Agenda item

To discuss issues arising at the Area Forum.

The Chair asked members of the committee to feedback on the issues raised at the previous forum meeting. 

Tottenham one way system (Gyratory Scheme)

Consultation and communication had been the main theme around the discussion on the imminent changes to the Gyratory system.  There was a feeling that not all local people had been communicated with about the planned works which would begin in September/October. It would be important to identify the lead council officer linking up with TFL and reporting to the Cabinet Member. They would need to gain a speedy understanding of the publicity and information material distributed about the imminent works and ascertain whether there were any gaps to fill. TFL had previously committed to liaising with a consultancy group made up of local community stakeholders and it was important to convene this group as soon as possible. Cllr Watson agreed to compile a list of community groups that could be involved in these meetings.

At the earlier forum meeting, TFL had committed to providing web pages dedicated to information about the forthcoming works to the Tottenham Gyratory system. Monitoring this website was essential to ensure that updates were being added and that the FAQ (Frequently asked Questions) pages reflected the issues being put forward by residents.

There was a strong feeling that the website would need to be updated and respond to concerns on a daily basis and therefore an interactive website was felt to be the best way to facilitate this. The issues which the website would need to anticipate and provide a response to were:

• Expected complaints about the traffic increase in Broad Lane, noise levels, air pollution.
• How cycle lanes are expected to be used and if any are to be shared with pedestrians?
• If Broad Lane would continue to be a red route?
• Changes to bus routes and advice on  expected fare changes
• Technical advice on how traffic is expected to operate around Broad Lane.
• How drainage issues will be tackled.
• Where employment and apprenticeship opportunities will be available to Adults and Young people in the area following their working programme in the area

 More details from the group discussions, that would be useful to TFL to consider when compiling the web pages,   would be compiled for the Chair to view and provide to them.

There was expected to be traffic jams in the Broad Lane area which would have an impact on surrounding roads such as West Green Road, and it was recalled that, in the consultation stage, there had been some modelling on how the traffic would flow and the possible problem areas. It was agreed to check with TFL if there had been a recent modelling exercise completed which could provide an early insight into the expected  traffic problem areas as this would be key information  for councillors to have to  before the start of the works.

TFL would need to anticipate the likely routes and roads that motorists will use to move in and around the Gyratory works.  It was reported that there was LIP funding, available this year, for use on improving traffic in and around the Gyratory Island roads. Tony Kennedy, Transport Policy and Projects Manager, was leading on this project .The works on the two ways system would have an obvious impact on these roads and it would be important for local councillors to be engaged in this consultation.

The committee were pleased to note that the drainage problems in Tottenham Hale had been recognised and resurfacing of the area with improved materials would take place.  It was felt important to highlight, to TFL, resident’s experience and history with flooding around the Tottenham Hale area and recommend monitoring.

 Councillors had previously advised TFL of the likely increase in pedestrians making   crossings in between the Approach Road and the top of Monument way, highlighting the need to link the two Tottenham greens and have two pedestrian crossing points, instead of one. It was agreed that this issue be re -addressed with TFL in discussions about the plans.

 Group discussion on Childhood Obesity

The following points were raised by residents in their discussions about the rise of Childhood obesity:

• Fried Chicken take away shops seemed to be the only food outlets available to children and young people in close proximity to their schools.  Also being able to purchase take away chicken food after school was seen as an aspiration for some young people as it demonstrated their coming of age.
• Lack of physical education classes
• There was a need for schools to re-introduce domestic science and   teach children about nutrients and cooking food.
• Working families found it difficult to find time to cook food in the afternoon/evening.
• There was a need to protect parks space for children and young people to use for physical activities.

A more fundamental proposal to better influence children’s eating habits in the borough was providing a free school meal to every child regardless of household income.  It was noted that the council could not have a direct influence on schools making this provision as they did not provide the funding for school meals. This funding was instead transferred to schools as part of the Pupil Premium Grant. Schools would need to decide individually whether they wanted to use this funding to provide free school meals.

The committee noted that there had been discussion at Northumberland Park Secondary school about providing free school meals to all children and they had calculated the cost of this and found it to be cost effective.  The Chair suggested that this calculation could be shared with other schools to guide understanding of how this could be achieved.  It was further suggested that this school could take the offer of a free school meal for all students forward as a pilot project and share their results with other schools.

There was further information shared about how existing local groups and local venues could take forward educational initiatives to promote healthy eating.  For example there was a need to aid understanding about the impact of sugar and salt in diets and how to cook healthy on a low budget. Examples of existing local initiatives included Broad water Farm Café, and a local church which was a holding cooking shows, teaching parishioners how to cook healthy meals. The committee recommended that, as a start, it would be useful to compile a list of existing local initiatives aimed at supporting healthy eating and publish their details.

 In another group table there was discussion about the importance of motivating children into eating healthy from a young age.  They discussed how learning this should new exciting and interesting for children to encourage their awareness of healthy eating. The initiatives used at schools for encouraging  recycling were referred to as an example to learn from.