada or the USA where we all clear the snow from the space in front of our own dwellings. But according to the Law Society (and the debate at Question Time in the Lords and various article) we may risk being sued if we do and someone falls over on our patch. If we don’t they can sue us – rather than the Council. (The Council has a duty of care towards its residents).

I would say to the Law Society et al – if they think that creating a litigious atmosphere by their pronouncements is helpful – then they should hang their heads in shame. People should feel free and encouraged to do their community bit by clearing snow away. They shouldn’t be inhibited or quashed by being warned off. And if there is legal doubt – then they are the body that should be campaigning to ensure that the law or its consequences does not stop people clearing their frontages. Bloody ridiculous!

Firstly, if I fell over because a bit of ice had formed in a bit of pavement where my neighbour had cleared their frontage – my first thought would not be I must sue them. I would regard as an accident. Not everything is someone’s fault – particularly if the motive was to improve the situation. And given Haringey’s hands off policy towards side roads – I would like to see a community snow plan for every side road where local people can clear their own frontage with grit supplied to the road by the Council – without fearing litigation.

This is just a world gone mad! I’ve cleared the snow off my front steps so that visitors and the postman won’t slip on them. I await a lawsuit!

UPDATE: Thinking further – am going to take this up with Minister of Justice – to see how many cases there have been!

Leadercide – not so easy

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So – another coup bites the dust.

Hoon and Hewitt have egg, no – a whole omelette on their faces. So what happened? I assume that H & H had reason to believe that the six cabinet members named on the news last night had indicated that they would jump if the water looked inviting. Clearly – within an hour of their letter/text to colleagues  – the water was icy and none of them jumped. And not jumping – the lukewarm messages of support for Brown dribbled out in an untimely and limp-wristed way.

So – Brown is damaged. Labour is damaged. H &H are damaged. Well done team Labour!

But, leadercide is not easy. I first arrived in Parliament in May 2005, to a strange atmosphere in our Parliamentary Party. I didn’t really know why, as this was clearly my first experience of a Parliamentary Party, and for all I knew that might have been normal – but it felt bad.

 Of course, now, we all know from what happened that Charles Kennedy was in trouble because of his then drinking problem and there was a need for drastic action which did take place and did result in his resignation. Of course, the difference is huge in that Charles was a great leader, much loved by the Party and the country and the problem was a very human problem. Perhaps this was even more difficult – as it wasn’t his talent or ability that was the issue – and colleagues were rightly very reluctant to hurt him. However, in a situation which in a way was more difficult, actually Ed and everyone recognised that if we were to act we had to act swiftly and all together or not at all.

However, it was my induction into how important it is to know clearly in your own mind what you believe must happen and then act upon it when and if the moment arrives. I remember getting a call from Ed Davey saying that a letter was going to Charles which basically said if he didn’t resign the signatories would all resign their positions – did I want to be a signatory. I was spokesperson for Crime and Policing at the time but not a member then of our Shadow Cabinet.

I remember saying I would have a think and phone him back. I put the phone down – but within a few minutes picked it up again and called Ed back – knowing in my own mind that Charles had to go for the sake of the Party and therefore I would and should be a signatory. As I walked from my kitchen into the my lounge the moving Sky headline on the bottom of the screen said something like ‘and one of the first signatories is Lynne Featherstone’. It terrified the life out of me. I had no concept of the public aspect of the decisions you take – as a new MP.

Anyway – the point of telling this story – is to demonstrate the importance of making a decision in your own mind – so that when the moment comes those who needed to act did so. What seems to have failed so monumentally in the Hoon/Hewitt fiasco is that they were weak in their actions, that none of the cabinet were prepared to actually show leadership and put their heads above the parapet and the timing and the moment was wrong. It’s a real – he who hesitates is lost – scenario.

With no leadership, no defined successor, no specific action to be taken – even the mild and misguided aspiration that this would settle the matter once and for all – was lost.

Leadercide needs real guts ,and right timing. H & H and the cabinet apparently had neither.

Et tu Brute?

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Just watched the lunchtime news. I don’t know if Geoff Hoon and Patricia Hewitt know something we don’t know – but on the surface this leadership secret ballot is madness. Cameron makes a dog’s dinner of launching the Tory election campaign and Brown’s erstwhile allies rush to help them out of their self-created mess. Can you imagine what Gordon is saying privately at this moment?

Haringey's answer to my plea

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As previously blogged – emailed Haringey CEO to ask for grit for pavements on priority roads and supply of pile of grit to each side road so we can help ourselves. This is the response I just received:

Dear Ms Featherstone and Councillor Gorrie

Thank you for your email and I share your concern about the welfare of residents in the borough, and I hope you will appreciate that our staff are working extremely hard to keep the borough moving. I know you will also recognise that the cold weather has been prolonged and shows no sign of abating, so we are planning carefully to achieve optimum effect of existing and future stocks.

The council’s contractor Enterprise are working to an agreed set of priorities, that we review continually as we receive weather warnings. This does include publicly accessible grit bins across the borough where the need is greatest – for example in areas with steep slopes where footing is likely to be particularly treacherous.

Yours sincerely
Dr Ita O’Donovan
Chief Executive

So – that’s a no then!

Also – note the ‘agreed priorities’ but clearly from the 26 Priority 1 roads ungritted last time and the 63 ungritted Priority 2 roads – even the ‘agreed priorities’ are not being delivered. As I am sending Ms Donovan the named list of these roads – I look forward to seeing what action she and the Council will be taking.

And – reading between the lines – is she saying they haven’t got enough salt or grit?

Has Haringey gritted your road?

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Well – it’s time to see if the deluge of complaints after Haringey Council’s (non-)gritting during the last snow have made an impact on London’s worst council!

