Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Finsbury Park to benefit from Tri-borough accord; will Harringay and Stroud Green be forgotten?
Finsbury Park, officially in Harringay ward, is set to benefit from an agreement made this week between Haringey Council and its neighbouring boroughs of Islington and Hackney aimed at the whole Finsbury Park neighbourhood.
The Finsbury Park neighbourhood is split between the three councils and it is thought a failure to coordinate has been an obstacle to improving the area.
The Finsbury Park Accord sets out an 11-point plan to treat the area as a single “town centre”.
These include cracking down on crime, improving the town centre area, particularly around the underground station, and investing in the park, described as a great asset but invisible from the station; building on the arts organistions in the area, such as the new theatre and Platform youth club.
Listing the area’s strengths and weaknesses the accord adds: “It is a vibrant, dynamic, and relatively affordable place to live or start a business. It is a busy multicultural area with cafés and shops that reflect that diversity. Another strength is its excellent public transport accessibility. Each year 2.5 million passengers interchange at Finsbury Park Station.”
But on the downside it says: “Finsbury Park is one of the most deprived areas in the country. A high crime rate and associated perception of crime are contributing factors to the reputation and experience of Finsbury Park. The urban fabric is severely constrained by roads, railways and poor quality public spaces.”
This is the first news I'd heard about the park being included. It sounds like Islington have an eye on connecting the park with Finsbury Park Town Centre and Hackney have an eye on the needs of its residents in Woodberry Down. Let's hope the needs of local residents of Harringay and Stroud Green are considered and our involvement invited by Haringey Council.
Tags for Forum Posts: finsbury park
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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A "Finsbury Park Accord" is listed in the Final Draft Area Plan for Crouch End, Hornsey & Stroud Green Area Forum & Committee, where it's shown as part of the programme for 2012/13. So it seems curious to find it negotiated and signed. Though of course we need to welcome signs of Haringey speeding-up its "going forwardness".
Even curiouser if nobody spotted that the park is in Harringay ward; adjacent to a small part of Seven Sisters ward; and not a huge distance from St Ann's ward.
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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You so will not get an official gate on the Harringay side of Finsbury Park.
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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Thanks Anne. For ease of reference, I've attached the document and copied in below the paragraph on the park as well as the map you mentioned. It's an odd looking area if they're truly wanting to encourage a neighbourhood identity as the document says.
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Finsbury-Park-Accord.pdf, 314 KB
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A pocket park will do. Plenty of room for a town square sized area without encroaching on the baseball pitch. It seems that the Harringay Traders may be coming round to the idea. Given their significant political influence in Harringay that can only be a good thing.
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It would be interesting to find out which councillors from the Haringey wards around the Park were included in these high level negotiations - or even knew they were underway. And what's the point of Neighbourhood Area Forums if the key decisions have already been made?
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Permalink Reply by Neville Collins on
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In my opinion, the accord's boundaries are too narrow, and should cover the entire N4 postcode.
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Permalink Reply by Madeline on
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It looks to me like Islington has the bigger slice in all this. Was it their idea? Looking at the map Haringey only has the east side of Stroud Green Rd and the huge expanse of the park (not much in the way of businesses or residents there) whereas Hackney has a good length of Blackstock Rd. I can't help thinking that we're being taken advantage of here. They'll be getting all the benefits of this 'coordination'.
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Permalink Reply by Hugh Hayes on
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This looks like an Islington led initiative that Haringey Council have signed up to in the hope of getting some funding for the park which they have never been able to/decided not to/fund properly since they took control of it from the GLC in 1986. Despite various initiatives over the years, the three councils have never worked together because their money is spent centrally, and it is unlikely that they ever will unless there is a change in boundaries or the area around the park became a Parish council. The recent SRB money of 27 million was given by central Government to the same area in 2000 precisely because of this problem, and 12 years later the area needs an equivalent amount of money spent again. Meanwhile everyone is aware that the amount of households in the area will double in the next few years, putting a huge strain on all the public services.
I doubt whether this initiative, whilst recognizing an acknowledged problem, will make any changes. Any money will come from Islington and be spent in Islington.
I know I am repeating myself but the obvious solution to the park's funding is either to have a central body to run London's parks, which worked successfully from the 1850's to 1986, or to make the park a trust that the three boroughs put 200K per year into, and let the trust raise other money as a charity.
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There's lots of speculation and some interesting ideas in this thread. But an apparent lack of solid information. Which suggests it might have been better to start developing this "Accord" bottom-up rather than top-down. But I regret to say this is typical of the way Claire Kober, at least, does things.
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Perhaps I'm wrong, JJB, but I read your comment as a criticism of my lack of clarity. So let me make my view a bit clearer.
An "Accord" has been signed by three Council leaders. But it would appear that few of the Haringey councillors representing the wards closest to Finsbury Park have been consulted about or even told about this before it took place. It also appears that few if any of the various interested groups have been brought into the process at an earlier stage. Nor have residents been invited to engage with, learn about, comment on, or feed into this process before it was agreed. On the contrary.
The other "things" I had in mind where Cllr Kober acted in much the same unilateral way, include setting up the so-called Community Panel after the riots. More recently she appointed her own Education Commission. These are examples of what I mean by top-down.
Neither you nor I were told when the Community Panel or the Education Commission met. Had we found out we wouldn't have been allowed to attend; nor read their papers; nor listen to the discussions.
Another example is a body called the Tottenham Task Force which is currently meeting regularly to discuss the regeneration of Tottenham. Its discussions and recommendations are likely to have far reaching influence over policy decisions in our part of the borough. Yet, its meetings have not been announced nor have the papers it considered or its minutes been published. (To be fair, I have requested and obtained copies. But I shouldn't have had to ask; openness should be automatic.)
You and I, JJB, may disagree perhaps fundamentally about many issues. But I hope we can at least agree that democracy needs effective checks and balances. Not overpowerful leaders and faux mayors appointing "cabinets" and commissions.
I believe in the maxim: "how you do it is what you get". For me, that includes as far as possible, openness and transparency of information. Which can inform debate and discussion where there is mutual respect between people with differing views.
Some fifty years ago successful campaigns led to local council meetings being open to the public and for reports to be publicly available well before decisions were made. Since committees were abolished and power concentrated in fewer and fewer hands, in Haringey - and perhaps elsewhere? - we are returning to a culture of secrecy.
(Tottenham Hale ward)
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