Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
‘DAMAGE control’ ~ a video by a rebel resident
MARTIN BALL is a resident of the Rebel Borough.
In the video linked below, Martin makes an informal survey of Finsbury Park …
It was shot 10 days after the council's biggest Event-customer finished using the Premises that Haringey Council Licenses.
He identifies a number of sites of damage after a single use by the giant Live Nation corporation during the Council's Events Season.
Enabled, promoted and controlled by the Local Authority.
Damage Control, a rebel video.
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Tags for Forum Posts: Council Event Control, Festival Republic, Finsbury Park, Live Nation, Major Event, Martin Ball, Wireless
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton
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FRESH START FRIDAY ?
- How should newly elected Haringey borough councillors approach problems caused when a substantial part of a large public park is regularly let out to a private U.S. corporation running a loud music event?
- Let's assume that after election all new councilors begin to learn from local residents and a local website, that problems include the following.
- A substantial part of the park's maintenance budget relies on a contract with the U.S. corporation.
- The corporation annually builds a steel wall perhaps one-and-a-half miles long so it can sell tickets to customers of its events.
- The wall does not muffle the sound volume for the neighbouring homess.
- These neighbours include nearby residents of Hackney and Islington.
- As far as I'm aware, neither elected councillors or residents of these Boroughs can discover,whether other counillors nor residents of these boroughs are being consulted about or allowed to challenge park noise. Nor it seems, are effective steps taken to reduce noise for the most affected residents. Especially in in Brownswod ward, Hackney.
- No income was shared with adjacent boroughs.
- Despite the three boroughs previously claiming to be Socialists it is not known whether any attempts at Socialist decision-sharing has occurred.
- It has been alleged that heavy machinery brought in for musical events has damaged tree roots, grass and other greenery
- It is alleged that the length of the contract with the Corporation - five years - has the effect of preventing the democratic involvement of any political Party councillors elected on 7th May 26. And worse etill ALL the Councillors elected on that day would have little or no say until 2032.
- After the 7th May 2026 opposition councillors may discover that among the very few ways to try making the so-called Council Leader or Leaders accountable will be to use a "Call-In" to "Scrutin Committee." They may also discover that Scrutiny may not be allowed.
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter
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loud music event?
"Loud" is one way of describing the council's biggest Major Event.
The noise amplification is great such that the Beverly Hills-based corporation—in concert with the council Events Team—has installed a direct mains connection in the park. This is not needed for public benefit.
The partners: Cllrs. Ahmet, Arkell & Live Nation's Melvin Benn.
Parks budget—there once was a time when a goal was that the Parks Budget should be less dependent on Event income. Instead, we've gone in the opposite direction.
The council does not publish accounts for FP. How can they show and give effect to the direction of the High Court, which was that money raised on the back of the park, must be spent on the park?
The Wall—nine feet high and one and a half miles long—yes, it does little to muffle the noise. As the licensed premises are on a south-facing slope, the worst affected is Brownswood Ward, Hackney. Least affected is the Ladder which sits lower of the highest area around the lake and running track.
Of a long list of objections I have to this business, perhaps the worst one for me is the denial of best, south-facing slopes to ordinary people, at the height of summer, for weeks on end.
However, those I feel most sorry for are the residents of Brownswood Ward, Hackney. They have no say or ability to vote out those responsible. Some leave their homes over the period of Haringey's Wireless park hire.
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FRESH START FRIDAY #2
After 7th May there MUST be an end to any more nonsense of refusing to publish accounts to honest residents acting in good faith. Forcing residents like Clive Carter having to appeal over months to tribunals etc.
Also wasting the time of judges in our system who have enough backed up cases.
Not to mention wasting the time for Council lawyers in endless delays and then apologising to courts for endlessly leaving Freedom of Information Act requests to to the last minute.
How about Instead just telling the truth in the first place?
Isn't that what we tell our children?
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Fresh Start Friday
(and let's not forget Fridays for future)
The council has largely forgotten their Declaration of a Climate Emergency at a Full Council meeting, seven years ago.
The current council leader rarely mentions the environment and instead, focuses on indoor/cultural activities.
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Failing to tell the truth in the first place (AKA Duty of Candour) tends to cause more trouble in the long run. My long-run relates to the council's troubled property services area.
Haringey Council sometimes complains it has no money. However, it could make better use of the money that it does have, if there were less waste, fewer mistakes and a more robust approach to financial irregularities.
The council has a robust approach to maintaining secrecy. It took four years and some effort to squeeze some truth out.
Haringey Council was reluctant to disclose the Minutes from the three secret Property Boards that were set up by the previous (Labour) Administration.
An historical Valuation for their Headquarters was especially sensitive.
Correspondence with the valuer described the needed value of £20,000,000, as being the (quote) "magic" figure. The purchase of the freehold of Alexandra House involved the payment to a shell company of £6,000,000 (six million pounds).
The sole asset of the shell company was a right to buy the council's headquarters. That shell company may have taken as long as two hours to set up. It had been remarkably well informed.
The circumstances could have been investigated in a way that was more "robust" but that would have been embarrassing. Some residents might suspect there has been a long-term cover-up. Is the council always candid?
Litigation continues arising from this case.
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Permalink Reply by D Jones
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It's odd how there is £6,000,000 to spaff away but the Haringey Parks department claim there is "no budget" for fixing the cracks through a PUBLIC path (so wide & deep you can fit your foot in) that have been there over 2 years.
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It would be very helpful if you or say a friend of yours could take at least two additional photos to locate this precise location showing the cracks in this path so it could be fixed as speedily, fully, and accurately as possible.
Thanks
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I have been emailing the council and raising complaints for over 6 months about these cracks and all the parks department does is fob me off with excuses.
They are in Woodside Park N22
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Repairs to damage in public parks
The Parks Department have for the past 11 years been dominated by the council Events Team. Their highest priority is winning and keeping business. i.e. park hires, not park maintenance.
If damage repairs are not in the interest of their customers, then it is likely that those repairs will go to the bottom of their priority list.
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Hmm, that locates the name of the particular park, But not the location of the crack in the road.
Ideally two additional photos could include, without too much ambiguity, distinct physical features such as an external fence AND a section of roadway, so the crack is easily located "in the cross-hairs", so to speak.
In the years when I was a councillor, and walked round reporting stuff, I often found Google maps very helpful.
I also used, initially, a free and then paid account on Flickr website. I'd sometimes use several photos on the same page, to show e.g. the size of a pile of dumped rubbish, from different angles to show the size of the clearance task.
Alan
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P.S. As you probably know, Haringey Council website has a map of Woodside Road. I'm wondering whether it would be plainer and even quicker to refer to the map to report this crack in the particular path. E.g. would giving the nearest house and street number offer a reliable and hard to miss direction?
https://haringey.gov.uk/leisure-parks-culture/parks-greenspaces/par...
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Aspects of Haringey council—such as financial waste, mistakes and irregularities are relatively easy to hide from public view and evade scrutiny.
Because such things can reflect on the character & honesty, careers & competence of Councillors and council employees—and on their corporate reputation—the council often does its level best (or worst) to conceal failure.
Haringey's busy Press Team are an important part of this ongoing public relations effort, which paints a picture of continuous success and of ever-greater heights being achieved.
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In disregard of its Constitution, Haringey Council is wedded to secrecy and keeping many matters private from Residents who either pay their wages or who depend on council services.
As I have found, it takes much time and effort to try to lift a lid on those things the council would prefer no spotlight is shone upon.
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However the damage in, and repairs undone, in our public parks—including the regularly part-privatised Finsbury Park—are impossible to conceal and are on-show year-round, for everyone to see.
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