Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Reminder - Meeting with the council MONDAY 2 Nov - 7pm - Restaurant air pollution
Please do dial in to hear the plans to make our neighbourhood happier and healthier.
Just a reminder - we LOVE the restaurants, we HATE the pollution.
Pollution isn't inevitable from charcoal grill cooking - ESP filters can remove 99% of the pollutants before they vent into the neighbourhood.
Yes this isn't free - but estimated £10-15k. How much was spent in the latest refurb?
Please register to hear the next steps - the meeting is on Teams. Speakers include the Director of Public Health for Haringey.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/smoke-free-harringay-ladder-and-gard...
Replies to This Discussion
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Admin for testingPermalink Reply by Hugh -
Thanks for the reminder. Will this be recorded as I can't make it tonight?
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Permalink Reply by Alice B
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Unfortunately this is Haringey Council's meeting (not the campaign groups) so I don't believe they will record it. I'll aim to provide a write up in time for Thursday's Ketchup email :-)
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Admin for testingPermalink Reply by Hugh -
Ok. Thanks.
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton
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Alice, Have you asked them to record it?
If Haringey refused to do so, that seems both pointless and unhelpful. If they did so refuse to record it, what reasons did they give?
_______________________________As I've previously explained to you, I have Turkish restaurants near my home; and also visit them.
For example, I attended a family event yesterday 1st November at a restaurant on Green Lanes in Harringay. I have a similar wish that I and my friends and relatives from other parts of London and the country, use restaurants which fully comply with health regulations and which also use the very best modern air pollution control equipment.
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P.S. SOMEbody should make a recording !
As you said "Unfortunately this is Haringey Council's meeting (not the campaign groups)." Then it's entirely sensible for Haringey's Director of Public Health to share his expertise and information with borough residents who are worried about the topic.
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While I'm grateful to cllrs and officers for making the time... wow that was frustrating! My summary was:
- some engagement has happened, but 12 restaurants haven't replied yet
- there's no policy in place at the council and a very limiting interpretation of the law e.g. Clean Air Act. That combined with officers needing to be the ones witnessing it and residents reports not being enough combine to there being no enforcement options at the moment in the councils eyes.
- Spring 2027 for there to be any policy in place at the earliest.
- So... Summer 2027 before any enforcement? Maybe?
It was telling that when asked to say that the air is safe, the council couldn't say that. Yet... it's probably 9 to 12 months before anything other than asking nicely.
No creativity or new ideas from the council officers about how to encourage businesses to improve, and nothing residents can do either. The attitude was "this is hard and new so don't expect anything anytime soon".
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p.s. I've got detailed notes if anyone wants them.
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter
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MATT, it's a pity that the meeting was not able to be recorded, but thanks for your helpful summary.
If a dozen restaurant owners have not replied (after weeks or months?), then that is not good enough.
Presumably, the owners heard or were told, that their friends in local-Labour are seeking public cash to be spent, in order to stop their private businesses from damaging public health. And they may sense that officers are feeble. Their conclusion may be, that they can afford to drag their feet.
"Officers" seem to be as concerned about Residents' lungs as they do about their tenants and leaseholders' fire safety.
Whose interests is The Service serving?
At political level, it seems a pity that Cabinet responsiblity for Health is divided between three Councillors: Tehseen Khan, Hannah Ward and Georgia Twigg.
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Hi. As you may have seen from my later HoL post, the Council have decided not to act on Catherine West and David Lammy letter for grant funding. Instead they would like yet another mass engagement campaign. When 12 restaurants refuse to engage, it is baffling what impact they think this will have
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Local Labour & the Traders Picture Credit: Green Lanes (Harringay) Traders Association
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That letter—over the names of the two MPs to the Mayor of London—was misconceived and misguided and may have been against their better judgement.
It was wrong to propose that public money should be used to subsidise private concerns, not least in circumstances where there is the possiblity of illegality or unlawfulness or prosecutions.
So I'm pleased the council have rejected the notion.
The restaurant owners may continue to believe that local Labour has their back.
It would have set a bad precedent. I noted that former Cllr. Anna Abela wisely distanced herself from the letter; I would not be surprised to learn that unnamed former council leader Peray Ahmet was behind it.
The photo above is Xmas lunch in 2021, perhaps in a local restaurant. The cosiness goes back many years. The then-leader is third from left.
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I really do share your frustration about the spending of public money but speaking as a mum of two young children I am desperate for it. A large number of restaurants appear not to be engaging at all with the council and there has been limited action from others.
As a mother, what do I do?
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ALICE!
What to do?
We residents cannot oblige employees of the council to act.
Only Cabinet Members can. If they so choose.
Council "officers" must be forced to act. It is apparent that council staff are not willing to act but are prepared to wring their hands … until the cows come home.
As I noted above, it is a pity that at the highest (Cabinet) political level, accountability and responsibility for Health is divided between at least two Members.
I suggest that further engagement with council employees is demonstrably futile. I recommend—apart from copying them in—that further communication is abandoned.
The campaign should IMO be directed in writing only to the Lead (Cabinet) Members who have formal, public responsibility for Health, who hold the levers of power and who can order action.
If necessary, through a Letter of Direction.
It's not rocket science.
It's just political-will, hardened to emerald sharpness.
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