Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
New democracy arrangements tested as parks petition triggers debate but no vote
The Friends of Haringey Parks who recently used the Councils new forced a debate on the cuts to the borough's park service have hit out after councillors were denied the chance to vote on the issue.
Haringey Friends of Parks Forum delivered a petition signed by more than 2,500 people to Haringey Council last night calling for a reversal of 50 per cent cuts to the parks budget – sparking the first ever debate caused by a petition.
But before the meeting at Haringey Civic Centre in High Road, Wood Green, had even started, an emergency motion by two independent councillors calling for a vote on the issue was rejected, meaning the debate had no effect.
Chairman of the Friends of Lordship Rec, Dave Morris, said that he had expected that the council would automatically hold a vote after the debate.
He said: “The failure to hold a vote was disrespectful to the 2,500 residents who are demanding the cuts be reversed.
“It's unacceptable that the vast majority of green spaces are to be neglected, and that the council is failing to take responsibility for the situation.”
Campaigners told the meeting that the cuts have led to “mountains of litter and flowerbeds abandoned to weeds”, and claimed that 43 out of 46 of the borough's parks have little or no staffing.
But Councillor Alan Strickland, speaking for cabinet member for environment Councillor Nilgun Canver who did not attend the meeting, said that the council was forced to make the cuts due to reductions in Government funding.
He said: “No park will go unmaintained or abandoned – we're determined to work with you to do the best we can.”
Story from Haringey Independent
Tags for Forum Posts: parks, petition, public spending cuts
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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Ha ha, none of them are going to jail if a park is murdered by its parents.
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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I'm with Dave Morris on this. It was a pretty pathetic outcome for local democracy and the new petition process. Although a straight vote wouldn't have helped as it would probably have gone along party lines with Labour and Tory councillors doing the usual blame routines.
To be fair, my fellow Labour councillor Alan Strickland ended the "debate" by giving a number of positive undertakings. And Cllr Nilgun Canver had previously met Friends of Parks Groups for "summits" and supplied a lot of information. Although it seems nobody thought to copy this to councillors. Nor had we had the organograms I'd requested a few months ago showing the before and after impact on the Parks Service.
On the whole, Council meetings tend to be pointless occasions. (The amount of sheer drivel at the so-called "debate" on education which followed was a classic example.) Giving enough time for a properly informed discussion - a teach-in or conference perhaps - about our parks and green spaces could have been better use of the time. And the public money that Council meetings cost. Plus the time wasted by senior officers obliged to sit at the back of the Council chamber until 10pm. (And come to work fresh the next day?) Do the egos of councillors really need an enormously expensive captive audience?
(Tottenham Hale ward councillor)
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