Enfield Bowes Labour: Great victory

No MBT plant at Pinkham Way

"North London Waste Authority just announced that they are withdrawing plans for a Mechanical Biological Treatment plant at Pinkham Way.

"Your Bowes Labour Councillors, together with local residents, have been fighting NLWA’s plans for years. This is a great victory for our ward."

Your councillors: Achilleas Georgiou, Yasemin Brett and Alan Sitkin

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Cllr Alan Sitkin writes:

"This is a great day for Bowes ward, London Borough of Enfield, as well as our many friends in other wards neighbouring Pinkham Way. Many many local residents and action groups have been working flat out for years to achieve this result, and it has been an honour for Bowes Labour councillors Georgiou, Brett and myself to be part of this popular effort.

"None of us are NIMBYs, and we all recognise that the good society is one that takes responsibility for waste and manages its ecologically. But as Bowes Labour has always stated loudly and clearly, Pinkham Way was always the wrong place for a waste treatment plant:

• from an environmental perspective, it is in the middle of a densely inhabited zone; would overload an already congested road network; and would further damage local air quality (this being the particular argument that Bowes Labour stressed at the NLWP hearings in Camden), and
• from a social justice perspective, it is deeply unfair for the citizens in or near Enfield - such as our friends and neighbours in Edmonton - to continue to be saddled with the nuisance of a huge waste treatment plant, even as the NLWA's other member boroughs get off free. Hence the argument we formulated early on that the NLWA's original site selection process was flawed, especially given how Barnet was able to make money selling a site, while shoving waste on to Pinkham Way, meaning Haringey and Enfield.

"We received a lot of stick from Enfield's Tories for this position, largely because it reveals their old administration's complicity in the original choice of Pinkham Way as a site - something that Tory political hacks were always quick to gloss over.

"We also came under pressure because, even as we always opposed Pinkham Way, we found it wrong to continue burdening Edmonton's more deprived neighbourhoods with further waste volumes - a deep social injustice that Enfield's Tories found perfectly acceptable. Pinkham Way was not only an ecological battle - it was a moral one as well.

"To repeat, we are not NIMBYs, and we sincerely recognise the need for all of us to pay much closer attention that we have in the past to why waste is accumulating at such an alarming rate, and how unfair it is for some people to live near dumps filled with waste generated by other people.

"We will continue to fight this battle. We do this in part through our ongoing efforts to:

• increase possibilities for recycling (with collection rates shooting up in Enfield in the two years since Labour took over)
• pressure food manufacturers to right-size packaging and take greater responsibility for items' end-of-life disposal, and
• promote market gardening and other more local agribusiness regeneration initiatives, that will not only reduce our collective food miles but also generate local jobs.

"The battle carries on, and we have many more challenges to face. But today was a great, great day for Bowes ward, our neighbours and friends, and everyone who has selflessly fought to achieve this result.

"By working together and avoiding stupid political divisiveness, we will have many more such days in the future. And we will make our corner of North London clean, human and sustainable. For all of us."

Cllr Alan Sitkin (Lab)
Bowes ward
Chair, Sustainability scrutiny panel, London Borough of Enfield

Haringey LibDems: "Campaigners rejoice as Pinkham Way application canned"

"Plans to build a waste plant at Pinkham Way have been withdrawn, after a long fought campaign by local residents. The North London Waste Authority, which had submitted the application for a waste plant at the site, has now backed down and formally withdrawn its application. [What about Barnet's dust-cart depot, on the same site?]

"The Pinkham Way plant, which would have been built close to local schools and homes, has been resolutely opposed by the Liberal Democrats and local campaigners. Over 1,000 people have signed a Liberal Democrat petition calling for the application to be withdrawn.

"Two Labour councillors, Nilgun Canver, Environment Cabinet Member and George Meehan, former Leader of the Council are board members of the NLWA, which had been determined to build the treatment plant at Pinkham Way.

"Alexandra councillor and Liberal Democrat lead on this issue, Juliet Solomon, says:

“This is wonderful news, and really shows what people power can do. I’d like to say a big thank you to the sterling work of our supporters and the Pinkham Way Alliance, and the tireless opposition which they have shown to this cause.”

Lynne Featherstone MP, Liberal Democrat for Hornsey and Wood Green comments:

“This site was thoroughly unsuitable from the very beginning, and the way in which Haringey Labour nodded the plans through and ultimately wasted taxpayers’ money was utterly disgraceful.

“The cancellation of the Pinkham Way development will be the best possible Christmas present for thousands of residents in Bounds Green, Alexandra and across Haringey.”

