Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Green Lanes Strategy Group Meeting
The Green Lanes Strategy Group was set up in response to to the brief spell of violence that flared up on Green Lanes over five years ago.
Its membership is by invitation and my understanding is that it appears to be probably the most influential body representing Harringay. My understanding is that it reports to the Council both through the Area Assesmbly and directly to the Leader. I understand that it also counts two members of the Council "cabinet" amongst it members.
I stress that this is my understanding. I am unable to be unequivocal about it because the only information released about it is contained in newsletters - a la Haringey People - available via the Haringey website. It might be that I haven't asked the right questions in the right way. So please forgive me my failure on this. I would welcome any additions / corrections to my poor knowledge of the group.
Its brief has been to improve the Green Lanes Area following the incidents in 2002. Laudable. At its inception a five year plan was produced which is attached for your information. I think the plan looks great. Not perfect but a helluva blueprint. I'm all in favour. Year 5 was 2007.
I write now to let you know, by way of information, that I understand that the next meeting will be on Tuesday next week. I will be fowarding the results of the survey thus far to the group prior to their meeting.
Its membership is by invitation and my understanding is that it appears to be probably the most influential body representing Harringay. My understanding is that it reports to the Council both through the Area Assesmbly and directly to the Leader. I understand that it also counts two members of the Council "cabinet" amongst it members.
I stress that this is my understanding. I am unable to be unequivocal about it because the only information released about it is contained in newsletters - a la Haringey People - available via the Haringey website. It might be that I haven't asked the right questions in the right way. So please forgive me my failure on this. I would welcome any additions / corrections to my poor knowledge of the group.
Its brief has been to improve the Green Lanes Area following the incidents in 2002. Laudable. At its inception a five year plan was produced which is attached for your information. I think the plan looks great. Not perfect but a helluva blueprint. I'm all in favour. Year 5 was 2007.
I write now to let you know, by way of information, that I understand that the next meeting will be on Tuesday next week. I will be fowarding the results of the survey thus far to the group prior to their meeting.
Tags for Forum Posts: glsg, green lanes
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GLSG 5 Year Plan.doc, 86 KB
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by matt on
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Yes, a very comprehensive Action Plan and I know that quite a number of these have been carried out. I'm not aware that this plan was letter boxed though. The Plan doesn't have a 'Done' column so I wonder if we the public are allowed to have an update on progress.
Some points I'm interested to read within the Plan;
1. To develop a licensing policy for the Green Lanes Neighbourhood
What was agreed?
2. To carry out public consultation
Was this done? If so, where are the results for public feedback?
3. To introduce regular street “wash down” (in line with street markets)
Is this actually done because the pavement always looks very dirty?
4. To monitor the levels of pollution.
Is this carried out and can we see the monitoring report summaries?
5. To widen the terms of reference of the Green Lanes Neighbourhood Strategy Group as an acknowledged consultative body for the neighbourhood.
Consultative body? As I'm hardly even aware of this body I wonder if it has consulted widely and effectively with ALL the local people it serves!
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Permalink Reply by Birdy_Too on
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Is this one of the "elite" groups that represents us and acts on our behalf?
It would be interesting to see how they view HOL and how our views maybe considered as a community site/group with over 350 (and growing by the minute) members. To my knowledge no local community group has that level of people.
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Permalink Reply by Liz on
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I would first of all like to say that a strategy that aims to improve and sustain our
community is highly desirable and, furthermore, that I appreciate the efforts of those who
are willing to give their time, often in a voluntary capacity to contributing to a process
that I imagine can be both a rewarding (bridge improvements;christmas lighting) and a
frustrating one.
However, having read the action plan, I have one or two questions which I feel certain any
representative of the GLSG who is on the site will be only to happy to answer.
Turning first to the Key Objectives which I have to say personally seem very fair, my
question is simply by what process of consultation with community members were these
priorities decided upon? (Focus group, survey etc?)
Secondly, a large number of audits/reviews were planned for the short/medium term and which
by their own time frame of three years must now have been completed.
