Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Local News Archive - 2007
Mosque Reaches Final of National Contest
Hornsey & Crouch End Journal, 19 December 2007
A mosque has come second in a competition to find the country's best mosque.
Wightman Road Mosque in Harringay beat off competition from around 1,000 others in the UK losing out to Bradford in the final stages of the Islam Channel's competition.
Abdool Alli, mosque president, said: "We were the only mosque that had women on the executive. We have a small mosque but we're doing much more within the community to harness and network with different communities and faith groups. On that basis I think we should have won. It has brought Haringey onto the map."
He explained that the text message voting system used in the Model Mosque competition favoured concentrated communities in the midlands and the north.
The runners-up received a plaque and a crystal "global peace and unity" gift. Films of the semi finalists were shown on the Islam channel in November.
The winning mosque received a £35 000 consultancy project and will be the subject of a one hour documentary on the channel.
Car Park Gridlocked!
Hornsey & Crouch End Journal, 05 December 2007
A shopper gridlocked in the Sainbury's car park off Green Lanes, Harringay, became so frustrated he abandoned his car and went home.
The man, who lives in Mount View Road, Stroud Green, but who asked not to be named, hit out at the design of the car park serving the superstore at the Arena retail park, Williamson Road.
He said: "The store had recently reopened after a revamp and it was very busy. After nearly an hour without moving I decided to leave my car and shopping and walk home. I came back after 8pm when it had cleared up.
"I think the design of the car park is wrong and needs to be changed to stop this happening to customers."
After the incident on Saturday, November 24, he urged others "to avoid doing a big shop with the car at the weekend at this store".
Another customer, writing on a community website, described the situation as "complete chaos".
A Sainsbury's spokesman said: "Sainsbury's is aware of the congestion problems at the car park, and apologises to any customers who have been affected by this. They are caused by the very short green filter traffic light interval for those leaving the car park, of approximately 20 seconds.
"Sainsbury's has asked for the council to extend this green filter to help ease the congestion. The council has so far declined."
Councillor Brian Haley, cabinet member for environment and conservation, said:" "We're looking into it and we're going to do something hopefully very early in the New Year. I've had concerns over the extension of Sainsbury's selling space, reducing car parking capacity in there."
He added the traffic signals belong to Transport for London but that it would be working with Haringey Council to "alleviate the problem".
Plans for the New Year include "reconfiguring" the junction and traffic lights, putting in a yellow box junction and enforcement camera.
"Between now and Christmas there will be untold problems down there because of the congestion and sheer volume of cars and people," he said.
Cement Helps Residents Tackle Plant Pot Thieves
Hornsey & Crouch End Journal, 28 November 2007
A wave of window box thefts has left residents in the Harringay Ladder taking extreme action to chain and cement plant pots to front gardens.
Ian Sygrave, chairman of the Ladder Community Safety Partnership, said: "I know it's on-going. Some people cement, other people put chains round their pots and then put a link onto the front house wall. "It's such a great pity when you try and make the street look nice and then this happens."
The council also fell victim when earlier this year plants in raised flower beds at the junctions of the Ladder roads were uprooted overnight. A council spokesman said: "Unfortunately flowers planted in the summer were removed. "The issue was discussed at the council's recent Clean Sweep environmental clean-up event in the area."
Lisa Yainni, police community support officer with Harringay Safer Neighbourhoods Team, said: "I remember an incident a couple of months ago. A woman was following a trail. They took her plant pots, but the soil underneath was leaving a trail, so she was following the soil."
The issue has been raised with the Safer Neighbourhoods team.
The thefts are believed to be on the decline since residents took action.
Haringey 'being penalised over school funding'
Hornsey & Crouch End Journal, 28 November 2007
A leading teacher representative has accused the Government of penalising Haringey after the latest school funding settlement.
Haringey has received less funding per pupil than surrounding boroughs under the Dedicated Schools Grant which covers the next three years. The overall grant is £168.7million, up from £156.8million this year.
But Haringey will receive £4,987 per pupil in 2008 while Hackney will get £6,170, Camden £6,161 and Islington £5,812.
Tony Brockman, secretary of the Haringey branch of the National Union of Teachers, said: "What excuse has the government got for continuing to penalise Haringey?
"We have not seen any proper explanation as to how this comes about. We know the Government has been angry with Haringey for bidding for a community school when the government wanted an academy. They are seeking to penalise Haringey because it is not following edicts from central government and is reflecting the views of local people."
An independent panel of school adjudicators chose the council's bid to set up a community school in Haringey Heartlands in May. It is due to open in 2010.
The allocations are currently at consultation stage and the council is lobbying the Government.
Councillor George Meehan, Labour leader of the council, who does not agree that the council is being penalised because of the academy issue, said: "I have met the Government. We are lobbying hard to get a fair deal."Councillors have highlighted historical problems with funding because Haringey pays teachers inner London weighting but receives funding at the outer London level.
ONLY MARGINALLY LOCAL - BUT INTERESTING-
Rocketing House Prices are Creating a 'social crisis'
Pam Caulfield, 24dash.com, 27/11/2007
First time buyers require an income in excess of £100,000 to buy an average priced homein a quarter of London boroughs First time buyers require an income in excess of £100,000 to buy an average priced home in a quarter of London boroughs, new research published today reveals.
Rocketing house prices, now averaging £318,000, are creating 'nothing short of a social crisis' the London Housing Federation warns, as an estimated 330,000 families are registered on waiting lists for social housing in London.
Waiting lists have grown by 57% in five years. Of all London boroughs, Newham had the highest number of households on its waiting list last year: 29,574. It is followed by Haringey, with 24,939 on the waiting list, and Lewisham, with 17,535.
Meanwhile Barking and Dagenham's waiting list has grown by 250% over the last five years to 7,689 households - the biggest rise in London.
In just three London boroughs - Enfield, Merton and Westminster - have the numbers waiting for an affordable home decreased.
The report also shows three quarters of a million people - that's one in ten of London's population - live in overcrowded homes.
Home Truths London: The real cost of housing 2007-2012, warns that more and more people are left struggling to find a home of their own.
A market fuelled by massive City bonuses and foreign investment has pushed average house prices up by 161% since 1997, whereas average wages have increased by just 40% over the same period. It requires an income in excess of £86,000 to buy an average home in the capital, but earnings in London average just £24,500.
This disparity means that there are more than 21,000 households registered homeless in London, and that over 60,000 households live in temporary accommodation, staying in Bed and Breakfasts or short-term lodgings.
Kensington & Chelsea, one of London's most prestigious addresses, is now the most expensive place to buy in the whole of the UK, with average prices already hitting more than £850,000.
But this prospering market hides massive social inequalities: homes cost more than 26 times the average earnings in the borough, there are nearly 11,000 households on housing waiting lists and another 1,000 in temporary accommodation.
Olivia Powis, Regional Manager at the London Housing Federation, said: "House prices in London have reached new highs, leaving thousands of first time buyers unable to get their foot on the ladder. London is now a city of two halves, as the gap between those able and unable to buy their own home grows.
"Despite fears of a drop in the market, house prices remain beyond the reach of many Londoners and the capital faces nothing short of a social crisis; housing waiting lists have risen 57% in just five years, while others live in overcrowded or temporary accommodation, unable to find and afford a home of their own.
"Poor housing has been shown to cause health problems, lower educational attainment and family stress and breakdown. We must tackle the housing crisis head on to halt this growing social divide.
She added: "For London to remain the great world city it is, we need more affordable homes, and we need them soon. Prime Minister Gordon Brown has pledged £8bn to build new affordable homes nationwide over the next three years.
"From this, housing associations in London need adequate funding to meet and exceed the Mayor's target of delivering 50,000 affordable homes by 2011."
The report also finds that:
- Average homes in London now cost 13 times the average income. Mortgage lenders will rarely loan more than 4 times income;
- House prices rose by more than 10% in all but six London boroughs last year, and by 15% or more in one third of boroughs;
- In 2005/06 housing associations completed more than 11,000 homes for affordable rent or shared ownership, but more than 4,400 affordable homes were lost through Right to Buy and other government sales schemes;
- The latest official household projections suggest 39,400 new households every year will form in London between 2004 and 2026;
- Meeting newly arising housing needs over the next 20 years would require more than doubling current levels of new housing completions in the capital.
A Healthy Future? Your Views Revealed
By Tomasz Johnson, Barnet & Hendon Times, 22nd November 2007
Residents' views on plans to radically overhaul healthcare provision over the next decade were revealed at a meeting of health chiefs on Wednesday.
The responses to the public consultation will be considered before a decision is made on the NHS shake-up, which critics say could over-burden already stretched emergency and maternity services at Barnet Hospital.
Analysis by Imperial College, which has assessed the results of the consultation, shows there are doubts about the capacity of Barnet and North Middlesex hospitals to cope with the extra workload.
It showed there were "significant concerns" about increased travel times and a lack of local public transport links.
Forty-three per cent of respondents to the questionnaire undertaken by Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Primary Care Trusts favoured option one. This would see inpatient planned care for Barnet and Chase Farm hospitals concentrated on the Chase Farm site, in The Ridgeway, Enfield.
Only 22 per cent favoured option two, which proposes that Chase Farm becomes a community hospital, with inpatient planned care for Barnet and Chase Farm hospitals concentrated on the Barnet site, in Wellhouse Lane.
However, the majority of people from Barnet and Haringey favoured option two. Of 2,149 Barnet respondents, 597 people chose option 1, 969 chose option 2 and 583 had no opinion.
Overall, some 35 per cent of respondents rejected both options, reflecting concerns that proposed community services would fail to absorb the impact of reduced services at either hospital.
Both options involve a Local Accident and Emergency Service and urgent care centre at Chase Farm, dealing with the majority of A&E admissions, but the most serious cases would be dealt with elsewhere.
Both plans would give Barnet Hospital a consultant-led maternity service and Chase Farm Hospital a midwife-led birthing unit.
The statistics were released at a meeting at North London Business Park, Oakleigh Road South, New Southgate.
A report on the consultation will be made public, including analysis of thousands of letters sent to Professor Ritaf Atun, the Imperial College academic who managed the consultation. It will be used by the PCTs to make a decision on the direction to be taken, which will be announced on December 11.
Critics argue the consultation process has been irrelevant, with residents having to choose between two unpopular options.
Councillor Helena Hart, Barnet's cabinet member for public health, said: "I am as unhappy as I've always been with the two options. I'm extremely concerned about back-up services, primary care and facilities."
Professor Sir George Alberti, the Department of Health's national clinical director for emergency access, spoke at the meeting to explain how the proposals will offer a better quality of care.
He said: "I'm heading rather strongly towards option one. In terms of simple, clinical common sense, you need to make space. Doing elective surgery away from where emergency surgery takes place will decrease infection rates in what is a vulnerable population.
"A big part of the Darzi plan health minister Sir Ara Darzi's plans to overhaul the NHS is that you go to where you know you can get good quality, safe care. That's not possible with consultants spread between three hospitals on different patches."
Prof Alberti moved to allay fears about any scaling-down of A&E at Chase Farm hospital, saying a GP would be on call to support a team of nurses out-of-hours.
Residents reiterated concerns about the practicalities of travelling between Barnet and Chase Farm hospitals. Sylvia Newman, 82, of Silkfield Road, Colindale, said: "My friend lives in Edgware and she's disabled. She needed to get to Chase Farm and called a taxi company for a quote. They told her it would be £42 one-way, including her disability discount.
"Chase Farm? It might as well be the moon."
Conference Centre Plan to Regenerate Area around Station
Roison Gadelrab, Islington Tribune, 23 November 2007
The company behind Islington’s Business Design Centre has announced a massive plan to redevelop land beside Finsbury Park station.
