Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Finsbury Park - blocked drain by road barrier near New River
The drain in the road gutter has been blocked for at least two years (South side of road). The drain on the opposite side (North) is free - except when blocked by leaf fall which is always the case in autumn. This gives us the additional amenity of a small lake at the bottom of the road - perhaps this is deliberate landscaping!
Couple of issues here. No doubt staff shortages will be cited but autumn leaves have only just been partially swept which accounts for some of the blockage. Given that millions have been spent in the park it's a pity that such a basic thing as drainage appears to have a non existent priority. Grateful if somebody could post the contact details for whoever is the head honcho who can be contacted over this seemingly permanent condition.
Tags for Forum Posts: finsbury park, new river
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
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Draining the will to live
2000 years ago, the Romans metaphorically laid the foundations of public plumbing. Fresh water came in on aquaducts and the profile of roads were made concave to move rainwater to the side.
The principals haven't changed since, though the "technology" of pipes has improved since Roman times. It's not rocket science: its barely science. Drains are something that I imagine most council's got a grip on, 50 to 100 years ago.
This is not about new innovative ideas for One Borough:
This is basic stuff.
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Permalink Reply by John D on
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More basic stuff -
The gents toilet at Chestnuts Park has been " Out of Order " for at least three weeks.
It's very inconvenient
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Emotionally draining:
John, sadly I misspelt principles (above) and I hope you didn't notice. The principles haven't changed, but the principals have: we now have our Dear Leader in place of Emperor Hadrian.
Clare: can you look at the drains please? Finsbury Park first please!
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Of course I noticed Clive, but I have resolved not to carp about spelling/grammar for the whole of the month of January.
Happy New Year !!
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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We once went on the Seattle Underground tour and learned that the city was originally built on a tidal area which had been filled in. As a result it occasionally flooded. So flush toilets might back-up at high tide - i.e. the ocean rose above where you happened to be sitting.
Perhaps disappointingly, Seema, this particular feature is highly unlikely on West Green Road,. But apart from burst water mains where the pressure forces water up, the principle is the same. The system of streams and drains and pipes which normally carries rainwater away, overfills and turns into pipes which deliver water from higher up the system.
Did you see The Guardian yesterday (15 January 2013) "How do you tackle Britain's rising flood tide? Let the water flow, say the experts. (Renamed in the Online version as "Welcome to Rain Square, where the answer to rising flooding is: let it flow".)
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Permalink Reply by Rick on
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Attached images from December and today of above blockage taken on way to Manor House tube. Grateful if anyone can give me again names and contact details of any paid staff directly involved with basic park maintenance. I don't seem to be getting anywhere and problem is getting worse as evinced from latest image.
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I cycled through the park on Wednesday and the puddle next to the Finsbury Park gates was still big enough to soak my feet as I rode through.
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By the way, Haringey Council have a questionnaire about the parks at the moment. They ask you to answer questions about your nearest park.
I found it in the library, and you can fill it in online too.
I think they are asking you to fill it out before the end of January.
I took the opportunity to mention, whoops I nearly wrote 'moan about', the flood and other matters plus to suggest various things.
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Permalink Reply by Raymond on
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The questionnaire can also be found in the cafe at Finsbury Park.
As one of many people who regularly uses the park for parkrun on Saturday mornings we all filled in the form and mentioned about the poor drainage on that part of the park.
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As at mid January, Lewis Taylor told Cllr Alexander that blocked drain was being investigated and he was waiting for a report from a contractor. He told Cllr Alexander that he would revert when contractor had finished. The tone of his note wasn't particularly hopeful.
I have today sent following note to lewis.taylor@haringey.gov.uk:
"Dear Mr Taylor,
I wonder if there is any update as to the above and whether anything will be done to rectify the problem. It is something that has been going on for a number of years.
I do understand the parks’ budgets have been much reduced but am particularly annoyed about this as in the recent past Finsbury Park has swallowed a £5 million grant that seems to have failed to attend to the absolute basics. None of this can be laid at your door but I do hope we can expect an honest assessment of the problem and solution – if any. If you cannot or will not do anything about it then please do announce this and we can lay the problem at somebody else’s door. What does surprise me though is that despite the long term nature of this problem no thorough assessment has apparently been made. If I am wrong on this I will be very happy to be corrected.
Please do post a note somewhere (the Haringey Council website) as to the position re the above."
I am not holding my breath but perhaps, if anybody else, is slightly concerned about this you might drop a line to your councillors and Lewis Taylor
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Attached photos taken at dusk yesterday (nb only one image uploaded because of file limit). I have not had any response to formal inquiries to the council or an email to lewis.taylor@haringey.gov.uk . If others are concerned by this then please do contact the council. I sent Lewis Taylor the following today:
Dear Mr Taylor,
further to my email of 30th January on the above issue I wonder if there is any progress or schedule on dealing with the above problem?
As I have not received any response to my previous mail it could be that I should be addressing these concerns elsewhere. If that is the case please let me know whom I should contact. I have reported this matter on the council website but have been told that it doesn’t come under their particular jurisdiction.
Sincerely yours,
Richard Simon
cc Councillor Alexander. FYI only. No need to respond. As you can see from the images the problem can hardly be written off as negligible. I hope the images are not an appropriate metaphor for Haringey finances but fear they may be! I have tried calling at the park offices on a number of occasions but can find nobody there who can enlighten me when I can find anybody at all!
It could be that the recent park survey results will throw up concerns on this lake. In the meantime please do contact Mr Lewis and other council staff. Cllr Alexander is in the loop and has been helpful on this.
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IMG_3144.jpg, 2.9 MB
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Richard, I'm not trying to second-guess Cllr Karen Alexander. I'm sure she's been chasing this issue with her usual reliability and persistence.
However I am concerned about an apparent wider issue. Which is that nobody from the Parks Service appears to be getting back to you with clear information about what is happening (or not) and why. For example, if there is a serious technical problem; or If as you suspect there may be work needed for which there's no budget. Someone should tell you..
Can I suggest that instead of just writing to Mr Taylor, you may want to consider writing to the Director and Assistant Director responsible. In other words going "up the line".
The Director is Lyn Garner: Lyn.garner@haringey.gov.uk
The AD is John Morris: john.morris@haringey.gov.uk
As I've suggested elsewhere on this site. You can post photos in the free website FixMyStreet.com.
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