LIB DEMS EXPRESS CONCERN OVER HOUSING AND ASSEMBLY PILOT MERGER

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Liberal Democrat councillors in the London Borough of Haringey have expressed concern at the Council’s plan to pilot a merger of the Wood Green Area Assembly and Housing Forum.

Under the plan, the Area Housing Forum will meet for half an hour prior tothe meeting of the Area Assembly. Currently, the meetings are held onseparate nights. The Lib Dems say that the plans are ill thought out andwould give tenants and leaseholders less opportunity to debate and to holdtheir elected representatives to account over important housing issues andthe state of their homes.

The proposals for the pilot merger had been put forward by the Labour-runadministration due to poor attendance at Area Housing Forums. However theLib Dems say that this is an unimaginative way to deal with forum attendancein the borough.

At the meeting Stroud Green Lib Dem Councillor Laura Edge sought assurancesfrom Haringey Council that no changes would be implemented against the wishes oflocal people in each of the Area Housing forums. She also secured agreementon the need to seek input from Housing Forum attendees on the design of theproposed consultation.

Commenting, Cllr Edge said:

“My colleagues and I are immensely concerned to ensure that the currentunimaginative proposal for tackling the problem of low attendance at AreaHousing Forums is not presented to residents as a fait accompli. Tenants andleaseholders should be invited to put forward their own ideas for beefing upArea Housing Forums in their own localities.”

LIB DEMS WELCOME PROGRESS OVER GROVE PLAYGROUP CENTRE

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Alexandra ward councillor Wayne Hoban has welcomed progress in discussionsaimed at securing a new playgroup centre at The Grove, N10. The move followsa meeting between Council officers, parents and Cllr Hoban this summer.

The meeting was the result of a long campaign by The Workshop User Group, supported by Cllrs Lynne Featherstone and Wayne Hoban. The group has beencampaigning hard since they lost Council support and the use of The GroveWorkshop building in Alexandra Park in October 2003, from where they used tooperate their after school and holiday workshops for the under-fives.

Since then the group has moved to two different temporary sites, and iscurrently based at the Baptist Church, Muswell Hill. However, parents andplaygroup organisers have expressed concerns about the quality of temporaryvenues, while Haringey Council has previously claimed that there was notsignificant demand for the service.

Lib Dems point out that the refurbishment of The Grove will be expensive,but the Council has now secured some external funding from the Lotterysponsored New Opportunities Fund, with the remainder from the Educationcapital budget. Architects are currently working on developing the plansfurther, having taken into account parents’ comments, particularly inrelation to their concerns over security and access to site.

Cllr Hoban is pleased with the progress and productivity of the meetings buthe says there is still much work to be done. He will continue to workclosely with the Council and local residents to resolve the next issueregarding staffing of the new group.

Cllr Wayne Hoban comments:

“All the evidence indicates that provision of good quality playgroupfacilities for young children significantly improves their chances ofdeveloping good social and behaviour skills. “

Cllr Lynne Featherstone adds:

“I am very pleased to see that the council has now accepted our argumentthat the Grove playgroup service must be properly supported.”

LIB DEMS SAY DEAL IS POSSIBLE OVER BOOKSTALL

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Lib Dem councillors in Crouch End have been working to secure a compromiseover the controversial decision to remove Gerry the Bookman from Crouch EndBroadway, and to confiscate his books.

Liberal Democrat councillor Ron Aitken says that Gerry should be allowed to stay, while the antisocial aspects of other stalls in theBroadway tackled. Ron Aitken has written to the landlords of the strip ofland where Gerry currently trades, suggesting that if they were to give himpermission to trade, Haringey Council could then issue a license.

Ron Aitken comments:

“I very much appreciate the strength of feeling this has generated in CrouchEnd. We have been seeking a ’round table’ meeting of all concerned. Howeverthe Council was unwilling to participate in a meeting specifically aboutGerry. I have therefore been dealing with the different parties individually- the Council, the land agents and so on.

“Although this has been laborious we hope a compromise is possible thatwould allow Gerry to stay, while giving the Council the necessary powers tostop undesirable trading on the Broadway.”

LIB DEMS SUBMIT PETITION OVER CONTROVERSIAL NEW BUILD

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Haringey’s Lib Dem leader Neil Williams and Parliamentary spokesperson Lynne Featherstone are today submitting a petition to Haringey Council over controversial attempts by developers to erect large buildings on a site in the Campsbourne, Hornsey, which would have a severe impact on local residents and the immediate area. Cllr Williams says he hopes Haringey Council will do whatever it can to stop the development.

Builders are trying to erect nine new business and residential units on a small site at the end of ‘The Campsbourne’ cul-de-sac, off Hornsey High Road. The buildings would rise immediately behind the residential blocks in nearby Pembroke Road. Current plans allow for three-storey buildings with a 13 meter high brick wall (the rear wall of the proposed buildings) to be erected within 27 feet of the windows in the rear walls of the Pembroke Road residential properties and sited immediately in line with the bottom of the gardens of Rectory Gardens.