Business Design Centre Group wants to turn the City North site at the station into a giant conference centre, complete with shops, restaurants, cafés and bars. A shiny new station entrance is planned, along with 450 new homes, half of which would be affordable.
The company claims: “Redevelopment of this site could enable London Underground to deliver a new western station concourse, enhance public areas and act as a catalyst for the regeneration of the wider Finsbury Park area.” The plans met with a mixed reaction at last week’s meeting of the council’s east area committee.
Lib Dem councillor Meral Ece said she feared businesses in nearby Fonthill Road, home to fashion warehouses and clothing wholesalers, had not been properly alerted to the plans. She believes the mainly Turkish traders are unclear about how they would be affected.
“We have to make sure it will benefit the Fonthill Road traders,” she added. Cllr Ece urged developers to ensure the new buildings and surrounding streets are well-lit to avoid becoming a haven for crime.
She said: “There have been lots of developments in Islington which, after they’ve been completed, have turned out to be a paradise for muggers. It’s important to ensure we’ve designed out crime.”
Green councillor Katie Dawson said: “No one denies we need development and housing in this area and improvements around the station. Certainly, a private exhibition space can in no way be described as for community benefit.
“With regards to the shops, can we follow the Mayor of London’s recommendations that 50 per cent of those units have capped rents so we can avoid the sort of clone-town effect?”
A council officer, who presented the plans to the meeting, said: “The shops won’t affect local businesses because they will be related to the station.” Labour councillor Phil Kelly was more welcoming, pointing out that with the opening of the Eurostar terminus at St Pancras International, Finsbury Park is now two-and-a-half hours from Paris.
“The fact that people are interested in developing in Finsbury Park is very good,” he said. “Particularly since we recently gave planning permission for a proper hotel in Fonthill Road.”
Although the street frontage will remain in line with existing properties, one or more buildings within the site will be about 40 metres tall.
Heathrow consultation: Expansion plans "an attack on London"
eGov Monitor, Sourced from Green Party News, 22nd November, 2007
Siân Berry has urged Londoners to defend the city's economic and environmental interests by opposing plans for a massive expansion of Heathrow airport in the consultation due to be published today. Siân, who attended last summer's Climate Camp in protest at the scheme, branded the Government's economic case "seriously flawed" and the environmental ramifications, in terms of noise, air quality and climate change, "catastrophic."
Siân said: "Ruth Kelly's plans are an attack on London. The cost of the Government's grand project at Heathrow will be illness due to increased pollution in West London, intrusive and stress-inducing noise as far East as Finsbury Park, and economic damage to the whole city.
"The Government's economic case is seriously flawed, and is based on highly questionable assumptions about both the benefits of aviation and the predicted demand. For every pound spent by tourists in the UK, we spend £2.20 overseas. Government's plans to treble air travel are likely to mean flying more and more money out of the British economy - with a predictable effect on jobs.
"A highly dubious economic case is being constructed to justify a catastrophic impact on people's environment, now and in the future. Air pollution kills, persistent noise increases risk of depression, and climate change is already destroying, and taking, hundreds of thousands of lives across the globe. That a minister will happily expose ordinary people to all of this just to keep the aviation lobbyists happy shows just how skewed the Government's priorities are.
"I'd like to ask all Londoners to stand up for their city by answering this consultation and opposing the Government's negligent scheme.
"Note: Siân Berry is the Green Party candidate for Mayor of London
House collapses
Hornsey & Crouch End Journal, 14 November 2007
This is all that remains of a house that collapsed last week while work was being carried out to prevent it subsiding.
The Victorian end-of-terrace, on the north side of Cavendish Road on the Harringay Ladder, collapsed on Sunday, November 4.
Harringay ward councillor Karen Alexander (Liberal Democrat) told the Journal: "One of the houses has completely collapsed and the house on the other side of the passage is being held up by scaffolding. The house is almost entirely demolished. It is quite a shocking sight. I was quite astounded when I saw it."
The Journal understands that underpinning work was being carried out on the property and the property on the other side of the Harringay Passage, which are both said to be suffering from subsidence.
Rumours that the incident was due to a collapsed Victorian sewer running underneath the footpath were quashed by Thames Water, which said it had not received any calls to that location or complaints.
Yellow box is ‘ripping off’ drivers
Londra Gazette, 15th November 2007
Jayantilal Patel, a cabby from Edmonton, won an appeal against Haringey Council after being caught on camera in the yellow box at the junction of Green Lanes and Endymion Road.
At the appeal. the Adjudicator agreed that the yellow box breaches regulation because it is too big and let Mr Patel off the fine.
However the box has not been changed and cameras on the junction may still be snapping up to 10 cars an hour.
According to Traffic Signs Regulations and general Directions 2002 the maximum size of a box junction at a T-Junction is just 10 metres across.
Haringey Council, who were already on notice of the point, argued that they had already checked the junction’s validity with the Highways Department and had been told it was ok. However the adjudicator said the response was insufficient and allowed Mr Patel’s appeal.
Speaking to the London Turkish Gazette this week, council officials refused to accept that the junction should be changed.
A spokesman for Haringey Council said: “This box junction is not in breach of the regulations and has been specifically approved by the Department of Transport. We will therefore be seeking a review of the adjudicator’s decision.”
Area 'too vulnerable for new betting shop'
Hornsey & Crouch End Journal, 07 November 2007
An uprisisng by residents over an application for a betting shop in Green Lanes has forced Haringey Council into a historic decision under new gambling laws.
Last Thursday the council rejected betting company Metrobet's application for a licence for a shop in Green Lanes in a landmark ruling. The hearing was the first under the new Gambling Act 2005 which came into force in September.
But Mario Petrou, a campaign co-ordinator, said: "We're safe from more bookmakers given the misfortunes of our conditions. But other areas are not safeguarded."
In rejecting the application, the council spokesman said "the weight of evidence submitted by local residents" was a deciding factor. The high number of mental health services in the area, along with strong links with crime, and the risk of "vulnerable ethnic minority residents" being overexposed to gambling were all key to the decision.
Campaigners made an impassioned plea for the council to reject the application, highlighting the effect of new premises on children and vulnerable adults. There are three primary schools close to the shop in Green Lanes and many teenagers live in the nearby streets. Many vulnerable adults also use mental health services nearby, with a high number of asylum seekers, refugees and migrants in the area.
Ian Sygrave, chairman of the Harringay Ladder Community Safety Partnership, said: "They've already taken a gamble to get where they are and are likely to take a further gamble. They don't have anyone to speak on their behalf."
Residents were not able to argue under the new act that the high number of gambling shops in the area was a good reason for refusing the application.
Reacting to the unexpected decision, campaigner Hugh Flouch said: "I applaud the council for a considered decision in difficult circumstances which took into account the particular nature of the local area against the licensing act objectives."
Mario Petrou concluded, "We won against the odds. But it's a hollow victory if we don't act as a borough to make representations to the Gambling Commission and the Government."Wightman Road Mosque in semi-finals of "Model Mosque" Competition
Haringey Council Website, 6th November 2007
Haringey Council Leader Cllr George Meehan has congratulated Haringey's Wightman Road mosque for reaching the semi-finals of the national 'Model Mosque' competition run by Sky TV's Islam Channel.
The mosque came through preliminary rounds competing against more than 1000 mosques all over the country, and reached the last four in a live broadcast last month. It competes for a final place and the chance of a £35,000 prize on Saturday, 10 November, when viewers are invited to text their votes to the show.
Said Cllr Meehan: “The Wightman Road mosque plays an important part in our community, and I know it shares our vision for a borough where people from many different backgrounds get on well together. I hope that as many people as possible who know of the mosque's work will want to give it their support.”
The Wightman Road mosque is the first purpose-built mosque in Haringey, completed in 2001, although a mosque has been established on the Haringey Ladder site since 1987.
The mosque runs a wide range of activities, working with the council and other agencies, and has recently teamed up with local police to offer boxing classes for young people. Its successful open day this summer attracted more than 500 visitors of all backgrounds.
For information about the competition and voting arrangements go to the Islam Channel's website. To vote for Wightman Road text "vote Haringey" to 60060.
The Wightman Road mosque is at 389/395 Wightman Road, N8 0NA, tel: 020 8348 0353
Note from website:
To learn more about the mosque and its neighbouring school visit London Islamic Cultural Society and Safar
Safety Fears Prompt New Crossing
By Elizabeth Pears, Haringey Independent, 25th October 2007
A new pedestrian crossing is to be put in place after demands from residents in Harringay to improve road safety at one of the busiest shopping centres in the area.
Work will begin on the crossing, at the junction of Endymion Road and Green Lanes, opposite the Harringay Arena, early next month.
A survey carried about by Tottenham MP David Lammy showed many residents in his constituency were unhappy with the level of acess at the junction. Mr Lammy, who lobbied Haringey Council and Transport for London on behalf of residents, said: "As it stands, the crossing has no pedestrian signals and allows insufficient time between traffic lights for pedestrians to cross. Older people and those with young children feel particularly unsafe crossing the road at this junction. "Residents in Harringay have told me that road safety is a real priority for their area - a priority I fully support.
"I will work to ensure that this crossing - and any others that are needed to improve people's road safety in my constituency
We Don't Want a Mini Las Vegas
Hornsey & Crouch End Journal, 25 October 2007
Battle is being waged against plans for new gambling outlets in Green Lanes amid fears it will become a "mini-Las Vegas".
More than 400 residents and traders have signed a petition sent to Haringey Council licensing team this week objecting two applications - one for a betting shop the other for an amusement arcade - in Grand Parade.
Mario Petrou, a campaign co-ordinator, said: "The aim is to prevent Harringay Green Lanes turning into a mini-Las Vegas. It will be uncontrollable. The number of existing establishments already makes it very difficult for the local authority to manage for crime and disorder. In comparison Muswell Hill has one bookmaker and Crouch End has two - Harringay Green Lanes has already got five. If this were granted we would be looking at a total of eight and that is not to say there will not be any more applications in the future. When it's located in a predominately residential area such as Harringay there's numerous school and faith centres, it doesn't contribute to a balanced outlook on life especially for children. Gambling can be like a drug habit and we're very concerned people will commit crime to fund their gambling habit."
Another application for a Metrobet shop at 507 Green Lanes is due before the licensing sub committee on November 1. This too prompted a petition with residents voicing concerns about over exposure to gambling among the young and vulnerable.
The company declined to comment ahead of the hearing while Better, the company behind the application for the betting shop in Grand Parade said it would comment in the week.
Meanwhile, Rob Chau, secretary of Green Lanes Traders' Association, said: "We have always tried to have a balanced spread of traders for Green Lanes and it just seems there are a bit too many betting shops now.
"Once upon a time there were only maybe two and it's just a bit overwhelmed with them. I'm definitely against more licences for gambling premises. It doesn't really encourage stop and shop. And in this day and age do we really want to encourage even more to gamble their hard earned money away."
Councillor Nilgun Canver, Haringey Council cabinet member for safer communities and enforcement, said: "I whole heartedly agree that we don't need this many betting shops or amusement arcades on Green Lanes."
As chairman of the Green Lanes Strategy Group she has sent objections to all three applications and revealed police too have this week objected. "One of our challenges in crime figures is criminal damage and in these places people put a lot of money into machines and then if they don't win sometimes they use aggression against the machines and as a result criminal damage reports increase. It's disgraceful all these people coming into this area and putting in these applications and I hope if they all go to appeal the inspectors will see sense.
Improved School Delivers Brighter Future for Pupils
Hornsey & Crouch End Journal, 17 October 2007
A previously struggling school has lifted itself out of the doldrums and earned a glowing Ofsted report.
The "remarkable headteacher and staff" of South Harringay Junior School, Mattison Road, Harringay, have helped turn the fortune of its pupils around inside three years, according to the latest school inspection, carried out on October 2.
