Local Liberal Democrats in Crouch End have demanded that Haringey Council act now to clean slippery pavements before an accident occurs. Cllr Lyn Weber expressed her anger at Haringey Council’s failure to clean up fallen leaves which has caused pavements to be a danger to pedestrians.

Cllr Weber was promised that Haringey Council’s ‘leaf crew’ would clean up leaves on the weekend of 20th November, but this has still yet to be done.

Cllr Lyn Weber commented:

“Residents, especially elderly and frail pedestrians, could injure themselves badly if they slipped on fallen leaves.

“It is as if Haringey Council forgets that trees shed their leaves annually. Every year Haringey Council fails to act to clean leaves from the streets in Crouch End. It is an accident waiting to happen. It is simply not acceptable that when a cold snap occurs the Council is caught out like this.

“Crouch Hall Road is supposed to have a once a week street clean, twice a week litter picking service and a once a week leaf crew yet the level of street cleansing is not reflected in the state of the street.

“I have contacted Haringey Council to demand that action is taken immediately to clear Crouch End’s roads of these leaves before someone slips and suffers a serious injury.”

The Government’s Planning Inspector has dismissed a raft of appeals from Paul Simon Developments against Haringey Council’s decision to refuse them planning permission to build luxury housing on a backlands site in Crouch End.

A long campaign has been fought by residents who opposed the controversial developments, and Lib Dem councillors fought hard to overturn procedural mistakes made at a crucial Planning Application Sub Committee meeting order to ensure a fair hearing.

The appeals were dismissed due to the Inspector’s ruling that the development of luxury houses in the area would be excessively intrusive, and would be detrimental to the character of the backlands site, designated a Conservation Area.

Lib Dem councillors fought hard in September to have ruled null and void a meeting in which the decision was taken to grant planning permission to the developers, after the Labour chair of the Planning Applications Sub-Committee was deemed to have made a serious procedural error.

Lib Dem Planning Spokesperson Jonathan Bloch comments:

“I am delighted to see that, at last, a fair and transparent decision has been taken on the backlands development site. Labour’s shenanigans in what should be a politically neutral planning committee threatened to undermine the planning process, and we hope that residents will in the future be able to make their representations in an open and receptive forum.”

Councillor Dave Winskill, Crouch End ward councillor, adds:

“Residents really deserve this result. With local Councillors they have fought tooth and nail against this series of totally inappropriate applications. I hope that the developers get the message in the Inspector’s ruling: that this is the wrong place for housing.”

Councillor Wayne Hoban, Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader, adds:

“Such procedural mistakes are unacceptable.Local residents are entitled to expect that the Council’s planning process, particularly in relation to sensitive and controversial applications such as this, will be fair, transparent and accountable.”

Crouch End’s Liberal Democrat councillors are celebrating a campaigning success as Haringey Council has finally agreed to investigate putting a skateboard park in the car park of Hornsey Town Hall. The news came in an email to Crouch End councillors this week.

The plans are to use part of the Town Hall car park as a ‘permanent’ location for the borough’s mobile skate park. A section of the car park could be levelled out, a wall built, fencing erected and a separate entrance for skaters created.

Lib Dem councillor Ron Aitken suggested the Town Hall car park as a suitable site two months ago. He and fellow Crouch End councillors Dave Winskill and Lyn Weber have been fighting to convince the Council ever since. After many site meetings with officers to make his case, Haringey Council has finally agreed to give the plans the green light.

There was controversy earlier this year as it emerged that Labour councillors had wasted £25,000 pursuing plans to site the facilities in Priory Park, despite being told categorically by Thames Water that the site was not suitable.

Crouch End Councillor Ron Aitken comments:

“I am absolutely delighted to finally get the green light from the Council on the development of this project. The Council has been promising a permanent skate park for two years and we were beginning to think it might never come to pass.

“Young people skateboarding are often criticised, but this is very unfair when there is nowhere provided for them to skate. Scarce provision is made for young people in and around Crouch End, and this is a step in the right direction. I am very pleased that the pressure we have been putting on the Council has paid off at last.”

Commenting on last night’s victory for residents in the controversial Cecile Park planning application, Lib Dem Councillor Robert Gorrie, who spoke against the proposals at the Planning Committee, comments:

“This was a victory for residents, and a victory for common sense. This was the worst kind of backland development, on a site wholly unsuitable to a development of this kind. There were serious questions over the safe access, and the impact on nearby residents. It was very sensibly refused, and the terrible procedural irregularities at the last Planning Committee meeting have now been overcome.”

Local councillor David Winskill (Crouch End) adds:

“This is the latest in a string of planning applications that for seven years have blighted the lives of residents whose homes surround the site. It is high time that a moratorium on such serial applications was declared, to allow local people to put their lives back together again.”