Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Let's save the Greek Cypriot Women's Centre
For over 30 years the Greek Cypriot Women's Centre in Denmark Road has devoted itself to helping women from the Greek Cypriot Community to adapt to life in this country and to celebrate Greek cultural heritage. The many services which it has provided include keep fit and the teaching of the use of computers. The Centre is unique in its concentration on the well-being of women.
Unfortunately, the lease which the Centre held from the Council became the subject of a notice of surrender under Section 27 of the Landlord Act 1954. It is uncertain whether the notice was legally valid. Furthermore, even if it is legally valid, contentions have been made that those who gave the notice only did so because they came under improper pressure.
What is, however, certain is that whatever the legal position may be, the Council, does not have to stand on its strict legal rights. As landlord, it can arrange for the Centre to continue, especially given the doubts which exist as to the validity of the Section 27 notice in the first place.
With this in mind, Cllr Adamou and I have approached Claire Kober, the Leader of the Council, with a request for a meeting. No clear offer of a meeting, however, has thusfar been made by her.
At the recent meeting of the Council on 18th November the Centre made a Deputation which contained an eloquent plea for its continuance. In response Cllr Goldberg offered to meet with its representatives, but indicated (if I understood him correctly) that the Centre was to be treated as having been surrendered and that no concession would be made to the organisation if it wanted to get it back, despite the length of its time there and the value of its services to the community.
I hope that everyone in the HoL area will support the Centre. It can be reached at greekcypriotwomensorg@gmail.com. In addition, there is an on-line petition http://www.petitions24.com/gcwo
David Schmitz
Liberal Democrat Councillor for Harringay Ward
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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Why can't they use the Cyprus Kitchen? That space would be good for social housing. A point I'm sure Joe Goldberg is not unaware of. How can you oppose a lack of social housing being built at Ward's corner and yet support a minority group's monopolisation of a large tract of residential space?
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Permalink Reply by David Schmitz on
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John,
A point always worth making.
However, a change of use from community centre to housing would require planning permission. It might be given or it might not. Certainly it cannot be a foregone conclusion, since people need places to go to unless they are under house arrest.
It also cannot be assumed that if housing use were to be approved, social housing would necessarily follow. That is the point of my earlier posting about the Spurs site. http://www.harringayonline.com/forum/topics/house-prices?xg_source=...
The facilities of the Cyprus kitchen are not comparable to those of the GCWC and of course have their own demands to fulfil.
Best,
David
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Well let's see Joe put private housing there now then eh?
There is a Mosque and an Orthodox Church within 1 minute's walk of that site, both of which have large areas of non-worship. Come on David, this space can be better utilised.
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Permalink Reply by Old-Age-Emporium(OAE) on
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John, would that be the North Cyprus Kitchen you mentioned above? I'm still kicking myself I didn't get a bernie grant for a North Irish Centre on Wightman Road when the HIC&CC on Pretoria Road was getting theirs. Never leave a border unexploited or unimported - it might evaporate!
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David, I know you are very well meaning, but do Greek Cypriot Women really need help now to adapt to life in the UK and can't they use the church. I am Danish and the Danish church in London uses its facilities for many cultural events in addition to its religious activities. I would like to see that building done up and shared between different groups including some facilities for local kids/teens
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Dear Charlotte,
Many thanks for those queries. I would respond in this way.
From going door to door, I know that there are still many people living here, especially but not exclusively the elderly, who can or could benefit from the services which the centre offers. Moreover, unlike the Danish community, the Greek Cypriot community in London is concentrated in a couple of boroughs; hence the need for and the value of a community centre, as opposed to an organisation in central London which is geared to serve the entire London diaspora.
My primary concern is that the Council seems to be taking advantage of what appears to have been, on the most charitable view, an administrative slip on the part of the centre's former management, and in so doing, to be seeking to recover possession of the Centre without regard to the merits of its continuance in comparison with alternative uses that it might have for the site. If the S. 27 notice is invalid and if the Centre has security of tenure under the Landlord and Tenant Act, then the grounds on which the Council could recover possession are severely limited by the law.