Proud headteacher Angela Ryan and pupils at South Harringay School
The Ofsted report said that, since headteacher Angela Ryan took the helm in September 2004, standards have risen rapidly with staff showing a "refusal to accept second best for their pupils".
Despite living in an area of "significant deprivation" with nearly three-quarters of pupils learning English as an additional language, and with double the national average of pupils with learning difficulties, standards have risen in English and science to average, and in maths to above average - a "good achievement" given their low starting point.
Pupils who need a "boost" to achieve are helped by an "exceptional group of teaching assistants" who have helped raise standards, and parents are "delighted" with the school too, the report said.
The introduction of an attendance trophy has seen attendance rise to average levels, while opportunities for pupils to develop their IT skills were "excellent".
The inspector did point to further improvement that was needed in geography and history lessons, but said pupils' personal development was also "excellent".
Headteacher Angela Ryan said: "I'm extremely pleased, because the children and the school are recognised as having achieved."It was not just the staff that were recognised - it was the teaching assistants, dinner ladies and even the cleaners. "The inspector said that in one year's time she expects us to be an 'outstanding' school, and that is what we are aiming for."
The school is holding an afternoon of classroom parties to celebrate today (Thursday).
Not Fit to Eat in?
By Will Stone. Crouch End & Hornsey Advertiser, 17th October, 2007
More than one in ten eating places in the borough are so unhygienic that they are at risk of being shut down, according to a recent report.
The Food Standards Agency's Scores On The Doors gives 1,061 cafes, restaurants and takeaways in the borough a star rating from zero to five: 143 eateries in Haringey were given no stars, which is the lowest score possible without environmental health officers having to close them down.
The results of the survey are published on the internet, allowing diners to find out about the best places to eat.
A zero star rating means that the standard of food hygiene is very poor, that there is a general failure to comply with legal requirements, little or no appreciation of food safety and to improve things
A Haringey Council spokeswoman said: "We hope this new system encourages every one to raise their game. We will take enforcement where people fail to comply with legislation but we will also help any. business that needs advice to ensure they are complying with regulations."
In Haringey only seven eateries scored five stars, describing them as "excellent", with very high standards of food safety management and fully compliant with food safety legislation.
To find out the ratings of the eating places you use visit www.yourlondon.gov.uk/foodscores or visit (TBA) to download this site's compiltaion list of Harringay establishments tested.
Farce Hygeine Ratings Farce? The Salisbury Pub got a Zero for Selling Crisps
By Will Stone. Crouch End & Hornsey Advertiser, 17th October, 2007
Restaurant owners in Haringey have branded a recent report on the standard of their food hygiene a "farce".
The Scores On The Doors report published by the Food Standards Agency last week rated restaurants across the UK, giving them a score from zero to five stars; the information is available on the internet. Of 1,061 eateries reviewed in Haringey, 143 were given no stars, which means that inspectors regarded the outlet as having "little or no appreciation of food safety".
The Salisbury Hotel, in Green Lanes, Finsbury Park, is one of them. Manager David Lewis told the Advertiser: "I'm still angry about how harsh the report is. They gave us a zero because some documents were not kept up to date - it had nothing to do with food hygiene at all. They also said our sink was too small and some pots were found on the floor, but this had never been brought up on previous inspections. "Our chef is upset, customers have voiced disappointment and the pub's name has been unfairly damaged because many will view a zero star as places that aren't fit to walk through or on the verge of an infestation. "Those who have been here will know that this is not the case. Because it is a pub with a restaurant, it is treated as two separate businesses. We were sent two stickers by the council, one saying 'zero stars' and one saying 'one star'. This is farcical because the only food the pub serves is crisps, so are they basing their review on some bags of crisps?
"Don't get me wrong, I think the idea itself is a good one and I can see why it's been done, but there should have been more consideration of how the public will read the ratings." He added that the report was also unfair on independent businesses, as most of the seven eateries in, Haringey that were given five stars were big organisations or supermarkets, such as Sainsbury's.
Keith Nicholas recently started up a Thai restaurant at the back of his pub, John Baird, in Fortis Green Road, Muswell Hill. That was given no stars but it came as a surprise. He said: "I had no idea that we were rated at all. I'm aware that this report existed because my wife saw an article about it referring to some restaurants in central London. I didn't realise that Haringey was involved."Ally Pally's Phoenix Bar and the Alexandra Palace cafe, both in Alexandra Palace Way and owned by the palace, have ratings that are polar opposites, The Phoenix with five stars and the cafe with none.
An environmental health spokesman said: "A zero star rating means that restaurants are not following legal requirements. If documents are not up to date, this would be seen as a legal issue and therefore more work needs to be done. There was no malice involved, it was merely carried out to give customers the opportunity to see their restaurants' scores. The star ratings and how they are assessed have been discussed at great length by all the parties involved and all owners should have been informed of their ratings and given the reasons why."
January Target for Ally Pally Handover
Hornsey & Crouch End Journal, 17 October 2007
Ailing Alexandra Palace could be signed over to developers as early as January next year.
Councillor George Meehan, leader of Haringey Council, revealed the date at Monday night's full council meeting, saying the deal could be achieved if everything ran smoothly. His remarks suggest that part of the public consultation on the deal to lease the Palace to multi-millionaire Firoz Kassam will take place over the Christmas holiday period.
Speaking in the council chamber, Councillor Meehan said he noted "with regret" the High Court judgement that has set the handover process back by several months at least, costing the council more money to keep the charitable trust above board. He said the Palace and Park's board of trustees "could be in the position to grant the lease as early as January next year".
Calls were also made for the chair of Alexandra Palace's trading company, Councillor Charles Adje (Labour), to stand down by Liberal Democrat councillor Bob Hare and opposition leader Councillor Neil Williams. Councillor Williams called it "entirely unacceptable" that Councillor Adje should be chairman of the board of directors of the trading company at the same time as he is cabinet member for resources - handling, among other things, corporate finance and asset management.
Councillor Adje said he was only staying as chairman of the trading company because, "we were hoping by now that the company could be liquidated and there would be no need for the trading arm to continue". He added: "Yes, I now have to consider my position on the board and I have to discuss with the board of trustees as to a way forward."
Councillor Hare later told the Journal he would be calling for the resignation of Councillor Adje from his trading company position at the next meeting of the Board of Trustees, on October 30, if he had not already stood down.
Ally Pally: £55m Takeover Blocked by High Court
Hornsey & Crouch End Journal, 10 October 2007
High Court judge has blocked plans for the proposed £55million redevelopment of historic Alexandra Palace.
The shock move came after top planning law judge, Mr Justice Jeremy Sullivan, ruled that there had been "a fatal flaw" in the consultation process running up to the grant of consent for the scheme. The ruling last Friday came as a stunning victory for the Save Ally Pally campaign and other objectors. Their lawyers had claimed in court that they had not been given a proper chance to comment on the final proposals to re-vamp the site of the 130-year-old landmark which was the birthplace of television.
In his decision the judge held that there had been a refusal to disclose the contents of a lease in time for public consultations which had been promised by a Government minister. This, he found, rendered the whole consultation process invalid and meant that the process would now have to be reopened.
The decision raises the possibility that the whole redevelopment, which includes a casino, could end up having to be scrapped. The judge's decision comes as a blow to entrepreneur Firoz Kassam, former chairman of Oxford United Football Club.
The judge quashed the Charity Commission's order permitting the Palace trustees to enter into a 125-year lease with Kassam's development company, Firoka Group. Firoka was selected as preferred investment partner in January 2006. It plans to refurbish the exhibition halls, add a 150-bedroom hotel, bars and restaurants, and provide public leisure facilities.
In the wake of the Friday ruling, Save Ally Pally campaign leader Jacob O'Callaghan said it was "a joke" to argue that the public had been adequately consulted simply by putting up display boards about the development in the palace's Palm Court. He addded: "Alexandra Palace is the birth place of television, part of cultural history. There is even a casino planned for it. This is a people's palace, not Caesar's Palace."
In his ruling, the judge described how Fiona McTaggart, then under-secretary for the Home Department, gave an assurance in Parliament in 2004 that there would be a proper consultation on the future of the palace after public concerns were raised. But members of the public were told by Haringey council, the current trustees, that an agreement had been reached with Firoka to keep details of the lease and project confidential.
In his decision the judge said it was "a nonsense" for a Government minister to promise consultation in Parliament, only for interested persons to be told they were not going to be given the information they needed so they could comment on what was proposed under the lease. He said that the secrecy that had taken place had rendered the consultation process "manifestly ineffectual and unfair", the judge said. He added : "I find it difficult to understand how the Commission could have thought that this was a fair process. "One would have thought the alarm bells would have been ringing loud and clear." He referred to the irony that, soon after the consultation process had ended, a redacted version of the lease had been obtained by one consultee under the Freedom of Information Act.
The judge said he had been told by Tom Hickman, appearing for the trustees, that Firoka was "likely to walk away" from the project if there had to be further consultation and the lease was not signed by its October 17 deadline. But the judge ruled that in all the circumstances the Commission's order had to be quashed as fatally flawed.
Councillor Matt Cooke, chairman of trustees at Alexandra Palace Charitable Trust, said: "Naturally we are extremely disappointed at the setback that today's decision represents. "The priority for the trustees has always been, and remains, to secure the future of Alexandra Palace for future generations of Londoners, and to remove the financial burden from the London Borough of Haringey. "What is for certain is that the current situation, whereby 40 per cent of the Palace is derelict and the council is forced to support the Palace with hundreds of thousands of pounds a year is not sustainable. "As trustees, we will be reviewing our options in the coming days and will make a further statement in due course.
Ally Pally: Firoka 'may pull out of Palace deal'
Hornsey & Crouch End Journal, 10 October 2007
Significant doubt now hangs over whether developer Firoka will pull out of the deal to lease Ally Pally.
With the order to grant the 125-year lease to Firoka - waved through by the Charities Commission earlier this year - now quashed, it will be impossible for Firoka and the Palace Trustees to sign any lease by the self-imposed deadline next week.
Mr Justice Jeremy Sullivan said he had been told by Tom Hickman, appearing for the Trustees, that Firoka was "likely to walk away" from the Ally Pally project if there had to be further consultation and the lease was not signed by its October 17 deadline. This means the ambitious plans for the Palace by Firoka's owner, multi-millionaire entrepreneur Firoz Kassam, may never be realised.
They included a hotel, restaurants, cinema, a new "international standard" ice rink, gym, casino, nightclub, bowling alley, refurbished theatre, museum, children's play area, shops, cafes, market, recording studio, bistro/wine cellar, conference and office space. Apart from setting the entire process back by at least 18 months, if Mr Kassam does leave the project at this stage, he could try and reclaim some of his costs, either from the Charities Commission or Haringey Council, which already faces having to underwrite costs awarded against the Trustees. Mr Kassam was out of the country and unavailable for comment before the Journal went to press.
Ally Pally: Fight goes on, Say Campaigners
Hornsey & Crouch End Journal, 10 October 2007
Last week's High Court victory is just the beginning of the battle for the future of Ally Pally - which could end up in National Trust hands, say campaigners.
Conservation group Save Ally Pally's Jacob O'Callaghan told the Journal: "It must be clear to everyone now that the Palace cannot be properly run by one local council. The judge said one of the most absurd things was the argument that the display board put up in the Palace was sufficient for consultation, when people are interested in the TV studios all over the country and indeed all over the world.
"I hope now that this will be a wake-up call to the Trustees and the Charities Commission that the Palace returning to London-wide or national ownership is the only way forward. It would be better that that happened very quickly, in months rather than years." He suggested the National Trust or English Heritage would be suitable trustees - poles apart from the commercial ends that Firoz Kassam's Firoka had in mind.
