Highgate’s threatened post office faced a further blow yesterday after local Labour MP Glenda Jackson abstained on a motion in Parliament seeking to halt the closure plans. The popular Post Office is part of the Government’s closure programme that plans to shut another 2,500 Post Offices nationwide.

Highgate councillor and Liberal Democrats Leader Neil Williams comments:

“I am bitterly disappointed that Glenda Jackson has failed to vote to stop the Labour Government, when several Labour MPs voted with their conscience. The Highgate Post Office forms a vital part of community life. It closure shouldn’t be determined on a party political basis, but sadly, that is what is happening. However, the fight goes on to save our Post Office, with or without Glenda Jackson.”

Haringey Council should take a proactive approach to help Post Offices threatened with closure say local Liberal Democrats. In a motion, to be debated at the next Full Council meeting on 31st March 2008, Liberal Democrats request that Haringey Council investigates whether new initiatives such as those pioneered by councils in Essex could be adopted in Haringey.

Essex County Council announced in early March that they were considering plans to take over post offices scheduled for closure. Since then, many other councils throughout England have contacted Essex Count Council over their proposals to merge council services with those delivered by the Post Office.

Cllr Neil Williams, Haringey Liberal Democrats Leader, comments:

“It is vital that we leave no stone unturned to ensure that our local Post Offices are saved. We are urging Haringey Council to do everything in its power to support Haringey’s Post Offices, open talks with the Post Office and look at plans from other councils that could be used.

“Post Offices are vital to strong local communities and a lifeline to older people, the disabled and those people on lower incomes – we cannot and will not give up without a fight.”

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

“Haringey Council, for once, need to take the bull by the horns and fight tooth and nail for our vital local services.

“The Labour government has closed 4,000 Post Offices since 1997 and the Tories closed 3,500 – now it seems that local government needs to act to save a service central government has given up on.”

Haringey Council have been accused of breaking promises after squatters again moved into a derelict building in Crouch End. Over the past two years local residents and councillors have notified Haringey Council of security issues on the site in Tivoli Road and have been given assurances that the building would be secured and the building brought back into use. Local Liberal Democrats have expressed frustration at the recent break in and have asked for a clear guarantee that the issue will be resolved.

Cllr Lyn Weber (Crouch End) comments:

“Haringey’s latest attempts at securing the property were pathetic. Squatters seem to come and go at will, last weekend they got in via an unsecured route at the back of the house”.

“Haringey Council should look into bringing properties like this back into use as soon as possible so that the many families on Haringey’s waiting lists can have a real home.”

Cllr David Winskill added:

“Haringey Council should have secured the property properly, back and front, first time around. The unsecured rear of the building has been brought to Haringey’s attention by neighbouring residents but no action was taken. This is a typical Haringey Labour response and a complete failure to listen to local people who know what’s happening in their area”.

Virginia Jackson, of the Glasslyn, Montenotte and Tivoli Road Residents’ Association, added:

“We are dismayed that this house has been left in a state of disrepair for so long.We would now ask that it is made secure immediately and would welcome reassurances that it will be refurbished without delay.”

Haringey Council’s Labour Cabinet last night used ‘urgency’ procedures to ensure there could be no further debate on their controversial plans to scrap free OAP leisure use at weekends, and weekday mornings and evenings. Opposition Liberal Democrat councillors objected to the abuse of procedures that will stop older people, residents and councillors from having their say on this important issue.

The new policy to restrict free leisure use to ‘non-peak’ hours was announced in a Haringey Council press release on 18thFebruary 2008. However, the Labour Cabinet Member, Cllr Basu did not present a formal paper to the Council Cabinet until the very start of the meeting last night (18th March) – ensuring that special ‘urgency’ rules prevented the decision being referred into the Scrutiny Committee for further debate.

No older people or amenity groups outside the Labour Group have been consulted on this ‘peak use’ restriction, as it was not part of the original proposals brought forward in January.

Cllr Richard Wilson, Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader, comments;

“Clearly Labour are desperate to avoid any debate on this leisure cut. Hard-up older people are going to have to change the times and days they take exercise because of this decision, but they are still not allowed to have any say on the matter.

“This cut will save just £35,000 from a council budget of hundreds of millions but the impact on many pensioners’ lives will be hard.It is outrageous that council procedures have been abused so that Labour councillors do not have to hear about the problems there decisions are causing local elderly people.”

Cllr David Winskill, Liberal Democrat Leisure spokesperson, adds:

“Cllr Basu’s claims to have consulted are totally spurious – no-one was written to, there was no period of consultation, nothing on the website.”

Haringey Council has admitted that the bungled management of a vital £4.5m regeneration project means it is racing against time to complete a new road before it loses funding on 1 April.

At last night’s Cabinet Meeting, Haringey Council was forced to confirm that the project to build a new ‘Haringey Heartlands Spine Road’ to open up new areas of Wood Green for regeneration is massively behind schedule and in danger of losing its funding.

Haringey Council was awarded £4.6 million of regeneration money to build the road, starting in March 2006 and to be completed by the end of March this year. However, by the end of 2007, £2.8 million of this money was still left unspent due to delays. Last night the Cabinet member for the Environment was forced by Liberal Democrats to admit that millions of pounds of work still has to be completed in the last few weeks of March and the project is likely to run over its deadline. This would force Haringey Council to ask for money from other project partners such as the National Grid, or hit Council Tax payers with the bill for the delay.

Cllr Richard Wilson, Lib Dem Deputy Leader, comments:

“Desperately rushing to finish building a road in two weeks over Easter, cannot be an efficient or cost effective way of managing a two year project. I dread to think how much money is being wasted on extra pay and overtime to meet a deadline Haringey Council has known about for over two years.

“Even worse, if Haringey fail in this race against time, there is a risk that Haringey Council Tax payers will be hit with a bill for finishing the work.”

Local councillor and Lib Dem Regeneration Spokesperson Fiyaz Mughal said;

“Haringey Council is trying to blame the weather, but any building project in the UK needs to be planned around the risk of wind and rain. Clearly this delay is down to Haringey Council’s inability to properly manage big projects.”