Agenda and minutes

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

Wellington Gyratory feasibility study – Awaiting an update from TfL. Cllr Engert will ask officers to pursue TfL for an update.

Fortis Green CPZ extension – This is going ahead and will include a small number of roads; a works notice has been issued to residents. Marking out the bays was due to start on 13 September and will take up to 4 weeks. Residents will require a permit to park from 25 October.

The traffic lights at Colney Hatch Lane/Alexandra Park Road/Pages Lane junction– The chair has received a briefing from Joan Hancox, Head of Sustainable Transport at the Council. Copies of this are attached to these minutes. It is recommended that Alexandra and Fortis Green Ward Councillors take this back to their residents for further discussion.

Conservation areas – A briefing has been received and is attached to these minutes. Information is available on the council website and is updated on an ongoing basis. It is recommended that a promotional article on conservation issues is included in a future issue of Haringey People to raise awareness.

Character Area Appraisals – 12 out of 29 have been prepared and adopted; one is underway. Hillfield and Fortis Green draft appraisals are two out of four that will be issued for public consultation in the near future and the next priority will be the preparation of a draft character appraisal for Highgate. Outside of the appraisal programme the council will not be reviewing either the designation or extension of conservation areas.

UDP, Parkland Walk – An update is available and is attached to these minutes.

Cllr Engert brought to the attention of attendees the consultation on the Local Implementation Plan (LIP) - Haringey’s local transport strategy. The plan will contain details of the local transport objectives and delivery proposals for 2011-2014. This will reflect the transport needs and aspirations of Haringey’s residents and contributes towards the implementation of key priorities within the Mayor’s Transport Strategy. Details of the draft LIP and the consultation will be available on the council’s website from 27 September and the deadline for comments if 8 November.

Sgt Williams from Fortis Green Safer Neighbourhoods Team explained efforts that his team have undertaken to reduce crime in the area, including a programme of crime prevention awareness for residents. Sgt Williams noted a significant reduction in the number of burglaries but pointed out that a number of these remained preventable. Sgt Williams provided an overview of their ‘Natural Surveillance’ approach, which includes measures such as dropping hedges and better street lighting.

In response to questions from the audience it was noted that burglar alarms should be seen as part of a package of crime prevention techniques but not a panacea in their own right. It was further noted that police do, and will continue to, liaise with conservation officers in order to consider conservation issues when implementing crime prevention methods.

Sheena Mitchell from the Anti-Social Behaviour Action Team outlined the work of the team and encouraged residents to make use of the service. Derek Pearce from the Noise Team also outlined the work of his team. He explained that they run a 24-hour 7-days-a week service for residents and that their aim is to visit within 1 hour of a complaint.

In response to questions it was noted that:

• Residents can provide key holder details to the Noise Team to enable them to disable burglar alarms that have been activated accidentally and are causing a nuisance.
• The Noise Team can undertake steps to deal with car alarms which include: contacting the police for registered owner details, disabling the alarm or removing the car until the owner is able to pick it up and disable the alarm themselves.
• Businesses can be expected to take reasonable steps to reduce noise by ‘best practicable means’, this could include, for example, replacing noisy machinery. It was also noted that issues of noise or potential for noise can be raised at the planning permission stage. If work is to be carried out as a result of planning consent a reasonable level of noise is permitted on the basis that it is for a finite period, however rules around anti-social hours will apply.
• DIY in the evenings and on weekends is permitted providing that the work is on a personal basis and not commercial.
• Officers can only deal with noise from cars if the vehicle is stationary.
• Officers are able to investigate noise made by cockerels and in the past this has resulted in removal of the birds where they have been deemed to cause a nuisance. 