Mr O'Callaghan added there were further legal fights ahead, saying: "That was just the hors d'oeuvres of the legal proceedings. Now we are determined to proceed with proceedings in the Chancery Division to find out what the financial situation of the Palace Trustees is. We think they are very different to how they have been portrayed by the Trustees." He added: "We also want to find out exactly what kind of development can be done under the Ally Pally Parliamentary Act.
Ally Pally: Trustees' Chairman is Urged to Resign over Ruling 'shame'
Hornsey & Crouch End Journal, 10 October 2007
The chairman of Alexandra Palace's Charitable Trust has dismissed calls for him to resign.
Demands that Labour councillor Matt Cooke step down immediately were made after it was claimed he failed to discuss the High Court case with his fellow Trustees, who were not made aware of what lawyers were arguing on their behalves.
Hornsey and Wood Green Liberal Democrat MP Lynne Featherstone joined members of the Save Ally Pally campaign group in demanding Councillor Cooke's resignation.
Jacob O'Callaghan, of the Save Ally Pally campaign, said: "He is one of the people responsible for carrying on these hopeless proceedings. There hasn't been a meeting of the Trustees since the filing of this case. They haven't had a chance to say whether they think the charity should oppose this and they have not been told what the lawyers have been doing supposedly on their behalves. I think he should take the responsibility for it."
Ms Featherstone said the ruling had "brought shame on the Labour councillors running the Palace," adding: "All along, they have refused to listen and shown their contempt for the entire process. "There are so many unanswered questions about this lease, it beggars belief that anyone can have thought the consultation was adequate."
Councillor Cooke is the third chairman of Trustees since the lease idea was suggested, with Labour councillor Charles Adje and ex-councillor Viv Manheim also having taken the lead role. Councillor Cooke said the Trustees had "no reason" to assume their aim of restoring the Palace and removing the financial burden of it was no longer possible, "and every reason to consider the fulfilment of this objective as just a few short months away". He said: "Because of this, it is absurd to suggest that I should resign as chair of trustees - a suggestion which I dismiss as politically motivated and short-termist."
Defending the lack of board meetings since the High Court case was filed, he said Trustees had "decided conclusively to follow our present course many years ago, supported by resolutions of the recent meetings of the board," and he remained confident the Trustees would "achieve their objectives".
Haringey Council will have to pick up the legal bill for the case, but it is not yet known how much.
Ally Pally: TV Museum Bid in the Balance
Hornsey & Crouch End Journal, 10 October 2007
The future also remains uncertain for a TV museum at the Palace - the global home of television, where the BBC launched its first broadcast in 1936.John Thompson, museum curator of the Alexandra Palace Television Museum Group, called the fall-through of the lease "a double-edged sword" for his hopes for a museum. "I had got used to the idea, thinking I could build a relationship with Firoka," he said. "And after all, the Trustees have proved to be not very helpful at all. "I feel let down by the management team and the trustees there. We have made representations to the board [of Trustees], to the general manager, and to the Charities Commission and nobody has given us any hope that we will be considered carefully. "It's only at the end of it that the whole process has been proved ineffectual. We feel we want an apology." He added: "So many people have been writing in, and to think their opinions haven't been considered properly is appalling. It's as if they have been paying lip service to the whole consultation. I would still like to think a museum will happen one way or another.
MP Takes School Funding Fight to PM
By Caron Kemp, Haringey Independent, 10 October 2007
Lynne Featherstone MP speaking at PM's question time PRIME Minister Gordon Brown has accepted that the funding given to Haringey's schools needs "continued looking at".
The admission came yesterday following a plea by Hornsey and Wood Green MP Lynne Featherstone for fairer funding for the borough's schools at Prime Minister's Question Time.
Ms Featherstone was addressing the discrepancy that Haringey Schools receive on average £736 less per pupil than those in inner London despite the borough's teachers being paid according to inner London levels.
In response Mr Brown said that outer London funding would continue to be looked into. Ms Featherstone said afterwards: "I am pleased that Gordon Brown has finally acknowledged that there is a problem with our local school funding. However, it does beg the question that if even the Prime Minster knows this is an issue, then why has Labour done nothing to change it? "The situation is completely unfair for our local school children and our teachers. I certainly won't be letting the issue drop and so I will now be following up my question with a letter to the Prime Minister seeking a concrete timetable of action."
Successful Autumn Community Party at Falkland & Fairfax Open Space
Matt Burge, Friends of Falkland & Fairfax Open Space, 8th October 2007
The Autumn partyat Falkland & Fairfax Rds was a great success on Sunday. Over 150 people enjoyed live music, good food, kids entertainment and a chance to catch up with friends and neighbours under some very warm Autumn sunshine. Well done to all who made it a great day.
Railway service is out of Line, says Watchdog
Haringey Independent, 7th October 2007
The railway track between Alexandra Palace and Finsbury Park needs to be improved to cope with the development of the area.
That is the message from London TravelWatch as it looks at the future of the route. The capital's transport watchdog says Alexandra Palace, Hornsey, Harringay and Finsbury Park stations already face a steadily increasing demand, which is expected to continue as land is sold for new housing along the route. London TravelWatch chairman Brian Cooke said: "The reality is already acute crowding south of Alexandra Palace, with some trains being unable to accommodate passengers boarding at Hornsey and especially Harringay."
Now the organisation is supporting plans to reinstate a disused line at Finsbury Park and use the existing goods line into London for passenger trains to create extra capacity and allow fast trains and stopping trains to occupy different lines. It is also recommending that there is better access to the station and new waiting room facilities.
Lynne Featherstone, MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, added: "Anyone using our commuter services at peak times will know what a sardine feels like. It is a huge let down that the Labour Government has failed to respond to the needs of Haringey. "Our railway line is one of the few in the capital that will not expand to reflect the growth levels and it will be the Haringey commuters who will suffer."
Camera to Boost Station Security
Hornsey & Crouch End Journal, 10 October 2007
A security camera and extra lighting could be installed outside an overground station to clamp down on crime and make commuters feel safer after dark.
The improvements, for the bottom end of Quernmore Road outside Harringay station, would be funded in part by an £8,000 grant from Haringey Council's Making The Difference pot.
To save cash, the camera will probably be connected to the existing CCTV system inside Stroud Green Library and mounted on the wall facing onto Quernmore Road. Lighting in the doorways to flats above the shops - currently dark recessed areas - would also be installed, and the pavement by the station could also be built out to accommodate cycle racks, if the council can get matched funding from TfL.The council's efforts have been warmly welcomed by Kit Greveson, chairwoman of the Stroud Green Residents' Associ-ation. She said: "The bridge on the Wightman Road side [of the station] has a camera, but as far as I know it only points one way, which seems a bit silly. "The bridge is a bit daunting for people. People who use it a lot at night say that it's quite intimidating. People come out into Quernmore Road and sometimes the lights aren't working."
Councillor Lorna Reith, cabinet member for community involvement, said: "We are looking at a number of options including a new CCTV camera at Stroud Green library, improved lighting along the parade of shops, setting up a bike rack and putting up a bench or bus shelter. "No final decisions have been taken, but we are discussing these options with local people and businesses. We are also in discussion with the train company about plans they have to improve facilities at Harringay station.
March of the Masts
By Will Stone, Crouch End & Hornsey Advertiser, 10 October, 2007
Mobile phone companies are coming out on top in the appeal courts in the battle for more masts.
After having had planning applications rejected by Haringey Council, the major phone companies, such as Vodafone, Orange, 02 and T-mobile, have had about 75 per cent of the decisions overturned on appeal.
The government has told councils they cannot reject requests for new masts on health grounds, as there is no proof, but they can turn them down if the mast will cause a "perception of harm", such as being placed near a school. Jane Farrell, chairwoman of governors at Fortismere School, in Muswell Hill, which has two masts on the roof of its science block, said: "This issue always comes up in our meetings and many parents and staff have requested the masts be taken down. It's out of our hands until the contract for the masts needs to be renewed, which I believe is in a couple of years. We will reject a renewal of the contract, not because we believe that the masts pose a health risk to children but to be on the safe side and reassure parents and staff."
Sarah Purdy, who has a child at Tetherdown Primary School in Muswell Hill, has campaigned against masts for several years. She said: "The reason the government claims there is no risk is because it receives about £15 billion a year in tax from these masts. It is just turning a blind eye there is evidence to suggest, that there are health risks. Children are at risk of getting leukaemia, as many have in the past, and figures show that they can have a negative impact on children's work." The council claims that most mast applications are rejected on grounds of being detrimental to the area. Kaushika Amin, cabinet member for regeneration and enterprise, said: "We take a rigorous approach, as we recognise that these are of concern to many residents. "The fact is that we will continue to receive more phone mast applications as increasing numbers of people use mobile phones.”
Save Ally Pally Victory
Save Ally Pally Website, 5th October, 2007
At the High Court on Friday Justice Sir Jeremy Sullivan ruled that Haringey Council's consultation over the disposal of Alexandra Palace has not been effective, fair and was fundamentally flawed. He quashed the order of the lease and costs were awarded to the claimant.
Alexandra Palace, the People's Palace of north London, birthplace of television, has lasted 130 years and survived two fires. Since 1900 it has literally been the People's Palace because by Act of Parliament it was given to the people of London, with its Park, in trust for all time.
That was threatened by a proposal by officials of Haringey council, the current trustee, and the Palace management to dispose of the whole building. Lock, stock and barrel.
But, if it's a charity, surely they can't do that?
Since one single council, Haringey, took over the charity in 1980, important decisions have in practice been mostly made by Alexandra Palace's senior paid officers, not the elected trustees - who have now been largely reduced to rubber-stampers of already made decisions. For twenty years, the Palace has been run as if it were a commercial exhibition business and conference centre set in a municipal park, and the charitable aspects have been quietly sidelined.
See more at Save Ally Pally
Spurs ponder controversial move to Enfield
The Guardian, Thursday October 4, 2007
Tottenham Hotspur are edging closer to a move from their traditional home at White Hart Lane, with the club understood to have identified potential sites for a stadium including one in Enfield, which would take Spurs outside their home borough of Haringey.
The club are considering their stadium options and the chairman, Daniel Levy, intends to update shareholders on his intentions when the annual results are posted, expected some time in the next four weeks.
The director Paul Kemsley has been leading the search for alternative sites for a 60,000-seat stadium, but a move outside Haringey would be controversial because it would take the club as far as 10 miles from their traditional home.
Expansion of White Hart Lane has not been finally ruled out but the lack of an obvious temporary home ground - the Olympic Stadium and Wembley have been ruled out in the short term - as well as a perceived lack of support from Haringey council remain obstacles.
Spurs have been pressing for assistance from the council and Transport for London to improve transport links to the ground, which is among the most difficult to get to in professional football, but have been unsuccessful so far. Directors met at White Hart Lane to discuss the issue yesterday, but the deliberation over the Enfield site has echoes of Arsenal's threat to move to Camden, a ploy that helped persuade Islington council to help the club stay in the borough when they left Highbury.
Schools' Cash Diverted to Most Needy
Hornsey & Crouch End Journal, 03 October 2007
Money could be pulled from school budgets in the west of Haringey to finance improvements among the most deprived pupils living in the east.
Haringey's education department gets an extra £22million from the Government for education because it has one of the highest levels of deprivation in the country, but the way the money has been dished out means that only half of that goes to the schools with the poorest pupils. The rest is divided up between all schools to cover other costs.
Haringey Council plans to rework the spending formula so that more funds go to schools depending on the number of pupils who get free school meals and those pupils who are from African, Afro-Caribbean, Turkish and Kurdish pupils. More money will also go to schools which have a "high mobility" of pupils - largely those from asylum-seeking families.
Those pupils who have the most complex special education needs, and require 15 hours a week one-on-one supervision, will not be affected by the proposed funding changes. But less money may go to schools which have pupils with less severe need of learning support.
