Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Council Leader Saves Council Money by Working as Road Labourer
In an unexpected move this week, Haringey Council Leader Claire Kober swapped the executive suite for a week mending the streets.
In a bid to save money for cash strapped Harringay, Councillor Claire Kober spent the week mending Haringey's potholed roads................
.....if only.....but I couldn't resist a pop at yet another rather silly classic councillor photo opportunity - the real story which these photos accompanied however is rather more welcome!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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From the latest pothole bulletin on Haringey's website we discover that Cllr Claire Kober is not only a dab hand with an asphalt rake. When a photo-op calls, the Dear Leader will wheel her wheelbarrow as well.
This was described as "Potholes Blitz Unveiled" . I'm unsure how and why we need to blitz potholes. But obviously even small veiled potholes are far more dangerous than the usual nakedly displayed variety.
I was tempted to send a Freedom of Information Act Request asking how many hours Cllr Kober spent on blitzing; how many potholes she filled; the cost of the photographer; and how much time was wasted while the actual pothole fillers stood around waiting for the Dear Leader to finish her PR stunt.
But I won't. Because it would take up even more time by council staff who've got real things to do.
(Tottenham Hale ward councillor)
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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It's not just Labour. David Schmitz did something similar with ice in the passage one year. In fairness to him though, he did come out the next day and help the main clearance effort.
There are electoral mathematics that drive candidates to do silly stuff like that. They know what the real figures are but for instance, a poster in a window is worth X votes. A photo opportunity perhaps a few more... They'd be mad not to do it.
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
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They'd be mad not to do it [to take the photo opportunity].
I'm sure you're right John. Sadly, this cynical calculation is what helps to undermine faith and confidence in political structures, as reflected in the low turnout at local elections.
Fortunately, the Parking Account surplus (profit to you and me) is Ring-Fenced, such that every last penny is mandated to be spent on transport improvement. I'm sure that the £6 million pound profit surplus will go towards much-needed pot-hole repair.
Not.
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In New Zealand, they still seem to have potholes, Clive. In this news item from 2011 they were dridful.
Though in one Haringey document the word broke up entirely, becoming several pot holes. I expect this was caused by the harsh win ter.
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Wainuiomata residents, living in that separated valley, are more or less trapped over the hill, as I'm sure you know Alan.
My point is that if a road tunnel (still needed) they had been put in place, to link Wainui with the Hutt Valley, then the long climb and descent would be avoided and Wainui shoppers could more easily take their custom to the Hutt – that might buck up the ideas of the shopping centre owners.
But you don't have to look as far away as NZ to find potholes. Much of London seems to be afflicted, but surely nowhere worse than our Borough?
Hope you'd agree that if only we could find an extra £90,000 for pothole repairs that would be worth doing. Any idea where we could find such a sum?
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As often, Clive, you seem to miss both my points. First, that you and some council staff share a need for a more reliable spell-checker. And second that potholes occur everywhere - including your homeland.
Even the critics of the New Zealand shopping mall admitted that they were doing a "ketchup job with a short term fax". Though asking why the mall owners would "do a petch like thus". While the reporter conceded that the carpark "can't handle hivvy trefack".
Will Cllr Kober's personal touch be more than a ketchup job? Will the Dear Leader's fillings need to be faxed again in a few months?
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Alan I thought that you - as a part-Labour Councillor, might appreciate the opportunity of commenting on today's LibDem press release about the council's record on fixing potholes.
You are welcome to comment on the problem in Haringey Borough exclusively and there's no need to refer to any potholes overseas!
(HOL readers had early benefit of my stunning foto-journalism from a link above back in May. Pic taken in this country in London's Haringey Borough (Stroud Green Ward).
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Haringey-one of the worst in the country for fixing potholes say cyclists
A league table of councils that fix potholes quickly has ranked Haringey as one of the worst in the country. The league table compiled by the National Cycling Charity ranked Haringey as the 150th worst local council for fixing reported potholes.
Haringey is listed as having fixed only 18% of the potholes reported to them via the http://www.fillthathole.org.uk website. 456 potholes had no report back and appear to have been left unfilled.
