Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Lyn Garner's Tottenham 'war zone' slur confirmed by Nick Walkley
The defence of the indefensible is that the comments are being taken out of context and in any case were ( - you have to admire Nick Walkley's cheek) "specifically related to the appearance of one area during major disruptive works".
Yet, because I wasn't there at a private meeting ( aka the bus tour for councillors) and because nobody present when the insult was made has complained, then he is refusing to take further action.
In his reply to my formal complaint Mr Walkley said:
'Please be assured that had such a statement been made in the context which your email asserts this would be a matter of concern to me - that however is not the case.'
Anyway, the truth is out and on-the-record.
http://www.24dash.com/news/housing/2014-08-06-Tottenham-war-zone-co...
If the person leading on the regeneration of Tottenham is disparaging the area then how confident can people be that their views to not be bulldozed out of the way actually matters?
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
-
Well Mrs Peacock got hardly a slap on the wrists. What did you expect? I appreciate that because of her position this is a big deal but it's also free speech innit?
-
Permalink Reply by Zena Brabazon on
-
Hi John
It's what this remark may reveal about a mindset about Tottenham which is so worrying, especially since very senior officers in local authorities have power and influence. What is said in meetings and events is in a professional context. And senior managers manage large teams and their views carry weight and are likely to set the tone and culture.
Zena Brabazon
-
Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
-
Agree, Zena.
As a new councillor, I could have gone on the bus tour and would have, but a Surgery took precedence. So I didn't hear the remarks: I hear secondary reports but in any event, the Chief Executive has now acknowledged that they happened.
I don't know what was the context.
However, we have heard before now, the excuse of taken out of context: –
There seems to be a lack of responsible leadership. The last Mayor made thoughtless, careless flippant remarks about Tottenham that were so crass, that they attained national publicity. A belated apology was so feeble that it was described as a faux-apology. At length and under pressure, a full apology was slipped onto a little-known council web page and was then claimed to have been published.
What might someone want to do with such a zone ?
- Avoid it?
- Bulldoze it?
- Not fly planes over it?
- Arm one side or another?
- Research a Marshall Plan?
- Send in foreign correspondents?
- Observe that the rights of neutrals are suspended?
In the circumstances, one could forgive any Tottenham resident for feeling offence. (Civilians who live in one of the world's real war-zones would be entitled to take more offence).
But more than that, concern about what the remark discloses and may portend.
-
Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
-
So, are you saying, Osbawn and MarkB that from your own personal observations, Ms Lyn Garner Director of Regeneration applied a factually accurate description to parts of Tottenham? Or at least from your viewpoints, based on the criteria of street cleanliness or litter; poor housing, and the behaviour of some people - some of the time.
Can I please invite you to share the locations of the specific neighbourhood(s), street(s), or maybe a few corners that you judge to meet this description as resembling a War Zone?
Perhaps you could both give me an idea of how the 'War Zone' category differs from other sorts of descriptions of areas where the locals deserve better?
Most important, I'm really curious about how you think categorising an area or a part of an area as resembling a War Zone brings some fresh insight or suggests helpful actions. What are your own insights? What actions do you see as appropriate to tackle the problems of the War Zone areas?
Please can I assure you that I'm not trying to score points or dismissing what you say. I am genuinely interested in knowing what you and - perhaps many other people - think and feel about parts of our borough.
Of course, that also goes for Ms Lyn Garner. Crucially in fact. Because as the Director, Lyn has the power and resources to make decisions and plan the future of our local neighbourhood War Zones.
-
Permalink Reply by markb on
-
War zone, rundown, decrepit, shit, derelict, crap, blight etc... Let's not nitpick about the semantic nuances between these negative terms, it was clearly meant as a very negative description of the area and I see such a description by a director of regeneration as a good thing - I'd hope it moves those bits up the priority list of places to regenerate.
Areas I think are crap: Bits of seven sisters, specifically Suffield road (bricked up houses), the furniture store after it was burnt down (riots). Lawrence road when it still had the largely abandonded office blocks (now the Bellway project) really creeped me out. I've seen burning barrels used as space heaters by some residents near the mosque on clyde road. The eastern end of West green road is grim and hectic.
Bounds green: Myddleton road - loads of potential but so much dead retail space.
Broadwater farm is an eyesore (the architects & design decision makers have a lot to answer for) - the waterfall mural is an ironic joke, straight out of clockwork orange.
-
-
Thanks, that's honest and helpful.
-
Permalink Reply by Abi on
-
The official line is that it was a description of an area that was undergoing substantial renovation. In much the same way that I described my own garden (in Tottenham, as it happens!) as a 'bombsite' yesterday, after I'd taken a heavy-handed approach to clearing it.
I just don't know. If that were indeed the case, and it was someone describing a building site I actually think that the reaction has been completely over-the-top. In fact, it's probably more damaging to make a big deal of such a comment that would go unnoticed elsewhere, because that reaction itself further damages the reputation of an area that can ill-afford bad press. I have heard far, far worse things said about Tottenham, and think it would be better on the whole to move on from it.
However, it's of course entirely possible that this innocent explanation was fabricated after offence was taken, in which case I think the reaction is entirely justified. I guess nobody other than those there at the time will ever know...
-
Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on
-
Oh come on! When I was having building works done I've probably said something like "it looks like a bloody war zone In that kitchen". This feels like looking for an insult where there was none.
-
-
Michael and Abster. I'd have no problem at all if Lyn Garner had said something like:
"When the bus gets to Tottenham, you'll find parts of it look like my kitchen after the builders have been. Or my garden last weekend after I'd pruned the roses."
It would have been flippant and silly. But nothing more. But Ms Garner didn't say that, did she?
-
-
Are you saying that she was actually comparing the area to somewhere that had been ravaged by war? Or do you think she was just using a very common quoloquialism (if that's how you spell it)
-
-
To be completely honest I have no idea of the full quote - and have also heard it attributed to several different people! Each time I've asked someone what exactly was said, I've been given a different answer. This is why I based my reading of it on the official version (with the caveat that if it wasn't as described, it might well still have been an offensive remark)
Can you clear it up?
© 2024 Created by Hugh.
Powered by