Jane Farrell, chairwoman of governors at Fortismere School, Tetherdown, Muswell Hill, said she was "seriously concerned" by the proposals, which are now up for consultation. She said: "Fortismere and other schools in the west of the borough will lose quite considerable funds, despite us having a high number of pupils with special educational needs. "So, on the surface at least, it is of serious concerns. Those who need over 15 hours of support a week will not be affected, but for other children there will no longer be specific funds. In the worst case scenario, we will lose hundreds of thousands of pounds a year."
The gap in achievement between those living in east and west Haringey is a key priority of Haringey Council. Maths and English results of older primary pupils illustrate the divide. In 2007, 86 per cent of pupils in the east of Haringey achieved level four or more at key stage two. On the east of Haringey, it was 68 per cent, with the national average sitting at 77 per cent.
Thames Water set for Major Payout
Hornsey & Crouch End Journal, 03 October 2007
Thames Water faces compensation claims running into tens of thousands of pounds from traders affected by last week's flooding of Turnpike Lane.
The burst water main could not have come at a worse time for the numerous food sellers and wholesalers lining the road - a period when lots of food is bought during Ramadan and in the run up to the Eid festival, the highlight of the Muslim calendar.
Illy Badet, owner of Food Hall which sells to restaurants and the public, said the effect had been huge. "I'm sitting with the insurer now," he said. "We had to close at one o'clock last Tuesday, and we lost Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and some of Saturday. We are talking about a few thousand pounds turnover. People think this road is still closed." He added: "The Wightman Road Mosque gave me an order on the Sunday for food for 350 people at a function that week. They had to use another caterer at short notice, which costs more. "Restaurant people all come to buy my stock. One buys king prawns from me and he didn't have any on his menu Thursday or Friday. He said to me, 'What am I going to offer my customers if they ask for king prawns?' He has lost out and I have lost out." He said the flood was "the worst I have ever seen" in 20 years' in Turnpike Lane.
The Jai Shri Krishna restaurant is closed until further notice, while thousands of pounds worth of computers, fridges and décor were ruined in Café Mirage, which remains closed. Owner Murat Baktas said: "In our internet room at the back, all the computers have gone. The wood panelling, laminate flooring, four or five fridges too. When I open who's going to guarantee I get my old customers back? I can't sleep at night."
Water rose to nearly a foot in nearby food and convenience store Beirut Gate, ruining fresh food including nearly 800kg of dates, as well as shisha pipes, fridges and decorative tables. Eight staff manned the clean-up operation and the shop lost nearly four days of takings. Owner Ahmed Rizk, 38, is still assessing the cost of the damage.
Mevlut Cicekli, owner of Superwine, near the Tube station, said his losses run to about £1,000 in total, including damaged goods and wages for four staff who spent two days cleaning the premises.
Workers for Thames Water repaired the road, which reopened earlier than expected on Saturday morning.
Thames Water is liable for the disruption and losses that have been caused. People without insurance should contact Thames Water on 0845 9200 800 and quote reference WR0041/72MPLS.
Kirsty’s on the Run for Charity
Haringey Independent, October 5th, 2007
A Harringay woman, Kirsty Hounsley, entered the Great North Run to help children fight liver disease. She was thrilled to raise more than £1,000 doing the Great North Run in tribute to her ten-month-old niece who died waiting for a liver transplant.
Kirsty Housley, of Pemberton Road, ran the 13.1 mile race in Newcastle on Sunday for the Children's Liver Disease Foundation (CLDF) - the only organisation dedicated to fighting childhood liver disease.
Mrs Housley's niece, Ellen, was born with a life-threatening and incurable liver disease called biliary atresia. Despite having a corrective operation when she was a few weeks old and being put on the transplant list, she died in January before a donor became available. Her death prompted Mrs Housley to back the charity that supported her family through a traumatic time.
The 29-year-old theatre manager said: "I have seen first-hand the difference CLDF's support services can make to a family after their child has been stuck by liver disease. "Knowing there is an organisation that understands is vital, and I wanted to do something in Ellen's memory to support the charity's work."Although it is too late for Ellen, this could lead to improved treatments in the future and this gives our family some comfort."
She completed the race in two hours and eight minutes and while she has raised £1,080, she hopes to receive more donations to hit her target of £1,500. Mrs Housley added: "There was a really great atmosphere and it was a lot of fun. "Many people would be happy for their organs to be used but just don't get around to signing up. Ellen's story shows it is vital that they do."
You can sponsor Mrs Housley by visiting www.justgiving.com/runningkirsty.
Stores under Water after Main Bursts
Hornsey & Crouch End Journal, 27th September 2007
Firemen had to carry people from shops and businesses in Turnpike Lane on Tuesday after a burst main flooded shops in up to two feet of water. One witness described hearing a "whoomph" as a torrent of water broke through the road surface shortly before 1pm. Both sides of the pavement had already cracked minutes before, as water from the fractured underground pipe tried to escape. It was more than four hours before the main was switched off.
Firemen say eight properties were flooded on the northern side of Turnpike Lane near Green Lanes, but the water level teetered up to the door ledges of dozens more. At its worst, a huge lake extended along the road from Green Lanes to the junction with Alexandra Road, and spilled into Burghley Road too, while firefighters battled to pump away the water and get the water main turned off before it flooded the Tube subway. Shops including Beirut Gate supermarket, Turnpike Lane Food Store & Off Licence, Café Mirage and International Money Transfer were all submerged, the fire brigade sandbags arriving too late, and Haringey Racial Equality Council's premises were also hit.
Ketan Dave, 43, racial equality officer, said: "Our ground floor is completely ruined. Our photocopier was under two feet of water in here. It came in from the back as well as the front. "Luckily we pulled out all the electronic cables, but a lot of paperwork is ruined. It was trickling in at first, and we rushed to the local supermarket to buy two 24kg bags of rice, which worked for a bit. Now we not only have a ruined carpet but we have wet rice everywhere because one of the bags split."
Landlord Graham Shailer, 56, who owns a property next to the burst site, was dining in an Indian restaurant on the street when the burst happened. "We were having lunch in the restaurant, and the first we knew about it was it started pouring through the front door," he said. "We had to leave out the back. For the first half hour we were worried it wasn't going to stop, and that it was sewage."
Police sealed off Turnpike Lane at either end, with traffic jams quickly mounting up. Mother-of-two Sarah Langley, 40, of Burghley Road, said: "I have lived here 15 years and this is the quietest I have ever seen Turnpike Lane. I think it's glorious without traffic on. The people in the pub [The Toll Gate] said they were sitting there having a beer and heard a 'whoomph' and thought, what the hell was that?" But Talib Hussain, owner of butchers Salam Halal Meat, said he had lost about £400 in trade just because the road was closed.
A Thames Water spokeswoman said the repair would take a couple of days to complete, and the road will likely remain closed until it can be resurfaced.
Turnpike Lane to Remain Closed over Weekend
Hornsey & Crouch End Journal, 27th September 2007
Turnpike Lane will remain closed to traffic until Monday morning at the earliest. Workers for Thames Water are repairing the damaged pipe before they can resurface the road, and they currently estimate it will reopen to traffic on Monday morning, barring further bursts or problems.
While the pavements have been reopened on both sides, the stretch of road between Green Lanes and Vernon Road is completely sealed off to traffic, while the rest of Turnpike Lane is access only for residents.
All traffic, including bus routes 144 and 41 is being diverted to the north via Hornsey Park Road, Mayes Road, Station Road and Wood Green High Road. To the south, traffic is being diverted along the Harringay Ladder roads between Wightman Road and Green Lanes.
Some properties lost power on Wednesday as a junction box was flooded, but that has now been restored.
Councillor Nilgun Canver, Haringey's cabinet member for enforcement and safer communities, said: "We are aware that this has happened during preparations for the Eid celebrations and the impact this may have on some businesses. "Thames Water has assured us that they are doing everything they can to fix the problem with their water main and have the road repaired swiftly. "We are doing everything we can to ensure the area returns to normal as quickly as possible."
The council advised anyone whose property or profits have been affected by the flood to document their losses as soon as possible, not forgetting perishable goods spoiled in fridges and freezers that lost power.
Thames Water is liable for the disruption and losses that have been caused. People without insurance should contact Thames Water on 0845 9200 800 and quote reference WR0041/72MPLS.
Postal Chaos as Workers Plan Series of Strikes
Hornsey & Crouch End Journal, 27th September 2007
People in Haringey are facing major disruption to their mail services as a series of strikes involving borough postal workers are set to begin this weekend. Six days of strikes are planned over the next two weeks before rolling weekly strikes later next month in an ongoing dispute between the Communication Workers Union (CWU) and Royal Mail over pay and modernisation plans. Darrell Haines, 44, a postman at Hornsey delivery office in Tottenham Lane, said: "We're fighting for our rights, that's what we're doing."
Around 50 staff at Hornsey are expected to join a walkout from delivery offices across north and east London on Saturday and again on Monday over planned changes to staff working times which Royal Mail says are the result of new EU transport directives. "They want us to start working later in the morning," said Mr Haines, who has worked for Royal Mail for more than two decades. "We've got a lot of people in Haringey that work from home and they will be getting mail late, which is not good for their businesses."
But a Royal Mail spokesman says the union is exaggerating and "delivery times will not go back very far". He apologised for the disruption and added that volunteers will help provide a skeleton delivery service.
The CWU has also announced two nationwide 48-hour strikes starting on October 5 and on October 8 and a rolling programme of weekly strikes from Monday, October 15, until the dispute is resolved. It expects some 130,000 members to walkout crippling delivery services.
The move marks the resumption of industrial action that began in June in a row over a 2.5 per cent pay offer and plans it claims will cost 40,000 jobs. The union says the latest strikes are a response to Royal Mail's "draconian and destructive proposals on pay and business changes".
But Royal Mail says it is losing business and commercial pressures mean it must modernise to compete in an increasingly tough market place. It claims the union does not understand "the serious consequences for the business if we do not push ahead and modernise".
New Places for Stickers
Haringey Independent, 27th September 2007
A week after introducing a sticker scheme to end confusion over parking restrictions in Muswell Hill, the initiative is to extend to Crouch End and Green Lanes.
The Stop and Shop pay-and-display scheme was designed to increase the turnover of visitors to shopping areas, but the combination of new pay-and-display parking from 9.30am to 5pm and existing parking restrictions which continued to 6.30pm meant that shoppers were fined and their vehicles towed away after unwittingly parking illegally.
Councillor Brian Haley, cabinet member for environment and conservation, said: "The vast majority of residents appreciate the need for parking restrictions - making the roads safer, reducing congestion and allowing for the smooth passage of public transport. "But people understandably lose faith if they feel they are being tricked into parking illegally because they find the signs confusing. I sympathise with that, though these are standard signs which we are required to use. "I hope the new stickers in Muswell Hill, Crouch End and Green Lanes will help prevent any drivers from unwittingly parking illegally and ensure we can target those who deliberately flout the rules."
Clamping Banned in Parking Shake-up
Hornsey & Crouch End Journal, 27th September 2007
Haringey's parking bosses banned clamping last week in a bid to put an end to the perception of parking enforcement as a "cash cow" for the council.
Only persistent offenders will be clamped under a raft of new measures, aimed to make parking rules appear fairer for resident. Cars will be towed but only if they cause an obstruction. And a five-minute grace period will be given to cars parked in pay and display bays when their time runs out.
Speaking at a cabinet meeting which approved the plans Councillor Brian Haley, cabinet member for environment and conservation, said: "These charges will be introduced in a more proportionate customer-focused approach." He said later: "If we're to build public confidence in parking policies, we have to be very clear why parking enforcement exists in the first place. "We have to get away from a situation where many people see parking tickets as a cash cow for councils, to one where they view parking enforcement as a beneficial act that makes the roads safer and cuts congestion. "I have always said that in Haringey we want to target drivers who disregard parking restrictions, not punish those who make a genuine mistake. These new policies will towards helping us achieve that aim."