Lib Dems say that if the plans are realised, local tenants and residents would only have a view from the windows of their homes of a blank wall approximately 39 feet high – depriving them of direct air flow and light. Such large buildings would also overshadow further nearby properties on Rectory Gardens, The Campsbourne, and Campsbourne Road.

Cllr Lynne Featherstone, who visited the site last week to meet local campaigner Roger Peters, comments: “I am appalled at the potential impact of this scheme. It seems a terrible planing decision, with huge new buildings being erected near people’s homes. The development should not be going ahead.”

Election predictions

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My daughter is trying to inveigle a lift to her friend’s house in Primrose Hill. I avoid giving my children lifts the vast majority of the time. Firstly – I use public transport much of the time and want them to do same. Secondly – I have very little time. Thirdly – don’t think it’s good for them to be molly-coddled!

However, as luck would have it, I was going to speak as part of a panel to Camden Liberal Democrats at a supper / Question Time sort of fundraiser. And sod’s law – it was about two minutes from where she was going – so she won! On route we saw gangs of little witches, wizards and warlocks – it was so cute. Little covens of kids knocking on doors with a grown up figure lurking not far away overseeing their trick or treating. I quite like Halloween – but still won’t watch a horror film on my own!

The other panel members were Sarah Teather MP (she of Brent East by-election victory), Baroness Sally Hamwee (London Assembly and House of Lords frontbencher), Lord Tim Garden (our expert on Iraq, the military and on every TV program on the subject) and myself.

It was a lively old night with lots of questions – pretty challenging ones at that. Iraq figured very largely over the evening and with the impending American presidential election – no surprise. Of course, after Tim Garden speaks so informatively, knowledgeably and well on those key issues. It’s not an easy act to follow, but we did our best.

Asked what the panel felt would be the most significant factor in the forthcoming General Election, my answer was trust. Whatever the policies, I think the fundamental problem for Labour is that no one trusts them any more.

The bloke sitting on my left at the Camden supper put his hand up to speak and made the same point about loss of trust because Tim Garden had expressed the view that trust wouldn’t be the key issue – it would be policies. This chap, Alexis, then stated that he had left the Labour party for that very reason and had only joined the LibDems one week earlier. I rest my case!

The panel was asked in two words to state their bets on the result of the American elections and the date of the General. Earlier in the year, it looked to me like Bush might go. But now I go for Bush and May!

Women at home

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Hotfoot over to a hall in Wembley for the rally at the end of the London Region Liberal Democrat Conference.

Wembley is not easy to access at the moment with the closure of all of its stations during the construction work for the new stadium. I gave up and took my car – only to find that although easy to get to – I might never leave as there were notices of road closures all over the place for the Diwali procession.

Anyway, the rally was titled: ‘London’s Winning Women’ – with myself, Dee Doocey (our new GLA member), Baroness Sally Hamwee from the London Assembly and Sarah Ludford MEP.

I talked about Bob Geldof’s recent pronouncements about how much he enjoyed coming home to his partner doing something very feminine in the kitchen – presumably to do with food or curtains. I can’t cook and have bare windows – maybe that’s why I’m divorced.

Now Bob’s recent comments about a women’s place being in the kitchen are usually the sort of thing that makes me want to throw up. However – if you really think about it, what Sir Bob is really, really saying is – women make the world a better place (wherever they are). I couldn’t agree more.

Many of the problems I see are because the people taking decisions at the highest levels in both politics and business are still generally men – which goes a long way to explaining why the world is the way it is. But before I launch into full scale debate mode – suffice to say – we rallied our supporters and fully expect to get at least five women elected in London to Parliament when Blair calls the election. And despite the flurry of speculation in the papers that it might be February – I still think May is the safer bet.

Awards ceremony for a road

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I go to the Grosvenor House Hotel to attend the British Construction Industry Awards as the guest of one of the sponsors – Anthony Oliver – the Editor of New Civil Engineer.

These dos (and this was about 1500 people) are almost all men. One brave one actually asked me out – didn’t know whether to be horrified or flattered. Usually they are too scared of me.

Anyway – John Humphreys was the compare for the awards and Charlie Faulkner the guest speaker. They were both brilliantly funny and a lesson in after dinner speaking.

A piece of road won the main prize. Whilst Anthony tried to explain to me that it was about teamwork and construction criteria, my aesthetic taste would have gone for something more tangibly elegant (such as last year’s winner, the Tate Modern).

However, it was a very successful occasion for the industry and for New Civil Engineer.

It's voluntary – until they say no

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A very, very, senior officer of the Metropolitan Police said to me in a nudge nudge, wink wink sort of a way: ‘It’s voluntary – until they say no!’

Now I suspect that, if asked, he would say he was joking – but I don’t think he was. I think that statement is a true reflection of the situation in an investigation taking place into a serial rapist in South London.

What this officer was referring to was the taking of DNA samples from members of the black community because a new type of DNA profiling has indicated the perpetrator is of mixed black origin. This is being done on a ‘voluntary’ basis from ‘persons of interest’. ‘Persons of interest’ are people who have a possible connection with the crime either through location, profession or some other connection which might indicate they could be a suspect.

This rapist has been committing the most horrific crimes against old women for twelve years now – and the police are absolutely and justifiably desperate to catch the perpetrator.

