Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
"Air pollution killed my daughter..."
Further to my previous posting about air pollution being implicated in the death of a child in South London being, Ella's mother, Rosamund Kissi-Debrah, writes in the Guardian about her fight for answers.
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Tags for Forum Posts: air pollution
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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The pollution on Monday was literally breathtaking. The mayor is trying to jump on black cabs for idling, which is illegal and they are pushing back. The fact that a vehicle's exhaust is right at the back when it would be more efficient to have it closer to the driver tells you all you need to know about how poisonous internal combustion engines are.
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Permalink Reply by andy h on
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It's not the engine, it's the fuel.
splitting hairs - i know, but true none the less.
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Permalink Reply by Sarah on
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Bit of both. It's possible to burn diesel very cleanly depending on driver behaviour and engine tuning.
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Yesterday I walked past the cab rank at St Pancras and someone had chalked a few games of tic tac toe on the traffic island. I was horrified to think of children playing with their heads right at exhaust level next to a line of idling cabs.... And almost none of them switch their engines off, I walk past nearly every day.
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter
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SARAH, since you posted seven years ago about pollution and children, Haringey Council have—over the years—talked and talked and talked about reducing air pollution. Their lack of meaningful action is chronic, but their PR words go on and on.
Over the last seven years, many children from Haringey Borough are likely to have been admitted to the North Middlesex Hospital with breathing difficulties.
It would be helpful if their Director of Public Health would speak up, because prevention is better than cure. But it is culture that is the priority of the leadership.
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Today's timely story in the Haringey Community Press, is about ~
North Mid treating the highest number of children with breathing difficulties in London.
Our most-rotten council may well continue to publish strategies and action-plans and commitments and consultations without end but, unfortunately, there is net-zero Political Will for meaningful action over toxic air pollution.
#MumsForLungs
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Last year, I had some appointments at UCH and because of timings it was only feasible to drive and park in Euston Station's underground car park. The only way out of the car park is via the taxi rank, which is essentially a large concrete box full of taxi drivers running their engines to keep the heating on (it was winter). It felt revolting to have to walk through, breathing in concentrated exhaust fumes, especially since I was dashing past lots of signage saying 'switch off your engines'. The first time I spoke to a member of station staff, who clearly didn't give a crap. No point in rules if no-one's enforcing.
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Permalink Reply by Alice Mezzo on
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I wish something would be done about the pollution in our area but council seem never to prioritise this problem. One of the worst things about Harringay for me.
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ALICE, I could not agree more!
In March, the leadership was ecstatic on being "crowned" borough of culture 2027, but this is of interest largely to them and for a small fraction of all residents.
The focus on culture reflects their priority, but air pollution affects everyone. And most of all, the poorest who tend to live closer to heavily polluted carriageways.
"Public Health in Haringey" shows that the council sees public health as concerning residents solely on an individual basis, and not as a collective problem.
This is far from a new problem, but there is a chronic lack of political will to take meaningful action. I would like to see more active involvement by Haringey's Director of Public Health.
Yesterday's BBC story about toxic air "causing more child hospital admissions' in London.
North Middlesex University Hospital in Edmonton partly serves Haringey: there were 14,587 admissions of children to A&E or to one of their wards. Haringey Council does not care enough to do more than chat and write about it.
#MumsForLungs
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Permalink Reply by Bob Ruggles on
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Big Joke is that Haringey Schools All have Parking restrictions During School Times. Yet aware that they are not Enforced
I live meters from Noel Park School. Where many even double Park. And keep engines running Summer for Air condition / Winter for Heat
Seen TV Report where some Schools have put in Plant pots with plants that Counter passing Traffic Fumes. Not in Haringey, that I am aware of .
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There are definitely enforcement officers around Cheatnuts primary, I see them fairly often during pick up & drop off. There are also various air pollution monitoring devices around the borough, which will have been put in place by various people - the local authority probably have some, TFL might, I got a basic one for our community group which I put up on our road.
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AS if there were not sufficient evidence of the chronic lack of leadership on the environment—and on air pollution in particular—Haringey Council are in 2025 inviting residents to come up with some ideas as to how to tackle it.
Haringey residents invited to have say on how to tackle air pollution
It is as though the main source of air pollution were a mystery for the highly paid, expert officers at Haringey Council. Perhaps most depressing of all, this is the subject of yet another action plan.
Haringey Council action plans normally signify a (real) problem: about which the council is de facto, committed to do nothing practical or meaningful, indefinitely
This time, the action plan handwringing ;may last until the end of this decade. Residents are treated to the full panoply of municipal inaction as the subject is kicked into the long grass. Key features:
- five years
- action plan
- consultation
- draft strategy
- drop in centres
Where is leadership?
Footnote: the council declared a climate emergency six years ago (March 2019).
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