London Mayor Ken Livingstone has written to the Leader of Haringey’s Labour controlled council on the controversial issue of backland developments. The move follows a meeting with local councillor and GLA member Lynne Featherstone.

Ms Featherstone had raised the issue with Mayor Livingstone because she says that both local developers and Haringey Council are using the London Mayor’s requirement for more housing, and especially social housing, as an excuse to grant permission to backland developments, however inappropriate they are.

Ken Livingstone has reminded Haringey that his plan is about quality and not quantity: “London must get the quality as well as quantity of new housing it deserves,” he has told Haringey.

Lynne Featherstone comments:

“I only hope that this timely reminder from the Mayor will stop Haringey continuing to grant permission to cram in any new building anywhere. Sadly, it has come too later for the Aubrey Road development which went through last week, but hopefully this will help save the Priory Avenue backland site, which is the next on the hit list.

“I hope this letter will help strengthen Haringey’s resolve to stick to its own urban development plan, which should not allow for this sort of development.”

Lib Dem GLA member and local councillor Lynne Featherstone has won assurances on local police numbers following questioning of the Chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA).

She was questioning him over fears that police numbers in Haringey may plummet after March 31st, which is the deadline for meeting the Met’s police numbers target. Ms Featherstone, who also sits on the MPA, was acting on information she had received suggesting that police numbers may then fall once the target had been met as around 40 officers in Haringey were being prevented from proceeding with their applications for jobs in other areas or other police squads until after March 31st.

Those approaching Ms Featherstone feared that having made the target, officers would then be able to move on to new jobs, so that from next April, numbers might start to plummet and the same problem of understaffing in Haringey’s police force would reappear all over again.

After close questioning by Ms Featherstone the MPA’s chair undertook to ensure that numbers would not fall after the target date.

Lynne Featherstone comments:

“Making sure that Haringey gets and then keeps its full compliment of police officers as promised is absolutely vital. I am glad to have a public assurance from the Chair of the MPA that those numbers, once we have them, will not only be maintained, but may be increased. However, I will be watching very closely to see what happens to numbers in Haringey after 31st March.”

Haringey’s Lib Dem councillors have expressed astonishment after revelations that embarrassed local Tories have written to their own supporters to apologise for their negative campaigning in the area.

The Tory move was made to coincide with an ‘anonymous’ leaflet currently being issued by the Conservatives in an attempt to discredit and smear Haringey’s hard working Lib Dem councillors.

The move from the disgruntled Tories follows their wipe-out at the hands of the Lib Dems in the May council elections and their dismal third place in last year’s general election.

The fake leaflet uses the well know Liberal Democrat ‘FOCUS’ title and designs taken from previous Lib Dem leaflets. The leaflet does not say anywhere that it is from the Conservatives, having only a cryptic reference in small print to being printed by “HWGCA” and a PO Box number. HWGCA stands for Hornsey & Wood Green Conservative Association.

Lib Dem Deputy Leader Ross Laird comments:

“It seem the local Tories have sunk to a new low – and it will not get them anywhere.It is no wonder the Conservative’s party chairman, Teresa May, has warned about the party being the ‘nasty party’. They have so little to offer they have to hide where their leaflets come from and write to their supporters in advance to apologise. It is a rather sad spectacle.”

Reacting to the news that Haringey’s Social Services is once again to be given a ‘zero star’ rating by outside experts, Haringey’s opposition Liberal Democrats have called for Labour councillors to admit their failure to sort out social services.

The Government’s Social Services Inspectorate (SSI) report into the Social Services department is due tomorrow (Friday 15 November) and will announce updated Star Ratings for local authorities.

Haringey, despite the lessons of the Laming Inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbie and an injection of £2m funds into children’s services, has once again been given the bottom ‘no star’ rating.

This news follows the SSI criticising Haringey Council for its attempts to rig the results of a questionnaire to users of the Children’s Services and the revelation in leaked Labour documents that extra money for social services was not going on front line services but instead on improving the press operation for the troubled department.

Liberal Democrat Social Services spokesman Cllr Ron Aitken said:

“Haringey will try to put the best gloss on this very poor showing. However, cosmetic changes and the scapegoating of relatively junior employees hide the lack of real accountability by the Labour politicians who remain in charge. Decision-making is still made behind closed doors in one-party meetings.”

Liberal Democrat councillors have condemned the decision at last night’s Haringey Council Planning Committee to give the go-ahead to a controversial planning application on Aubrey Road.

The application, to build four new luxury houses on a “backlands” space will result in the loss of local garages, small workshops and a car repair business.

Residents have strongly opposed the application, saying it will harm the area, cost local jobs, reduce much-needed off-street parking and put extra pressure on public services in the area.

Crouch End councillor David Winskill comments:

“Haringey Council had the opportunity either to defer or reject this controversial planning application, but chose instead to side with the developers against residents. This is another example of how the planning system is letting down people and will lead to great disillusion with the planning system.”

Councillor Lynne Featherstone, who has met with London Mayor Ken Livingstone over the problems with backland developments, comments:

“We will continue to work with residents to fight other similar controversial applications that are in the pipeline.”

The Lib Dems have demanded that Haringey’s Labour-run council conducts a full consultation over its controversial PPP proposals for the borough’s sports facilities and school halls, which would involve handing over council services to private companies.