The new restrictions are expected to cut the council's revenue from parking tickets by £575,000, Councillor Haley said. Councillor Isidoros Diakides said: "I welcome the report. Enforcement is an important thing but so is finding something that's commensurate with the crime."
Andrew Rowan, who runs Muswell Hill Jewellery Exchange, said: "My concern is they will still remove cars from pay and display bays. What are the criteria for judging an obstruction?" He added: "It's still a bloodbath. Every night here at about 5pm to 5.30pm I talk to about 15 people who have had their cars towed. The signs are not clear at all.
Campaigners take Pally fight to court
Hornsey & Crouch End Journal, 20th Sept, 2007
A date has been set for an historic battle in the High Court over the future of Alexandra Palace and Park - as it is revealed that the future of a TV museum in the complex could be in jeopardy.Campaign group Save Ally Pally, led by Jacob O'Callaghan, will take the Charity Commission to court on October 5 to try to prevent the 125-year lease of the Palace to multi-millionaire entrepreneur Firoz Kassam.
The fight will be on the basis that the public consultation was flawed because vital information on the lease was kept secret - and still is.
But Mr O'Callaghan also says that the Charity Commission's defence papers reveal that space for a TV museum will be let at a commercial rate, likely to put it out of reach of any charity interested in running it.
"Although the space for a TV museum will be offered, we still don't know what size that will be, and it will only be offered at a market rent," said Mr O'Callaghan. "That will put it beyond the reach of, well, any charity." He added: "We didn't know about it during the time of the consultation and we weren't able to object to it, and nor was anybody else outside London, given its worldwide importance as the birth of television."
Mr O'Callaghan says there are still vastly important parts of the lease that aren't in the public domain, and the costly legal fight resembles "David against Goliath". He added: "We have received the defence from the Charity Commission, and in a nutshell they are saying the public needn't have been consulted because all the legal aspects are much too difficult and complicated to bother our little heads about, and in any case we were consulted, because it was sufficient to put two display boards up in the Palm Court more than a year ago."
The case, expected to last one day, has been fast-tracked through the High Court as Firoka wants the trustees to finalise details of the lease next month.
Jail for AWOL Green Lanes restaurant owner
Londra Gazete, 13th September 2007
A Green Lanes restaurateur stands to be arrested at the airport and will spend some time in the cells when he returns from holidays in Turkey. He will be arrested for breaching the licensing laws and failing to meet his bail conditions. This is the first time this kind of warrant has been used for licensing offences in Haringey.
Last week, Haringey magistrates found Nizamettin Kovaycin, owner of Mizgin Restaurant at 485 Green Lanes, N4, guilty of four offences of trading outside licensed hours contrary to the Licensing Act 2003. He was reprimanded for failing to turn up at court even though he had been bailed to attend.
The magistrates responded by making an order for a warrant for his arrest when he returns from abroad.He will now be arrested and taken to the cells until his case can be heard and sentencing takes place.
A Haringey council spokesperson said: "It is very serious when people fail to take the court system seriously and choose to stay on holidays rather than return to face charges. This is unacceptable. Mr Kovaycin has known this date for months. He has allowed his restaurant to open later than his licence permits and has to face the consequences of this."
Mr Kovaycin attended court in April this year and pleaded guilty to one of the four offences. A trial date was set for 4 September. His solicitors made a request to the court in August to have the case put back as he was abroad. The court refused this and ordered that he should attend on the date set as he had known about the case for five months. Mr Kovaycin failed to appear before the court and was found guilty of the three offences in his absence.
Bid to Turn Historic Gasholder into Flats
Hornsey & Crouch End Journal, 05 September 2007
A call has been made to save an old gasholder in Hornsey from demolition and to consider turning the structure into luxury flats.
Dublin already boasts its own converted gasholder
Colin Marr is trying to get English Heritage to list Gasholder Number One, off Hornsey Park Road, after Haringey Council erased it from a list of structures of historical interest. He said that the gasholder, which was built in 1892, is a key link to Hornsey's past and should be saved as a reminder of the area's heritage by creating a "stunning landmark building" out of the cast iron structure. A similar development has taken place in Dublin and another is being considered as part of the regeneration of Kings Cross.Mr Marr, of Methuen Park, Muswell Hill, said: "It is a remarkable, innovative and historic architectural structure and it is astonishing that it has remained neglected and unsung for so long. "It is in fact a very forward looking building - not many people would think that it was built in 1892. There have been examples of gas holders where the outer frames are being used as the basis of modern conversions. "It is an opportunity to do something in Haringey which is very progressive and very forward looking. We could have a stunning modern building in the heart of Haringey."
The gasholder is set to be demolished so that the land can be used as part of the Haringey Heartlands site, which will be developed with homes and shops on the old industrial land. It was taken off the list of buildings of historic interest by Haringey Council so that the gasholder would be easily demolished as development of the site gets underway.
Colin Marr with the ""remarkable and innovative"" Victorian gasholder
Mr Marr applied to get the gasholder listed with English Heritage, which was rejected, and has now appealed to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. The gasholder is the oldest surviving example of Cutlers Patent Guide Framing, which features repeating triangular shapes, and shares a similar design approach to the London Gherkin. It is also a symbol of Hornsey's social and industrial growth in the Victorian era, Mr Marr said. The gasholder fed the population boom of the then London suburb, which increased more than 50,000 in the 20 years before 1901. "Gasworks and gasholders became common features in Britain's urban landscape.We are now at a point in time when almost all evidence what was once an important industry, which provided significant local employment, will be lost without trace. Retention of Gasholder No 1 at Hornsey would be an appropriate reference point to register the historic significance of this industry and its local socio-economic importance."
Councillor Kaushika Amin, cabinet member for regeneration and enterprise: "Many people, including me, do have an affection for long-standing structures like this, which represent our local industrial heritage, and I'm disappointed that the appeal against English Heritage's decision that this gasholder should not be listed was unsuccessful."The Heartlands development is a major regeneration scheme for the borough, bringing much-needed investment, jobs, homes and a new school. Detailed plans for this important development are still being finalised.
Harringay Residents Triumph over Arcade Plan
By Caron Kemp, Haringey Independent, 31st August 2007
More than 300 signatures against the proposals for 48 Grand Parade, Green Lanes, were presented to Haringey Council's planning department in July, and a protest was held outside the former council building to highlight the dissent.
In an announcement this week, the planning department rejected the application by Ablethird Ltd. It said: "The proposed development was harmful to the attractiveness, vitality and viability of the district shopping centre."
The premises, which used to hold councillors' surgery meetings, were leased until last year and have been empty for the past few months.
Resident Mario Petrou, who co-ordinated the protest, said: "It would have been disastrous if this application were approved since Haringey is overwhelmed with such establishments. The whole community is very pleased it was turned down."
Survey reveals Harringay Green Lanes' tragic accident toll
The full scale of danger faced by pedestrians, cyclists and drivers on a notorious stretch of Green Lanes has finally been revealed in a three-year accident study. There were 153 traffic accidents - including three fatalities - on the 1.3-mile stretch between Turnpike Lane and Manor House in the three years to March 2006.
The report reveals an average of one accident per week resulting in injury to a pedestrian, cyclist, motorcyclist or driver. The bustling shopping precinct of Grand Parade, between Harringay Sainsbury's and St Ann's Road, saw two deaths, five serious injuries and 42 slight injuries in the three years to the end of March 2006.
Junctions proved a danger for cyclists, who were involved in up to a third of accidents by side roads, and the bus station between Turnpike Lane and West Green Road saw nearly one in six of all accidents. But Haringey Council won't be improving road safety for at least another two years, despite pressure from campaign groups.
Adam Coffman, spokesman for Haringey Cyclists' Campaign - who lives off Green Lanes in Fairfax Road - said: "I would like to see the whole of it become 20mph. It is a place where people live, work, shop, and go to school, so it should be. The stretch from Manor House to Endymion Road doesn't have the feel of a 30mph road, and it's the same from Frobisher Road to Turnpike Lane. It's just inviting people to put their foot down, and they do. There is no reason why it can't be more like Wood Green High Road with speed cushions and plenty of places for people to cross. At the end of the day something needs to be done in the short-term." A spokesman for Haringey Council said the study was undertaken to support a bid to TfL for safety improvement cash for Green Lanes, to be spent in 2009/10. He also pointed out that, while deaths on its roads rose from 94 to 117 in 2006, Haringey has one of the best records in London for reducing fatalities and serious injuries on its roads.
The current priority is Tottenham High Road, where the most road fatalities and serious injuries occur, and residents are being consulted on a scheme for this area.
Stats for story above reproduced in Hornsey Journal:
More cash for South Harringay & Other Haringey children’s centres
Haringey Council would receive £34.3 million over the next three years for early years and childcare, including nearly £17 to expand the number of Children’s Centres, he claims.
David Lammy said: “Everybody knows that the early years are crucial to a child’s development and their future prospects. That’s why the Labour Government has invested so much in improving early years services and introducing Sure Start Children’s Centres, to give every child the best start in life.” He added: “I know from visiting Rowland Hill and Broadwater Farm Children’s Centres, as well as attending the recent opening of the new Triangle Children Centre, the huge difference these centres have made to the lives of so many families in our area. “Much of this is down to the hard work and dedication of staff and volunteers at our Children’s Centres, providing childcare, early years education, health services and advice for parents, for the first time all under one roof.”
In Tottenham, there are six existing children’s centres at Woodland, Triangle, Rowland Hill, Pembury, Broadwater Farm and Park Lane. With new centres planned for South Harringay; Downhills; Seven Sisters; and Welbourne.
Harringay Community Website in the News - articles in both Jourmal & Advertiser - latter too embarassing to reproduce. Advertiser article below:
Protest over bid for new Bookies
Hornsey & Crouch End Journal, 9th August 2007
by Alison Campsie
Protesters gathered on Saturday against plans to/build another betting shop in Green Lanes. Residents want good shops instead of the bookmakers, which they say will have a negative effect on the area and encourages the poorest members of the community to part with what little cash they have. Campaigners also want to protect young people from gambling.
Also objecting to the proposals is Councillor Nilgun Canver, who is the councillor in charge of crime and community safety. Councillor Canver said: "My main objection is that on this stretch of road, there are so many betting offices. It is just not what we desire for our shopping area "It is also near a primary school and this plan is a great concern from a community point of view, particularly for our children, older people and those on low income." It is planned to open the branch of Metrobet on the corner of Green Lanes and Warham Road.
Shefik Mehmet, chairman of Green Lanes Traders Association, said: "We don't want another betting shop. We want people to come to Green Lanes and shop. A betting shop does nothing to improve the place." Betting shop .applications are now dealt with under The Gambling Act 2005 and those who protest to licence applications have far fewer grounds to make an objection. The matter is likely to be heard at Haringey Council's licensing committee given the protests which have been made.
The web without wires
www.thisislocallondon.co.uk, 9th August 2007
By Neeta Dutta
World wide worry: the potential health risk of WiFi internet has Haringey Council asking schools to use networks only when neccesary School governors in Haringey have been advised to examine their WiFi internet access provision as health concerns about wireless technology intensifies.
Sarah Purdy, a parent with two children at Tetherdown Primary School in Muswell Hill, is worried young children are at risk of headaches, cancer and DNA damage. She quotes Dr Andrew Goldsworthy, an honorary lecturer at London Imperial College and expert on mobile phone radiation, who has argued that because WiFi uses the same technology as mobile phones, it can therefore shatter DNA in human cell cultures.
