Richard Wilson

There was consternation at this week’s Area Forum, when the Council spelled out its plans for forcing households to have two wheelie bins – and cutting the non-recyclable waste collection from weekly to fortnightly.  Residents from streets like Woodstock Road have complained that they just don’t have enough space in their tiny front gardens for so many bins – and that people wont be able to get in and out of their front doors if the Council push this change through.

Whilst lots of residents are really keen to get a recycling wheelie bin because they have the space and the boxes aren’t bin enough, many Stroud Green properties are not suitable for this change.  If the Council had bothered to consult with residents it would have found out that people have completely different requirements – but in typical Haringey style decisions were made in secret behind closed doors.

Haringey say that everyone’s front garden will be assessed, and that people may be able to request smaller bins.  However, its unclear what happens if your front garden just isn’t big enough to cope with two weeks worth of black-bag waste from all the flats in your house – or if your neighbours don’t recycle properly and put smelly food waste in the black bin (or what happens with nappies and cat litter which can’t be recycled).  Ed Butcher and I have been out knocking on doors in Upper Tollington Park and neighbouring roads and most residents are hugely supportive of attempts to increase recycling, but desperately want to keep their weekly bin collections.

The Area Committee agreed to put residents concerns to the Labour Councillor in charge of waste collections.

The next Crouch End, Hornsey & Stroud Green Area Forum will take place this coming week on Tuesday 17th January. It will be held at Stroud Green School (entrance of Perth Road), starting at 6.45pm.

There are a host of controversial issues on the agenda, including an update on the boundary review and on the parking controls, as well as discussion of the Council’s plans to change our waste collections. Haringey controversially plan to cut weekly collections of non-recyclable waste later this year, with black bin waste only collected once a fortnight.

If you want to find out more about whats going on in your local area please come along on Tuesday.

Our new Safer Neighbourhood Team sergeant Steve Whiting has hit the ground running with a series a consultation events planned across the ward this weekend. The team want to find out what local people think their policing priorities should be. They are encouraging residents to meet them at the following times and locations:

Saturday 7th January 2012

• 3.30pm Stationers Park, Mayfield Road
• 4pm Sunshine Café, Stroud Green Road
• 7.30pm Lancaster Road

Sunday 8th January 2012

• 10am Stationers Park, Mayfield Road
• 1pm Angel Café, Stroud Green Road

Tuesday 10th January 2012

• 12pm Charter Court, Stroud Green Road

I’ve already responded to their consultation suggesting the top three priorities should be: safety on the Parkland Walk; preventing burglaries; and safety around the W3 bus stops.  Although Stroud Green is generally a safe place, there have been some worrying incidents in recent months.  So this initiative is a welcome opportunity for residents to speak to the police about their concerns.

Just before Christmas, I was sent a spreadsheet setting out how much ‘Pupil Premium’ will be received by local schools next year.  The Pupil Premium is a Lib Dem initiative to target extra money at schools in the most disadvantaged areas. Next year each school will receive£600 for each pupil in receipt of free school meals.  The money can be spent however the headteacher thinks best – and will benefit the whole school.

According to the Government data, our three local primary schools are are due to receive significant sums:

• Weston Park Primary School on Denton Road will get £18,000
• St Aidan’s Primary School on Albany Road will get £23,400
• Stroud Green Primary School on Woodstock Road will get £107,400

Because of the way the Pupil Premium is targeted, Haringey is a massive beneficiary - with £8.8 million planned to go to our schools in 2012-13.   Nearby High Schools used by Stroud Green children will also get large sums – for instance Hornsey Girls School is getting £385,000, Highgate Wood £270,000 and the Grieg City Academy £378,600. Schools in the east of Haringey, where over two thirds of pupils can be on free school meals, will quite rightly receive very large amounts of Premium.

For five years I was a governor at Weston Park Primary School, and chair of the schools resources committee – so I know that this money will make a big difference and will be put to good use in our local schools.  It’s great to have some good news about school funding amongst all the gloom in these very difficult times.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Earlier this week I attended a Licensing Hearing at Haringey Council to help residents’ set out their concerns about a planned 10 day event in Finsbury Park.   Jamaica Village will take place during the Olympics from 3rd-12th August is a celebration of Jamaican culture and sporting achievement.

Although the event sounds like a lot of fun, it is much longer than the usual 2 day events in the Park, and a number of residents who live nearby have concerns. They are worried about issues such as noise, alcohol, anti-social behaviour and the loss of access to a big part of the park for weeks during the summer. So I attended the meeting to argue for some sensible restrictions on the loudness of the music and to make sure the Park is properly cleaned up afterwards. I also urged the Police and organisers to ensure the rest of the Park is properly supervised and protected from any drinking or anti-social behaviour spilling out of the Park.

Concerns were also raised by the Police and by Islington Council, and as a result of all the issues raised the hearing had to be adjourned until tomorrow (Monday 19th). During summer Finsbury Park is a garden and playground to many local families and I hope that the Licensing Committee listen to residents’ concerns and make sure this event is properly controlled.

Earlier this week I was part of a group of councillors who turned up to thank volunteers who had spent the morning clearing rubbish and dead vegetation from a section of the Parkland Walk.  The session was organised by the Council’s waste contractor Veolia, who encouraged their own staff to volunteer.  In the space of two hours four lorry loads of debris was removed.

It’s great to see a large company like Veolia putting something back into the local community.  Many of the Veolia volunteers I spoke to lived locally and used the Parkland Walk, so were delighted to have been able to help improve the area.

However, even this big event only cleared a short section between Oxford Road, Upper Tollington Park and Stapleton Hall Road.  That’s why as local councillors we’ve also awarded a small £500 grant to the Friends of the Parkland Walk to help organise more volunteering sessions to try to clean up the Walk (see previous post about the small grants).  I hope this volunteering push can bring people together and really make a difference to the Walk.

This Friday evening I’ll be helping out at a Christmas Carol Concert outside the Hornsey Town Hall off Crouch End Broadway (stewarding and bucket-shaking rather than singing thankfully).

The event is to raise money for two excellent causes – supporting local carers and the Tottenham Fund for people who were hit by the August riots.

The event starts at the Town Hall Square at 6pm.  I’m assured that Dunn’s will have a mulled wine stall, which should help keep out the winter cold.

Please do come along and join the festive celebrations!

Admission is free – but please give a charity donation.