Agenda and draft minutes

Cllr Engert welcomed attendees to the meeting and provided an update on issues raised at the last meeting:

Muswell Hill low carbon zone: solar panels had been installed in Fortismere, Rhodes Avenue and Alexandra Park Schools and on the roof of Marks and Spencers by the community en10energy company. Other projects were being developed including a home subsidy scheme to start in September.

Wellington gyratory scheme: Transport for London (TfL) were currently considering ideas.

Fortis Green CPZ extension: residents on the northern section of Lynmouth Road would be canvassed to allow agreement of the roads to be included in the extension. 

Cranley Gardens traffic calming scheme: now completed.

Hornsey Central Neighbourhood Health Centre: no change to transport provision in the area and it was unlikely that changes would be made to bus services in the near future.

Muswell Hill library: refurbishment had been completed on the children and young people’s section, with a formal launch on 16 July.

Alexandra Park library: wide range of community activities running including sessions for pensioners and young children and the successful pilot of a Freecycle programme which would be extended to other libraries.

The Head of Sustainable Transport gave the meeting an update on road safety at the junction. TfL and the council had been examining the complex junction for over two years following concerns about road safety and the council had requested that TfL review the timings of traffic lights in the area which as yet hadn’t been done. A conflict existed between ensuring a good flow of traffic whilst providing enough opportunities for pedestrians to cross safely. The junction was considered to be overcapacity thereby causing congestion but due to the complexity of the junction it was not anticipated that traffic management systems would be changed substantially.  

Residents expressed concern about the dangerous nature of the junction for pedestrians and suggested that installing an extra set of lights to replicate the main lights would help pedestrians in anticipating traffic flow. Additional suggestions included removal of the yellow box and ensuring red lights were more visible to drivers.

The Head of Sustainable Transport advised that following an accident in the area, provisional designs were being developed for traffic calming measures on Albert Road as part of the extension of the Palace Gates scheme. Consultation would be carried out in the autumn and feedback provided to the meeting, with the aim of the works starting in April 2011.

An overview was provided of the conservation role of the council’s Planning and Regeneration service, including the programme for reviewing conservation areas and carrying out character appraisals for each. The service also looked after listed buildings in the borough. The conservation area programme was running with a significant delay due to the level of work involved, including the time required to consult with local residents, and the limited resources available. The hard work of residents relating to conservation areas was recognised and appreciated but the significant constraints on the team due to the limited resources available impacted on the speed of progress.

It was confirmed that consultation on the Fortis Green conservation area would start in September. The Highgate conservation area was more problematic due to the size and varied nature of the area covered but was being progressed.  

Concerns were raised by residents about a general lack of knowledge of local residents of the existence, location and associated restrictions of conservation areas across the borough. It was agreed that the option of running a promotional item in Haringey People would be investigated to help raise awareness and that details of the council’s programme for the review of conservation areas would be placed on the council website.

An update was provided on the proposed Rhodes Avenue Primary School expansion. In answer to questions from the audience, the Leader of the Council said that the Council neededto review the schemes in the council’s capital programme due to budget cuts imposed from central government. The Rhodes Avenue scheme to expand entry from 2 to 3 forms had been consulted on in 2009 in order to meet the increased demand and pressure for school places in the area and in general across the borough. The financial position of the council had changed significantly since the consultation had been carried out, including having been advised in May by the Department for Education of a cut of £8.5m to the capital grant funding originally allocated to support the provision of pupil places. Additional reductions to grants to local authorities imposed by the government as part of the efforts to reduce the countries budget deficit meant that the council would be required to find £65m of efficiencies to the revenue budget going forward over a three year period. This had a knock on impact on capital budgets and the council’s ability to borrow money, thereby requiring the review of the capital programme and reconsideration of the proposed schemes, as none were officially ringfenced. The capital projects for schools would be reviewed based on a scale of priorities, the first being those relating to health and safety, followed by ensuring the council’s statutory duty to provide school places was met and finally providing the best quality learning environment for pupils.

Confirmation was provided from the Leader that the council was still committed to the expansion of the school and for the scheme to go ahead but that as yet a final decision had not been made in consideration of all the projects under the programme and whether the scheme would progress to the original plan. It was important that the appropriate balance was maintained between the responsibility for financial management and the provision of good education for local children. It was acknowledged that there had been a number of issues with communication and a lack of information but that officers had repeatedly requested meetings with the Department for Education to clarify the situation as the initial funding cut had been communicated through an email. This had a knock on effect on the ability to communicate details to the school and residents.

The Leader would be meeting with council officers the following day, with a view to a final decision on whether the scheme would go ahead and committed to informing the school’s Chair of governors by the end of that day. The final approval for the scheme and its format would be sought from the council’s Procurement Committee on 22 July.

Residents were concerned as to whether the legal status of the original consultation would still stand following the uncertainty as to whether the scheme would continue in its current form. Options being considered as part of the review included scaling down the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.

The council’s Street Enforcement Manager provided an overview of the work of the service in relation to dogs including dealing with strays, fouling and dangerous dogs and encouraging responsible dog ownership. One method of achieving this was the use of Dog Control Orders, which would allow the council to put restrictions on dogs in local areas as required including options for a complete bans or requiring dogs to be kept on leashes etc. Before any Orders could be put in place, wide consultation would have to be carried out and appropriate signage and methods for enforcement in place, mainly the use of Fixed Penalty Notices for non-compliance. Confirmation was provided from the Leader of the council that Orders would not be required in all areas of the borough and would be widely consulted on before any were put in place as it was recognised that most dog owners were responsible.

In relation to dangerous dogs i.e. those not under the control of their owners, only a handful of incidents had been reported in the area and all had been actioned. This was mainly by the Police Dangerous Dog Unit as the main enforcement team with the power to seize dogs, with investigative support provided by the council. A responsible dog ownership scheme was also being run this month, with details on the council website. Residents were also encouraged to report incidents of potential dangerous dogs to the council, which was vital to enable enforcement action to be taken where needed.

Following a question from a resident regarding a number of recent national accidents involving children with electric sliding gates and whether the council would be taking any action, especially in regard to gates that had been installed without permission. It was agreed that the council would look into the issue and that the resident provide details of the gates installed without permission be forwarded to the Leader.

It was advised that councillors would be making the final decision on successful Making the Difference fund project applications on 20 July.