"I no longer have a mobile phone and neither do my children," Ms Purdy said. "Having WiFi in schools is like teachers chain smoking and nobody saying anything. I do not have WiFi in my home but we do not have a choice in schools and this needs to change."
WiFi is a multi-million pound industry and there have been suggestions that money is playing a role in stifling investigation and public scrutiny. The company RM provides WiFi to schools, colleges and universities in the UK, including some in Haringey. Its chief executive, Tim Pearson, is keen to reassure parents that WiFi is safe. In a statement, he said: "At present, neither my engineering staff, nor I have seen any credible scientific evidence at all, of risk to those using WiFi in normal classroom circumstances."
Despite claims in the national media that Haringey was poised to suspend WiFi in all its schools, the council has stated that it does not have the power to impose a binding policy on its schools. Councillor Liz Santry, cabinet member for children and young people, said: "It is not the case that we are about to suspend Wi-Fi. "The installation or otherwise of Wi-Fi is at the discretion of the school governing body and headteacher. Our role is to provide support and advice based on best practice. We cannot dictate to schools."
At a cabinet meeting last month, the council responded to a report by its overview and scrutiny committee into the issue with a series of recommendations. These include governing bodies of all schools being asked to 'consider wired-in systems as the preferred option when IT networks are being developed'. Where WiFi is already in use, governors should 'undertake a full consultation with parents and staff over its continued use'. Lastly, schools that use WiFi are being asked only to switch them on when necessary.
At a Professional Association of Teachers conference this month, general secretary Philip Parkin said: "My real concern is that until there is a full inquiry based on both existing evidence and on newly-commissioned research work, the nation's children are being treated as guinea pigs in a large-scale experiment. "I have not said that there are health and safety implications from this technology - just that there may be."
See also Forum post with more on the issues around wi-fi
Developer chosen to revamp depot site
By Caron Kemp, Haringey Independent, 2nd August 2007
INNER Circle was chosen last week as the preferred development company to revamp the disused Hornsey Central depot site. The depot, off High Street, Hornsey, will now begin to be turned into a retail and housing complex, eight months after plans to sell the land were announced. The choice of developer was made at a Haringey Council cabinet meeting on Thursday, July 26, although the issue can still be called in until the end of today for further discussion, if councillors disagree.
The site began operating as a depot in 1904 and included a Highways Department base, a waste disposal centre and laundry washrooms for the then council-owned hospitals, including Hornsey Central. However, according to the council, the depot - which is being used as a recycling centre - has been surplus to requirements for the past ten years.
Previous attempts to develop the land in conjunction with various companies failed, so in November, the council gave the green light for the depot to become the site of a new Sainsbury's supermarket and a housing area, to include provisions for social housing.
Currently, the site comprises two pieces of land, one owned by J Sainsbury plc and the other by the council, but the council is negotiating with Sains-bury's for the transfer of their freehold title. Robert Gorrie, Liberal Democrat councillor for Hornsey said: "The critical challenge will be to ensure that consultation with residents and stakeholders is real and meaningful and that very obvious infrastructure and traffic issues, which any sensible study will highlight, are addressed effectively. "As ward councillors, we look forward to the preferred developer introducing itself to the community and hope that it will work proactively and openly with the community and act on the concerns which will be raised." A council spokesman added: "The Hornsey depot site will be a comprehensive development providing jobs and homes for the community."
A timescale for development is still to be negotiated with Inner Circle. Inner Circle could not be contacted.
Palace battle goes to High Court
Hornsey & Crouch End Journal, 01 August 2007
The fight to stop Alexandra Palace being leased to developers will be played out in the High Court, after campaign group Save Ally Pally served papers against the Charity Commission. A costly judicial review was set in motion by campaign leader Jacob O'Callaghan, who is fighting the Commission's decision to allow the Palace building to be leased to multi-millionaire Firoz Kassam's company Firoka.Mr O'Callaghan had already forced an internal review of the decision, made by Commissioners on May 4, but the Commission stuck to its guns.
Judicial Review papers were filed in the High Court last Thursday against the Commission for allowing the charitable trust to offer a 125-year lease of the Palace complex. But before the case has even reached the court a pitched battle has erupted between the Save Ally Pally (SAP) campaign and the head of the Alexandra Palace and Park Charitable Trust, Councillor Matt Cooke. In a lengthy statement posted on Alexandra Palace's official web site on Tuesday, Councillor Cooke tries to debunk two of SAP's central arguments.
SAP claims false information was given to the Trustees saying the charity hadn't made a profit in years and was incapable of doing so without external help. Councillor Cooke called the comments "seriously ill-informed" and pointed to the 2007 accounts which will show Haringey Council has bailed it out to the tune of £34million in total. He also debunks SAP's argument that a hotel on its own would be a credible alternative to leasing the whole building for redevelopment. SAP's argument that the public consultation was flawed - because details of the lease have been kept secret - was not addressed by Councillor Cooke. "We have never actually seen what's proposed," said Mr O'Callaghan. "What meaningful feedback can you give until you have seen the contract?"
SAP argues the public interest overrides any commercial confidentiality the lease contract may contain. Councillor Cooke said: "Any new beginning will have to deliver its charitable objectives - to preserve the Palace as 'a place of resort and recreation forever'." He adds: "That is what we pledged when we embarked on this process... And it is what we pledge today."
The Charities Commission said it was considering its response to the proceedings, which it has 14 days to do.
£5million grant helps park blossom into flag winner
Hornsey & Crouch End Journal, 1st August 2007
Gone are the days of Finsbury Park being a crime hotspot where the public hardly ever tread for fear of muggers or drug dealers lurking round every corner.In fact, such is the turnaround the park has experienced over the past 18 months it has been recognised with a Green Flag Award - the national standard for parks in Britain.
A £5million restoration grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund has gone towards a flower garden, a playground, new tennis courts, a cafe and various other improvements. And the former public toilets - which used to be a magnet for crime - have now been turned into a thriving art gallery.
Award-winning director and writer Mike Leigh has even recently been spotted there filming his latest project. Steve Rowe, a senior gardener, who has been working in the park for seven years, said: "One of the best changes myself and the supervisor have implemented is to cut back a lot of the heavy overgrowth that was allowed to grow up - primarily to make it safe for people. We've found we've got a lot more women joggers. The police are also happier." Luke Kyriakides, a trainee gardener, agrees the park has become a much safer and friendlier place during the two years he has worked there. He said: "When I first started there was a lot of needles and used condoms and that's been cut by 75 per cent." He added: "I've talked to people who have been to the park five or 10 years ago and they've not given it a chance and when they do actually go they can see the change."
The park's sporting facilities have also been improved with the introduction of new tennis courts, a skate park and running track. Finsbury Park's Green Flag Award - its first ever - brings the borough's total number of awards up to eight.
Homes underwater after Ally Pally mains burst
Hornsey & Crouch End Journal, 26 July 2007
Police survey floodwater in Nightingale Lane
Water flooded down the hill after erupting through one of the main paths leading through Alexandra Park. A two-foot wide water main burst and witnesses described a "waterfall" flooding down the hill towards Hornsey. Redston Road was worst hit as floodwaters gushed through the back of houses and erupted out of their front doors. Park Avenue North had rivers running down either side of it and various other roads in the area were affected.Kate Harper, a children's entertainer, who lives in Redston Road, saw the water building up in her garden just after 9am and was powerless to stop it flooding through her home.
Cars face serious damage as water level gets higher - again in Nightingale Lane
She said: "I'm supposed to be going to Bristol and I was just packing up and I suddenly noticed water flooding my patio area. And then I realised it was coming out really strongly and that it was going to come into the house - and then it did and it came into the kitchen and spilled right into the house.She added: "There was nothing we could do. It's apparently something up in the Palace that burst. "I've lived here for 31 years. We took as much stuff as we could out of the way but all the furniture is standing in the water."We had a new kitchen three years ago and that's underwater. I feel a bit upset, only because I'm supposed to be entertaining at my great niece's daughter's party."
Mark Raphael, a consultant, who also lives in Redston Road, said: "I wasn't here when it came through. At about nine it started to flood. Our back room is flooding and it's seeping through the back doors."The Hornsey flood comes on the back of widespread flooding across the country. Mr Raphael added: "I feel part of the British community underwater. It's strange. I'm not sure it's connected to the rain."
Moving Forward with Hornsey Town Hall
Haringey Council Press Release, 24 July 2007
Hornsey Town Hall Community Partnership Board and Haringey Council have announced the next steps in plans to restore the town hall for community use. Following a comprehensive tendering exercise a shortlist of three potential development partners has been agreed to take the plans forward. Further discussions will now take place over the coming months with the three companies before final decisions are taken on a development partner. The CPB and the council will seek opportunities to consult the community at the appropriate stage in this process. "This is an important milestone in our plans to unlock the potential of this important site," said CPB acting chair Ann Wilks. "We and the council are committed to restoring and regenerating Hornsey Town Hall as a civic centre for arts and community use for the citizens of Haringey, north London and beyond. "We need a viable and sustainable scheme, and this is a way forward that will deliver our objectives, with appropriate development to raise most of the capital we need. Local people's interests will be safeguarded through an independent charitable trust which will take over ownership and management of the town hall and assembly hall. "Added Cllr Charles Adje, Haringey cabinet member for resources: "Local people told us clearly that Hornsey Town Hall should be safeguarded for community use, and that is what we are doing. The development will restore an important borough landmark and reinvigorate the town hall site, making it once again a hub of civic and social activity."
The selected partner will work with the partnership board and the council to restore the landmark Grade 2* listed building and open its public spaces up for cultural and community use. The 1935 building, with municipal offices, council chamber and assembly hall, is no longer required for council accommodation.
Ambitious proposals for the historic building include performance and community space, facilities for young people, new business space and an upgraded Town Hall square. The project will be funded by retail and housing development primarily at the rear of the Town Hall, and in the Broadway Annex and mews to the north of the town hall square. A charitable trust, to be established soon, will run and manage the town hall complex under a 125 year lease, and head a major public and private fund-raising drive which will aim to achieve full completion of the project and its financial viability.
House Prices Rise by £48,000
Evening Standard, 20 July, 2007
Property owning Londoners have made far more from their homes than from their jobs in the past year. The average property in London jumped in value by £48,452 to a record £313,122 in the year to the end of June, according to figures from Halifax yesterday. This compares with typical pay of around £31,000 in the capital.
The lender’s analysis shows that four interest rate rises failed to take the steam out of the London market with all but one of the 32 boroughs seeing double-digit increases. The average rise for London as a whole was 18.4%, the highest rate since the mini-boom of 2003. In the spring quarter alone, prices rose by almost five percent.The most explosive growth is now in the inner suburbs with prime central London starting to slow down. Haringey was up 33% followed by Brent and Hammersmith & Fulham on 30% and Southwark on 29%.
The figures suggest that buyers are still prepared to borrow heavily to scramble on to the property ladder despite the warnings that the market could collapse.
Across the South-East, outside London, prices rose by 14% to an average £259,904. But the Halifax pointed out that residents of London and the South-East will face an increasingly heavy tax burden. Tim Crawford, group economist, said: “The average property price in London is now above the inheritance tax threshold of £300,000 while the average price in the South-East has risen above the three percent stamp duty threshold of £250,000.“The typical homebuyer in London and the South-East, in particular, faces a rising tax burden due to the government’s refusal to increase inheritance tax and stamp duty thresholds in line with house price inflation.“We call on the government to raise the stamp duty and the inheritance tax thresholds in line with past increases in house prices over the past decade,” said Crawford.
