Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
‘DAMAGE control’ ~ a video by a rebel resident
MARTIN BALL is a resident of the Rebel Borough.
In the video linked below, Martin makes an informal survey of Finsbury Park …
It was shot 10 days after the council's biggest Event-customer finished using the Premises that Haringey Council Licenses.
He identifies a number of sites of damage after a single use by the giant Live Nation corporation during the Council's Events Season.
Enabled, promoted and controlled by the Local Authority.
Damage Control, a rebel video.
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Tags for Forum Posts: Council Event Control, Festival Republic, Finsbury Park, Live Nation, Major Event, Martin Ball, Wireless
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by D Jones on
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Looking at the way Haringey (mis) manage the park should make people think twice about voting Labour
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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One of the tasks for any new Council would be to prevent a future Council entering into a contract for five years which did not need to be that long. And whch was signed just weeks before a local election.
The person signing paid no respect to elections; nor to democratic principles. Because it binds the Council elected in the election on 7th May AND in the election after that.
At the very least Haringey's Constitution needs a legal review and urgent amendment.
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
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At the very least Haringey's Constitution needs a legal review and urgent amendment.
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Yes. But how likely is that to happen if the Party of the current Council Majority Group are able again to form the Majority Group?
Any views on the points that Martin Ball makes in the video, about recurring damage to Finsbury Park?
This was once a maintained and fully accessible, year-round amenity for the public.
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I couldn't agree more. Friends of Finsbury Park will be challenging this decision.
Gina Harkell. Joint Chair of FoFP.
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Morning Gina!
The list of problems linked directly to this council's 11 year old Major Events policy is long indeed. One of them is their chronic lack of candour, or even just plain honesty. And yet this council acknowledges not a single drawback.
Damage—the subject of Martin's survey—is only one of the problems.
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Permalink Reply by Simon on
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An excellent video - setting out the problems thanks to the makers and to you for posting it.
A few things I would add
How is the original drainage system is standing up to the constant damage caused by the large numbers of people crowding onto the space
The footprint of the event seems from my observation to be gradually creeping over more and more land.
It’s so unfair that Hackney and Islington residents do not have a say in any of this. The Mayor of London during the recent Kenya West discussions reminded people that the Park was originally a GLC responsibility and I think any solution should take decision making away from one single Council and set up a joint body to manage and decide how it is run.
In any event every newly elected councillor should see this video.
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SIMON, in my view there is no better example of Haringey Council selfishness vis a vis our next door neighbour Boroughs. And their residents, who are also citizens of London.
As Martin Ball mentioned in one of the clips, Hackney (Brownswood Ward) takes the brunt of the greatly amplified noise. And they have no say.
The noise is so bad that some Brownswood residents leave their homes during Wireless.
Once, a Brownswood resident A&E nurse who works shifts approached me taking photos. She worked shifts and was beside herself with upset and anger at Wireless noise, while she was trying to sleep. Haringey Council does not care.
BRAVO to former Hackney Mayor and Brownswood Labour Councillor Clare Potter: at the Haringey Licence Review, Clare called for the Licence (issued by Haringey) to be Revoked.
Haringey's Licensing Committee has a majority of Labour Councillors. Because Major Events are Haringey Labour policy and there exists a significant corporate pecuniary interest, some might say that their Review was rigged.
In any event, their decision was watered-down behind closed doors by Haringey Council lawyers in agreement with the lawyers of the council's customer!
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An excellent video - setting out the problems thanks to the makers and to you for posting it.
A few things I would add
How is the original drainage system is standing up to the constant damage caused by the large numbers of people crowding onto the space
The footprint of the event seems from my observation to be gradually creeping over more and more land.
It’s so unfair that Hackney and Islington residents do not have a say in any of this. The Mayor of London during the recent Kenya West discussions reminded people that the Park was originally a GLC responsibility and I think any solution should take decision making away from one single Council and set up a joint body to manage and decide how it is run.
In any event every newly elected councillor should see this video.
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SIMON, one of the serial distortions made by the ex-council leader about the supposedly world-class cultural gig offer she promoted, was that it was about different music tastes:
Peray Ahmet was—and may still be—a huge fan of "Grime".
She is of course entitled to her musical preferences. But surely not to impose greatly amplified sound from a public park. Radiated, over swathes of three Boroughs.
It does not matter the music genre. It would not matter if the sound coming from Finsbury Park was Opera, Country & Western or from the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.
It does matter that residents should be able to choose when and where they enjoy their personal music tastes. And not to annoy their neighbours. And not to have one council leader and one selfish council Group impose it on roughly a square mile of North London.
The objection to Wireless was never about the kind of music.
The volume is part of it. The volume is intensely annoying to shift workers (such as A&E nurses).
However it's also about the damage caused, illustrated well by Martin Ball in the video.
And not least, about the denial of the best part of a public park to ordinary residents, for weeks on end, at the height of the summer.
That BBC News item on Councils’ exploitation of London Parks is here
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Hi Simon,
Rather than hoping the new councillors view this video for free, how about you emailing directly to the Parks Manager in charge of drainage. You can post your email on HoL as well.
I agree with you that all new councillors might benefit from viewing the video made by Clive Carter and Martin Ball.
You could ask the Council if there is some sort of "all councillors" email address which enables you to make precisely that suggestion to "educate our new masters". As I seem to remember a famous MP saying in the 19th Century.
Or was it some gleeful anarchist? (Still a much underestimated political grouping.)
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P.S. I really should assume that re-elected councillors too could benefit from watching the Finsbury Park Video. They might even learn something by pondering Clive Carter's Shaftsbury Road factory video. I think it may have been the most public cash wasted on a single stupid unaccountable project. One day we might even find out more about all the dubious land transactions.
Possibly even in time to prevent the next silly plans?
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it may have been the most public cash wasted on a single stupid unaccountable project
DODGY deals:
Although the loss (below) on the Shaftesbury Road deal exceeds the gross over-payment on the Cranwood property (where a council leader intervened), the losses on the factory are a fraction of the monies lost avoidably on the purchase of the freehold of the Council's River Park HQ.
i.e. the £6,000,000 paid to a shell company to buy an Option to own the freehold, which in the meantime, had been acquired by a remarkably well-informed interloper.
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It appears that Haringey (that's us!) overpaid significantly for the empty factory in Enfield.
After itsinevitable sale in January last year, including running costs over 54 months the total losses of public money are close to £2,500,000.
Partly because the council's accounts were, or may still be, in a mess the previous crew lost control of our money.
Of our council's several property deals that have a strong impression of irregularity, the Enfield factory purchase is the most accessible:
- A building in another borough
- A derilect factory with an asbestos roof
- A property on the market for 14 months
- The building was specifically rejected in terms by the supposed users who were—or are— to be levered out of Haringey after a Council-Lendlease Compulsory Purchase
- The council falsely designated the £6,100,000 decision to buy, as a Non-key Decision
- As it was "Non-key", the decision could—and was—delegated to a council employee
- The effect of this was to shield the Decision from a Call-in and therefore, from any Scrutiny
- Apart from Guardians, it was unoccupied for over four years, costing us money around £110,000 p.a.
- The eventual sale was correctly recorded as a Key Decision
I hope the new Council Green Group will get an early and firm grip on our council's finances.
And seek accountability.
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