If, however, the notice is valid, then the question as to what the Council should do with the windfall presented by the giving of the notice becomes a question of policy. I would expect the Council, when addressing that question, to give proper consideration to the merits and not to act like some private landlord seeking to profit from a slip on the part of his tenant.
As regards the merits of keeping the Centre going, these have been very well advanced by the Centre's present management before the Council, and no doubt they will be doing the same here.
All the best,
David
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So more important than whether they need it or not is the unsportsmanlike and ungentlemanly behaviour of the council. I sometimes feel like even a personal life is one unfilled form away from disaster.
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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David, you are a lawyer. You understand perfectly well the difference between an "administatrive slip" and a legal "Surrender" (formally giving up) a lease. If you seriously don't think "the notice was legally valid" then can I assume you have offered your pro bono advice?
We both sat in the Council meeting and listened carefully to what the delegation had to say. Please watch the webcast again (take the slider bar to 00:58:30).
I paid close attention to the delegation explaining that the core grant was reduced and so "the organisation was unable to meet the previous level of salaries". That there was a "fear of insolvency". We also heard that members of the Centre's committee which made the decision are no longer involved. There was a suggestion they may have been "misled" by a former Co-ordinator.
An "adminstrative slip"?
Far more importantly, to my mind, was the issue of what services can and can't be provided to different groups in the community. Unfortunately, in Haringey this is too often confused with the issue of which groups have or need long leases of publicly owned land and buildings. Giving long leases was a policy in the 1980's (and in some cases beyond.)
These days I rarely have anything positive to say about Cllr Joe Goldberg. But in this instance he was right that the whole Community Buildings policy and practice needed to be reviewed and - crucially - rethought. I also think it should be about meeting "needs" as they change; and not about ownership and occupation of land and buildings. Unfortunately, the latter seems to have dominated nearly every public discussion of this issue.
At the Council meeting, it also concerned me to hear the claim by the delegation that Council officers did not respond to them. And that neither would Cllr Claire Kober. If this is the case, it's regrettable. Councillors - even the Dear Leader who loves using the word "conversation" - need to meet and talk and listen to what residents say.
Okay, there must come a point where listening and discussion has to stop; as decisions are taken and actions put into effect. But in his case, the suggestion is that the discussion didn't properly start.
(Tottenham Hale ward councillor)
Incidentally, on this issue of listening and whose voices are heard, did anyone hear an interview with the film-maker Penny Woolcock? It was broadcast from the BBC's "Free Thinking" Festival at the Sage Gateshead. I sat in awe.
Click this temporary link to hear it on the BBC i-Player.
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Alan,
I should make clear that my involvement is as a ward councillor and not as a lawyer. Dealing briefly with the other points which you have made, a slip can have legal effect but the issue is whether the Council should take advantage of such a slip, especially when the discussions which you refer to have not taken place. Whether the notice actually has legal effect in this case is a matter on which (for the reason given above) I would prefer not to comment.
Best,
David
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C'mon, David, you understand the point I'm making. Having watched and listened again to the webcast, it really wasn't "a slip", was it?
And I'd be very disappointed if you don't also 'get' the question I'm raising about not seeing the solution to every problem as handing-out public land and buildings.
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Unlike Labour Councillors David has to keep an eye on the wishes of the people who voted for him. From my limited anecdotal research this includes a significant number of the local Cypriot community.
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Reading some of these comments makes me realise that many of you do not really know of the wonderful work this centre does. I work with the Leukaemia Cancer Society, a Haringey based charity that helps blood cancer patients and works with hospitals nationwid. I have witnessed the great service provided by these women 1st hand. The ladies of the GCWO have befriended many of our Greek speaking patients and their families, offering comfort and moral support. For these people the centre was somewhere they could escape to, a pillar of support during a very, very difficult time. Many of our non Greek patients have also benefited from this wonderful organisation. Yes, housing is important but so is compassion!!
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