NLWA reacts to new PWA web site by announcing abandonment of Pinkham Way Biological & Mechanical Treatment Plant! (Well, there COULD be a connection)

"The North London Waste Authority has received notification from Veolia Environmental Services that they will not be submitting final tenders for either NLWA’s waste services or fuel use contracts.

"Veolia had been shortlisted for both contracts and, in withdrawing, Veolia has confirmed that the decision has no bearing on the quality and integrity of the projects. NLWA is now to pursue dialogue on final tenders with only FCC/Skanska for its waste services contract, which is to provide sustainable waste disposal services for north London in the long term, and with only E.On/Wheelabrator for its fuel use contract, it was announced today (21 December).

"NLWA is now following published Government guidance on managing a premature ending of a competitive process. This guidance makes clear that NLWA should consider the strength and quality of the remaining bid for each contract, consider the extent to which the competition up to that stage has been effective, and consider whether value for money can be demonstrated with only one bidder for each contract.

"NLWA is now at quite an advanced stage of a procurement process for a new waste services contract. The waste flow model tonnage projections have been updated at key stages of the procurement process using the latest available audited data to account for recent waste trends. While new mechanical and biological waste treatment (MBT) facilities at both its Pinkham Way and Edmonton sites had originally been proposed, it now seems likely that plans for MBT facilities will be taken forward at only one site. Subject to a successful planning application for new facilities at Edmonton, it is likely that plans for MBT facilities at Pinkham Way will not need to be taken forward, but this will become clearer in due course.

"NLWA has therefore announced plans to withdraw its outstanding outline planning application for a Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) plant at the Pinkham Way site.

"The Pinkham Way site remains relevant to NLWA’s service requirements in terms of a delivery, sorting and transfer point for recyclable material and other waste that is collected from local households. Details relating to the future use of the site will depend on the letting of NLWA’s waste services contract and will, at the appropriate time, be subject to local consultation and planning processes.

Councillor Clyde Loakes, Chair of North London Waste Authority, said:

“Although it is disappointing that we will not receive competitive bids, we will now work with remaining bidders and undertake work ourselves to ensure that we are still able to deliver long term, sustainable services that are the best possible in both quality and cost terms, and that value for money is delivered for tax-payers.

“I hope today’s announcement on the future use of the Pinkham Way site will provide some further clarity and certainty for local people. They now know that, subject to a successful planning application at the existing Edmonton site, there should be no residual waste treatment at Pinkham Way.”

"I say - isn't that Potters Bar?" (A Future On Rail [1957])

"An optimistic recruiting film encouraging school leavers to consider a career with British Railways. Unfortunately many who joined faced an uncertain future four years later when Dr Beeching announced job cuts."

PWA launches new web site

The 'Pinkham Way Alliance'

has a new web site. 

(Don't worry - we're staying pink.)

Bedford Times & Citizen: "Covanta: 'This is a scandalous decision'"

Link to web site

"Two councils have united to condemn news that the Covanta incinerator for Stewartby has been given the green light by the government.

"The Covanta proposal is for a 585,000 tonne per annum waste-to-energy and material recovery facility at Rookery Pit, Stewartby.

"It would burn rubbish from other counties’ authorities at the site [including possibly north London?] and has been opposed by residents and local MPs alike.

"Both Central Bedfordshire Council and Bedford Borough Council objected to the proposal from the outset. The decision made by the Infrastructure Planning Committee (IPC) was to allow the development. However, because the development consent order involved the compulsory purchase of land owned by the councils it was subject to special parliamentary procedure." 

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Link to MRW web site

MRW: "Covanta incinerator gets committee support"

"Plans for an incinerator in Bedfordshire have moved a step closer after a parliamentary committee supported the project and rejected petitions from local councils and other campaigners.

"... Covanta Energy’s UK managing director Malcolm Chilton said:

"I am very pleased that the Joint Committee has supported the project, finding that there is no case to answer in respect of the two councils’ petitions of general objection and the amending petition by WRG.

I believe that the Rookery South RRF is a good project that will make an important contribution to meeting the urgent need for new, low-carbon electricity generating capacity in this country and help deliver more sustainable waste management."

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The site is south of Bedford,
between the Thameslink main railway line
and a branch line to Bletchley

New Southgate: Curators discover first recordings of Christmas Day

Link to BBC site and iPlayer

"Curators at the Museum of London have discovered what they believe to be the first ever recordings of a family Christmas.

"They were made 110 years ago by the Wall family who lived in New Southgate in North London. 

"There are 24 clear recordings on wax cylinders which were made using a phonograph machine between 1902 and 1917.

"Music curators say the sound quality of the music recorded is outstanding."

