March 2020 Councillor Report

Budget 2020/21

On 24 February 2020, I delivered a speech in support of the Haringey Council budget for 2020/21 at the full council meeting. I published my full speech in my previous post on this blog.

Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy (NCIL) re-distribution consultation

I attended a briefing session with officers on Monday 24 February to discuss the Council’s consultation on draft changes to the CIL Governance document to allow the Council the option to spend NCIL in a different area to where it was raised. This would provide the Council with the opportunity to consider redistributing NCIL more fairly across the borough in a way that is more reflective of the level of development and the level of need in each NCIL area.

The draft changes proposed to the CIL Governance document can be viewed here. The consultation ends on 9 March 2020. Responses may be sent to ncil@haringey.gov.uk. I recommend that Noel Park members support the Council’s proposals to spend NCIL much more fairly across the borough. You may copy and paste my response to the consultation which is set out below:

Dear Sir/Madam

I would like to submit my comments to the NCIL redistribution consultation. I support the proposed changes to the CIL Governance document allow the Council the option to spend NCIL in a different area to where it was raised for the reasons set out below.

1. 1. The current policy leads to a large discrepancy between different neighbourhoods about the amount available to spend in each area which is fundamentally unfair
   2. The amount of CIL collected in the east of the borough per square metre is significantly less than the central or the western zones, but the east is generally more deprived and may require more spend/investment
   3. The proposed changes will enable the Council to distribute neighbourhood CIL much more fairly across the borough
   4. The proposed changes are also consistent with the Council’s objective of achieving fairness in all aspects of its service delivery.

Kind regards

The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is a charge on developers based on the floorspace of new buildings. The funds raised are intended to help fund infrastructure needs. Legislation allows 15% of CIL collected to be spent in ‘Neighbourhoods’ on infrastructure or “anything else that is concerned with addressing the demands that development places on an area.”

The Council’s existing adopted approach to NCIL as set out in the Haringey CIL Governance document is to spend NCIL in the NCIL area in which it is collected. Under this approach the amount of NCIL available to spend in each NCIL area varies significantly. This is partly a function of differing amounts of development across the borough, but it is also a function of the fact that CIL charging rates vary substantially across the borough based on the financial viability of development. The residential CIL rate for the Western Charging Zone is over 17 times that of the Eastern Charging Zone per square metre and the residential CIL rate for the Central Charging Zone is 11 times that of the Eastern Charging Zone per square metre.

Proposed development at 76-84 Mayes Road                                                          

On 24 February 2020, I attended a public exhibition at the Community Hub about the proposed development at the junction of Caxton Road and Mayes Road opposite Iceland supermarket. This site has been boarded up for a number of years. The developer, Aitch Group are proposing a mixed residential and commercial development. Their plans include the following:

• 75 homes across 4 to 9 storeys (15 affordable rented & 10 Shared Ownership homes)
• 11 three-bed family homes, all for affordable rent
• 23 one-bed homes and 41 two-bed homes
• Two storeys of commercial space totalling 948 square metre
• A car free development – residents will not be allowed a CPZ permit

The developer expects to receive planning permission in June 2020. If you have any comments or would like some more information, please contact Joanna Christophides at Curtin & Co: 020 7399 2753/ joannac@curtinandco.com.

A Planning performance agreement (PPA) under the planning protocol is taking place on 09 March 2020 at 7pm in the Council Chamber. You may attend this meeting if you are interested in the development.

Cyclehoop

At the last branch meeting, I was asked about how to secure a space in a bikehangar. I raised a member’s enquiry and received the following response.

Applications for Bikehangar spaces are managed by Cyclehoop, the company who supplies and subsequently manages the arrangement and not the council. Cyclehoop will only review requests for space once a Bikehangar has been installed.

The cost to rent a space within a Bikehangar is £72 per annum, the user pays 50% of this charge with the council subsidising the remaining 50%, therefore the user will currently pay £36 per annum, plus a £25 key deposit. This arrangement is subject to review/change. Residents can apply for a space within a Bikehangar by contacting Cyclehoop direct:

Telephone: 020 8699 1338| Web: http://www.cyclehoop.rentals | rentals@cyclehoop.com

Engagement with voluntary organisations in Noel Park

Collage Arts: Manoj Ambasna, executive director of Collage Arts (CA) wrote to the ward councillors at the end of January seeking our assistance in relation to a winding up order that the Council had secured against CA for its non-payment of business rates. I took this case up and had numerous conversations with Manoj, the Cabinet Member for Finance, Leader of the Council and Catherine West MP throughout the month of February. I made representations on behalf of CA. In the end, we managed to find a way forward – CA was not wound up and the Cabinet Member responsible for business rates has now written to Manoj.

Haringey Over 50s Group: I have been assisting Haringey Over 50s Group since April 2019. They have recently submitted a petition on behalf of their members to reduce the hours of parking controls within the Wood Green Control Parking Zone (CPZ). This has been added to the Council’s central register of requests for parking action. Wood Green CPZ is on the Council’s forward programme to undertake a full review. At the present moment, the Council are undertaking parking surveys to understand parking stresses and any tidal parking movements that could be causing parking pressures. I will be meeting members of the Group on Monday 16 March at 5pm to hear if they have any other concerns. You may contact the Group on info@ho50s.org.uk if you could like to find out more or join the Group.

Lobbying on behalf of tube cleaners

Cllr Emine Ibrahim and I joined 92 other Labour Councillors signing a letter published in the Evening Standard on 7 February 2020. We urged Sadiq Khan to bring cleaning contracts in-house and give better working conditions to tube cleaners.

Save Wood Green Animal Shelter

Wood Green, The Animals Charity intends to close their Lordship Lane base after almost 100 years in the area. I have signed Catherine West MP’s online petition which you also sign and circulate: https://www.catherinewest.org.uk/save-wood-green-animal-shelter/

Developing Haringey’s Flag Protocol

On 26 February 2020, I attended a meeting chaired by Haringey’s mayor, Cllr Sheila Peacock to develop the borough’s flag protocol. The new protocol will be voted on by Labour Councillors in the coming weeks.

Women’s History Month

March is Women’s History Month and the full list of programmes during the month can be found on the Council’s website: www.haringey.gov.uk/whm. Some highlights are below:

• Thurs 5 March 6 – 8pm: Film screening of ‘Suffragette’ at the business lounge on the ground floor of Wood Green Library
• Fri 6 March at 11am: Women’s History Walk with meeting point at Stroud Green and Harringay Library, Quernmore Road, London N4 4QR.
• Wed 11 March at 11.30am: Haringey International Women’s Day Celebration at Marcus Garvey Library
• Wed 18 March 7 – 9pm: Celebrating 50 years of the Women’s Liberation Movement at the Green Rooms, 13-27 Station Road, London N22 6UW

Housing and Regeneration Scrutiny Panel

As the chair of this panel, I am currently chairing a review into a major regeneration scheme in North Tottenham. I have chaired a number of evidence gathering sessions with various stakeholders. You may email me with any comments that you would like the panel to consider as part of the scrutiny review. The next ordinary meeting of the panel is on Tuesday 3 March at 7pm at the Council Chamber in the Civic Centre. It is a public meeting and you may attend.

My Surgery Details

Residents can see me at the following times:

• Second Saturday of each month at Wood Green Library from 10.30 to 11.30: no need for appointment
• Fourth Saturday of each month: roving surgery from 10.30 to 11.30 by prior appointment.