The Labour run Haringey Council recently admitted that there is a major problem with potholes in the Haringey following the local Lib Dem campaign to get the borough’s pothole ridden roads fixed. The admission came after months of campaigning by the Lib Dems and a recent horrific case of a man left with brain injuries after falling over a pothole in Haringey. The council subsequently announced a 6 months trial of a new system of dealing with potholes with more inspections and faster repairs.
The opposition Lib Dems repeatedly raised concerns that local roads are poor condition with many needing to be repaired. They recently forced the Labour run council to agree to fix 20 roads this year.
The poor ranking for Haringey’s pothole fixing comes on the heels of figures from Transport for London that show the number of vulnerable road users seriously injured in Haringey has risen by 41 % in one year.
Cllr Jim Jenks, Lib Dem spokesperson for the Environment, comments:
“Haringey being ranked as one of the worst places in the country for fixing potholes will come as no surprise to local residents. Despite the Labour leadership announcing their new policy of fixing potholes more quickly there are potholes all over the place waiting to be filled in.
“Pothole ridden roads are dangerous for cyclists and damage vehicles. It is about time the Labour council stopped talking about fixing pot holes and just got on with it. People in Haringey pay the 5th highest council tax in London; the least the council can do is fill in some potholes when there are posters everywhere advertising the new pothole policy!”
Local cyclist David Winskill, comments:
“Despite all the noise that Labour have been making about fixing potholes, it is well known that Haringey is a dangerous place to be a cyclist. They should have been fixing potholes properly rather than try and con people that this is a big initiative that we should all be grateful for!”
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
-Picture available to download of Cllr Richard Wilson and a resident, Ben Myring inspecting a pothole on Inderwick Road which after Lib Dem campaigning is now due to be resurfaced:
-Photo attached of one of several potholes outside the Civic Centre in Wood Green which have been reported and marked up but not filled in.-Figures from: http://www.fillthathole.org.uk/league-table
This league table ranks highway authorities according to hazards reported through FillThatHole.org.uk, and shows which authorities are best at fixing their road defects and reporting back to the site. The site is run by the National Cycling Charity.
-link to report on the number of injuries on Haringey roads going up: http://www.tottenhamjournal.co.uk/news/amount_of_serious_injuries_of_vulnerable_road_users_rises_41_per_cent_in_haringey_1_2264873
-Link to agenda and report of the Cabinet Member Signing Meeting on 20th May 2013, item 2:
http://www.minutes.haringey.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=435&MId=6516&Ver=4
- · Summary of the proposed changes to the pothole policy on page 1 (para 1.1) of item 2, & details page 2, (para 3).
- · Intervention levels for pothole repairs in Haringey and neighbouring boroughs on page 3 (table 1) of item 2.
- · Details of current inspection regime on page 5, (5.8) of item 2.
- · Quote “the current (pothole) intervention levels...are at the limit of what is acceptable should the council have to defend an injury or claim.” Page 2 (para 5.1) of item 2
- · Item 2 lists the potential benefits which include: reduce costs, better road conditions, possible reduction in insurance claims and perceptions of a better service. (Table 3 page 4 of item option 1C, Table 4 page 6 option 2B and Table 5 page 7 option 3B)
Link to story about compensation claims for injuries on badly maintained roads in Haringey: http://haringeylibdems.mycouncillor.org.uk/2013/02/15/poorly-maintained-roads-and-pavements-costs-haringey-millions-in-compensation-claims/
Link to story about the £1m compensation pay out for a man who tripped on a Haringey pothole and suffered brain damage: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/9932420/1million-compensation-for-man-who-fell-in-pothole.html
HLD
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Clive, are you so determined to be a LibDem candidate in the May elections that you think it's okay to repost long LibDem press releases?
C'mon! You are perfectly capable of thinking for yourself. And keeping some critical distance from your party's propaganda machine.
As I am from mine.
(Tottenham Hale ward councillor. Labour Party member)
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Oh Alan, I'm disappointed; no reading list issued this time? You could have mentioned potholes overseas again if you'd really wanted to!
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Permalink Reply by BBL on
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What no mention of Alexandra Palace Clive, I thought you could work Alexandra Palace into any discussion.
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