The Guardian: "Eric Pickles recommends 50 money-saving tips to councils"

Link to web site

"The government has outlined 'sensible savings' ideas for councils from opening a coffee shop in the local library to cancelling "glitzy" award ceremonies.

"The 50 tips for town halls from Whitehall also include sharing back-office services, bringing in hot-desking to free up office space to rent out, tackling fraud and clawing back money from benefits cheats.

"The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) is urging councils to scrap the post of chief executive to save money, to end councillor pensions and introduce a recruitment freeze."

TurkeyGate: "£50 million bill as UK pours 15 million cups of turkey fat down the sink"

Link to Evening Standard

"Britons will pour 15 million cups of roast turkey fat down the kitchen sink on Christmas Day, enough to nearly fill an Olympic swimming pool, contributing to our £50 million bill for clearing sewer pipes.

"Research from the University of Portsmouth has shown how fat transforms into a hard soapy material when poured into the sewers, creating major problems for water companies."

"What Barnet's judicial review tells us about the future of outsourcing"

Link to The Guardian

"It's no surprise that the application for a judicial review placed by Barnet residents, challenging the council's decision to approve a major outsourcing contract, has generated headlines.

"... We are seeing a legal challenge by the electorate to an elected council's decision to undertake something, which it is argued, it had no specific mandate to do.

"... The court will have to be satisfied that Barnet council was under a duty to consult. Even if a decision-maker is not required by statute to consult, it may be an essential element of "fair process" to do so."

Barnet Times: "Eviction order granted by Barnet County Court, but Friern Barnet Library squatters could seek reprieve"

Link to web site

"Squatters will be evicted from Friern Barnet Library at the end of January, if they fail to reach a licence agreement with Barnet Council.

"Circuit Judge Patricia Pearl sitting at Barnet County Court this afternoon granted a possession order to the local authority for the removal of the group, which has occupied the building since September 5.

"But Barnet Council has agreed not to enforce the order for six weeks while it discusses the possibility of issuing a licence to the squatters to officially run the building."

Save Friern Barnet Library Group: Up in Court: 12 Angry Bloggers

Link to web site

Court case update
17th Dec.

Thanks to everyone who tweeted messages of support using hashtag #SaveFBL. Please keep it up!

Follow updates on Twitter: @SaveFriernBtLib and @OccupiedLibrary

"It was not clear for a long time whether the good humoured judge, who made every effort to accommodate the needs of the public to understand the proceedings, would allow an amended defence to go ahead (i.e. the arguments, or pleadings by Leigh Day now acting for the defendants Keith Martin, Peter Phoenix, Daniel and Petra).

"The Judge then asked about the defence (their skeletal central arguments). Our side, represented brilliantly by SS (Sarah Sackman) quickly conceded that she was not contesting the issue of title. That left two main issues: Articles 10 & 11 of the European Human Rights Directive, regarding Freedom of Protest and Freedom of Assembly and implied licence - i.e. whether Barnet Council (LBB) - in holding talks with the Occupiers – had granted them some right to remain."

...

The Guardian: "Jeremy Irons talks trash for his new environmental documentary"

Link to web site and video

"Jeremy Irons, the Oscar-winning actor, has teamed up with the British filmmaker Candida Brady to produce a new feature-length documentary called Trashed. It sets out to "discover the extent and effects of the global waste problem, as he travels around the world to beautiful destinations tainted by pollution".

"Ahead of its first theatrical screenings in the US later this month, Irons answered my questions about the film via email...

... [Question] "The film talks about that much-used term - 'zero waste'. How close can we ever realistically get to that goal? What's more important to tackle at present: reducing our waste stream, or adopting more sensible ways to manage/dispose of our waste?"
...

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Link to HOME (see all posts).

Friern Barnet Library

(Click to enlarge)

Tue 18 Dec: "Help shape the future of Recycling Communications in London!" (No longer to be inadequate, underfunded and directionless?)

"Help shape the future of Recycling Communications in London!"

"In 2013, the North London Waste Authority will be launching an awareness campaign, to encourage people across the region to recycle more of their rubbish.

"As you can imagine, we want to get it right! [Yes, we can imagine.]

"On Tuesday, 18th December 2012, we will be testing the campaign, and are looking for volunteers who have an hour or so free to take part.

• You need to be a resident in Barnet, Haringey, Hackney, Enfield, Camden, Islington or Waltham Forest.
• You should be able to get to Camden Town Hall, Judd Street, WC1H 8NJ near Kings Cross St Pancras Station, and be available between 11.00am and 1.00pm.
• You must be over 18 years old.

"Market testing involves being shown various types and designs of advertisements, messages and layouts and you then providing your opinion on what you are shown. That’s it!

