A rubbish day in Harringay - Sunday 9 July

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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on July 12, 2017 at 13:59

I have now written to Cllr Ahmet, who is the Cabinet Member for Environment, about this thread and copied in ward councillors. Text below.

Dear Cllr Ahmet,

On Sunday 9 July a group of local residents photographed problems with street cleaning, rubbish dumping and general environmental issues in and around the Harringay Ladder. They posted these on Harringay On Line. The link to these photographs and comments start on page three. I would urge you to spend some time looking at these.

http://www.harringayonline.com/forum/topics/a-rubbish-day-in-harrin...

I think it is important to emphasise that all of these problems were spotted on one day, in some cases after only in an hour of walking around, in a very small geographical area.

You will see from reading the posts about rubbish and street cleaning that there is a great deal of discontent and anger about the state the area is in. While some of this can be blamed on the schedule and efficiency of rubbish collection, street cleaning and actioning environmental issues, there is also a broad acknowledgement that the root cause is the attitude to the local environment of some of those living in, trading in and visiting the area.

There seems to be a broad consensus amongst those who took part in this exercise and people commenting on the outcome of it that a definite, detailed action plan is drawn up to -

i). carry out an urgent intensive clear and clean of the area, including the paving on Green Lanes and Turnpike Lane

ii) follow this up with enforcement; actually knocking on doors to find out why bins are overflowing and stored on the footpath and what can be done about it, checking dumped rubbish to try to find out the identity of the dumpers, going to homes and businesses to ask what they know about rubbish left on their doorsteps

iII) plan how to prevent the area returning to its current state, including the role of Frontline staff in spotting, reporting and prosecuting littering and flytipping.

iv) let all of us in the area, residents and businesses, know what the plan of action is and how we are going to be kept informed about progress.

I, and some of the other who took part in this exercise, would be very happy to meet with you and our ward councillors to discuss the plan of action for the area and to have a positive dialogue about what other measures could be taken to improve the environment we live and work in.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on July 12, 2017 at 16:25

The bulk of the pics were from there but it does say in and around The Ladder.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on July 12, 2017 at 17:51

Tris, if you look at the list of people at the top of this thread, who put themselves forward, only ThaiDi and Osbawn volunteered to do any non-Ladder roads. If people want to do the same for areas like the Gardens for example I think that would be excellent.

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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on July 12, 2017 at 18:39

Personally I'm delighted when other people wade in and take photos and send in reports of streets, parks, alleys and little corners that I report from time to time.

The more the merrier.  My local favourite was someone called "Rubbish Rider" who for a while posted and sent Haringey videos taken from his bike. (I assume he had a gorillapod.)

Of course squeaky wheels shouldn't be the only ones which get the grease - as the old saying goes. But given the stripping away of staff in both Haringey Council and Veolia, it's essential that some citizen involvement - co-production - takes place. And I can quite understand people starting with their own streets.

One huge potential of social media is in collective citizen engagement. If it can help identify the places and causes of dumping I'd hope we will all welcome this work done; and try to add value by building on it. Including by multiplying and widening the "citizen research" groups.
____________________

Here's a totally different but perhaps thought-provoking example of volunteers using the net to work together at a distance to share work on a task. I don't know how many HoL members have come across Michelle vonAhn who lived in Tottenham for many years and now lives in Devon.  I invite people to read and reflect on this article - which you may already have seen - by Amelia Gentleman in the Guardian.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jun/30/grenfell-fire-volun....

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Permalink Reply by Nick G-T on July 12, 2017 at 22:32

Did you give this link a go?

http://www.haringey.gov.uk/environment-and-waste/rubbish-and-recycl...

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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on July 13, 2017 at 0:37

If you know who's dumping this stuff. Osbawn, can I please suggest that you at least have an informal chat with someone in Haringey's Enforcement team to see what may be possible.

I'm years out of date, but I recall a couple of cases where a temporary video camera did the trick. Both cameras were installed in overlooking windows. One recorded shots of a trader who was regularly dumping food waste by a wall to save money on his commercial waste contract. He got a taking to, and stopped. 

The other camera seems to have been spotted by the people responsible as the dumping ceased - but without revealing who had been doing it.

I'm not a fan of having cameras everywhere. But I think that very selective temporary oversight of "hotspots" has a place in a prevention strategy.

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Permalink Reply by JulieB on July 13, 2017 at 7:22

I posted some pictures after I said I wasn't on the ladder but was told I was still welcome to post. Actually I consider my road (Conway Road) to be in Harringay - although I think there are some border disputes.

In good news the mattress in my street that I reported on Monday evening was gone by yesterday.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on July 13, 2017 at 9:03

Sorry, missed you out in the acknowledgements Julie. I'm really grateful for your time and effort.

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Permalink Reply by Gordon T on July 13, 2017 at 9:07

Julie, you're definitely in Harringay according to Hugh's mapping and discussion - see here.

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Permalink Reply by JulieB on July 13, 2017 at 9:25

Great, thanks Gordon.

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Permalink Reply by Karen Alexander on July 12, 2017 at 15:51

Great letter to Cllr Ahmet.

Sorry I wasn't around to help on the 9th. 

Will be interested in her response.  There is no doubt that Harringay has become filthier and filthier over the last couple of months, there is often litter and debris on Wightman Road and that is supposed to be cleaned every day (though I doubt it is).

Its an embarrassment to have visitor when the area looks such a mess.

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Permalink Reply by Zena Brabazon on July 14, 2017 at 11:29

Thanks for the letter Michael.  

I agree with everything you have said.  I don't think the charges will work as people who don't have money, cars or other resources will be pushed further into using what Alan Stanton described years ago, when he was on the council, as the third system -i.e dumping. When dumping happens they have to come and take it away which of course is costly in financial terms - and adds to our very poor reputation.

It is true that the Council is squeezed fro cash - but it is also true that we have choices as a Council about how we allocate the resources we have.  It can't go unnoticed that we have invested so heavily in these huge futuristic regeneration plans where Haringey will be cleaner, brighter, and have oodles of tower blocks. All that futurology costs vast amounts of money. For me, regeneration starts at the most local level - sorting out the environment, enforcement, rogue landlords, civic pride, community involvement.

Apparently this is old hat compared to the developer led and developer embraced concepts where all the streets are perfect, the sun shines all the time and no one has any social problems or worries. And where decisions are taken on yachts in Cannes.

I am certainly up for a meeting with everyone and with Peray.

Zena

Zena Brabazon

Councillor, Harringay Ward

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