At this morning’s deputation to the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) on concerns over policing in Highgate, Lynne Featherstone MP and Lib Dem Leader Neil Williams welcomed the Authority’s agreement to encourage the three borough commanders that serve the Highgate area to work together more closely on the issue. While the Police Authority said the move was really up to borough commanders, Cllrs Featherstone and Williams say it is a step in the right direction and action must be encouraged.

Lynne Featherstone, who tabled the question, comments:

“I am pleased that the Authority is now asking the borough commanders to work together on this issue, but progress needs to be rapid, in order to increase confidence in policing in Highgate. The police really must address the issue on a Highgate basis, not just a local ward or borough basis.”

Cllr Neil Williams adds:

“We have been waiting a long time for action and will continue to press the police on this. Highgate deserves the same neighbourhood policing operation as other areas. We have seen some welcome drops in certain types of crime in Muswell Hill and Crouch End, and Highgate needs the same treatment. Encouraging the commanders to address the issue is good, but we need a plan of action.”

Lynne Featherstone gave her maiden speech in Parliament yesterday evening, and in House of Commons tradition paid tribute to Hornsey and Wood Green and its people as well as setting out some local priorities as the area’s new MP.

Ms Featherstone used her speech to highlight the need for school places in the area, and also the problem of mobile phone mast applications.

She also said she would fight to keep the Alexandra Palace as a local resource, and resist any future attempts to turn the site into a super casino. She pledges to work to preserve Hornsey Town Hall for community use, and would press the Deputy Prime Minster to intervene to protect the site.

Ms Featherstone praised the former MP Barbara Roche for her work on civil partnerships, and also praised the people of Hornsey and Wood Green:

“In the end, it is always people that count. The ethnic mix of the constituency is exciting: there are hundreds of languages and many different communities that live, work and play in our fantastic melting pot. The challenges that that brings are huge and I look forward to working with all residents to help them achieve their aspirations. This rich tapestry, where all human life percolates, is Hornsey and Wood Green. I love this area and I am honoured to serve its residents.”

Note: The speech can be read in full on the Parliament website.

Highgate’s Lib Dem councillors and the area’s new MP are urging Tubelines to think again about its controversial design for the new Northern Line Control Centre on the fringes of Highgate Woods.

The Lib Dems say that despite months of discussions, the company has not listened to concerns over the design of the building and its impact on the sensitive woodlands nearby.The Lib Dems want the plans reconsidered and are pressing Tubelines again to take action.

After months of discussions, Lib Dems say that Tubelines, which is not obliged to submit the plans to the usual planning process, has hardly moved at all to meet the concerns of those who fear the buildings impact on the woods. While some steps have been agreed to protect residents’ views, almost no changes to the proposed construction have been made to protect the views from Highgate Wood.

In fact, without consultation with anyone representing the users of the woods, the building has been moved four metres closer to the woods, necessitating additional tree felling at the edge of the woods on land owned by Tubelines.

Highgate Lib Dem councillor and environment spokesperson Bob Hare, together with representatives of the Corporation of London (responsible for the woods) and the Highgate Society, have been asking consistently for changes to the buildings design to reduce the visual and ecological impact. These include a flat brown roof which would help local wildlife, wood cladding of the concrete structure, the ability to support ivy on the walls, banking of earth on parts of the walls and sinking or partially burying the whole building.

He says these changes would benefit residents as well as reduce the large visual impact.

Lib Dem MP Lynne Featherstone has also visited the site and agrees that action is needed to reduce its impact. The Corporation of London, which is responsible for the woods, also shares concerns and has written to Tubelines.

Cllr Bob Hare comments:

“These improvements, and many more, should have been designed in from the beginning. Instead, from our first meeting, we have found ourselves discussing a warehouse-like structure that has not changed in response to our concerns. Now, even as building work starts, there are still no commitments from Tubelines to incorporate any changes.

“Not only is the building large, but it is close to the boundary fence of the woods. Tubelines’ own mock-ups show it will be seen both through the fence slats and over the top of them. The proposed building will be sited beside one of the more secluded parts of the wood, where, until now, there have been no surrounding buildings. It’s unacceptable.”

Lib Dem MP Lynne Featherstone adds:

“Highgate Woods is a vital part of the local environment and it is time Tubelines responded to public concerns about this building. We need to minimise the impact on the woods. Tubelines must listen and make changes to the design.”