"It’s interesting, lively….plus, as a thank you for taking part, we’ll give you a £15 voucher to spend with Green Rewards – a company that has over 1,000 eco-goods for you and the home.

"If you are interested in taking part, please send an email by 5.00pm on Monday 17th December to Stephen Bates at EnviroComms: stephenb@envirocomms.com You can also call him on 07970 717041."

Kind regards (No, kind regards to YOU.)

North London Waste Authority

Barnet Press: "Greens' leader backs library's occupation"

Link to Barnet Press

"THE leader of the Green Party visited Friern Barnet Library this week, to lend her support to the community activists occupying the building.

"Natalie Bennett joined a meeting at the library in Friern Barnet Road on Monday [and] said that the library, which was shut to the public in April and reopened by squatters in September, was a 'symbol of resistance'."

Thu 20 Dec: Muswell Hill Sustainability Group:

"Don’t miss our talk and social on Thursday 20th December at 7.00pm, at the Royal British Legion Hall on Muswell Hill Road N10 3NG. We’re lucky enough to have Paul Ekins, Professor of Resources and Environmental Policy from UCL to talk on:

Economic Growth and the Environment

"Prof Ekins is a leading green academic who has advised the Government on many issues relating to energy policy, green taxes and the natural environment. He was also a co-Founder of Forum for the Future along with Sara Parkin and Jonathan Porritt, and is Chair of the Ashden Awards judging panel.

"There’ll also be lots of festive food and drink. All are welcome, so do come along (and if you can bring some food even better!)" 

Stopping a waste plant - in Ealing (putting objections to a local authority)

From Triangle Island Residents Association:

Q1 – Ealing Council participated in the draft 'West London Waste Plan' which assessed 116 potential sites for waste treatment and shortlisted 24. Given that the site chosen by Clean Power did not make the shortlist, on what technical grounds does Ealing Council now think the chosen site is suitable for development?

Q2 – Given that the Health Protection Agency has yet to publish its research into the effects of incinerators on communities, have Ealing Councillors been supplied with independent, long term studies into the impacts of pyrolysis (incinerator) plants on residential communities as part of Clean Power’s submission?

Q3 - Has Clean Power given council officers or councillors a detailed plan of how it will commission the anaerobic digestion units in the site as well as train personnel to minimise safety risks, given that there have been fatalities from explosions at poorly commissioned AD plants in the UK and Europe?

Q4 - What evidence is there that Councillor Atallah Said has reviewed documents, attended meetings or corresponded with council officers relating to this proposed development and on what basis could his role to date satisfy requirements for an East Acton councillor to give due consideration to a developer’s application? 

Q5 – Given that North Acton & Harlesden residents have regularly been troubled for years by odours from ancillary activities at the nearby Powerday waste processing site – waste-carrying vehicles causing vibration in homes in or near Old Oak Lane, odours from such vehicles not being adequately cleaned before leaving the site and odours from site buildings’ doors being left open – what written and auditable plans does Clean Power have in place to address and resolve odour management issues that can be expected from the site traffic / ancillary activities associated with its planned waste processing?

Q6 - The Localism Act 2011 creates an obligation for developers to “publicise the proposed application in such a manner as the person reasonably considers is likely to bring the proposed application to the attention of a majority of the persons who live at or otherwise occupy, premises in the vicinity”. Since Clean Power’s own site emissions modelling shows that as well as North Acton residents, people in Harley Road, Harlesden less than 300m away, could be affected, on what basis has Clean Power’s consultation met the act’s requirements?

Q7 – The London Plan’s Objective 4 is to: “Improve the public realm and connect green spaces and other areas, providing a clean, safe and well-managed environment with high quality buildings and design.” On what grounds does Clean Power’s development meet this objective, given its own environmental assessment (EIA) anticipates PM10 / NO2 pollution, odour, noise and vibration hazards from its development?

Q8 – How will Ealing & the Environment Agency guarantee to prevent odours and pollution hazards from Clean Power’s development, given that the agency has demonstrably failed to control these issues at the nearby Powerday site since it opened in 2005?

Q9 - Clean Power representatives did a door-to-door survey of local residents in October/November to attempt to gain some support for the development – or possibly  “energy recovery” in principle.  On what basis does this exercise fit into the required consultation process as described in the Statement of Community Involvement (required by the Localism Act) and when are the survey results to be put in the public domain?

Q10 – Can Clean Power or the councillors provide the details - subject to required privacy constraints - of any North Acton resident that is in favour of this specific development?

Q11 – Are Ealing councillors aware that the Clean Power Plant will be only 400-500 metres from the existing Powerday waste processing site which will mean odour issues for North Acton people from both directions?