James Nightingale, from the Muswell Hill Low-carbon-zone project team, provided an update on the project. It was noted that solar panels are up and running on the roof of Marks and Spencer and that they are community owned, with profits reinvested into community projects. Fortismere, Rhodes Avenue and Alexandra Park schools have also set up solar panels as part of the project and have complimented this with a programme of environmental education for students. The Living Ark at Muswell Hill primary school is close to completion and will provide a zero carbon teaching space for students. A public launch is anticipated to take place in November. 20 cycle hoops have been placed on lamp posts in Muswell Hill and Crouch End as a result of feedback from the public – officers would welcome further feedback from residents. The Energy Retrofit Subsidy Scheme, beginning this autumn, was also highlighted and will provide lots of offers for residents to help them make their homes more energy efficient. The 100 Homes project is underway, enabling residents who live near to the Low-carbon-zone to get involved.

A volunteer coordinator for the project is now in place and officers continue to look for further volunteers to get involved go to: www.haringey.gov.uk/lcz-volunteers for more information.

Adam Parves from the Council informed attendees that a draft Sustainable Food Strategy will be available for consultation at the end of the month. He also outlined a mapping exercise of food growing spaces in the borough as well as work to improve access to allotments, including looking at options for communal growing and making more efficient use of existing allotments. They will also ask residents to pin-point where there are spaces and will work with local councillors and Homes for Haringey, among others, to do this. Further details of this will be sent out to residents who have provided e-mail addresses.

Rupert Lancaster and Don Fisher provided an overview of their successful efforts to retain the allotment site in Fortis Green. A not-for-profit company called the Fortis Green Community Allotment Trust has been set up and they have now purchased the freehold for the site from Thames Water. They intend to run the allotments for the benefit of the community and plans include better management of the waiting list, more small plots to enable more growers, better management of wildlife, encouraging bee keepers and promoting onsite community links and outreach.

An open day celebration will be held on Saturday 2 October.

An update was presented by Belinda Evans (BE) from the council who outlined that the intention of the service is to create seamless integrated services for children and families and to create community services that are not limited to just buildings but that engage and support residents across the area. It was noted that the service also works in partnership with other agencies including the Citizen’s Advice Bureau.

Currently there are three children’s centres in the area covered by the Area Assembly and discussions are underway to make use of facilities at the Muswell Hill Methodist Church. A Family Information Support Directory is available online on the Council website.

In response to questions BE stated that they have a good relationship with the Primary Care Trust and that if check-ups were being targeted as opposed to being universal this may be because of a shortage in the number of health visitors. BE will look into this and report back. It was also explained that a number of services are available including advice, universal drop-in provision, information on breastfeeding, baby weighing, ‘stay and play’, child care and nursery provision; provision is targeted to local communities and therefore varies from centre to centre. These services are open to parents with children between the ages of 0-5 and a booklet outlining provision is available for each centre. It was also explained that work on facilities at Coldfall Primary School and the relationship with the Children’s centre over the border in Barnet were progressing well.

Cllr Vanier will provide a written response to a question regarding the council’s policy on control of foxes.

In response to questions regarding traffic on Alexandra Park road it was noted that work on traffic calming measures is scheduled for 2011, however there are some cash flow issues. Cllr Vanier will follow up with a written update.

In response to a question on the fireworks at Alexandra Palace Cllr Vanier explained that they would not go ahead and that while a number of financial options were looked at none were viable in the current financial climate. Cllr Vanier will follow up with a written response regarding the costs of the fireworks.

In response to a question about Christmas lights it was noted that a question mark remains over whether it will be possible to provide lights on Muswell Hill Broadway. Funding has however been confirmed for lights in the Peace Park in Highgate.

In response to a question regarding the extension of the Fortis Green Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) to Eastern Road, Francis Road and Lynmouth Road it was noted that a street-by-street consultation was carried out a year ago, additional parking beat studies to look at parking demand had been undertaken and that the proposals are in line with council policy. Cllr Newton further elucidated that, local councillors had also conducted an informal survey of residents in part of Lynmouth Road to see if they wanted to be included in the CPZ and found that on balance they were in favour.

Cllr Engert informed attendees that she was intending to invite Cllr Joe Goldberg (Cabinet Member for Finance and Sustainability) to Question time at the next meeting in order to answer questions on the Council's budget