Local Liberal Democrats have condemned as grossly unfair a decision taken by the Labour council last night to grant less cash per ward in the west of the borough to the seven neighbourhood assemblies.

Last night, Labour-run Haringey Council agreed that it would allocate £50,000 to each of the areas in the borough for spending on small-scale, special projects following consultation with councillors and residents. However, Lib Dem leader Neil Williams has questioned the way the money has been allocated, and is pointing out that under the new plan, the west of the borough is being short-changed again.

Haringey faced a storm of criticism when the area assemblies were established, as four Lib Dem wards in the west of the borough (Highgate, Muswell Hill, Fortis Green and Alexandra wards) were grouped together, whereas three assemblies in the east of the borough comprise just two wards each.

Lib Dems say that as a result of the funding plan, the west will have half as much to spend per ward as some other assemblies.

Lib Dem Leader Neil William, who represents Highgate, comments:

“It’s a rip off, and the west of the borough is being short-changed. It is also very unfair on residents in the Wood Green area, which has many of the funding needs of the east of the borough, but will get 50% less per ward – an enormous difference. It gives me no confidence that Labour wants to allocate this money fairly, and we will be looking to reform the system.”

Liberal Democrat councillors in Muswell Hill and Crouch End have vowed to keep up the pressure on Labour-run Haringey Council over the future of exercise classes at Park Road Pool.

Muswell Hill councillor Lynne Featherstone says she will be pressing Labour Lead Member for the Environment to keep to a commitment to retain the classes, made at last night’s Council executive.

Labour members were told by users of the service that current exercise classes at the Park Road Pool centre were oversubscribed, and the only barrier at present to examine the range on classes offer was uncertainly surrounding their future resulting from the Council’s new leisure services contract.

Campaigners are pushing for a ground floor facility at the pool, to maximise the number of users who can attend popular classes such as pilates, at the centre.

Lib Dem Lynne Featherstone comments.

“I will be pressing Ray Dodds to deliver on his wish to see these kinds of classes continue, as his words fell short of a firm commitment. The new leisure service contractors need to talk directly to the local users, so that ways can be found straight away to end the uncertainty and keep these classes running.”

Lib Dem Parliamentary Spokesperson Lynne Featherstone has called for better parking enforcement in one of the borough’s key traffic bottlenecks – Turnpike Lane. My Featherstone says that not enough is being done to deter parking in the road, with buses often held up for on end because of a lack of enforcement of the yellow lines along the busy route. Ms Featherstone says that Haringey Council’s laid back enforcement policy seems inconsistent with the very strict approach taken by traffic wardens in her own Muswell Hill ward, and wants Haringey Council to take firm action.

In response Haringey Council has conceded that the situation is a problem and has agreed to brief parking enforcement staff on the need for action and to monitor for improvements. They are also pursuing a ‘side by side’ initiative, which would have traffic wardens patrolling the streets along side Police/Community Safety Officers. The Council is also looking to sue use the CCTV bus lane camera (in accordance with recent legislation) to enforce parking restrictions on Turnpike Lane.

Cllr Lynne Featherstone comments:

“Traffic blockages in Turnpike Lane are a huge problem.It is a key east-west route across the borough and buses are often severely delayed. Traffic wardens must have the confidence to do their job thoroughly. The Council is coming up with some possible solutions, but they must move quickly on these.I will continue to press to ensure that the present unacceptable situation improves.”

Liberal Democrat councillors have expressed renewed concern over Haringey Council’s Social Services Department’s plan set to institute a freeze on all non-care expenditure this year in order to curb its runaway social services overspend.

The plans are being put to the Labour Executive following a further deterioration of the Council’s £5.1 million overspend on Social Services, with a further projected overspend of £0.5 million for this year.

The plans, which will be mentioned in Executive’s Finance and Performance Brief for January, have shocked the Opposition Lib Dems who in previous months have been shouted down by members of the Executive for questioning the planning behind, and the sustainability of, such a huge budgetary overspend.

Liberal Democrat Social Service Spokesperson Ron Aitken, although aware that action must be taken to halt spiralling costs, fears that a freeze on non-care expenditure will result in a demoralised workforce, frustrated that every expenditure has to be sanctioned by management. He wants to know why poor planning by senior management and Executive members has pushed the Council into a situation where costs are being frozen.

Cllr Ron Aitken comments:

“Haringey Council appears to lurch from crisis to crisis. We have expressed concerns over the sustainability of such huge overspending in the Chamber. Sadly the Labour Council seem so out of touch that the realities of budgetary planning and management that they don’t seem to hit home until the damage has been done.”

A dangerous junction that joins Onslow Gardens with Muswell Hill Road looks like it is finally going to be improved months after Haringey Council agreed to extend the yellow lines.