Q12 – Have Ealing council officers met Clean Power company directors at any point in the application?

Q13 - Since Clean Power is an offshore company, assembled to develop this and other sites, whose directors it is understood have not met local residents, what reassurance can councillors give that company directors’ development and management of the site will act in local people and the local environment’s best interests?

Q14 – The London Plan’s OAPF addendum states that “The wharf at [Powerday] allows materials to be transported by water as well as by road and rail.” Given that Powerday has never used the wharf for material transfer by water, and that waste material will go into Clean Power’s site entirely by road, on what basis do councillors think this situation will not cause odour and environmental hazards for residents along access routes in North Acton and Brent?

Q15 - As the Channel Gate Road off the A4000 Old Oak Lane is the only access road to the Freightliner site and it already carries additional HGV traffic - because the Mitre Bridge serving Scrubs Lane hasn’t been upgraded - on what grounds does the Council think it is acceptable for Clean Power’s supply vehicles to be allowed to access this road on a 24/7 basis? 

Q16 – TITRA learned in November that the Tarmac company that uses the Freightliner site was unaware of the details of Clean Power’s application. On what grounds do councilors think there has been adequate consultation of the Freightliner site’s users and tenant companies?

Q17 - Since TITRA has been unable to determine definitively the number of vehicles movements (even using FOI requests) to and from the Freightliner site over a 24-hour period, on what basis does can Clean Power claim in its application that overall vehicle movements will decrease?

Q18 – How can Clean Power’s claim of reduced traffic from operations be credible when TITRA has learned since its original objections submitted in November that the Freightliner site will attract additional traffic from developments such as DB Schenker’s own planning application and potentially from the High Speed 2 project’s interest in securing the clear for tunnelling waste removal operations?

Q19 - Given that Clean Power cannot provide credible estimates of site traffic, and since TITRA residents have been troubled for years by other companies’ vehicles already accessing the Freightliner site, on what grounds does the council think the Clean Power site operations will not cause a continual environmental and noise nuisance to residents, or operate with acceptable environmental standards?

Q20 – By what means did Ealing communicate and consult with Brent Council over the Clean Power application and in what ways does it meet the requirements of the Localism Act requiring co-operation between neighbouring local authorities?

Q21 – Given that Harlesden town centre will soon be converted to “shared space” zones for vehicles and pedestrians, on what basis do councillors think that adopting Clean Power’s proposal and allowing waste lorries to travel through Harlesden would not cause additional safety hazards to the town’s residents and not be considered a failure of consultation over developments between the two boroughs under the Localism Act?

Q22 - Given that the North London Waste Plan is now being revised to make it compliant with the Localism Act and Ealing’s West London Waste Plan partners intend to do the same, does Ealing Council now consider that it will be logical and better - for all Ealing residents - to resume this strategic option for treating the borough’s waste, rather than step outside it by adopting the non WLWP-compliant Clean Power development?

Q23 – At a meeting with residents in June, Clean Power representatives said that, to assist environmental monitoring of its planned site emissions, Ealing Council was ‘seeking funding for the first three years of the plant’s operation.’  Does the council agree that it is acceptable that:

a)    the taxpaper could end up funding the regulation of a potentially hazardous industrial site, run by a company retaining its profits offshore?
b)    at a preliminary stage in an application, the developer is could be attempting to offload aspects of its legal and operational responsibilities to Ealing Council, which is planning to make £85 million in overall budgetary savings by 2015?

Q24 – Given the high proportion of gas produced by anaerobic digestion processes, the high resulting proportion of recyclate for disposal, and the long term – and as yet, incompletely assessed – pollution risks to local residents, does the council think that allowing this plant is the most intelligent approach to avoiding landfill use in the borough?

Q25 - The UK government is to tighten the rules on offshore companies using locations such as the Isle of Man to avoid paying tax. Do councilors consider that Clean Power will be able to successfully complete the development of the site without asking for public funding from Ealing Council, given the resulting reduction in revenues that these future changes will most likely bring about?

Let's Recycle: "Work to start on new North London Waste Plan"

Link to Let's Recycle

"Work to develop a new North London Waste Plan has been scheduled to start in early 2013, after the plan was formally withdrawn for not meeting its legal requirements.

"... Despite the ruling, the procurement process for the North London Waste Authority’s PFI contracts to provide waste facilities and services from 2014 are not expected to be affected, although it is thought that the delay could cause problems for the locations of some of the sites, as the plan included designated sites for waste facilities.

"Plans for one of the designated sites, Pinkham Way in Haringey, have attracted strong opposition from local residents. The planning application for the site is currently on hold until the NWLP is completed."

