Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Compliant does not automatically equal safe
Time and time again, residents around Harringay Green Lanes are told that the grill restaurants are “compliant” — as though that should end the conversation.
It shouldn’t.
Because compliance is not the same thing as protection from pollution.
Ask yourself:
➡️ Does “compliant” mean harmful emissions (PM2.5) don’t spray pollution across our children’s school playgrounds?
➡️ Does it mean harmful particulate pollution is being effectively captured at source?
➡️ Does it mean children, older people and vulnerable residents are protected from exposure?
No.
So what exactly is being assessed when we are told that a business is “compliant”?
- Is the extraction system being properly maintained and cleaned?
- Is the system venting as required?
- Is there a carbon monoxide alarm in the premises?
Those checks may establish compliance with particular (low) requirements. They do not automatically establish that there is no harmful pollution affecting the surrounding community.
And that distinction matters.
Residents should not be dismissed with a single word — “compliant” — when the real question is:
Is the pollution affecting the people who live here acceptable?
And compliance with one set of requirements does not give anyone a free pass from other legal obligations. The Clean Air Act 1993 still matters.
Compliant does not mean harm-free.
Compliant does not mean residents should shut up.
And compliant does not mean the conversation is over.
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter
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THE backdrop to the municipal fobbing-off appears to be the long-time cosiness between the council and GL traders and GL restaurants in particular ~
Like Janus, the Labour MPs’ letter to London's Labour Mayor faces both ways: one face concerned about pollution and the other face, über-sensitive to business interests and reluctant to to do anything that might upset them.
"… a more creative approach is required"
given the cost associated with the advanced filtration technology which may be required to tackle it, we believe that additional funding is necessary to reach a solution to this issue.
The MP's "creative approach" appears to seek to use public money to insulate Labour-friendly, private businesess from stepping up to meet their responsibilities. This is followed by over-the-top, gushing praise:
the Turkish businesses on our stretch of Green Lanes provide enormous value to our community. They have put our constituencies on the cultural map, with people traveling from far and wide to eat there. They are much loved and we will not contemplate or endorse any intervention which threatens their livelihoods or long-term business prospects.
This part was supposedly written by two Labour MPs, but bears similarity to the words of the former Haringey Council Labour leader Peray Ahmet, interviewed in 2022 by the Green Lane Traders Association:
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… I have been so happy to work alongside Green Lanes Traders to help make Green Lanes a destination for visitors to Haringey. There is no place in the world outside of Turkey and Cyprus where you can get such great food and I want everyone to know that. … And I want to support businesses like the ones here on Green Lanes.
- What are your thoughts about Harringay High Street, do you visit the area often? [GLTA]
Yes – I come here all the time. It is a wonderful area and we want everyone in London to know about it and to come here to sample the delicious food. I would like to see another food festival in the street here in the next couple of years. … We want to see Green Lanes recognised as one of the great food destinations in London, just like Brick Lane or Chinatown. … We hope [LTNs] will mean more people will come to Green Lanes on foot and cycle here, shop and spend time in the amazing restaurants.
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This is the political/cultural background to the lack of action on public health by the compliant council, for decades run by local Labour. N.B. I have eaten in GL Turkish restaurants more than once and the food and service was excellent.
#PublicHealth
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