A steep and treacherous pathway leading from Wood Lane to Highgate Tube Station, N6 will be properly looked after and regularly swept following a written assurance by Haringey Council. The assurance comes after a written question was submitted to a Haringey full council meeting by Cllr Melanie Simpson.

The pathway that in autumn and winter months is often lined with wet leaves and ice has been the subject of much concern by Lib Dem councillors in Highgate who have been working for over a year to ascertain who was responsible for its maintenance.

Cllr Simpson (Highgate) is pleased that finally she has an acknowledgement of responsibility and written assurance that the Council will sweep and grit it regularly. However she is disappointed at the length of time it has taken for the Council to act.

Cllr Simpson comments:

“I am pleased that the hundreds of residents who use the pathway every day will be safer now that the Council have promised to clear and grit it on a regular basis. It has taken the best part of a year to get this assurance from the Council, and the path was dangerous.”

Local Lib Dems are celebratingafter their party’s historic win over Labour in the Brent East by election. The Lib Dems in Haringey say the result shows they are on course to win the Hornsey and Wood Green seat following the 29% swing in Brent East.

Already the main challengers to Labour in the area, if repeated locally, the result would mean a Lib Dem win in the Hornsey and Wood Green constituency, with the party taking over 50% of the votes.

Lib Dem Parliamentary spokesperson Lynne Featherstone comments:

“Sarah Tether’s win is a fantastic result for the Lib Dems. Labour voters have shown their dismay over their failures to improve the NHS, their decision to invade Iraq and their exaggeration of their case for war.

“As in Hornsey and Wood Green, the Conservatives have shown they are irrelevant, and have performed very badly in a seat where they were once the challengers.

“Sarah Teather deserves heartfelt congratulations, and will be an excellent MP for Brent East.”

A Highgate couple is relieved to have finally received a wheelie bin lastweek following six months of telephone calls to the Haringey Accord’scustomer service line. Residents Mr and Mrs Steiner put the success down tothe intervention of Lib Dem councillor Lynne Featherstone whom theycontacted at the beginning of September.

The Steiners were promised a wheelie bin within four weeks after contactingHaringey Accord at the beginning of April. However, when the bin did notarrive they called Accord again and were promised one within three weeks.This failure to deliver continued until the end of August. Following anotherdelay, they contacted Cllr Featherstone and the Highgate Lib Dems and askedfor help.

Days after Cllr Featherstone contacted Accord, and to the delight of MrsSteiner, the bin was delivered.

Mrs Judith Steiner comments:

“It was a long wait, but our wheelie bin hasfinally arrived. I suspect if it wasn’t for Lynne Featherstone, we wouldstill be waiting.”

Cllr Lynne Featherstone adds:

“I am pleased I was able to help, but we dealwith many such complaints. It is unacceptable that residents cannot getsomething as simple as a wheelie bin without the intervention of acouncillor. The Council must push the contractors to deliver a betterservice to local residents.”

Local Lib Dems have welcomed the rejection of plans to convert garages atthe rear of Haringey Park into 14 flats and 14 live and work units. Thethumbs-down was given on Tuesday night by the Council’s Planning Committeefollowing recommendations by the Council’s planning officers. The move washowever described by the chair as a ‘paper exercise’ because developers havealready gone to the planning inspector for determination of thecontroversial application.

Crouch End Lib Dem councillor, David Winskill comments:

“Haringey’s decision is an excellent result for the many householders whoseproperties surround the site. I am delighted that the committee has agreedwith the community that the application is too big, inappropriate for aconservation area and would overlook other properties.”

Cllr Winskill added that there are other concerns about the suitability ofthe live and work units that are still unresolved. He has made contact with the developers on behalf ofseveral residents to explore the possibility of developing a new applicationwhich would overcome the objections of locals to the scheme and wouldprovide a better environment for those who may eventually live there.

Liberal Democrat environment spokesperson Bob Hare has accused the Council of showing a disregard for tree protection in Haringey. The comment comes after the discovery that the Council has been using trees as notice boards, nailing signs regarding fire safety and fly-tipping at a number of sites in the area including Western Road and outside Tottenham Town Hall.

The issue was brought to Cllr Hare’s attention by local conservation group the Tree Trust. Despite the Trust writing to the Council, the signs are still there a year later. They see this as the latest in a long run of very poor practice by the Council that include inadequate use of tree protection legislation and damage to trees by reckless Council contractors with lawn mowers and strimmers.

Highgate councillor Bob Hare, who co-founded the Tree Trust, believes that the Council is setting a bad example to the public by showing a disregard for the trees in the borough. He will be pressing them to set a better example and start taking more responsibility for the care and protection of trees in the borough.

Cllr Hare (Highgate) comments:

“We are very concerned about the Council’s lack of care for trees in the borough. The kind of example that they are setting is having a knock on effect with developers removing trees without consent and the Council showing an unwillingness to use tree protection legislation.

“The use of trees as notice boards just epitomises the Council’s disregard. Haringey Council must lead by example and make it clear that damage and vandalism of trees is as unacceptable as fly-tipping or graffiti.”

A survey of local Train Operating Companies by the Liberal Democrats reveals continuing severe problems in WAGN and Silverlink services, with one in six trains delayed and services only marginally better than two years ago, when services were at their worst. Neither company has reached the standard that it achieved in April 1997. At present rates of improvement, neither will have reached 1997 standards until near the end of the decade.

Lib Dem transport spokesperson, Lynne Featherstone comments:

“This will confirm that Haringey train users continue to suffer delays. While both companies have shown some improvements over the past two years, far too many services are still delayed.It could be another three to five years before we return to the standard when Labour took over in 1997. There is a huge amount of work to be done if local services are to return to the reliability levels when the Tories privatised the system.”