Residents' Planning Views Could Be Frozen Out
Crouch End & Hornsey Journal, 18 July 2007
Haringey Council is trying to freeze residents out of decision making on planning applications, it is feared. There may be a ban on residents attending site visits to discuss plans with planning officers and councillors. Site visits are seen as a key way that residents can make their voices heard on discussions which affect them, but Haringey Council is looking to bring in the new rules in September. Already residents have not been permitted to attend one site visit relating to an unwanted development in Mount Pleasant Villas conservation area.
Bob Maltz, of the Gladwell, Landrock, Cecile Park Residents' Action Group, attended site visits to a backlands site off Cecile Park which had been under the eye of developers for almost seven years, but was eventually fended off. Mr Maltz said: "If it were to go ahead I think it would be a big step backwards in terms of any kind of transparency and community involvement. "It seems like kind of contempt for local residents who have an interest in these things." He added: "Certainly if there's refusal and it goes to appeal, normally the inspector will allow representatives from residents. It seems to be accepted good practice to do that."
Dave Morris, secretary of the Haringey Federation of Residents' Associations, added: "It is essential that local residents be actively involved at all stages in planning and development issues. "They often are the only ones to provide vital local knowledge and determination to fight for the interests of their communities. We demand more, not less, involvement." Councillor David Winskill (Liberal Democrat) said residents had very localised information, on issues such as car parking and amenities, to offer planning officers and that they already had too few opportunities to contribute to the planning process. "I think this is a retrogressive step which will annoy a lot of people who are concerned about the environment they live in and the need for houses to be built," he said.
A spokeswoman for Haringey Council said: "Haringey Council welcomes input from residents on planning matters and actively seeks guidance from the public over developments. In September the planning committee may consider the matter of site visits but no decision has been made as yet. However, the inclusion of residents has always been at the discretion of the chair of planning.
Hopes High for Festival
By Jake Rusby, Haringey Independent, 18th July 2007
Expectations are high for this year's Muswell Hill Festival, which comes to town on Sunday 16th September. The Festival, which runs from noon till 6pm at Cherry Tree Wood, East Finchley, is donating any funds made to the Hornsey Trust, a charity for children with Cerebral Palsy. The festival, now in its 31st year, will be heralded the day before with a mass teddy bear parachute jump from the top of St James's Church in Mill Hill Broadway. The animals' "minders" will pay a small entrance fee and will receive an illuminated certificate. All proceeds will go to charity.
The festival will feature performances from well known music and dance groups, numerous stalls, the much loved donkey derby and the dog show, both back by popular demand. A new addition to the line up is a jewellery making workshop with Cascada Ethical Trading, a small fair trade business which donates part of their profits to the children and families they work with. They will also be selling clothing, jewellery, hammocks and much more. There will also be a free film tent courtesy of the Phoenix cinema which will show an array of family-friendly films including some short films produced by local residents. Sue Morgan, spokeswoman for the festival believes it will be an even bigger success than last year, which attracted 8000 visitors. She said: "It should be even bigger and better. We are hopefully looking at about 10,000 people showing up!" The festival is still in need of volunteers, stall holders, tombola prizes, unusual auction lots and above all sponsors and advertisers.
If you would like to help or are interested in sponsoring the event, contact Alison Wynn on 020 7183 3832.
Parkland Walk Opinions in Short Supply
Hornsey & Crouch End Journal, 11 July 2007
A leading campaigner for the interests of a treasured nature walk said he is "surprised" that just 122 people responded to controversial plans to alter it - fewer than one in 13 who were asked.
Haringey Council is consulting on plans to change parts of Parkland Walk as part of a £750,000 programme to create "Greenways cycling and pedestrian corridors" in the borough. It sent out 1,600 letters to residents, advertised proposals in the Journal and on its website. The results revealed a split in opinions between those for and against plans to protect the ecology, widen and resurface parts of the route, between Finsbury Park and Highgate Tube station, and improving drainage and access for cyclists, the disabled and pushchairs.
"What surprises me is that there were only 122 people that replied to it," said Barry Stearn, secretary of Friends of Parkland Walk.
"Everybody I have spoken to over the last few months has said, 'We must do something about this'. They may feel it but it's putting words into actions."
The results show 46 per cent of people in favour of most or all of the proposals, 17 per cent indifferent and 37 per cent opposed, although this included 17 people against paving the walk with tarmac or concrete, which was never in the plans.
St Ann's Hospital Receives Support from Council
By Caron Kemp, Haringey Independent, 19th July 2007
A pledge of support for St Ann's Hospital has been made this week by Haringey Council. In a motion passed at the full council meeting on Monday evening, councillors agreed they would "fight to ensure that in any redevelopment of St Ann's Hospital its health facilities are retained or reprovided in an improved way with full consultation and mutual agreement." The stance, initiated by Councillor Bob Harris, cabinet member for adult social care and well being, comes amid concerns for the future of the site in St Ann's Road Tottenham.
Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health Trust owns the site, but leases parts of it to Haringey Teaching Primary Care Trust (TPCT) for more general health services. With the borough's health provision being broadly overhauled, questions surround the continuation of services at St Ann's. Some fear that all general facilities will be removed from the site, which would spell the end of a community hospital in the borough. Cllr Harris said: "We want everyone in our borough to enjoy good health, good access to health services, and have a long life, and we want to see the services at St Ann's hospital kept.I want to ensure that if there are any changes in the way services are provided, local people are engaged in the process and listened to every step of the way".
But Mario Petrou of the Save St Ann's Hospital campaign said more need to be done. "Actions speak louder than words."Obviously any utterance by the council that it supports the participation of local people has to be matched by deeds."In line with this, Councillor Carolyn Baker, Liberal Democrat spokeswoman for health is calling for detailed consultation with local people over the potential relocation of every service at St Ann's.Haringey TPCT has confirmed the need for a strong health care infrastructure and said it will be consulting with colleagues at the Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health Trust throughout the consultation on the future of the St Ann's site.
Row over Sunday Parkers
Hornsey & Crouch End Journal, 27 June 2007
Green Lanes traders and residents have become split over plans to scrap parking controls on a Sunday. Traders welcome the move to drop Sundays from the controlled parking zone as it will potentially boost business, with customers being able to park more freely in the area. But some residents do not want to return to the pre-CPZ days. They claim that without parking regulation, streets on the Harringay Ladder become dangerous and chaotic.
Haringey Council carried out a survey of views on the existing CPZ, which has led to the new proposals, which also include cutting back the weekday operation hours to 6.30pm, from 10pm. But residents say results of their own survey and petition vary wildly from the council's claim that 60 per cent of those in the area want the CPZ operational on six days instead of seven. Paul McKay, of Hewitt Road, said: "We're going to get even more traffic which is bad for us and bad for the safety of our children and it will be impossible for residents to park in the evenings. "Most of the people we spoke to don't want a change in the hours the zone operates. They want it made easier and cheaper for visitors to park." Hugh Flouch, also of Hewitt Road, Harringay, has been carrying out his own door-to-door survey. He said: "In Allison Road I went to 46 doors, 25 people answered, two people wouldn't say one way or the other and only one person said they wouldn't sign our petition. "Our results are vastly different to the ones the council claim to have."
Shefik Mehmet, chairman of the Green Lanes Traders' Association, said the CPZ cutback on a Sunday would be good for business - and residents would benefit from not having to use a visitors' parking permit to cover their guests. Mr Mehmet said: "It is good for us because we have had a lot of problems on Sunday as it has got very busy, particularly because of the Arena shopping centre. "It is very welcome by the traders. "At the meetings I have been to, residents have been happy with these changes. It works both ways, residents don't have to use their visitor permits on one day and people can come to the area more easily."
A spokesman for Haringey Council said: "Sixty per cent of respondents in November wanted the CPZ times reduced to six days a week. "Residents were all leafleted and many were called on individually. All had a chance to participate and make their feelings known. "We are now undertaking statutory consultation and anyone with an interest still has time to respond to this consultation provided they do so within the time period ending on June 28. A report will be presented to cabinet on July 17.
Out in the Cold
Daily Telegraph 23rd January 2007
Ever-rising prices have excluded a new tier of Britain's professional classes from the property market, says the latest research. Caroline McGhie reports. A new, neglected generation of have-nots is emerging in Britain's capital. Some of the hardest-working bright young minds in their 20s and 30s are being excluded from the property market. So too are their rural counterparts who live in the nation's favourite beauty spots. These are the conclusions of new research exclusive to The Sunday Telegraph, which also reveals the most impenetrable areas of England and Wales for first-time buyers.
While the Government has given attention to setting up schemes for 'key workers' in areas of need, it seems that others, particularly younger workers in the creative industries who provide the verve and imagination so central to British life, are being left to flounder. Unlike rich City workers, they don't take home high rates of pay or bonuses, nor do they get the London weighting that other jobs provide. How can an editorial assistant in publishing on £15,000 a year, or an imaging assistant at the National Gallery on £18,500, manage to buy even the smallest studio?
Like so many others, Gareth and Anna were pushed by rising prices from Finsbury Park, North London, which was their first area of search, further out to Harringay. "We are renting in Finsbury Park," he says, "a scabby little place that smells of damp, and we feel as if we are living in someone else's pocket. Buying won't cost a huge amount more. At the moment we pay around £800 in rent, and our mortgage repayments will be around £1,000 a month, but at least we will be paying towards something for ourselves."
They have landed on what is known as the Harringay Ladder - 20 streets of Victorian terraces between Green Lanes and Wightman Road which look uncannily like a ladder in the London A-Z. The area, he says, is "full of Crouch End wannabes". Here they have found a large one-bedroom flat priced at £265,000, into which they have put all their savings as a deposit. "As a freelance, it seems to me that not only do you miss out on London weighting and affordable housing, but rates of pay are lower because so many people want to do the work," Gareth says. "Yet historically it is the creative types who have made so many areas of London sought-after."
Meanwhile first-time buyers are fighting a losing battle with the buy-to-let market. In some areas investors have knocked first-timers right out of the market, though in turn they may be providing them with places to rent. A report from the Greater London Authority says that 67 per cent of new homes in central London are sold to buy-to-let investors, which raises the question, are first-time buyers now an endangered species? In East London's Stratford, for instance, they have all but vanished. "Buyers are 100 per cent investors and the population is mostly transient," says Richard Everitt of Winkworth. "In Bow we have 80 per cent investors and 20 per cent individual buyers paying £190,000 for the first rung. In Hackney it is 50 per cent investors and 50 per cent ordinary buyers, who can get in with £130,000 to £140,000." But many first-timers have headed for Harringay in North London, where they can escape the investors and find one-bedroom flats at £150,000. "It is a feeding frenzy," says Elan Silver of Winkworth. "These are successful people earning reasonable wages, but they don't qualify for affordable or social housing and they can't afford to buy in areas where they were brought up or might have expected to buy. Some are very disillusioned and I believe it is possible that we'll lose the first-time buyer market in London altogether. They will all rent."
Station to be Made Safer at Last
By Neeta Dutta, Haringey Independent, 19th October 2006
Harringay Station is to benefit from a range of improvements including more CCTV cameras and a possible cafe.Stroud Green ward councillor Ed Butcher was informed of the changes last week following a meeting in May with station manager Keith Jibbs and concerned residents.Mr Butcher said: "The meeting was months ago and I really had to push to get some answers. Harringay station has a real issue with visibility and people can feel very vulnerable standing on the platform, so it definitely needs a lot of improvements."Mr Jibbs said the fencing that currently surrounds the platform could be removed to open up the station and make travellers feel safer.
The CCTV system is to be upgraded with the possibility that a central office will be set up so images are monitored 24-hours a day, seven days a week, and not just when the station is staffed.There are also plans to build a cafe on the platform but Mr Butcher believes this should be of secondary importance to issues such as the failure of emergency help points. "It is all very well having a cafe and hanging baskets, which is nice, but more important is the safety of people. When we visited (in May) the help points were not working."
A meeting to further discuss improvements is to take place on November 2.
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