Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Finsbury Park Strategy Group to be established
Chair of Scrutiny Cllr Gideon Bull demanded that officers get the ball rolling on this by the end of the month.
I will post further updates when more information is available.
Emine Ibrahim
Labour Party Candidate (Harringay Ward)
Tags for Forum Posts: finsbury park, finsbury park events, finsbury park stakeholder group
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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Thanks, Clive for making it clear that you continue to object angrily to the Kober Regime's event policy in Finsbury Park.
I must say, this isn't entirely a surprise. But good news that you haven't changed your mind. I hope that if elected as a councillor, you'll continue to voice your concerns about the creeping - and sometimes sprinting - privatisation of public land, public open spaces, and public services by our Tory-policy-led Council.
Because I share these concerns, I'd have liked to add my further thanks to you. A thank-you for continuing to put the Working Group arrangements about Finsbury Park agreed by the "cabinet" under your personal, detailed and evidence-based scrutiny.
But I can't write that last sentence, can I? Because unless I'm completely mistaken, it seems you haven't done that piece of forensic work.
So please help us out. By finding out. Including by asking the councillors of the adjacent wards; "cabinet" councillors; council staff; the Friends of Finsbury Park; other Finsbury Park users; and anyone else who's involved. (Whether or not they're holding stakes; or chewing steaks in Cannes.)
Unfortunately, right now, I haven't a lot of spare time to help you out. Because I'm busy looking into some truly appalling and deeply asinine decisions by the Kober regime over in east Tottenham. And although publicly expressing my anger makes me feel a bit better, what's now needed more than ever is investigation and public exposure of the shaming facts about these destructive and dangerous people..
Here's a small shaming example. Some four/five months delay in the sale of Protheroe House N17 to One Housing Group to build "Extra Care Housing". A delay caused by Council staff negotiating a £30,000 section 106 "Planning Gain" payment. Apart from the work involved in the negotiation, the delay cost Haringey £2,500 per week for some eighteen+ weeks in security on the building. So a net financial loss of at least £15k. And which a significant delay having the new services available for some of the most vulnerable people in the borough.
The whole thing is made even worse because the £30k has been allocated to a completely pointless project called the "Green Link". Which will probably be wanting a slice off our local Park.
(Tottenham Hale ward councillor)
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
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Alan I'm not alone in feeling aggrieved about the Cabinet's policy for Finsbury Park – and about the behaviour of the Scrutiny Committee in January.
Thanks for your tips on forensics and evidence.In order to avoid wasting time on pointless investigation, it's important to know when one has enough evidence to form a conclusion. Some police investigations waste effort following red herring leads. This can sometimes be avoided by careful judgement exercised by senior detectives.
It does not need a super-sleuth to work out that the Cabinet has established a Concerts Policy that represents policy/strategy for a long time to come (some believe it represents a partial privatisation of our park). After attending the Call-in Scrutiny Meeting, one wouldn't have to be Hercule Poirot to deduce that the Cabinet would not be asked to review their Concert Policy.
It doesn't take a Magnum PI to work out the impact that said policy will have on our park.
You didn't need to be Kojak to notice that even the Scrutiny Chairman referred to the conduct of some officers as disingenuous (a description heartily agreed by the public present). However, it wouldn't need a Cracker to conclude that some of what was said by that Majority Group members was theatrical – and partly deceptive.
One doesn't need to be a Quincy to detect the vacuousness of the New-Labour term, stakeholder. A Bruce Wayne could easily see that council set-up and council-controlled groups are sops.
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However, outside this thread, I doubt even a Columbo could find evidence of a Finsbury Park Strategy Group. And the skills of a Sherlock Holmes would be needed to get hold of details about the "stakeholder" group, such as remit, agenda, constitution, Minutes.
Finally, the only detective who would believe it worthwhile to mount a forensic search for the "Working Group arrangements about Finsbury Park", would be clueless Inspector Clouseau.
Carter PI
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I often describe Kober's Failing Haringey as a 101 Council. With the primary meaning that there are always 101 reasons why the Council is right; and 101 reasons why residents are always wrong.
Your comment amounts to a less ambitious claim. That you are indubitably right. And that it's enough simply to restate your conclusion. So that any inquiry, corroboration or cross-checking of facts is entirely unnecessary.
Here's one of my favourite quotations from John Kenneth Galbraith:
"Faced with the choice between changing one's mind and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof."
On this topic you've chosen to dispense with the proof. The trouble is, it weakens your argument. As you proved with your challenge to Cllr Charles Adje's role in the Firoka scandal, successfully challenging a local council needs more work and more subtlety.)
(Tottenham Hale ward councillor)
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Alan, you did not attend the Scrutiny meeting in January.
Since you were not present at that Committee as were I and other members of the public, you did not hear three hours worth of evidence.
You appear not to know or understand the likely impact of the concerts policy on our park, or affect not to.
You ignore the evidence that the Cabinet will not be asked to review their policy. Instead, in what looks like an attempt to obfusticate, you seek more evidence, more investigation, more hand-wringing, when it is time to come to a conclusion.
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As sometimes happens, Clive, you completely miss my point. The people who need to come to a conclusion are the residents of Haringey. And the particular question they are faced with is:
Who can we trust to protect, conserve and - yes - change and develop our public parks - but in the public interest?
You have no trust in the good faith and good stewardship of the Kober Regime in carrying out this task. Neither have I. But to adopt your detective metaphor, residents are presented with an alibi - The Strategy Group.
(Tottenham Hale ward councillor)
Oh, and just one more question - something that bothers me. I haven't seen Columbo for perhaps 30 years. But isn't it always the same storyline? Doesn't the detective - in this case you - always know who did it? But has to prove it?
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Alibi for what, Phil?
"I believe that our high streets have reached a crisis point. I believe that unless urgent action is taken much of Britain will lose, irretrievably, something that is fundamental to our society. Something that has real social and well as economic worth to our communities and that after many years of erosion, neglect and mismanagement, something I felt was destined to disappear forever." Mary Portas Review
And Alibi for who? Across Haringey people have tried to understand and tackle the issue. But this is a national and international problem. And not something for which the finger of blame points to Claire Kober and her dreadful cronies.
They may of course, be open to criticism for not coming up with any fresh, or useful, or practical ideas to try tackling the local problems. But then, were you really expecting anything different?
(Tottenham Hale ward councillor)
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Permalink Reply by Cllr Emina Ibrahim on
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Hi Hugh
Yes it did - I have attended since being elected and we are awaiting the scheduling of the next one.
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Hi Hugh
I wasn't at the first meeting as I wasn't a councillor then. However I will certainly find out. Bear I mind 5 of the councillors who now attend the group are new following the election and the cabinet member has changed too so we will have the opportunity now to raise these issues.
Regards
Emine
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Hugh, I may be able to help, as a result of my Member's Enquiry of Monday, that was fully and promptly replied to, earlier today. This group is known as a "Stakeholder" Group and here are some brief highlights:
- Minutes are published only to the group.
- Agendas are published only to the group.
- Minutes are published with the Agenda for the next meeting.
- Minutes are "Not publicly available"
The group met at the Civic Centre on the following dates:
- 12 February
- 9 April
- 3 June (the attendees are to be confirmed)
Tomorrow, I'll publish the full text of the formal reply to my Member Enquiry.
Councillor—Highgate Ward
Liberal Democrat Party
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