Nearly 9,000 pensioners in Haringey face the loss of their long trusted pension books in a Government move being opposed by the local Lib Dems. Liberal Democrat councillors will today propose a motion in the Full Council meeting to oppose plans by the Government to phase out the pension book as a method of paying the pension.

Pension books, which are used by 8,626 older people in Haringey are to be ended by 2005 as the Government -imposed timetable of change takes affect. The Lib Dems are concerned that people who are happy with their pension books are being forced to change to alternatives that are both complicated and confusing.

The Government plans to replace the pension book with three alternative ways that the elderly can receive their pension:

* Into a normal bank or building society account

* Into a new basic bank account

* Through a new Post Office Card Account

Although the Lib Dems acknowledge that these are different services they are unhappy that the pension book is not being retained. They are also concerned about aspects of the alternative means of payment.

Highgate councillor Neil Williams, who is proposing the motion, is concerned about the complexity of the application process for the Card Account. He is also concerned about pensioners who forget their new card PIN numbers. There is currently no way that a pensioner can access their money without using a PIN.

Cllr Williams hopes to have the full support from both sides of the Council. He says that this motion’s aim is to ensure that the elderly do not have to worry about how to claim their pension.

Cllr Neil Williams (Highgate) comments:

“The Government has made a decision without assessing the worry and stress that these changes will have on many among our elderly population. Over 40% of pensioners in Haringey and over 50% nationally use the pension book. These are not changes that will effect a small minority, but a huge section of the community. I hope that the Labour group will support our motion and make the Government reconsider the implications of this change.”

Local Lib Dem councillor Matt Davies has secured temporary repairs to badly damaged street lights in Twyford Avenue N2, with a five year plan for replacement of the majority of street lights in the area due to be announced later this year.

Following complaints by local residents, the lighting department at the Council has assessed the problem, with repairs being made the following week. Residents are watching the situation closely, to monitor how successful the temporary work is, especially with the weather starting to deteriorate.

“The Council has responded, and made temporary repairs to the street lights along Twyford Avenue,” says Cllr Davies. “Of course, what is needed is better lighting around most of Fortis Green and Muswell Hill. Everyone will be interested to see the plans which are coming before Council in November and hoping that the work can be carried out as quickly as possible – although it is certainly a big task that won’t happen overnight!”

Cllr Davies believes that the Council needs to consult with residents closely over both the style and detail of the proposals, and is delighted that they are planning an exhibition to demonstrate the sort of lights that might be used. This will be held later this month at Hornsey Town Hall and the street lighting department will also be present at Alexandra Palace on the evening of Wednesday 24th September.

“I will be looking at the plans carefully and I know local residents will have a lot to say about them too,” says Cllr Davies. “These improvements need to be made and will be welcome – we must make sure that residents are fully involved and have their say in the plans.”

Local councillor Lynne Featherstone had vowed to continue the campaign to have basketball nets put up in Alexandra Park. Cllr Featherstone recently met some of the children who started the campaign. Over seventy children from Our Lady of Muswell, Fortismere and St James’ schools have signed a petition calling for basketball nets at Alexandra Park.

Cllr Featherstone has written to the Council’s Executive Member for Alexandra Palace urging him to listen to the local children and provide what would be an excellent facility, but has not yet received a response either way. She is determined not to let the issue rest.

Cllr Lynne Featherstone explains:

“A lot is said and written about the detachment of people, and especially young people, from politics and local representatives. The children who signed the petition have made a real effort to get involved in the democratic process, which is to be commended.

“It is now important that the Council listen to them – and I cannot see any reason for not being able to fulfil their wish for basketball nets to use. It is an excellent opportunity to show these children that local politics has a real impact on their lives and they have the power to influence it.”

Cllr Hoban, who represents Alexandra Ward, is also keen to highlight the importance of these types of facilities to young people in the community:

“Youth facilities need to be improved across the borough – this would be a quick, cost-effective way of making a good start. It is great that local children have come up with this idea for a practical improvement to the Alexandra Park, which has not been used to its full potential for some time.

“These children want to do something positive and now need the help of the Council. We cannot let people complain about children hanging around with nothing to do if we are not prepared to taken even basic steps like this to give them something productive to do.”

Local residents living adjacent to the Arches industrial workshops, off St James’s Lane, N10 appear to be closer to alleviating the nightmare of abandoned vehicles and fly-tipping following over a year of pressure from Lib Dem councillor Lynne Featherstone.

The Council, in reaction to the complaints by Cllr Featherstone, submitted plans last month. They propose to install a gate/fence to the Arches to deter fly-tippers and contain an Arches based car dealership blamed for many of the cars blocking the lane.

Since last year Cllr Featherstone has been pressing the Council to resolve the situation in St James’s Lane suggesting a number of solutions to tackle the problem ranging from fencing off the Arches to installing CCTV in the area. The Council has subsequently submitted a planning application for new fencing and a gate around the Arches and is confident that it will be erected quickly after planning permission is granted.

The Council has also agreed to investigate the problem of parking space monopolisation and congestion on the estate. Cllr Featherstone is pleased by the progress that is finally being made on this issue and has vowed to continue to press the case until the issues are resolved.

Cllr Featherstone (Muswell Hill) comments:

“I am pleased that the Council has finally decided to act on the problems that have been causing a great deal of distress to residents near the estate for several years. The construction of the fence will help alleviate the problem of fly-tipping, but I will continue to press for better enforcement in the area with regard to fly-tipping and untaxed vehicles which are have been the source of such misery for too long.”