Flourishing of 'big society' in Barnet raises major legal questions for councils

"The lawyer acting for a group of local activists who re-opened Friern Barnet Library explains the landmark case"

Link to The Guardian

"A quiet but pervasive sense of change has been brewing in the heart of an idyllic part of outer north London known as Friern Barnet. That heart is its library, which was closed by the local authority in April. It is to be marketed in December after possession proceedings which are scheduled to be heard just before Christmas.

"The response to the library's closure was vigorous local protest. Consultation exercises revealed widespread opposition to the decisions, petitions were circulated and signed, and there were demonstrations and readings by renowned authors in protest."

Barnet Press: "New plan is in the pipeline to deal with waste"

Link to web site

"BARNET and six other north London councils have announced that work on developing a new North London Waste Plan will begin in the new year after the current scheme was thrown out by a planning inspector.

"... It is unclear if the new plan will have implications for the proposal to build an incinerator in Pinkham Way, New Southgate."

Er, another statement from the North London Waste Plan

"While the boroughs are starting again on the waste plan for North London, clearly the boroughs are not starting with a blank sheet of paper, given that they have been working for over five years on a waste plan for the area.

"But when they do come to submit the new plan for examination, they have to be able to show that they are submitting a sound plan, based on a robust and up-to-date evidence base.

"As a result, the boroughs plan to review all parts of the plan, including all waste data and projections for all waste streams, capacity gaps, the method of choosing new sites, the list of sites to be considered and the assessment of sites and the policies for development management.

"At the appropriate time therefore, the boroughs will need to take a view, as far at the waste plan is concerned, on the availability of the Geron Way [Brent Cross] site [and Pinkham Way??] and will be in contact with the key stakeholders involved in the future of this site about this.

"There will be a number of formal stages the new plan will go through. The boroughs expect to be able to write to everyone in the New Year, to formally announce the start of the new plan.

"There will be an initial consultation in the summer of 2013, and a consultation on the proposed submission version in the summer of 2014. Hearings are expected in early 2015. This timetable is indicative only at this stage, and is subject to change."

Statement from North London Waste Plan

"When the boroughs submit the new North London Waste Plan for examination, they have to be able to show that they are submitting a sound plan, based on a robust and up-to-date evidence base.

"As a result, the boroughs plan to review all parts of the plan, including:

• all waste data and projections for all waste streams
• capacity gaps
• the method of choosing new sites
• the list of sites to be considered and the assessment of sites, and 
• the policies for development management.

"The initial survey of the sites was carried out in 2009. A few scores were later amended in response to comments. Some additional sites put forward by objectors were subsequently visited and assessed."

[Reposted] Report on Barnet Residents Forum, Coppetts Wood Primary School, 23 June 2011

Since there has been lots of political activity on this web site recently, concerning the boroughs of Haringey and Enfield, let us remind ourselves about what goes on (or doesn't) in the Blessed Borough of Barnet...

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"Thursday 23rd June saw the first production of a new show, which its sponsors hope will be the first of a very short run. (Seeing as how the performance started at 6.01pm, and finished at 6.52pm, their wishes may come to fruition.)

"There were two councillors (David Longstaff and Pauline Coakley Webb) and two of Council Leader Richard Cornelius’s 'usual suspects', one of whom stomped out at the interval, because he did not understand:

• the script, 
• modern language, or 
• the sublimable message that was not so subtly being sent out by the Key Characters.

"Although Cllr David Longstaff is an actor, he was restricted to a walk-on part at the end, and the Lead was taken by Cllr Barry Evangeli, who many will remember as the person who advertised magnum ice cream, and said they were priced so that even a councillor could afford them from their increased allowances.

"The show opened with a show-stopping performance from the compere, who r e a d o u t v e r y c a r e f u l l y an introduction, setting out the constitution of the Area Forums, under 'Part V of the Local Government Act 1972' and numerous other Acts. This set the scene – boring - very boring – yawn.

"Only local, street-based items would be considered. Policy matters would not be discussed. Once it had been raised and accepted, they could NOT raise it again for six months. The performance had nine acts, the first three of which were petitions.

Friern Barnet library

"There were four people (initially) who presented their petition to 'Save Friern Barnet Library', and it appeared that it might only get as far as the rubbish bin that night. Interventions from Cllr Coakley Webb led to animated discussions by the performers, and the script was rewritten. It will go back to the Town Hall, and then go in the bin.

"The petitioners wanted to speak, but were told it was a 'policy matter', so could not be discussed. The audience took a vote, and decided it was a 'street-based, local issue', and was eligible under the rules. The petitioner spoke loudly, and the compere softly, so we heard the loudest voice.