The issue was raised by Liberal Democrat councillors on behalf of local residents back in the summer of 2003 after the Council had heeded Lib Dem advice and implemented yellow lines at the junction.

Although visibility has improved as a result of the lines being painted on Muswell Hill Road by the junction, the yellow lines do not extend far enough to stop vehicles parking very close to the junction on Onslow Road. The result is that there is often not enough room for cars to turn safely into the road if they meet a car coming the other way.

Cllr Lynne Featherstone has been assured on a number of occasions that the lines would be extended but each time the Council has claimed that cars have been obstructing the part of the road they’ve wanted to paint. However, this week the Council assured Ms Featherstone that they would have a tow truck present to move any vehicles obstructing the part of the road that required painting.

Cllr Featherstone (Muswell Hill) is hopeful that this promise will be kept, however she is concerned at the time it has taken to implement action agreed last summer.

Cllr Lynne Featherstone comments:

“I am pleased that this serious road safety issue is finally being addressed. Drivers need clear views at this corner.”

Despite having spent £5 million on ‘Better Haringey’ last year, Haringey Council is still as perceived worse than the London average for refuse collection, street cleaning and recycling according to Haringey Council’s official survey of local residents in the Borough.

The Liberal Democrats have been critical of the ‘Better Haringey’ scheme because of the emphasis the Labour-run Council has put on self-promotion rather than substance. This opinion appears to be reflected by local residents in the first year of the scheme with overall services having 5% lower satisfaction rating than the London average.

Lib Dem Group Leader Neil Williams says that with the money invested in waste management and recycling, the service had to improve from such a low base. However he added that the poor perception of service delivery shows that Haringey does not understand the issue and how to deal effectively with it.

Cllr Williams (Highgate) comments:

“The perception of service delivery for refuse collection, street cleaning and recycling services are all very poor despite a £5 million investment.

“This reflects the inefficient way that the Labour run Council manages these projects, more interested in self-promotion than substance. Unfortunately for them the residents are wise to the same old tired tricks.”

Local Liberal Democrats have welcomed a new pilot scheme which is providing increased recycling opportunities to some Haringey residents.

In parts of Haringey, green waste is now being collected weekly on the same day as the green recycling boxes. In the summer, organic waste will also be collected.

“A six month pilot scheme is a good start,” says Lib Dem Environment Spokesperson Cllr Bob Hare. “But it is long overdue and many local residents across Tottenham, Crouch End and Stroud Green will still not have organic and green waste collected. Residents want the opportunity to recycle and play their part – and it is short-sighted of the Council not to take full advantage of this.”

He cites a number of actions Haringey Council could take that would enhance the effectiveness of the service. These include including composting information in Haringey People and holding information events in key locations, working with local garden centres to encourage composting, making compost bins available to all residents at subsidised prices and completing the recycling cycle by offering bags of compost resulting from the scheme to residents for sale

Cllr Hare is urging all residents who can to play their part in composting – whether in their own gardens or by using the Council’s service. He is also urging the Council to assist and actively encourage action by as many residents as possible.

“I am delighted that attempts are being made to secure additional funding from the London Recycling Fund but hope that the Council will ensure that recycling provision is greatly improved, whatever the outcome of such bids. The environment has always been a key priority for local Lib Dems” says Cllr Hare. “We will continue to press the Labour Council to take environmental issues seriously and plan for the future.”

Residents can call the Council on 0208 489 0000 (main switchboard) to find out if their house is included in the green waste pilot scheme or to report problems with their waste or recycling collection.

Haringey’s Liberal Democrats have called a meeting with Transport for London (TfL) and Haringey Council to resolve the current debacle at Highgate Tube Station. The meeting, to be held on 24th March, was requested by Lib Dem Transport Spokesperson for London Assembly, Lynne Featherstone after she received conflicting information from the various bodies working on the site, leading to concern at the lack of co-operation that was taking place.

The work that is taking place at Highgate involves shoring up the steep bank by the tube station’s car park. However, local Lib Dems are keen to ensure that both TfL and the Council honour promises made to local residents and councillors following a site visit. The key agreements were to improve pedestrian facilities, remove the unattractive fencing and restore vegetation to the embankment.

Cllr Featherstone and Highgate’s Liberal Democrat councillors are keen to ensure that local groups such as the Highgate Society and Priory Gardens’ Residents Association are present at the meeting so that TfL and the Council can be made aware of residents’ strong views.

Cllr Featherstone comments:

“I am concerned about the conflicting information that I have received from the different people doing work at the site. I called this meeting so we can ensure that all the actions that were agreed are being implemented.”

Haringey Lib Dem Leader and Highgate Councillor Neil Williams adds:

“This work is causing substantial disruption, so it is essential that the end result is as beneficial as possible to local residents. This is why we want all key stakeholders to sit down and discuss residents’ needs at this meeting.”