More guff - no real answers

Bungalows are a 'target for arson' on 'forgotten street'

So far, we've played it by the book, listened and trusted that people would act on their word and that things would get better. The people we've worked with on the ground have been great, and really tried to help us get taken seriously. The Safer Neighbourhood Team have been really supportive, and in no way is this a slur on any of them... It's just that there seems to be a stumbling block further along the line and whatever we do, no difference seems to made.

So, we've got ourselves our first piece of local press coverage the upshot being that comments from the council spokesperson leave us with more questions and no answers...

A council spokeswoman said:

"These properties are temporary buildings which are not suitable for permanent homes. We say - But some people were living in them for years before they were finally rehoused before Christmas. In council speak, what constitutes temporary?

"They have been used as temporary accommodation for people who would otherwise be homeless. We say As indeed they should. The council has a severe housing problem. So, why have at least TWO of them remained empty for over four years - with a council sticker on the doors stating "Haringey - working to get this property back into use"

"When we have rehoused all the residents, the site will be sold to a housing association for them to build permanent housing for families in need. We say The sale was supposed to happen in the summer, the units flattened in the autumn and building of new development underway. The plans have been delayed with Planning. Why isn't the housing department pushing Planning to get permissions sorted so that they can build these houses for families in need?

The Council Enforcement agency cannot actually 'enforce' the council to clear up its own property (hmm?!). Perhaps it's waiting for the sale to maybe / maybe not go through in the future at which point it CAN ask the new owners to clear it...

So, they haven't answered the ‘burning’ question WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO DO IN THE INTERIM, until the site is sold? Not much is the answer…

Not in my backyard as they say - in Muswell Hill. But here? Hey, anything goes...

The original article can be found HERE (25/02/09 - Bungalows are a 'target for arson' on 'forgotten street'

N15 Depression...

I look at all of this and wonder... who's really in control of this borough?

• Certainly not the people who live here

• Not sure it's even the majority of the people who were elected to control the borough

• Maybe it's the owner of the very expensive car parked on the public pedestrian square under Cordell House on a Friday afternoon - the area that council employees have refused to put bollards on for reasons I won't even hazard a guess about.
  

Think it must be him/her... It certainly can't be me - I'd have got a ticket.

RISKY LIVING IN N15: the last four weeks

Life, which was pretty quiet over Christmas, is beginning to hot up in our corner of N15.

As buildings, owned both by private landlords and the counci,l have been allowed by their owners to fall into decline so the cost to the council and the tax payer has gone up as, within the last year or so, up to Christmas 08 alone we’ve had

• air ambulances for drunk squatters falling off beams in a derelict warehouse that was burnt out a few years ago and that has been left to fall to bits by the owner whilst the residents have to face every day..
  
• mass flytipping - SNT did a great job there and there's some great footage of people getting nicked for dumping!
  
• Haringey’s largest fire for eons in a newly acquired warehouse - along with another little one in a prefab
  

However, to get back to the point SINCE 17 JANUARY (date of last major update to this site) there’s been:

FIRE – fire involving fire brigade, police and evacuation of ill and elderly residents of the neighbouring care home. Noone physically hurt to the best of my knowledge but do wonder about the stress levels it has caused the residents. Where was the fire??? The Prefabs! Not somewhere unexpected and unforeseen but an area that residents have been complaining about for FOUR YEARS and have warned repeatedly as being a health and safety hazard. (See post below for more)

BUILDING COLLAPSE* -- the structure involved in the pre-Christmas fire (the newly acquired warehouse mentioned at the start) was not made safe – or certainly not safe enough and collapsed onto the street . Phwew, another lucky escape for passers by – and Haringey. (See photo in post below)

MISSING BANKSMEN – too numerous to mention, banksmen are generally NOT in evidence when accessing O’Donovan’s site despite assertions that they have one and two at key times of the day… economic downturn... have they been sacked?

O’DONOVANS EXPANSION – now own three sites (one at top and one at bottom of Markfield Road and the new one on Constable Crescent) meaning that stress levels for pedestrians particularly those with young children out of buggies is rising high. Yep, it’s all about business around here.

BURGLARIES/MUGGINGS – two burglaries and two car break ins (known to me) in the surrounding area. Could it be something to do with the state of the general area? Not sure, but for somewhere that was low crime, it’s all on the up…

So, suddenly, life is not quite so quiet and a lot more dangerous… Oh and on top of that – in non life threatening ways we have…

• SNOW DELAYS - two days of snow mean the Payback team are delayed EIGHT weeks to clear the green bank in preparation for the spending of LAST YEAR’S Making the Difference grant.
• PARKING - ITAL’s and neighbour’s illegal parking on the crossovers forcing pedestrians into the route of O’Donovan’s (often) unregistered site traffic (big diggers and things). Doesn’t suggest that they have the slightest bit of respect or give a damn about the warnings issued by the Council’s Enforcement team. – (Might I be so bold as to suggest the introduction of parking tickets? Isn’t that what they’re for? Or is it merely for residents who’s CPZ permits are a day out of date?)