The move follows severe criticism at last night’s full council meeting where a deeply split Labour group struggled to maintain a united face in public. Several Labour councillors left the room just before the vote in order to avoid having to vote for or against the Lib Dem motion.

The Liberal Democrats want a proper consultation on the issue before democratic control passes away from local people. At last night’s full council they moved a motion calling for urgent consultation with leisure centre and sports facilities users before the Labour Party railroads through the outsourcing of its leisure services.

Many local sports clubs have complained that they have been given little if any chance to contribute to the discussions and the proposed consultations in July were abandoned.

Lib Dem councillor David Winskill says that small and ill-resourced sports clubs and community groups face being cut out of the running of these facilities, or at best becoming reliant on discretionary handouts.

Councillor David Winskill comments:

“Allowing a private company to run our sports facilities and schools is sure to result in higher charges for local groups. There may be no way to hold the service to account. Haringey is not consulting local groups on this. It is a terrible way to remove a vital service from local control.”

Councillor Lynne Featherstone comments:

“Labour likes to claim that Haringey is a ‘Listening Council’. Why then are they afraid of asking the users of our sports facilities and school halls what they think of these plans? If Labour’s leaders can’t even persuade their own councillors that these plans are a good idea, why should they be forced on the people of Haringey?”

Local transport campaigners are hopeful that the new Muswell Hill to Swiss Cottage bus link will move another step forward by the end of the month, with a report from Camden Council on options for bus priority measures along the busy route.

Lynne Featherstone, who has long campaigned for the new route, has been told by London Buses that that the service would benefit from bus priority measures, especially at the Swiss Cottage end of the route. Camden Council, which is ‘lead borough’ on the route, is making progress with evaluating the options, and is set to issue a report by the end of this month.

Lynne Featherstone comments:

“I look forward to the outcome of this latest stage in the bid for the route. We must now make rapid progress if we are to capitalise on local people’s enthusiasm for the new route. We need to get it up and running as soon as possible.”

Councillor Neil Williams and local campaigners are hoping for a big turnout for their ‘Fight Graffiti’ campaign meeting in Highgate on 19 November, 7.30pm, at St Michael’s Primary, North Road, Highgate.The Highgate Lib Dem councillor is organising the meeting after working successfully with local campaigners in a huge and successful effort to remove graffiti in Highgate Village.

Without support from the council, local campaigners raised funds for a clean up, and are spreading the costs among themselves. Councillor Williams says he wants to promote awareness among residents on what they can do to beat the problem. Local campaigner Mike Read, of Southwood Graffiti Action, will be speaking on how the group has wiped graffiti out across a blighted area between Archway Road and Southwood Lane, and Lynne Featherstone from the Greater London Authority, will be reporting on ideas from other boroughs. The police will also be there to report on recent developments.

Cllr Neil Williams (Highgate) comments:

“I hope for a really good turnout at the meeting, because what has been done on graffiti recently in Highgate is absolutely fantastic. We must try and give help and encouragement to areas where they want action. We want graffiti wiped out and then kept out in Highgate. If we all work together we can do it.”

Highgate’s Lib Dem councillors have expressed satisfaction that the special neighbourhood assembly that they secured for Highgate enjoyed a record attendance of over 120 people on Wednesday evening. The meeting gave residents a chance to grill the council on the CPZ issue facing the area, and also covered local policing issues.

Councillors Melanie Simpson, Bob Hare and Neil Williams had pressed for and secured special assembly meetings for Highgate, which had been left without its own neighbourhood assembly by the Labour-run council.

Cllr Melanie Simpson comments:

“It was a good meeting, and will certainly help to keep the council listening over the CPZ issue. Highgate residents turned out in numbers unheard of in other neighbourhood assembles in Haringey which just goes to show the benefits of holding special meetings in our patch.”

Highgate’s Lib Dem councillors also distributed a door-to-door survey on the parking issue to coincide with the meeting.

Local residents in Muswell Hill and Highgate are fed up of dumping and vandalism, according to the results of a survey conducted by Lib Dem councillors in the area.

Cllr Neil Williams (Highgate) and Cllr Lynne Featherstone (Muswell Hill) conducted the survey in Wood Lane (Highgate) and Wood Vale (Muswell Hill), which links Highgate and Muswell Hill and runs through Queen’s Wood.

A total of 30% in Wood Vale and 40% in Wood Lane say they’ve been victims of car vandalism during the last year. A massive 77% think dumped cars in Queen’s Wood are a serious problem, and 87% think fly-tipping in Queen’s Wood is a serious issue. In total, 75% would support the use of CCTV in Queen’s Wood and 86% want better lighting.

Lib Dem councillor Lynne Featherstone comments:

“We have already take action to report the dumping of cars and huge piles of rubbish in the woods. However, I would like the police to look seriously at introducing CCTV, as residents have shown they would support it. It could make a real difference, as it has done with graffiti in Highgate village. The present situation is making a real mess of one of the most beautiful parts of Highgate and Muswell Hill.”

Lib Dem councillor Neil Williams comments:

“The high number of people reporting being the victims of crimes in the last year suggests that many crimes are currently going unreported – which is why police think crime in the area is less of a problem than residents say so. I would urge residents to ensure that all crimes are reported in future, so the police have a full and accurate picture when deciding where to allocate resources.”