Harringay online

Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

This from Haringey's Website today (Thanks to Liz for spotting this one):

People who allow dogs to foul the pathway and who dump rubbish in the streets risk being fined £75 in a new crackdown by council enforcement officers.

Starting with Haringey 's ladder area in Green Lanes the council has sent a letter to residents to report those who do not clean up after their dogs in the Haringey Passage or who dump rubbish there.

The council has pledged to fine anyone found dumping or fouling the area a £75 fixed penalty notice which must be paid on time or it can rise to £2,500.

Cllr Nilgun Canver, cabinet member for enforcement and safer communities, said:

"Some areas of the Passage are being spoilt by a minority of people who still dump rubbish and allow dogs to foul the footways. This type of anti-social behaviour cannot be allowed to spoil the local environment and residents' enjoyment of it. If you see someone dumping rubbish or letting their dog mess the Passage without cleaning up after it, please let us know and we will look into it."

Street Enforcement Officers can issue a fixed penalty notice of £75 to anyone they find dumping rubbish or allowing dogs to foul the footway. Those who fail to pay the fixed penalty are prosecuted and can receive a maximum fine of £2,500.

If you see anyone dumping rubbish on the street, other than normal domestic rubbish for collection, or dog owners not picking up after their pets, let Enforcement Services know on: 020 8489 5230 and ask to speak to a Street Enforcement Office.

The Council can also help residents dispose of rubbish or bulky Items, call: 020 8885-7700. There is a free collection service for white goods such as fridges and freezers and other goods can be picked up for a small fee.

Tags for Forum Posts: dog, dog poo, dumping, litter, passage

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The council can do nothing about our perceptions. The passage "seems" like a dangerous place but I have not found it so (7 years next month).

I've taken us off topic. Sorry. Back to the dog shit and graffiti.
Okay, here is the answer to my own question about who street enforcement officers are.
http://www.haringey.ukcouncil.net/site/player/pl_compact.php?a=6534...
There's an appearance from our very own Andy from Baldwin's butchers...
And here's what the new signs look like.

The Living Streets co- ordinator Paul wrote this to me recently.
At 11:43am on 28th February 2008, paulwilliam said…

Indeed I do remember meeting you at the Salisbury. I have been campaigning for the last six years for improvements on the Passage.In 2003 I attended assembly meetings and raised the issues in the soapbox section. With likeminded parents at NHP I formed a campaigning group called A Healthy Passage For Harringay which started lobbying the Council Council Services and MP to demand improvements. I became a member of LCSP around this time and gained their support in the campaign. In 2004 I joined Living Streets(The National Charitable Organisation formerly known as The Pedestrian Association) which is the champion of walkers everywhere, working to redress the balance between cars and people in the Public Realm.We launched a Haringey Living Streets Branch on the Haringey Passage in October 2004.Over seventy people Including 16 ward councillors the Lead Councillor for Environment and not least the London Mayoral candidate (later deputy Mayor) Nicky Gavron took part in a Living Streets Community Street Audit of part of the Passage walking from South Harringay to North Harringay School where the official Launch was announced. The follow up to this was a meeting with the MP David Lammy and Lead Council members and officers and local councillors to discuss a Strategy for improvements. Needless to say since that time the Passage has transformed somewhat, but underlying problems and abuse still abound . Dog litter bins and waste bins have been installed. Surfaces have been renewed,new lighting installed,speed ramps put in around the schools.A cleaning schedule(not enough but at least there is one now!)ensures it is cleaned twice a weekTuesday and Friday. People have been forced to cut back their overhanging bushes from the path.I organised a competition at the schools which culminated in the new signs designed by a local schoolgirl.I did an assembly at North Haringey Primary on the twin evils of dumping/littering and dog fouling.We held an open day on the passage in2006 leafleting locals at four intersections and asking for their suggestions.We raised money from neighbourhood grants to erect the noticeboards at either end of the passage( Soon to be revamped and stocked with local history information sheets-(again provided from neighbourhood grants).Intermitantly I have met the Neighbourhood Manager Council Officers Councillors Dog Warden School Governors and Heads and conducted walking audits along the Passage in the last couple of years. As Secretary of Haringey Living Streets I have been on the Green Lanes Strategy Group and have regularily raised the Passage issues there.I am also on the Neighbourhood Police Panel and flag the Passage there as well. It is a continual mission!! In all these years with all the efforts that have been made by various parties there have been successes but I would say that the biggest failure has been in enforcement. Cameras were installed which didn't show anything or were stolen or vandalised!! There doesn't seem to be a will to spend the time and money needed to catch the people who allow their dogs to foul there and tackle/educate them.There aren't enough enforcers to do the work in the first place.Meanwhile all we can do is try and put energy in from the Community to keep this space improving. I did conduct an Audit a couple weeks ago with three other activists and am compiling that report today to submit to the Neghbourhood Manager.Hopefuly actions will be taken to remedy the faults we found. Ideas for the future-Another Open Day perhaps in Walk To School Week in May- A mass protest walk by both schools as a publicity stunt-Any other ideas welcome? A Healthy Passage for Haringey hasn't met for a couple of years .Maybe new people may wish to come to a meeting to share ideas?
I think a meeting a mass protest is a great idea - i think we should have a meeting to discuss how it would work.
I have just had all the proof I need that the council's announcement above is pointless. I was walking the sprogs to school and there was one of those 'ugly' dogs having the most revolting shit (god knows what the dog had been eating!) in the Passage whilst his small, agressive looking owner stomped off down the Passage without even looking back. No camera phone to record incident and not sure I would have wanted the owner to see me doing it, instinct told me he wasn't the type to feel guilty only angry. I wasn't about to follow him, buggy and all and so there I was furious, impotent standing by a sign that said 'Clear up after your dog', and shouting at all the nimble footed children of Harringay to mind the poo.
Street enforcement? Has anyone seen one? Why haven't they spotted the mattress lying on Green lanes and stuck one of their handy yellow stickers on it?
Putting the onus on residents to snoop on the poopers is not going to work, I don't mind reporting a dumped sofa, even if I'm annoyed it's there but I'm not about to risk a slap to do their job for them.
Good post Liz, you've hit the problem on the head. None of us are willing to risk a slap or worse.
So what can we do?? Cameras? Police officers disguised as school run parents to catch these people? That would work!
Liz - I believe I saw you this morning and that we both witnessed the same incident. I was the person in front of you with my daughter. I really wanted to say something to the guy, but felt intimidated by his aggresive persona!!! I did make a pathetic attempt under my breath, .. that's disgusting etc .... I agree, what can be done, I don't feel able to face up to people like him, especially when taking my child to school.
Local environmental quality survey of England (LEQSE) (2004)

