Planning application made on Chestnuts Park..is this the best location for what is proposed?

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Permalink Reply by Paul Harding on March 31, 2017 at 15:26

It is wonderful there is a 'skate park' in the plans, but I really do hope they consult people who skate and understand skate park design or this is what it will end up looking like : 

verus what it should look like if the space they've allocated is used properly :

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Permalink Reply by Ceri on March 31, 2017 at 15:49

Some Youth Zones, like the plans for Barking and Dagenham, include skate parks within the complex. It hasn't been mentioned in relation to the planned Haringey one. The key thing for the Friends is that even if they install a skate park, it won't be in the public bit of the park. It will be within the separate fenced off Youth Zone complex, with access only for those young people who have paid the annual membership and visit fee. 

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Permalink Reply by Paul Harding on April 4, 2017 at 9:06

Serious? Just asking for people to jump the fence then.

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Permalink Reply by Ceri on April 4, 2017 at 9:29

Haringey Friends of Parks Forum and Friends of Chestnuts Park have made the point that not a single additional square metre of inner city park land/public open green space should be fenced off from public access, given away, sold, or built upon or over. So whether it's building on 1, 2500 or 6500 square metres, and whether it's in Chestnuts Park or any other open space, it's simply not acceptable - and is contrary to the borough's own policies. These open spaces are the green lungs of our borough. 

And that's not even getting me started on the actual LBH/Onside model itself - of giving prime inner city land - for free (well £1!) - to a private sector led non-local charity that hasn't even gone through a procurement process, plus a donation of £3m capital and the current total annual youth service revenue budget for 3 years, to deliver a facilities led model of youth work that hasn't been researched or commissioned here, to serve all young people mostly on one single site in the borough, to run as they see fit once they own the land and could possibly raise finance against that equity. And with an ambitious business plan that only lasts three years, after which other Youth Zones are already looking for commercial hires to break even in these vast sports centre sheds. And so no guarantee for the 125 years of their lease that they will continue to deliver youth work. And no examination of the knock-on effect on other local sports facilities of setting up an additional but youth-only sports centre, for example on the new GLA supported climbing wall in Tottenham Hale. The whole thing could end up like some of the over stretched and failing PFI schools and hospitals, within a very few years. 

And a working party of councillors set up with only a two month timescale, not to examine the model in depth but only tweak it for local adjustments, (like Onside taking over the running of Bruce Grove youth centre and some outreach off site work), and choose a location. And the final actual land disposal, authorised at officer not political level, could just go ahead this July. ...

Well that's how it looks to this local St Ann's ward resident, from information in the public domain.  I am very aware of current huge financial pressures, I have been a successful supporter and fundraiser for new facilities prioritising young people in Chestnuts Park and elsewhere over many years. But this was not a good Cabinet decision, even on financial grounds. The short term funding leverage promises do not merit a 125 lease land disposal. Onside are under time pressure to go ahead quickly because of a time limited £1m Queens Trust grant promise they need as part of their £3m match contribution. But that shouldn't pressure LBH into making a foolish decision. It surely needs a delay and reconsideration.

Ceri Williams, Chair of Friends of Chestnuts Park (FOCP), but writing in a personal capacity about the Onside model. 

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Permalink Reply by Ceri on April 11, 2017 at 0:13

I've started a new thread on this topic today with a briefing about what's happened in the past week. (Chestnuts Park is out of the frame, but questions remain...)

http://www.harringayonline.com/forum/topics/17-questions-about-hari...

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