Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Travellers pitch up in Downhills Park
Three caravans and 2 camper vans seem to have set up home in Downhills Park.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Antoinette on
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Have you reported this to the Council?
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Might be a good idea to take a few photographs of things/developments day by day if you are a frequent user of the park. As Xavier has alluded to, it'll probably get worse before it gets better....any evidence you can collate on behalf of the Council, I'm sure they would be grateful for.
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Permalink Reply by warren miller on
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more info from the council here: https://twitter.com/haringeycouncil/status/781083308671307776
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As a traveller and descendant of travellers I'm always puzzled by the instant knee-jerk reaction to the first sight of a caravan or camper van hove to a temporary halt on a piece of open ground. Try to remember that at least two-thirds of Gypsies and Irish Travellers are already "settled" in brick-and-mortar housing just like your own. Presumably this bricks-and-mortar transition civilises us. Just try to regard the Downhills Park caravan and camper van inhabitants as "transitioning semi-nomads" with a developing yen for the civilised lifestyle you value so highly. I'm sure Kaygee and Antoinette could never be accused of displaying knee-jerk prejudice against, say, a "transitioning" member of Hol spending some time in Downhills or Finsbury Park ?
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This is designated parkland not "open ground"...it is not for "habitation"
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Of course, Antoinette and anyone else who cares to pursue underlying causes for travellers in Downhills Park, I used the phrase "a temporary halt on a piece of open ground" designedly in the hope that someone would ask a few of the "previous questions" that are never posed when we prefer to address immediate symptoms rather than causes. Everyone knows that Haringey's parks are not pieces of open ground as we can see that they are all surrounded by expensive railings and even more imposing gates. But Antoinette, since you are usually well informed on Haringey Council business, can you let us know how many authorised Traveller Halting sites the Borough can boast of. As of 2008 - 2010 and again in 2011-2012 Haringey seems to have provided 2 sites - one for 6 caravans, one for 4 caravans. Of all London's boroughs, only Harrow and (possibly) Camden provided fewer pitches than Haringey during those years. Has there been any improvement or deterioration of provision since then? The offending 5 caravans/camper vans currently in Downhills Park would take up half of the Borough's total provision in those years.
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Frankly I neither know nor care...if you're interested go Google it
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Permalink Reply by Sarah on
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I had never heard of travellers before moving here, when I heard people talking about them I thought they were being unfair so I kept an open mind. Where I live there is a traveller family. They throw dirty nappies over the back fence. They have a small boy who runs around hitting things with a hammer, a bigger boy who rises a quad bike around the grassy areas of the estate as if we are in the countryside not the middle of London... Various other people live in vans and hang around outside with the adults, meanwhile the caretakers have to deal with human poo.
I am trying to keep an open mind but based on the experience I have had now, I am struggling.
So when I went for a pre-dawn run through Downhills Park and saw all of these camper vans I didn't want to run there.
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Sooooo - after this thread of extreme rationality from the very settled members of Hol, led by the usually voluble Antoinette, can anyone answer my question as to the number of Traveller caravan places provided by LBH in 2016? And where does this place Haringey in the ranks of the Boroughs of Greater London? I sympathise with the urgent need to clean and cleanse Downhills Park, but whither should the travellers go so as to stay within our settled Haringey laws and avoid giving offence to most of Hol ?
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I think your points are valid. I often think the attitudes the public have to travellers is the last acceptable form of racism. That's not to say there are problems....
And to people who bemoan paying for a few sites. We spend BILLIONS dealing with alcohol and tobacco misuse. If non smokers and drinkers have to pay for those - can you really not spare a couple of quid for a site that keeps people out your park.
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