Lib Dem councillors in Muswell Hill will be hoping to make it three victories out of three when Haringey Council’s planning committee makes a decision on a controversial planning application for 30 Muswell Hill, N10.

Lib Dems say the application to demolish the current Edwardian house and garden and erect 12 grey and aluminium flats is the latest in a recent spate of planning applications over the last couple of months that have sought to build on green space.

Cllr Jonathan Bloch (Muswell Hill ward) has campaigned with local residents to ensure that planning applications at 1 Tudor Lodge, Grand Avenue and The Cornerways, Ellington Road, N10 were rejected because the Lodge was in a conservation area, while The Cornerways development was overbearing and out of keeping with the area.

This latest application in Muswell Hill has received over 300 signatures of protest from local residents with whom Cllr Bloch has been working closely.

The Lib Dems are concerned that developers have seen Haringey as an easy target for large profitable developments.

Cllr Bloch, the Lib Dems’ new planning spokesperson, believes that while there is a need for more housing in London, developments must not be to the detriment of the area and local residents.

He says that these three applications typify the kind of aggressive developments that Haringey Council has in the past failed to prevent. He is hopeful that the residents of Muswell Hill will get a third victory that will send a clear message to developers.

Cllr Bloch comments:

“The Lib Dems have had great success in the past at stopping unsuitable applications in the area. However in the last couple of years there has been a noticeable rise in applications, particularly in Crouch End and Muswell Hill.

“We will continue to work with local residents to show developers and Haringey Council that aggressive development will not be tolerated.”

Liberal Democrat councillors in Muswell Hill have welcomed the recent planting of new trees in M & S car park. The action comes after the felling of some trees in the car park at the back of Marks and Spencer and a subsequent site visit last August attended by councillors Gail Engert and Bob Hare.

Following the visit, council officers released a report and costings for the car park. The improvements included:

Six new trees to be planted around the car park
General tidy up of areas that have become overgrown
Information boards to be re-positioned at the rear of Marks and Spencer to allow for more trees
Some pruning of current trees to improve lighting and regular inspections to be carried out
Investigating the cost of installing bicycle stands in the car park to stop trees being damaged

However it has been persistence by Muswell Hill councillor Gail Engert that has kept the issue of improvements to the car park on the council’s agenda. So far, five of the six trees have been planted, the overgrown hedgerows have been tidied up and much of the litter has been cleared from the surrounding bushes.

Cllr Engert, along with Lib Dem environment spokesperson Cllr Hare, is delighted that the proposals are starting to take shape but notes there is still much work to be done before the agreed work is completed.

Cllr Engert comments:

“I am delighted that the plans made last summer are coming to fruition. Litter has been cleared, trees have been planted and the overgrown hedgerows have been cut back. I am sure that local residents will be delighted to see more greenery in the area. However we are yet to see some of the other improvements, such as the bike stands, proposed last year, and we will press the Council to complete the job.”

Cllr Hare adds:

“This car park shouldn’t be an eyesore and I think the new plantings and other improvements, when completed, will make the area more pleasing.”

Local MP Lynne Featherstone, along with Highgate councillor and Lib Dem Group Leader Neil Williams, is to raise concerns over Highgate policing at this week’s meeting of the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA).

The two, along with other local councillors and residents, will be pressing for greater cross-borough co-operation over policing in Highgate following increasing concerns over crime among local residents.

Ms Featherstone and Cllr Williams say that because the area is split between three London boroughs (Haringey, Camden and Islington), Highgate is often last in line for initiatives such as Safer Neighbourhoods scheme despite the crime problem. No single borough will put the Highgate area forward for a Safer Neighbourhood team, even though its policing needs are the same as those in other areas.

Lynne Featherstone comments:

“I hope the Police Authority will listen to these concerns. Solutions to policing in neighbourhoods that cross borough boundaries are being tried out in other parts of London and it is time such initiatives were brought forward in Highgate.”

Cllr Neil Williams adds:

“Residents are increasingly concerned about crime in the Highgate area. I hope we can work with other local councillors who represent the wider area to push for more police resources in Highgate. We certainly need our own dedicated policing team covering the whole of the Highgate area and that is what we will be pressing for this week.”