Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
All 3 Haringey paddling pools out of action
To save anyone else the same faff we’ve just encountered - please be aware that ALL THREE of Haringey’s paddling pools are currently out of order! All of them were due to open today - but none of them have (and Priory Park is out of action for a longer period). What with Clissold Park also being out of action for potentially the next 6 weeks, it’s not looking good for children’s water play in our local area. (My additional particular irritation is that when I checked on the pools and opening dates literally 2 days ago, they were all still anticipated as opening - hence my fruitless search for cooling down options today…!)
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by D Jones
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Don't expect any help from Haringey Parks department, they are one of the most unhelpful and dysfunctional departments in the council. They are expert at ingoring messages, making excuses and generally fobbing any complaints off.
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter
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UNDER the previous crew, the council Events Team—to coin a phrase—Delivered Change for Working Families:
200 new trees
#NatureThugs
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Permalink Reply by Liz
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The new Cabinet member for placemaking is Cllr Dixie-Ann Joseph of Tottenham Central Ward, the same as the new leader of the council
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Permalink Reply by Justin Guest
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Thanks Liz, that is usefu1. I have messaged her about the Lido in Priory Park, and added a post about our parks in general. This maybe interesting though to show that the reason Priory Park is out of action is not simply something that came as a surprise... This is simple mismanagement. Its been there all winter and no one has been bothered to deal with it. I saw it this morning while looking for a water fountain (not working!!!)
I saw it this morning while looking for a water fountain (not working!!!)
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I have a feeling that Priory Park is scheduled for works so I'm amazed there's no one working on it, especially as there is 100th birthday celebration going on next month.
The Friends of PP may know more about what is happening here.
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"One hopes the paddling pools will be seen as urgent. It's kind of their first test." I've been thinking about this thread and I'm quite confused. There is lots of advice about people writing to parks departments and chief executives, opinions expressed about the worthiness or not of the staff (which I am not in a position to comment on except to say I've found most of them to be polite, helpful and very overworked in an understaffed department) from activists like Clive and ex-councillors like Alan (and Clive) and the odd Bah Humbug!
However, did I just hallucinate an election with a whole new bunch of councillors (from all parties) eager to be pro-active, anti-elitist, open to residents, etc. who surely should be all over this like a rash and not forcing mums busy with half term and work to get into email exchanges with the chief executive?
What are councillors for if not to take that burden of dealing with council departments from us, or have I misunderstood the role? In which case, I do wonder what I was voting for if, in order to get a paddling pool open, I have to email into the void that is the council customer services department or worse fill up a council employee's inbox with mails that they probably won't have time to read.
Has anyone actually emailed and received a positive, non-holding reply from any of your councillors (new or otherwise) over this? Please share your experiences.
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Good luck to the new councillors and they certainly have some promises to keep. But I'm not sure how easily or quickly a change can be expected. A lot of bridge mending is needed first. The approach of several 'activists' over the years seems to strongly correlate with the demise of any meaningful and functional relationship between park users and the council. The Friends of Finsbury Park are a prime example. For decades now there has not been a single publicly accessible drinking fountain in the park. It beggars belief that something so simple and essential has been ignored. The impression of the FoFP being a gardening club for middle class retirees is often hard to dispute. Their approach to dealing with the council and their lack of breadth of representation both need to change.
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Will you be joining FoFP Jamie?
I'm not talking about overnight change. I'm not expecting miracles
I'm asking if anyone has written to their councillors and received a reply that is more comprehensive than the one supplied above. You know, the bare mimimum.
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No, Liz. Whether intended or not, that kind of gotcha always falls flat.
Unlike the council, I can acknowledge how pitifully park users have and are being treated, but I can also understand their lack of desire to discuss this with many of the more prominent voices in the FoFP.
Of course, the new (and old) councillors should work on these issues. I'm simply identifying a broken relationship that has contributed to a lack of progress in the past.
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Not really a gotcha Jamie. More of a question as to whether you are an activist yourself? I chair a Friends group and attend the Parks Forum from time to time (and I'm not expecting a medal for it, I do it because I want to) and I know how hard it is to get people to be involved in long term commitments. I also know how frustrating it is for people to talk to the council and I have seen many people who begin or join groups from all backgrounds who soon realise that they are too busy/life is too short or gets in the way to spend their time in endless email chains about broken swings or getting a water fountain fixed.
In my experience, this means a certain kind of activist emerges perhaps reluctantly but nevertheless persistent and maybe not always with the face and background that you might demand.
Having said that, there are all kinds of people fighting for Parks and they are not all middle class retired gardeners. I know because I meet them in Parks Forum and listen to their struggles to get heard. Declaring that Parks groups are XYZ (insert your own comments) pretty much guarantees that only those with the thickest skins will do the work. Generally, if a green space doesn't have a group fighting for it, it will be neglected by both the public and the council who will tend to only deal with constituted groups. It may not be right or fair but that is where we are. The world we live in.
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I've also put my money where my mouth is and emailed on this issue to my three councillors (separately as I was once told that councillors dislike being cc'd).
Let us now see if any of them a) answer b) find out what on earth is going on.
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Well, I got a response from Dixie-Ann... 3.5 hour turn around.
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Hi Justin
Thank you for your email regarding the Haringey Lidos. As the new Cabinet member for Placemaking, I am still going through my induction and catching up with outstanding residents' issues during my handover.
Please be assured that I have listed this as an action to follow up on and will come back to you once I have ascertained the departments that would be able to help.
Keep me updated on your resident group and please feel free to send me information or any issues that concern you and local people. I understand your frustrations as outlined in your email, and I won't take them lightly. Please write to me and let me know what is happening in your local area.
Have a great week and I will come back to you within the next week regarding the above query.
Kindest regards
Cllr. Dixie-Ann Joseph
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