Who carried out these audits/reviews and where can we read the summaries of their findings
and the recommendations for action as a result of these findings?
Moreover, how were these findings communicated to residents, and businesses and other
stakeholders such as those who provide essential services to the community?
I notice, for example, that a review of the provision and location of free parking bays was planned on the action plan. When was this done and was the recommendation to remove them entirely without apparent consultation and without consideration of the impact it would have on the users of the facilities that these parking bays served?
Lastly, on the objective 'improve consultation and communication with the local community',
I would like to ask what 'to widen the terms of reference of the Green Lanes Neighbourhood
Strategy Group as an acknowledged consultative body for the neighbourhood.' actually means
in plain language?
Was the newsletter, produced three times (the last time being a year ago), the agreed way
that they achieved this objective or were there interim reports/consultations made available
to the public?
As this action plan is now coming to the end of its time frame, I look forward to a report
on its effectiveness and achievements for the past five years which, no doubt is being
prepared and will be made available on line and through residents groups and public
community spaces by the end of the year. Please reserve me a copy.
I await the responses of the representatives to the questions posed above and those in the
other posts with interest.
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No one, I feel, would argue that it is right for those who work for the community to be celebrated and commemorated. That is only right and proper.
The issue is not what the GLSG do, so much, as how their activity is communicated to the residents who it affects. There are three ways to find out about this group's activities: you can attend an LCSP or GRA meeting and the delegate will update you on the proceedings but as we have discussed elsewhere, people are not always willing or able to do that. If you are on the LCSP/GRA mailing lists, you will get a short summary that way. I am unclear how many households this would reach but probably not that many. You can read the newsletter which has been published 3 times in 5 years and I suppose was delivered to local households. It gives very little information and is not sufficient. The third way, is to ask one of the councillors who attend but I'm not sure how high it would be up their list of priorities to get back to you on that given the many issues that they have to deal with, perhaps I should experiment. The onus here is on me to enter into a dialogue with my councillor and imagine their workload if every household demanded the same!
One solution is for the minutes of meetings or at least a summary to be published and made available online or on request after every meeting. Newsletters should be published more frequently and with greater information. Perhaps a page in the Haringey people could be put aside for each ward to communicate what is happening and the GLSG could publish on there (this might also enable people to publicise other groups such as the Falkland/Fairfax Open Space groups or Friends of Duckett Common or even Harringay Online!)
It is poor communication of processes and action that results in residents complaining about lack of consultation and questioning mandate and sometimes opens up groups, who are trying to do a lot of good for the community, to criticism and to charges of elitism, cronyism or even vigilanteism (if that's a word!)
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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They should blog the minutes.
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First line of above should say 'No one, I feel, would argue against the idea...'
sorry, poor self editing leads to missing words.
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You may be onto something. Many national politicians have blogs and news organisations are very keen on them. Local democracy lags a long way behind in using the new technologies and ways of communication.
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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As of today, I've been invited to the GLSG by Councillor Nilgun Canver to brief them on the website and the Residents' Survey.
I thank Nilgun for this positive move.
(I say "as of today" because my experience of inviatations with Councillor Haley is that you don't count on them. See Update on Discussions about Traffic. However, I have no reason to think that Councillor Canver is not a woman of her word.)
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Good. Better start writing ya speech then. Will you take a 'business like' tone, maybe a little 'casual' banter ...
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Great news, a community group willing to listen to us ordinary folk.
Well done Hugh.
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Permalink Reply by Nilgun Canver on
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Hi Hugh, Thanks, but the meeting is on 21 May, not next week. As agreed, you'll be invited to attend to present your website survey result and we'll have a discussion about the possibility of introducing a Local Charter. As I have mentioned before, in my opinion, the GLSG area is potentially the best neighbourhood to pilot something like this. We have several very active Residents' Associations, Community and Voluntary Sector Organisations, a Friends Grp., a helpful Traders' Association, and excellant statutory partners. Your survey has been timely as we'll have to review our GLSG area priorities. Anyhow, Dasos will soon be in touch. Nilgun Canver
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