Richard Wilson

A few weeks ago I was contacted by a woman cyclist who spent two days in hospital with a fractured skull and broken collar bone after hitting a pothole on a local road in Stroud Green.  She was an experienced cyclist and was wearing a helmet, but was knocked unconscious after hitting a pothole under the Parkland Walk bridge on Mount Pleasant Villas.

This story has made me re-double my efforts to make our local roads safer.  Top of my list is of concerns is Inderwick Road, which is in a very steep and in a very poor state.   It is part of the London’s cycle route network and cyclists are directed towards the road by signs and cycle maps.  A large number of cyclist whizz down the steep road and I am worried that potholes could cause another serious accident.

The Council wont do a blanket inspection for potholes – but will only patch holes that are reported to them.  Earlier this month I reported nine potholes on Inderwick Road, which have now been filled, but when I walked up the road today there were more potholes that had been missed or had been created since then.  The road is covered in grit that has escaped from these holes – the Council say they have received 12 complaints about potholes in the last year and put in at least 16 pothole patches.

I’ve been lobbying Haringey to properly resurface Inderwick Road for years to make the road safer and stop these endless patching. I’ve demanded a meeting with a senior highways officer on Inderwick Road so I can put the case for sorting out the road (the pavements and lampposts need action too).  This meeting is happening in two weeks.

I’ve been demanding action after a second derelict council house in Stroud Green has been taken over by squatters.   Residents of Stapleton Hall Road have contacted me to complain about anti-social behaviour from some of the squatters, with concerns about aggressive dogs and damage to cars and gardens.

The house, which is at the top of Stapleton Hall Road by the junction with Mount View Road, is owned by the Council and was left derelict awaiting conversion to a hostel.  This is the second derelict Council home to be taken over by squatters – a similarly large council home in Nelson Road has also been occupied, after being left derelict for a year (see previous post).

I’ve been pressing the Council and the Police to take urgent action to deal with residents concerns about anti-social behaviour, and to get this large house back in use by those who need it most.   I’m told that the police are now being very active and the Council are trying to get a Court date to evict the squatters.

However, the key issue is why are Haringey leaving valuable homes empty (and vulnerable to squatters), when there is such a shortage of family housing.  I have set up meetings in July with both the CEO of Homes for Haringey and the Director in charge of Housing at the Council, and I will be pressing them to make sure empty homes are swiftly refurbished, not left as derelict eyesores.

I’ve been contacted by a number of residents concerned about plans for a 2.2m wall to go most of the way round the large house at the Ferme Park Road end of Lancaster Road.  I am told that this imposing house was built by the man who developed the whole of Lancaster Road, to be his own family home – which is why it is grander and larger than the rest of the houses on the street.

This is one of the most distinctive houses in the Stroud Green Conservation Area, and I agree that hiding it behind a high wall would not be right.  So I put in an objection to the Council’s Planning Department – supporting the concerns that have been raised about the wall.

UPDATE:  I’ve now been told that the application has been completely withdrawn and the wall will not be built.   The owners have told me they understand and sympathise with the concerns about the wall and it won’t be included in any new application which they submit.

Tonight is the local Area Assembly 7.30pm to 9.30pm in Stroud Green School (entrance on Perth Road).  The theme this time is green issues, and there will a number of presentations from local community groups working on green projects. These include a talk from ‘Urbivore’ on urban growing, healthy eating and sustainable living, and ‘Foodcycle’ on food recycling and a community cafe for Haringey.

The Assembly will also give people the chance to have their say on the bids that have been submitted by local residents to the ‘Making the Difference’ grants programme. There has been a wide range of applications, such as new benches for bus users and new kits for a youth football team.

As usual there will be the opportunity for residents to have their say in the ’soap box’ segment and to quiz a Haringey Council cabinet member, and Cllr Lyn Weber will be keeping order as Chair.  Please do come along and join in!

Lynne Featherstone has joined the Stroud Green Lib Dem team in launching a campaign to make the pedestrian crossing on Upper Tollington Park (by the junction with Florence Road) safer.  The campaign was launched after local residents raised concerns about the speed of traffic on the road and a recent accident near the zebra crossing.

This is a key route for children going to Stroud Green Primary School and many years ago the Council employed a ‘lollipop lady’ to patrol the crossing. However, I’m told that when she retired she was never replaced. So as a first step to make the crossing safer, we are calling for the Council to employ a new crossing patrol person.

Thanks to pressure from Lynne, Ed Butcher and myself, the Council have now agreed to put up more warning signs on the road, and the local police are doing extra speed patrols on the road.  However, the real long-term answer is to get the crossing upgraded with traffic lights and measures to slow down the traffic.

To get the Council to take action, we have launched an online petition to demonstrate how strongly local people feel about this issue. Please sign up here.

Everyone I’ve spoken to so far has been extremely supportive of the campaign. In fact, when we took this photo of us launching the campaign, several residents came out of their houses to offer us their backing and tell us their concerns about the traffic.  I hope with such strong support we are able to make a difference.

Yesterday, I met up with Katherine Reece at the Holy Trinity Church Fair outside the vicarage on the corner of Stapleton Hall Road and Granville Road. When I arrived Katherine was already get stuck in, helping out on the burger stand.  The Fair was very busy and seemed like a great success.

The local Safer Neighbourhood police team were there, and Katherine and I took the opportunity to lobby them over a couple of crime related problems.   For instance, I quizzed Sgt Bob Stevenson about the problem with squatters taking over empty homes in Stroud Green.  As a new councillor, Katherine (pictured chatting to Bob) is meeting up with the police team very soon to get a proper briefing from them on local issues.

I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who voted for the Stroud Green Lib Dem team of Lynne, Ed, Katherine and me.  We’ve had a brilliant result both in Hornsey & Wood Green constituency and in Stroud Green ward.  Lynne Featherstone has been re-elected as our MP with a much bigger majority, and a 4% swing from Labour to Lib Dems.

I’m also delighted that Ed, Katherine and I were also elected in Stroud Green ward with increased majorities over Labour (the Greens remain in third place and the Tories in fourth).  Full details of the parliamentary and council election results are on Haringey’s website here.

Ed, Katherine and I would also like to thank our large network of volunteer leaflet deliverers, envelope stuffers and other activists in Stroud Green – as we couldn’t have inspired so many people to vote Lib Dem without their help.

Sadly, we failed to end Labour’s 40 years of control of Haringey Council.  This is hugely disappointing as we had so many fantastic plans to improve the Borough.  But obviously we’ll continue to use ours seats and influence on Haringey Council to fight for local residents.  We remain the only opposition to Labour on the Council, with yet again no Greens or Tories elected, so we are very aware of our responsibility to challenge and scrutinise the Council’s leadership.

I’m absolutely shattered after the hard work of election (and the epic 11 hour count which took from 10pm on Thursday till 9am on Friday) – but really excited about being able to serve the residents of Stroud Green for another 4 years.