Issue - meetings

The meeting was provided with the opportunity to question the Leader of the Council, Councillor Claire Kober and Councillor Lorna Reith, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children and Young People.

Residents and traders raised concerns regarding lack of public toilets, car parking, empty and disused buildings, funding linked to the proposed Wards Corner development, the proposed development of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club and consultation process linked to the development of Ashley Road and Down Lane Park. 

The Leader and Deputy Leader recognised the on-going problem of the lack of public toilets and had endeavoured to encourage the involvement of local businesses in the Council’s community toilets initiative.  However, perhaps due to insufficient financial compensation and fear of anti-social behaviour local businesses were not willing to participate.  It was noted that a similar scheme was successful in Waltham Forest.  The Council had also tried to ensure that public buildings provided toilet facilities but this was also proving problematical, particularly with regards to Job Centre Plus in the High Road.

Councillor Kober was pleased to announce that following consultation undertaken with traders across the borough the Council was to provide free car parking in Council controlled car parks, including Stoneleigh car park in Tottenham, in the week before Christmas.  A voucher scheme for free parking to be given out by traders to returning customers was being piloted in Crouch End.  If successful consideration would be given to rolling the scheme out across the borough.

Residents raised concerns regarding derelict properties at 23/24 Collingwood Road, N15, lack of development progress at the burnt out house on Philip Lane (opposite Dongola Road, N17 and anti-social behaviour at the empty property at 594 High Road, N17.  The Leader advised that the Cabinet Member for Housing, Councillor Bevan, had initiated compulsory purchase orders for 30 properties; under the 2004 Housing Act but, the process was a lengthy one.  She would, however, have the circumstances relating to the specific properties raised at the meeting investigated. 

In response to a question relating to the Wards Corner development and an alleged transfer of funding to Grainger Councillor Kober clarified that the Seven Sister NDC was a charitable trust completely independent of the Council and she would ask the NDC to respond directly to the questioner.

The meeting was advised that there had been problems in delivering the consultation documentation to local residents on the Ashley Road/Down Lane Park development proposals.  Arrangements had been made to address this and it was available on the Council’s website.  There had also been two well attended public meetings regarding the proposals.