In the snow before Christmas I emailed (in my Christmas message to my email list – if you would like to be on it let me know) for people to let me know the status of their road – and the result was that people reported (with road name, time and date) 26 Priority 1 roads ungritted; 63 Priority 2 roads ungritted and 50 non-priority roads remained untouched. I am sending the CEO this information.

Yesterday (with snow expected) I emailed Haringey’s Chief Exec to ask that the Council grit the pavements for Priority 1 and 2 roads as well as the roadway – and to beg that a pile of grit or salt be delivered to all the side roads as soon as is possible – as Haringey don’t appear to clear them even when the cold snap is an extended one.

I know that it is a tough job to get everywhere on the first day – but this looks like it is set to last – and if you are in a side road, however clear the main roads are kept, you may not be able to get to one.

So – once again as the snow falls thick and fast – I could trust what Haringey Council tells me … or I could use you to help be my eyes and ears. Please comment below with road name, the ice/snow situation on the road and what if any gritting and clearing it has had. You can also let me know via Twitter (please include @lfeatherstone so I’ll get all the messages appear in my replies list). Photos would be really helpful too – either via Twitter or put a link in your comment. Thanks!

Local MP test drives Oyster PAYG on local train after long running campaign

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After a long-running campaign to let residents use their Oyster Pay As You Go (PAYG) on local trains, Liberal Democrat MP Lynne Featherstone was finally able to tap in with her Oyster card, as she travelled from Alexandra Palace earlier this week.

But the Hornsey and Wood Green MP, who has been running a campaign to get the PAYG smart cards on the trains since 2008, has today raised concerns about some of the more complicated aspects of the scheme.

Residents with travelcards on their Oysters, who travel outside their pre-paid zones, have to get an Oyster Extension Permit (OEP) before starting the journey. These can only be obtained from local Oyster retailers or tube stations, and not at local train stations. The Hornsey and Wood Green MP, who’s got the backing of Transport for London, has today again written to local train company First Capital Connect, to demand that the OEPs be scrapped.

Click here to see a video of Lynne on her maiden Oyster PAYG journey on the local trains.

Lynne Featherstone MP comments:

“It’s fantastic to finally be able to use my Pay As You Go Oyster card when travelling on local trains. This will make it easier for residents to get around. At last we have one integrated system.

“But the whole idea of the Oyster Extension Permit is frankly absurd. Oyster is supposed to make it easier for people to travel – not harder by forcing them to go to a local shop or tube station to pop an electronic permit on the card first.

“I will keep pushing for First Capital Connect to drop this idea – there must be an easier way.”

Cllr Martin Newton, local Liberal Democrat Transport spokesperson, adds:

“I’m delighted that persistence has paid off. Hopefully the integrated Oyster system will mean that more residents chose to use public transport and leave the car at home.”

Oyster Pay As You Go finally comes to Alexandra Palace Station

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Finally, after a long campaign to get Oyster Pay As You Go (PAYG) to work from tube to overground trains – we have lift off. To test the reality of Oyster being extended on Haringey’s train services, I went to Alexandra Palace Station to have a go (before the snow!). It worked – I tapped in and I tapped out! Here’s the clip:

(Also on YouTube here.)

So that’s the very good news at long last. However, the bad news is that if you have a Travelcard with limited zones and you want to go beyond them, you will need another electronic card – an Oyster Extension Permit.

This is unnecessarily complicated and First Capital Connect should have been able to come up with another solution. But given it is the system – and whilst I don’t wish to be overtly rude – First Capital Connect must be mad. You have to purchase an Oyster Extension Permit, but they are not going to be sold from ticket offices at overland stations!

Yes, that’s right – if you want this sort of ticket to use the trains, the train company won’t sell it to you.

Instead you will have to buy them at tube stations or at corner shops which carry the Oyster sign. It’s as if First Capital Connect doesn’t actually want people to get hold of the card!

Anyway it’s a New Year, and this is basically a good news story, so I will temporarily stop railing at First Capital Connect and end on that bad pun.

Concern raised over empty grit bins as snow set to return

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Local Liberal Democrats have raised concerns for the safety of local residents during the ongoing cold snap after it was found that local grit bins are empty – just as more snow and icy conditions are set to return. Local councillor, Richard Wilson, has demanded action from Haringey Council after a spot inspection in Stroud Green ward yesterday (Monday) found that all grit bins were empty.

MP Lynne Featherstone and Cllr Robert Gorrie have today also urgently demanded that Haringey Council takes extra measures to grit priority roads, and ensure there is salt or grit available for non-priority roads.

Cllr Richard Wilson, Stroud Green, comments:

“Given the chaos caused by the snow before Christmas, I’m surprised that the grit bins in Stroud Green are empty. This denies local residents the opportunity to grit treacherous sections of pavement.  I’ve demanded that Haringey Council fill these bins as soon as possible.”

Lynne Featherstone MP, adds:

“From the many emails and phone calls from local residents following the last snowfall, where many told me of priority roads not being gritted or salted, I’m really concerned that we might see a repeat this week.

“But with more advance warning this time, I certainly hope Haringey Council ensures that Haringey’s roads and pavements are safer.”

So it begins………..

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Hi Ho! Hi Ho! It’s off to an election we go – and can’t you just tell from the first salvos from Labour against Cameron and Tories against Brown that it’s going to be an edifying few months.

No doubt we LibDems will be above such things – judging from Nick’s pronouncement this morning (continuing a theme from Conference) that we are different to the other two parties. We are. We definitely are. So – let’s hope we remain different. The last thing this country needs is the same bankrupt politics that has held sway for so long. New hope with each new Government – only to find out within a few years that they fall from grace and were just the same in the end as the one before.

Would we be as good as I believe we would be in Government?