Pinkham Way

"At least eight people wanted to speak in Act Six, the traffic rat-run between Colney Hatch Lane and Friern Barnet Road. But were not allowed to.

"... Right, if we can’t ask our questions we wish to make some additional points about increased traffic, including future refuse lorry movements."

"Compere’s ears prick up. 'What lorries? Where are they going?' Answer: 'Barnet refuse lorries, going to Pinkham Way.'

"Explosion from stage. Voice raised 1.5 decibels at least:

"Pinkham Way is 'planning'. You are not allowed to raise planning matters. You have an opportunity at the planning committee, so: IT WILL NOT BE DISCUSSED TONIGHT."

"Voice from audience:

"Three people for three minutes at the planning committee is not consultation, nor is it democracy."

"Explosion from audience, followed by mass audience participation, including about six people from Pinkham Way, although all joined in. Allegations of dictatorship, agenda rigging, and failure to understand 'Localism', partnership, or democracy were met with a response from the stage, in a low tone, with an air of uncertainty.

"It appears that pages from 'Alice in Wonderland' had got mixed up with the official script. At one stage, we were told that the council 'knew what it was doing'. This answer was probably given in error, as the audience knew what the play was all about, and didn’t like it.

"All of a sudden, there were thirty critics, all shouting from the same script, albeit not the actor’s version."

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For a longer version of this entertainment review:

Link to Barnet's Mr Reasonable

...and equal entertainment at another 'Residents Forum' was reported by Mrs Angry:

It's that picture again!
- will Barnet ever be able to live down the MetPro scandal?
Click above for Mrs Angry's report on Residents Forum

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Link to HOME (see all posts).

Evening Standard: "Tube and bus passengers face decade of inflation-busting rises"

Link to web site

"Tube and bus passengers face 10 years of inflation busting fare increases, London's transport chiefs have confirmed.

"This is to help pay for the 'unprecedented' doubling of spending on roads - from a planned £1.9 billion to £3.8bn - over the coming decade announced yesterday by Transport for London (TfL.)

"An extra £640 million is to be spent on cycling - on top of the £273m already earmarked for the next 10 years. Hundreds of millions of pounds more will be spent on the Tube."


From yesterday's Evening Standard:

Key points of ten-year plan

• The completion of Crossrail in 2018, expanding London’s rail capacity by 10 per cent (separately funded)
• Major station capacity increases at Victoria, Tottenham Court Road, Bond Street and Bank
• Northern line extension to Battersea, allowing 17,000 new jobs and 7,500 new homes to be created
• 600 new Bus for London vehicles by 2016
• Completion of the sub-surface Metropolitan, Circle, Hammersmith & City  and District line upgrades in 2018 with 191 new trains
• An extra car on the London Overground’s North and West London lines and the Euston-Watford line by 2016
• A major bus station modernisation programme from 2015 to bring them to a good state of repair
• Silvertown Crossing construction and a new ferry at Gallions Reach
• DLR will have double tracks laid between Stratford and Bow Church
• Next generation of line upgrades, which will focus on the Piccadilly, Central, Bakerloo and Waterloo & City lines
• Four new trams and double tracking key sections of Tramlink between Croydon and Wimbledon.

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"Delivering this Business Plan will maintain the city’s reputation as a world-leading location in which to live, work and do business, and will secure economic growth and prosperity for the entire country."

Link to Boris's PDF file

"As the Plan sets out, our transport system needs two essential things to make that a reality.

• First, continuous renewal of the assets that must deliver reliable services for customers and users day in, day out. This includes modern trains and buses and advanced signalling to operate more rail services and keep traffic flowing. 
• Second, sustained investment in infrastructure to improve reliability and reduce overcrowding on public transport and congestion on the roads."

New Year, New North London Waste Plan

"Work on developing a new North London Waste Plan is scheduled to start in the New Year after a planning inspector ruled the existing document was unsuitable [rubbish].

"The new North London Waste Plan (NLWP) will be drawn up by Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington and Waltham Forest Councils.

"It will set out how much waste the seven boroughs need to process, explain how planning applications for waste facilities in the boroughs will be decided and identify enough sites for waste management.

"A spokesperson for the NLWP, said:

“We have listened to the decision of the planning inspector and while we are disappointed with his decision, we believe the most appropriate way forward is to not adopt the current plan and start work on a new one as early as possible in the New Year.

We need to deal with more of our own rubbish and we’re determined to produce a plan that meets the needs of North London and identifies how the waste management facilities we need can be provided.

We’ll take the information we gathered in producing the original plan and use that as the basis for the new version, while taking into account the comments made by the planning inspector, so the work we’ve done to date will not be wasted. It's worth bearing in mind that the original plan was produced before the duty to co-operate was introduced.”

