Harringay’s Green Lanes - the most complained about for smells / smoke in Haringey this year

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Clive Carter 34 minutes ago

Hi Alice,

However, the council officers continue to go through the bureaucracy of nice little chats with the businesses and developing a policy …

———

There is probably not a single official handbook titled "Official Council Excuses".

However, local government researchers, community activists and urban planners have widely documented a recurring repertoire of bureaucratic deflection tactics.

These standard refrains are frequently deployed by bureaucrats and municipal councils to explain away delays, deflect responsibility, or kick contentious issues into the long grass.

Further research has yielded a more structured background to the bureaucratic sclerosis that exists to some extent in all local authorities. Could not all the 12 points below apply to Haringey Council some of the time and some of them apply all the time?

———

The Dozen Standard Municipal Excuses for Inaction

1. "It's not currently in the budget."

   • The Translation: We allocated funds elsewhere or refuse to prioritise this, but blaming an abstract financial deficit sounds more professional than saying "we don't want to spend money on it."

2. "We are waiting on a report/study."

   • The Translation: Commissioning a feasibility study, traffic survey, or environmental impact assessment is the gold standard for buying 12 to 18 months of breathing room without actually deciding anything.

3. "That falls under the jurisdiction of another department/agency."

   • The Translation: Passing the hot potato. It might technically be true (e.g., splitting hairs between county highways and local district services), but residents are left trapped in an inter-departmental game of ping-pong.

4. "It requires a complete review of our overarching policy framework."

   • The Translation: Instead of fixing an isolated problem, we are going to frame it as a massive systemic issue that requires rewriting guidelines, which could take years.

5. "We are currently constrained by statutory guidelines."

   • The Translation: Blaming higher levels of government or rigid legal frameworks. Often used even when local discretion actually exists.

6. "We need to consult with stakeholders and conduct community engagement."

   • The Translation: Weaponizing democracy. Public consultations are vital, but they are frequently spun up as a stalling tactic when the council wants to dilute momentum or exhaust persistent campaigners.

7. "It's a matter of prioritising limited municipal resources."

   • The Translation: A polite way of saying, "Your specific neighborhood or issue doesn't rank high enough on our political radar to care right now."

8. "There is an ongoing legal review/risk assessment on this matter."

   • The Translation: Instant, impenetrable stonewalling. The moment legal risk is invoked, staff are legally or administratively barred from discussing the issue further, freezing all action.

9. "That will be addressed as part of the upcoming master plan."

   • The Translation: The long-term deflection. Why fix a broken pavement or hazardous junction today when a 10-year master plan vaguely mentions redeveloping the whole zone eventually?

10. "We haven’t received enough public complaints to justify a change."

    • The Translation: Demanding proof of a widespread outcry. If only a few people speak up, it’s dismissed as an "isolated incident"; if a crowd shows up, it's dismissed as "a vocal minority."

11. "Staffing shortages and high turnover have impacted our capacity."

    • The Translation: An increasingly common, hard-to-dispute operational reality in local government that instantly explains why emails go unanswered and dossiers sit unread on desks.

12. "We must wait for the outcome of the upcoming election / change in administration."

    • The Translation: Kicking the can down the road because current elected officials don't want to tie the hands of the next council—or take the political heat right before a vote.

.

Could any of the above be factors relevant in connection with the "compliant" charcoal burning in restaurants along Green Lanes by a compliant council?

The Haringey Council's Statutory Director of Public Health is Dr Will Maimaris, who reports to the Corporate Director of Adults, Housing and Health (Sarah Sutton) who reports to the CEO (Andy Donald AKA Head of Paid Service).

Leadership and direction are needed.

#PublicHealth

.

• ▶ Reply