Richard Wilson

I’m sure the Stone Roses concerts tonight and tomorrow night are going to be brilliant for for those attending, but local residents need to be aware of what to do if there are any problems. The Council has increased the capacity of these events to 50,000 people a night so there is bound to be some disruption!

Gates will open at 4.30pm and close at 10.30pm so expect the roads and tube station to be very busy at these times. The Finsbury Park Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) will have event day parking restrictions today and tomorrow – which means the CPZ hours will be 8.30am until 8.30pm.  The Stroud Green CPZ hours will not be extended.

If you have any concerns about noise levels, littering or illegal parking during the concerts then you can call the ‘community hotline’ 020 8489 8232.

I really hope that the concerts are well managed, concert-goers have a great time and disruption to residents is kept to an absolute minimum. Please contact me if there are any issues you’d like me to raise with Haringey Council, who as the owners of the park are ultimately responsible for the event.

The deadline for voting in Lynne Featherstone’s competition to find the best local independent shop in Hornsey & Wood Green is the end of May. There are three categories - best shop front, best customer service and best all round shop.

In March, Katherine and i went around many of the independent shops on Weston Park, Ferme Park Road and Stroud Green Road encouraging them to take part in the competition (see photo), which is all about supporting and celebrating our unique local high streets and small shopping parades.

The winner will be announced at a ’summer fete’ event in Hornsey Town Hall square from 11am on Saturday 29th June. You can find out more and vote for your favourite shop here.

I really hope a local Stroud Green shop wins one of the prizes.

I’ve contacted the Chief Executive of the Council’s housing arm Homes for Haringey demanding an explanation after it was revealed that a council home in Stroud Green has been left empty for 8 months.  Neighbours on Beatrice Road have told us that work to renovate the home and bring in back into use only started 6 months after the last tenants left.

Haringey has one of the longest housing waiting lists in the UK so it is outrageous that homes are left empty like this.  It is also completely self-defeating as the Council has been deprived of 8 months of rent.  This is not the first time we have had to complain about the Council leaving homes derelict – see previous posts on homes left empty in Nelson Road and Stapleton Hall Road.

We’ve been promised that the flat will be brought back into use in the next couple of weeks, but we will keep up the pressure to make sure this happens.

I was visiting the Haringey Council block at 4 Mount View Road yesterday and was astonished at the state of the bins. Rubbish was scattered everywhere and was being blown around the whole street. I’ve reported the mess and asked Homes for Haringey (the Council’s housing management arm) to investigate what the problem is. I hope this area is cleaned up soon.

Meanwhile my colleague Katherine Reece has been trying to get a new security door fitted at Hutton Court on Victoria Road, after the last one was damaged in a fire. Residents are obviously really keen to get it fixed but it has taken several weeks of nagging by Katherine to get Homes for Haringey to agree to install a new door that will actually lock.

Please get in contact if you want help sorting out any problems with Homes for Haringey housing estates and we will see what we can do.

It is now exactly one year since the Council first sent an enforcement notice to the owners of the carwash on Upper Tollington Park asking them to take down the shoddy wooden canopy they have built without planning permission. Unbelievably the Council have failed to secure any action in the last year and the structure remains in place (apart from bits at the front which looks like they may have fallen down).

I first got complaints from local residents about the ugly and dangerous-looking structure back in January 2012, and first posted about the problem in May 2012. I’m really annoyed with the Council about the slow progress in getting this eyesore removed. Local residents pay one of the highest levels of council tax in London – but the Council fails to take effective action even when repeatedly chased by councillors and residents.

I’ve contacted Haringey’s Chief Executive and asked him to make sure the planning enforcement service do all they can to sort out this mess. The owners of the carwash have had planning permission for a proper metal canopy for 6 months now, so there is no excuse for this shoddy wooden one to remain in place.

Its been a long hard winter – and that has taken its toll on our local roads.   Roads which haven’t been resurfaced for many years are now crumbling with potholes appearing everywhere.  These potholes cause damage to cars and can be very dangerous.  Tragically, one local man recently won £1m of compensation from Haringey Council after sustaining brain damage when he tripped in a pothole.

This weekend I’ve reported dozens of these dangerous holes to Haringey Council, including this one pictured in Inderwick Road, along with many others in Granville Road and Stapleton Hall Road.

But what these roads really need it is to be properly resurfaced so these potholes stop appearing and people stop tripping and claiming compensation from the Council.  Surely it must be cheaper in the long run to spend money maintaining the roads properly?

I’ve put in requests for Haringey to make resurfacing these roads a priority for the next year.

Like many local residents I was shocked by the recent news that the Whittington Hospital Board want to sell off about a third of the land at the Whittington site and make some important changes to services.  There was no consultation or discussion with residents and patients about these plans, so it is not surprising they have caused confusion and alarm.

In response, our local MP Lynne Featherstone launched a petition demanding that the Hospital Board hold a public consultation before selling any property, and to ensure services are protected and improved.  The petition had a huge response and has already been signed by over 2,000 local residents, and has now forced the Hospital Board to listen.  They have promised to engage with residents about their plans and argue that services will not be lost.

However, the Board have a lot of convincing to do – so they have agreed to hold a public meeting this Friday (1st March) for all residents who want to ask questions and air their concerns.  The meeting, which has been organised by Lynne, will be at the Greig City Academy, entrance off Hillfield Avenue, Hornsey N8 7NU.  Whittington Board members will be there from 6.30pm to answer questions  and the formal meeting will be 7.30-9pm.

Please sign the petition and come along and have your say!