Richard Wilson

I’ve been keeping up the pressure on the Council to improve the streetlighting on Stapleton Hall Road, after a pledge to install new lamposts has been delayed.  As I mentioned in my previous post in July the Council promised to replace the inadequate streetlights, as a result of residents raising safety concerns.   I was originally told this would happen in September, then October - and I’m still assured it will be very soon.

I’ve also been pressing the Council to recondition the old Victorian lampposts and to reuse them in suitable places.  Apparently, they plan to try to reuse the ones from Stapleton Hall Road in Lordship Recreation Ground in the east of the borough.

It would be great if some of the old streetlights in Stroud Green could be saved and reused in the local area.  But its also really important (especially now the clocks have gone back and its dark so early) that there is decent lighting so people feel safe walking home in the evening.

For a number of months I’ve been trying to help an elderly resident who lives near Stapleton Hall Road get his home heated properly.  He is in his 70s and is a widower living alone.  His central heating broke down years ago, but he has no money to pay for new heating.

The Government provide Warm Front grants for older people in his situation.  I thought everything would be sorted when the Council arranged for a Warm Front engineer to visit.  However, it turns out  there is a £3,500 cap on support, which is £800 less than what the engineer thinks it will take.

The resident contacted me again to see what I could do – as he couldn’t pay the £800 himself.  I was worried we might have to arrange for the heating to only go in certain rooms, but a few days ago Haringey Council got back to me saying they would make up the £800 gap.  This is excellent news – and I think it will save the Council money in the long run, if it keeps him healthy and in his own home.

I’m so pleased to have been able to help this guy.  Its not very often you can make such an obvious difference.  If you know of anyone in a similar position, please do look into what help might be available.

Following lots of lobbying from Stroud Green Residents Association (SGRA) - with a bit of support from me - the Council have agreed to replace the streetlights on the section of Stapleton Hall Road between Quernmore and Oakfield.  According to the email I have had from the Council 9 new lamp posts will be installed in September.

This is because of complaints that the poor lighting on that section makes the road dangerous at night.  Earlier this year a local woman was flashed by a man hiding in bushes on this section of the Road - who was probably taking advantage of the poor lighting.

In my 3 years of being a Councillor this is the first time I have ever heard of the Council replacing street lights in Stroud Green ward – so lets hope this is the start of something bigger.  Last I heard is that the lights are so ancient (they are the original Victorian gas lights converted to electric use) that English Heritage were trying to get them listed!

I’ve contacted the Council to find out what’s happening to the old lights and if some of them are going to be re-conditioned and preserved somewhere else.  We need to preserve our heritage as well as keeping our roads safe.

Over 8 weeks since it was installed on the Parkland Walk, the dog waste bin I mentioned in last weekend’s post still hasn’t been emptied.  And its now 4 weeks since I first started contacting the Council to alert them of the problem.  Its outrageous that Haringey Council is so slow to act.

The bin is at the entrance to the Walk by the junction of Lancaster Road and Stapleton Hall Road – so hold your nose if your strolling by in this lovely weather.

I’ll keep hassling the Council to do their job properly.  Lets hope they aren’t going for some kind of record for how long they can ignore a full bin.

Everything seemed to have gone a bit quiet on the Streetcar front – so I asked the Council for an update.  The consultation on the sites for cars ended at the beginning of February (see my previous post: Streetcar comes to Stroud Green – at last).

I got an update from officers a few days ago.  The good news is that the Council has listened to the many residents that suggested moving the proposed bay for 2 cars from Stapleton Hall Road to the Oakfield Road bridge.

The bad news for those keen to use the car club is that the Council won’t even start consulting on the alternative Oakfield Road site for months yet.   This means that only the Denton Road and Victoria Road bays will be installed this year – cutting by a third the number of cars that will be available in Stroud Green ward.   The Denton and Victoria cars should be in place from mid June.

As a result of the Council’s slowness it could be another year before we have Streetcar bay in the centre of the ward – if the Oakfield Road site is approved.   But the reason for this delay may be economic:  Across the Borough about half the proposed Streetcar sites have been dropped - allegedly because the recession has hit car club use.

My Stroud Green colleague Ed Butcher is celebrating news that a proposal to demolish a well-loved local restaurant building has been withdrawn.  Ed had sent in a formal objection in response to planning application to demolish the Triangle Restaurant on the corner of Ferme Park Road and Stapleton Hall Road.  He objected as the building is in a very prominent location in a conservation area – and he was concerned about the site being left derelict if there was any delay to redevelopment (quite likely during a recession).
 
However, the Council’s Planning Department have now revealed that the plan to demolish the building has been withdrawn and the owners instead plan to keep the frontage of the building.
 
As a member of the Planning Committee, I’m not allowed to have opinions on planning issues unless and until they come to committee.  But this is what Ed is saying to the local press:

 ”The Triangle Restaurant is a prominent and well loved building, which really improves the look of the area with all the greenery on its front.  I was very worried that its demolition would damage the appearance of the whole area.”
 
“This restaurant is an important part of our community.  I hope any new plans for the site are more sensitive and preserve the green feel of the area, which is right next to the Parkland Walk.”

I’m really pleased that after years’ of nagging by some of my council colleagues, Haringey has at last agreed to let a car club to operate in the Borough.  Car clubs are a great alternative to car ownership, especially in an area like Stroud Green where there are pretty good public transport links.  In the long term they might reduce our acute parking problems.

Boroughs like Islington and Camden have had them for years.  In fact. my colleague Ed Butcher is a user of Streetcar already, because he lives so close to the border with Islington.  You can find out more about how they work at the Streetcar website.

The council are proposing to allow 6 cars to be parked in pairs at 3 sites in the ward.  They are:

• Denton Road, by the junction with Weston Park
• Stapleton Hall Road, by the junction with Quernmore Road
• Victoria Road, by the junction with Stapleton Hall Road

A number of residents have suggested that the Stapleton Hall Road site is not good due to the heavy parking pressures – and that the Oakfield Road bridge would be a better site as it is just inside the CPZ.  I have relayed that suggestion to the Council.

If you have any views on any of these locations then please contact me, or email the Council directly at  consultation {at} haringey.gov(.)uk before the consultation ends on 5 February.