I have been pursuing, in my role as a member of the Metropolitan Police Authority, a number of legitimate concerns around the taking of these DNA samples and the testing of them. This is not just ordinary DNA testing (which simply answers the question – is this trace of DNA really from person A?).

This is DNA profiling and involves cutting-edge science to get someone’s genetic mix out of the DNA sample. The technique is in its early days, but already can identify the racial mix from four main racial groups.

There are around 900 ‘persons of interest’. One of the key issues for me has been that if the ‘person of interest’ declines to give a ‘voluntary’ sample, he has then received a letter from a senior detective saying ‘I am looking into the reasons for your refusal and will let you know of my decision’. That is a pretty intimidating statement in my view. It gets worse. Out of 125 initial refusals who got the letter – the police went on to arrest five men. Two of those changed their mind on the point of arrest and ‘volunteered’ their DNA. DNA was taken from those arrested.

It is so easy to say end justifies means. It is easy to see the argument that this crime is so horrific that it is right to take DNA voluntarily or otherwise. Don’t get me wrong. The police are doing a great job. But it is a complete misnomer to call this type of testing ‘voluntary’. It is clearly mandatory in practice.

Moreover, recent new legislation means that if you or I are arrested – we can be taken to a police station, our DNA taken from us and kept on record in perpetuity – even if we are not charged with any crime.

In practice, we are getting mandatory DNA testing and a national DNA database by the backdoor. Now, one objection to this is that such important decisions should be made up front and in a publicly accountable way. Balancing civil rights, personal freedoms and the fight against crime are tricky – which is all the more reasons why such decisions should not happen on the quiet and without proper public debate.

There is a risk of an over-reliance on technology. What happens if the police do succeed in testing all 900 persons of interest and the culprit is not amongst them. What is plan B?

Additionally, this cutting edge science appears to only be able to define a mix from black ethnic backgrounds at this point in time. Thus far the DNA test has not been able to distinguish within the White European race. Does this mean that this method of detection can only be used to catch black criminals? If it does – does that mean the police should stop using it as a detection tool as it discriminates against black criminals?

On top of all of this, there have been cases where DNA has not proved to be the infallible methodology we were all led to believe in and has been proven to have been corrupted within laboratories.

So – my view so far? We need a public debate on these issues. In particular, we need to look at what safeguards are needed to accompany this approach to crime-fighting – and whether they can be sufficient to overcome the risks which go with it.

Thin end and wedge are the words that spring to mind…

Ken wants me to be nicer to him!

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Meeting of the full Metropolitan Police Authority at which Sir Ian Blair is anointed and announced as the next Met Commissioner. No surprise there. He’s been trailed for at least 4 years as the heir apparent to Sir John Stevens (who is standing down). I wish him well.

Other business covered the funding of step change / safer neighbourhoods scheme, which involves putting lots more police on the ground in local communities. Everyone wants it rolled out across London but will the money be found for it? It’s looking unlikely that it will be fully funded in the Government’s announcements next week.

Then back to the GLA where our office Liaison Manager tells me that the Mayor’s press office have been moaning to him that I am too negative about the Mayor. Honestly Ken – I do think you are able to defend yourself perfectly adequately without sending someone to wheedle on your behalf.

I think Ken has done some brilliant things – but since becoming a Labour Mayor the

dynamic at London Government has fundamentally changed. Ken is now definitely a Mayor for Labour and not for a Greater London.

LIB DEMS RECEIVE ASSURANCES OVER TUBE CONTROL CENTRE SITE

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GLA member Lynne Featherstone and Highgate’s Lib Dem councillors havereceived assurances from Tubelines that they will work on measures to limitthe impact of a major new London Underground Control Centre to be built inHighgate on the edge of the woods.

The assurances came at a meeting attendedby councillors Featherstone, Neil Williams and Bob Hare, alongwith Terry Morgan, the Chief Executive of Tubelines.

The local councillors raised concerns about the planned windows in the newcontrol centre building, which will control trains on the Northern Line.They were also told that Tubelines is looking at moving the building furtheraway from houses on nearby Lanchester Road in order to address overlookingproblems highlighted by concerned residents in the street.

Tubelines hasalso agreed to work with the Highgate Society and local councillors onplanting schemes at the highly sensitive site, and consider ways of limitinglight pollution. Lib Dems say that properly sensitive measures will helpprotect habitats for local bat populations and the willow warblers whichinhabit the woodland edge.

Building works are due to start on the site next year. When completed, thecontrol room for the new signalling system on the line will allow for moretrains and is targeted to deliver a 20% reduction in journey times on theNorthern Line and increase in train capacity by 13%.

Lynne Featherstone comments:

“This was a useful meeting. There is no doubt that the control site is animportant project that should deliver enormous improvements to the serviceon the Northern Line. Passengers will enjoy a considerable reduction injourney times into central London.

“However this site on the edge of Highgate Woods is an important one, andthe new building will be in close proximity to residents homes in LanchesterRoad. I am pleased that Tubelines is willing to look at the location of thebuilding and to take other measures to protect the environment. We willcontinue to work closely on the issue with them.”