The study's methodology took 14 years to develop, is recognised by many local authorities and endorsed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It examined all land uses and graded a raft of environmental indicators as good, satisfactory, unsatisfactory or poor.

Although this report is for 2004 it has some interesting points/quotes;

* it shows that two-thirds of the population now endure substandard environments and that, where need is greatest, councils are failing to deliver value for money.

* .... the marked decline in landscaping, often the only bit of greenery in some neighbourhoods, was so disappointing, as was the condition of our alleyways - 63 per cent of which were branded below par.

* Some 71 per cent of higher density housing areas and 68 per cent of lower density social housing regions, were deemed "unsatisfactory". Contrast this with the state of lower density and rural areas where things had improved, with litter picked up, stains washed away, pavements repaired and landscaping better cared for. Could this be a case of those who complain most get the best service?

* Having the necessary tools for the job also helps. While out surveying, the LEQSE researchers observed 38 teams of street sweepers going about their business. On only five occasions did they do the job correctly. Often this was due to not having the right equipment.
Your last quote highlights a problem that the residents groups have picked up. One member even went so far as to research and bring to the cleaning company's attention equipment that would help with cleaning up dog poo at a cost of £13.000 but they do not appear to have followed it up.
Regarding complaining, Cllr Canver is a member of this site and has yet to answer a single question/complaint posed by its members on the site regarding council activity including this one, even though the statement was issued by her department and has her name on it. What was the point of her signing up?

p.s If she had stood in my place this morning, no doubt she would have been the first to take action!
Press releases from the council don't achieve action though thankfully the deposit Liz mentions appears to have been cleaned up, as I walked along the passage to Turnpike Lane around midday, and it was pretty clean. At least Accord went to work today.

Numerous councillors are members to this website, and they should be ashamed for not managing to enforce their policies and strategies.

I'm still waiting for my letter about fouling the passage and fly-tipping. I suggest the council use their enforcement team to deliver the post, so they can see at first hand what the situation is and not just in the Passage, but also along the pavements, and maybe, just maybe, catch some offenders at the same time.

I wonder which will arrive first, my new council tax bill, or the warning letter?

This message will not sink in until there have been some prosecutions, and a community service order, to clean the passage, should be the obvious penalty.
God how frustrating, esp for Liz and Martha standing there. I'd have done the same I'm sure. I was really interested to read the earlier post from the guy from living streets (sorry, didn't note name) and think we should talk about this on the 4th and come up with a plan.

I like the ideas already suggested. As well, what about getting the council to put their money where their mouth is and asking for a targetted blitz - a month (say) of having enforcement reguarly patrolling the passage, esp early morning?? Then prosecute the *** out of them. Why should it be up to us to do all of this for them? I'm perfectly willing to stick my neck out when necessary but as many others have said, most of the time I'm on the passage I'm with my son and I would feel very vulnerable confronting (or even not confronting, just following) someone who clearly doesn't really give a damn about others and has a dog with them!

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