Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
On the Strategy Consultation Again - Question to our Local Press
I went downstairs and this thing kept bugging me. This consultation. This plan for our future.
I mean, if that's it (See Haringey Council's Plan for the Future - Call for Consultation). If that's as effectively as they can seek to engage people in having a say on their future. If that's the energy the Council are prepared to put in to getting our views, it's a crying shame.
So, my question to the local press is, will you challenge the Council on this? Will you contribute to making it known? Will you take your share of responsibility? Emma?
PS: That's the Journal covered. I'll email the Advertiser and Independent.
I mean, if that's it (See Haringey Council's Plan for the Future - Call for Consultation). If that's as effectively as they can seek to engage people in having a say on their future. If that's the energy the Council are prepared to put in to getting our views, it's a crying shame.
So, my question to the local press is, will you challenge the Council on this? Will you contribute to making it known? Will you take your share of responsibility? Emma?
PS: That's the Journal covered. I'll email the Advertiser and Independent.
Tags for Forum Posts: consultation
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by matt on
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John, I'm not really following your line of argument.
Are you for clear, involved consultation from our council? At the moment in this 'new age' of local democracy consultations we the citizens sometimes get a questionaire through the door, which on the whole is fine because it's then up to us to follow up their website info and other searches if we wish, then fill out the questionaire and send it off. Seeing the results is quite another thing!
However an increasingly used approach of the council to 'consultation' on sweeping policy areas is to do away with letterbox questionaire's and instead hold a one off community meeting. The Green Strategy is such a case. I don't think this approach is comprehensive enough. In the Green Strategy the extremely controversial rises in the Essential Permit fees wereslipped inintroduced, at a whopping 1200 - 2400% ^.
I think sites like this can make a difference by feeding back what we believe are the priorities. Of course a big part of that process is discussing what those priorities are.
As to the so-called local papers (owned by nationwide publishing companies), they're not serious about covering local issues at all. Good only for making into recycled loo roll.
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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I hate the feeling that we have to be constantly on our guard against these things. Why can we not write down a comprehensive list of our ideals - translated into legal language, give it to the council and say "Call us if you do ANYTHING that you might get sued for now that you know what we want"? We have to get involved BEFORE they go out to consultation because it seems by then their minds are made up and they're just following the rules thinking that nobody will be bothered to stop them.
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Permalink Reply by Liz on
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I take John's point about 'active' not 'reactive' campaigning but I think that it is a much harder process.
I was asked the other day to say what I did want for the area not what I didn't want and, to be honest, it was a question that I simply could not answer on the spot.
Perhaps, the first step is to give people a sense of the history of a place, then to ensure that they want to bring up families and/or invest time in a place through community projects or even simply by using the local facilities and, finally,provide them with workable models of the future based on what has been achieved elsewhere. ( for example, your idea of new buildings with no car parking operates in parts of central Brighton).
Ensuring accountability is also important, especially of groups that have been given lots of money to spend on us. It is extremely hard to find independent published material available to the general public that explains exactly how money is spent and why. The local press could help with this but do not and material published by council or working groups reveal virtually nothing but do usually have some lovely photos.
Perhaps we need to move away from the language of politics 'priority', 'policy', 'vision' and ask people in the language that was used to me, 'Just tell me what you want, not want you don't want'...got me thinking!
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I find that the first problem is that they're doing things we don't want. I did not want them to make my street one way and put a road hump outside my bedroom window. I reasoned that it was easier to stop doing things than to do things. Maybe I was wrong, they do have a lot of people employed there and I know how I feel when I have nothing to do at work...
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:D You have a point there, but surely the issue of them doing things we don't want leads us back to communication and accountability. From the tiny toe I've dipped into this already, it seems that 'they' often communicate via channels that do not necessarily take it upon themselves to get out there and find out if that is actually what people want, or (as Matt says) use means such as one off community meetings the purpose of which are not well advertised. Whether those meetings are well attended or not, they can then tick the box that says 'consultation complete'. Council online surveys are a nightmare to fill in and often ask you to simply ratify a proposal and maybe pop an idea of your own in at the end, wonder how many of those ideas are picked up?
By the time, residents realise what has happened, it's done and then the council argues that it is too expensive/too difficult to change back (cf removal of free parking bays at SH school which wasn't even in the consultation) and the issue gets lost in political wrangling.
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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Emma for the Hornsey & Crouch End Journal has been in touch with me about this. So they may pick it up as a story. If you've got anythging you want to say to her on the issue, she can be contacted vis "Emma" on this site (Do a member search).
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Permalink Reply by Omotn on
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Emma's points surely are that Haringey's consultations are half hearted and ineffectual, and that our local press has all the editorial punch of the proverbial constipated hedgehog. Has anyone formulated a response to the LDF consultation; does any know where the local papers arse is so that we can kick it?
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Permalink Reply by Birdy_Too on
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JM,
Before all the 20mph and one ways were introduced, before a massive consultation period by the council, the roads were carnage on the Ladder.
Every other car had a wing mirror missing and the confrontation level of motorists was high, especially if a lorry was coming down the street without a care in the world.
Joy riding was more prevalent and collisions with oncoming cars more a regular occurrence.
This and the CPZ regulations are something I whole heartily support the council on.
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