Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
St Ann's and Harringay Area Forum is on tonight!! - Apparently!!
Just found out this is on tonight as I type this - no publicity seen and the Council's website doesn't have details of the venue! - apparently its at the Cyprus Kitchen on Green Lanes.
Future of St Ann's Hospital site is on the agenda and future of Chestnuts Community Centre - two important issues for local residents.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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No, that's impossible because this is on:
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Permalink Reply by matthew cuthbert on
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The big question in Tottenham, can you save our Hospital from developers?
When I hear David Lammy talk of saving St Ann's Hospital, and Ed Milliband talk about St Ann's Hospital, the we will know the sincerity of Labours promise to save the NHS, period.
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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The big question in Tottenham, Matthew? I tend to think there are a range of big questions. Not least trying to make sense of the changes going on around us by drawing from as many useful frameworks as we can handle.
As usual, I'm indebted to Liz Ixer. This time for pointing me towards the German sociologist Ulrich Beck, who died in January. The Guardian's obituary mentioned how "he uses the metaphor of a caterpillar undergoing a profound transformation in its cocoon, yet with no idea of what is taking place".
As a bemused and ignorant caterpillar myself, I obviously need to read this man. (So if anyone has something of his in English they want to unload, or sell secondhand . . . )
Anyway, Matthew, whether it's simply to learn about a different set of views from other cocoons, can I suggest you look at the work of people who raising big questions impacting on society, on cities and their neighbourhoods. And of course affecting Tottenham.
For instance Loretta Lees gave a recent talk in Brixton - now online. (Though I tend to think she may be wrong to frame the problem primarily as 'gentrification'.) And if you've got a bit more time, and haven't already seen them, I recommend having a look at some of David Harvey's recent videos. (Again it's not necessary to agree with everything he says to find his insights useful.)
Or perhaps just come with me for a stroll around North-east Tottenham to consider why these people's homes and businesses are about to be destroyed in the guise of "regeneration".
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I encountered one workshop at an area forum last year, I wonder what the findings revealed, I always thought consultation was a fudge to fulfil a mandatory requirement, (unless you are seriously interrogating an issue, dialogue is more honest,) and should be held at a time and place people can reach after work, it's not much more effort to promote widely in cafés and shops, councillors and residents feel demoralised if there is a low turnout for enguagement.
In between we could have open forums on issues not promoted by the council, then present findings to area forum at 'soapbox.'
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Alan, I'll walk with you, you have a keen interest in the built environment and people, that's were I'm at.
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Permalink Reply by Sarah on
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Oh, if I'd known I probably would have gone. I wanted to get out of my bathroom fitter's way so I went to the WI knit night at the Salisbury.
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The comedy was excellent. A real laugh out loud event. (And the best since I went to the last full Council meeting when Claire Kober and Ann Waters were both in superb stand-up comic form.)
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Permalink Reply by RTDR on
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The planned redevelopment of the St Ann's Hospital site was top of the agenda at the area forum last Tuesday. The topic was given an hour but the discussion went on for an hour and a half and still many of the questions from local residents went unanswered.
The panel included the council lead for Health and Wellbeing, Cllr Peter Morton, Andrew Wright from the Mental Health Trust, a representative from the council planning department and representatives form the campaigning group Haringey Needs St Ann's Hospital, David King and Rod Wells.
Peter Morton explained that the local authority had little influence over what services were offered on the site. He did talk about a 'Task and Finish' group that had been set up in response to the Healthwatch report that was published last year. If you remember this is the report that highlighted serious problems in access to GPs in the Tottenham Hale area, though the report says the problems exist across the East of the borough. From what he said it didn't sound like the opportunities to develop primary care services on the St Ann's site was on the agenda for the group.
Andrew Wright maintained that at least half of the St Ann's site was 'surplus to requirements' and that they could build up on the site if services were commissioned by the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). Though to date no extra services have been commissioned. He trotted out the now familiar line that the acute mental health wards were probably the worst in London and that the only way they would be bought up to an acceptable standard would be by selling off the land. He did say that the Whittington Hospital had submitted a proposal for an integrated Child Health Centre but that any building would have to be funded by them, not through the proceeds of the sale of land.
Cllr Morton and Andrew Wright were challenged by the St Ann's campaigners. They pointed out the the Health and Wellbeing Boards role is to plan for our health and wellbeing. And that the redevelopment at Chase Farm had received capital funding to the tune of £75m from the Department of Health. They also talked about the lack of responsibility anyone seemed to be taking. They had submitted Freedom of Information requests to the Mental Health Trust and the CCG to find out what discussions had taken place about the site. The Mental Health Trust said that discussions had taken place but that no notes had been taken, the CCG said that no discussions had taken place at all!
There were lots of pertinent questions from the floor that were mainly left unanswered or glossed over:
Why is land surplus when health needs not met now?
What alternative arrangements like leasing the land were looked at?
Assessment of the need for new schools in the area as a result of the redevelopment was lacking.
What social housing would be there?
Would Council insist on Housing Associations providing the housing at St Ann's?
The application will be heard by the planning committee on March 16th. There is still time to put in an objection.
If you want to get involved in the campaign for better health services and alternatives to housing that no one in Haringey will be able to afford, email:
haringeyneedsstannshospital@gmail.com
@StAnnsHospital
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Permalink Reply by Liz on
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Yes, many thanks RTDR for this update for those of us who couldn't make the forum. I had requested some feedback about this from our ward councillors but they don't seem to have been able to do that for us.
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Thank you for recapping this meeting, there seems to be a movement to reduce Mental Health Care and strip out our healthcare capability in Haringey, we have benefitted little from our health trust merger with Enfield and Barnet, we're seen as a development opportunity in an urban setting.
Critical mass is failing us as Haringey heads towards a population of 300,000, our ability to provide healthcare to serve the east of the borough is desperate, central government have incentivised the sell off of NHS land, we have to sell to provide, can you imagine education in this context of disregard?
Haringey councillors could postpone planning to review the plans further, in two months a new government could prioritise an initiative for Haringey's health needs, safeguarding our healthcare provision at St Ann's. Save St Ann's Hospital.
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