Richard Wilson

Great news for the many local residents who want action on parking: the consultation on whether the Finsbury Park Controlled Parking Zone should be extended north is due to to start on 19 November.  The consultation will extend as far north as Ridge Road, and including all the roads inbetween that are not already in the CPZ such as Mount View, Granville, Quernmore, Ferme Park, Stapleton Hall and Oakfield Roads.

This consultation is something Katherine, Ed and I have been pushing hard for – after we did a survey of residents which indicated many people in this area were now in favour of a CPZ.  I’ve helped the Council to recruit volunteers for focus group of local residents to help design the consultation questions, which was a very successful event.  There will be two separate consultation documents – one for people outside the CPZ asking if they would like it extended, and what hours they would like.  The other will go to everyone inside the existing CPZ asking if they would like the rules and hours of the zone changed.  Many residents are pushing for the CPZ to be divided into a smaller inner zone with long hours, and outer zones, with minimal hours.

This consultation will follow hot on the heels of the Crouch End CPZ consultation, which has been very high profile.  This consultation extended east from the centre of Crouch End as far as Ferme Park Road.  The results of this consultation will be available soon.

Roads that are north of Ridge Road and east of Ferme Park Road (Nelson, Inderwick, Mayfield, Denton, Uplands) are left out of both these consultations.  Understandably some residents here are concerned about the risk that parking pressures will soar if the CPZ boundary moves closer.  I’ve asked the Council how quickly a new consultation could be organised in these roads if residents demand it – and have been told that it could be possible in the 2011/12 financial year.

A further complication is that the Council are about to start a review of the costs of resident and visitor parking permits.  I’ve been told that proposals will go to the November cabinet.  I’ve written to the Labour cabinet member in charge of parking saying that a hike in charges will only heighten cynicism about the councils motives in extending CPZs, and should be avoided.  Parking controls should be there to help residents, not as backhand source of revenue for the Council – and we will scrutinise any proposals on charges to make sure they are fair.

A new green community café is opening today in the old Station House on the corner of Stapleton Hall Road and Ferme Park Road (the MIND building), and will be open every Friday lunchtime from now on.  The Station House Community Café is an initiative by award-winning charity FoodCycle whose aim is to reduce ‘food poverty’ in the community by bringing together volunteers, surplus food and an idle kitchen space to create nutritious meals for local people.

The initiative has been supported by local councillors through a small grant from the Making the Difference programme.  The aim is to stop food being wasted and to provide cheap and healthy food to whoever wants it.  I visited the manager last week to find out about the preparations and how it works.  They work with local food retailers including Budgens, M&S and Sainsbury’s. They collect their surplus produce and use it to provide hearty meals that are prepared and served by local volunteers who themselves gain valuable training and practical experience.  They also plan to hold healthy eating initiatives at the café, such as nutrition workshops and cooking lessons, providing local people with better knowledge about eating well.  I suggested they also promote the history of the building they are in and the parkland walk nearby – which were central to the development of Stroud Green.

The café will be open 12 noon till 2.30pm every Friday.  Please try it out.

Great news for residents of Elyne Road, Quernmore Road and Stapleton Hall Road who don’t want a new development at the end of their back gardens:  The Council’s planning department have refused permission for a 5 bedroom house in a green area between these roads.  As I mentioned in previous posts, I’ve been helping residents to object to the proposal that is completely inappropriate for this quiet green space.

The planning department’s judgement is on the Council’s website and it is clear that the 41 objections and the petition did make an impact.  I’m pleased to see the points from my objection and from the Stroud Green Residents Association were included in the report – it shows that determined local action can make a difference.

As the department’s report says, allowing this development would have set a precedent across the Borough that would have allowed garden areas to be broken up and developed.  So these objectors in one corner of Stroud Green have helped to protect gardens across Haringey – Well done!

Yesterday, I submitted an objection to the new ‘backlands’ development proposed for land in-between Elyne Road, Stapleton Hall Road and Quernmore Road in support of local residents.  The plans, which are on the Council’s website, are for a large 5 bedroom house that will completely change the feel of this garden area .

Afte meeting with local residents and visiting the site, I’ve urged the Council to reject the application for a number of reasons:

1. Poor access:  Access to the site is extremely poor with the path down the side of 2 Elyne less than 1 metre wide in places.  This will make construction very difficult and building materials cannot be delivered to the site without causing a great deal of disruption – as they will have to be unloaded onto the street and then carried up the path.
2. Loss of green space and natural habitat:  The gardens between Stapleton Hall Road, Quernmore Road and Elyne Road – with this site at its centre – are an important green space for local residents and for birds and animals.  Building in the middle of the site will badly degrade this green space and destroy the habitat of the animals and birds that residents regularly see in their gardens.
3. This is a greenfield not a brownfield site so building housing here will not help the Council meet its targets for building new homes.
4. Bulk and density:  The proposed dwelling is too large and bulky for the site – taking up a very large proportion of the plot and goes up very close to the borders of neighbouring gardens.  It is therefore an unacceptable increase in the housing density in the area.
5. Loss of amenity for residents:  There must be well over a hundred residents living in homes that back on to the site, who would all have their view from their back windows and gardens affected by this development.  Many of these gardens will also duffer from overlooking from the new dwelling.  There would therefore be an unacceptable loss of amenity from residents who will lose some of the enjoyment of their gardens.

The decision on the application won’t be taken till early September and there are already over 40 objections submitted on the Council’s website.

Yesterday, I investigated the site of a proposed ‘backlands’ development off Elyne Road, which residents who back onto the area are up in arms about. The proposal is to put a large five bedroom house onto the small site just a few meters from the edge of residents’ gardens.  What I hadn’t realised fully until I visited, was just how narrow the access to the site is – less than one metre wide in places, and not enough space for even a wheelbarrow. Residents are concerned this would mean chaos when building materials are delivered to the site.

Last week I attended a Stroud Green Residents Association meeting, where it was clear residents wanted to try to stop the development.  The official deadline for objections is next week, but I’m concerned that the summer holidays mean many people wont get a say.   The site is bound by Elyne, Quernmore and Stapleton Hall Roads, but many people on Quernmore and Stapleton Hall have said they never received any notification from the Council about the planning application.

I’ve written to the Council conveying residents concerns and demanding an extension to the consultation to make sure everyone can have their say.  I’ve also provided them with a list of 13 properties that did not receive any notification from the planning department about the plans.

I can understand why people are so keen to object to this proposal.  I don’t think the site is really suitable for development – and certainly not for a house of this size.  I hope that the consultation period is extended so that all residents can make their views known to the Council.

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.

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.