Fire - Water - Danger & Cost to us all - The Prefabs

Ahh, the prefabs.

The post above mentions the fire. I won't go into all complaints made about the prefabs prior suffice it to say that I first made contact with the council about them over 4 years ago and they continue to be an agenda item at every meeting since we set up nearly a year ago.

But, let's recap the last year

March/April 08 - Council Enforcement team inform residents that they have no power to force the council to clear up its own land - irrespective of major flytipping, vandalism etc. But, when the land was sold they would be able to move on it !!!???

Spring 08 - Consultation - Sanctuary Housing consultation with Homes for Haringey who own the land. To show plans. Herbert Road and Ashby Road invited to attend consultation on proposals by developers to turn prefabs into social housing / rent. (Ignore if you will the scale of their consultation!). Residents were primarily concerned to establish when the prefabs which attract vermin, fly tipping, fires, gas leaks, water mains bursts etc would be gone and how they could get them cleared (the council were rehousing the remaining tenants). September 2009 was to be D-Day. Residents, foolishly celebrated.

Autumn 2008 - Remaining residents appear to have been rehoused

Autumn 2008 - First set of squatters move in

November/December 08 - Apparent that nothing was happening. Chased council. Discovered land still owned by Council. Plans with Planning.

December - mains water pipe leaking in one of the vacant prefabs. Reported by residents via the Council 'help'line. (Ignore the fact that twice - "don't know who to put you through to", "there's noone here, can you phone back...!"). Seems to fall into a big hole NOT because it's owned privately but because it's OWNED by the council but VACANT!! As of writing, water still freeflowing between skin wall and base of structure....

January 09 - State of prefabs worsening.Broken windows with vicious shards of glass. Doors open enabling easy access for anyone up to no good - or curious kids. More squatters? Certainly more rubbish...

2 February - online request to get council to clear land of rubbish. Telephone callback assures that will be done within 3-4 days - taking longer because of the snow.

16 February - email exchange Residents / Priscilla Wakefield re RATS, INCREASE IN RUBBISH, use of land as URINAL. Draft mails prepared.

16 February - FIRE! - fire takes hold. Priscilla Wakefield Care Home evacuates.
Area "secured" (couple of metal barriers that a 10 year old could get passed)

16 February - Email sent to council seeking action.

19 February - told by phone that area down as cleared on 3 Feb (very nice girl obviously reading from the screen). But, looking at the rubbish - there's no change. Nothing has been cleared. So, rubbish about the rubbish...

20 February - discover that removal of the prefabs likely to cost about £30k - not including removal of any asbestos(!) - so unlikely to happen.
The proposals are still with Planning. The land MAY be sold to Sanctuary in March (but to be honest - why should they pay for the council's mismanagement of its own property).
How many more years will this go on? £30k is nothing in a council budget.

What can I say?
I despair. I want to cry. I want to scream and I want to stop paying my council tax.

Barring the coastguard (!) every one of the emergency services has been used more than once.

How much have the recent incidents in this area cost the council?

We were told by a council member that people do what they want because people don't complain - problem is that we are complaining - but who is listening....?

O'Donovans - the saga continues...

So, O'D's are now continuing their business expansion. Obviously been in the pipeline since before the meeting with residents on 2 December - for which we are still awaiting Council minutes. Hmm. Yes, look after businesses in the borough - but at what cost to residents?

A meeting took place (apparently) with 'officials' re the road system there - but who knows what happened there. We haven't been told. Was it simply to pacify residents - the 60 odd page document produced by O'Ds would lead us to think so. In essence it was puffery - it asked us to provide evidence. So we are / have and will continue to do so. Basically...

Nothing has changed since that meeting in fact...

..the situation is now WORSE having been exacerbated by their EXPANSION. They now have three sites - two on Markfield Road - one at top, and one at bottom, one on Constable Crescent and of course they are now parking in the middle of Markfield Road too (right next to the large housing complex being built!) Not a bit of road that they can't call their own.

Banksmen - the tales of missing banksmen are too numerous to mention. Are they the first casualties of an economic downturn? (Commerce over the people?)

Filth - the dirt when taking the kids to school means I and others drive (Haringey the Green Borough)

Yellow line parking & appropriating the only bits of non CPZ road in this area to further their business. Yep, it goes on.

Speed - nothing still beats the fact that I witnessed one of their lorries exhanging numbers with the driver of a car exiting the retail park at the time of the watermain burst and all traffic was travelling at 10mph. The van completed decimated the right front of the saloon car. Ironically, that was just as I left the meeting with O'Ds and the Council at the Technopark offices. They say they don't speed. And of course in that instance, it MAY not have been his fault but their vehicles drive TOO FAST and are TOO BIG and TOO MANY are UNREGISTERED for public roads.

Ooh look, here's one I caught earlier - without even trying! And don't say it was because of the snow...













- Their neighbours diagonally opposite their main site now drive as fast, if not faster, than O'Donovans, accessing their site just where people are coming out of the tunnel (ie from the dark!)

-

A bit of snow and a bit of post-fire building collapse...

Speaks for itself...