"Planning Inspector Andrew Mead was appointed to examine the NLWP but on the first day of the hearing in June he only heard evidence over whether the seven boroughs had failed to comply with the new Duty to Co-operate with local authorities who receive waste for landfill from North London.

"In August the Inspector decided the NLWP was not legally compliant because it did not meet the duty to co-operate and as result the examination into the soundness of the plan could not continue.

"To formally end the examination of the old NLWP the boroughs will now ask the Inspector to write his report which will recommend that the plan is not adopted and to start on a new version of the plan.

"This will formally call a halt to the old plan and enable work to start on the new plan.

"The boroughs will be writing to partners in the New Year to tell them about the new plan and how they can get involved.

Greens: London Councils Guilty of 'Greenwash'

Link to businessGreen

" 'Lambeth recycling rate soars!' screamed the headline on Lambeth's website. But the figures unraveled further down the page. The council explained the surge in recycling came from a switch from sending waste to landfill to sending compostoble or recyclable waste to an 'energy from waste (EfW)' plant in Bexley, rather than a recycling plant.

"The council had also counted bottom ash from the incinerator and other debris that is being used for road building as recycled waste, providing a boost to its recycling rates.

"Wandsworth, a borough of the Western Riverside Waste Authority and user of the Bexley EfW plant for 'residual waste' provided the same explanation for its imrpved recycling figures. Significantly, Wandsworth has revised its recycling figure from 45.9 to 43.8 per cent in the last few days on its council webpage.

"I really don't think it is right for councils to publish inflated recycling figures on their websites, and presumably in its literature to residents, when in fact it does not reflect official data." 

Lime Grove rather than Ally Pally, for 'The Hour'

A era of economic disappointment, with a discredited and floundering establishment, and questions about the independence and morality of the media.  

Not like now.

Link above to
"I wrote the musical score"

"I am the composer on the second series of The Hour, a drama set in a 1950s BBC newsroom. My job is to create original music to support sections of the programme, hopefully enhancing them.

"I was brought on board just as shooting had started, as pre-recorded tracks of some songs of the period were urgently needed for the performers in the Soho nightclub scenes: Never Do A Tango With An Eskimo, Betcha I Getcha and Softly, Softly.

"We assembled a six-piece band like what might be heard in a 1950s club at Chestnut Recording Studios, in a small basement in West Kensington, London: sax, trumpet, guitar, bass, drums and me on piano."
 

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Panorama - April Fool's Day Hoax - Spaghetti Harvest - 1st April 1957



"On April 1, 1957 the British television programme Panorama broadcast a three-minute segment about a bumper spaghetti harvest in southern Switzerland. The success of the crop was attributed both to an unusually mild winter and to the virtual disappearance of the spaghetti weevil. The audience heard Richard Dimbleby, the shows highly respected anchor, discussing the details of the spaghetti crop as they watched video footage of a Swiss family pulling pasta off spaghetti trees and placing it into baskets. The segment concluded with the assurance that, For those who love this dish, theres nothing like real, home-grown spaghetti.

"The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest hoax generated an enormous response. Hundreds of people phoned the BBC wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti tree. To this query the BBC diplomatically replied, Place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best.

"To this day the Panorama broadcast remains one of the most famous and popular April Fools Day hoaxes of all time. It is also believed to be the first time the medium of television was used to stage an April Fools Day hoax.

"Since 1955 Panorama had been anchored by Richard Dimbleby, whose authoritative, commanding presence had made him one of the most revered public figures in Britain. If Dimbleby said it, people trusted that it was true. Which is one of the reasons why the spaghetti harvest hoax fooled so many viewers. His participation lent the hoax an air of unimpeachable authority.

"Almost no one else at the BBC knew about it. The segment was not mentioned at all in the pre-transmission publicity handouts.

"The line-up for that days show included a long segment about Archbishop Makarios, leader of the Greek Cypriots, and a clip of the Duke of Edinburgh attending the premiere of the war film The Yangtse Incident.

"The second-to-last segment was about a wine-tasting contest, and then it came time for the spaghetti harvest.

"Dimbleby, sitting on the set of Panorama, looked into the camera and without a trace of a smile said: And now from wine to food. We end Panorama tonight with a special report from the Swiss Alps.

"The screen cut away to the prepared footage. When it was all over, Dimbleby reappeared and said, Now we say goodnight, on this first day of April. He emphasized the final phrase.

"Panorama never attempted another April Fools Day spoof, despite numerous calls for a sequel. However, the hoax did inspire a number of similar stunts in its honour."

This film footage is from the Archive Collection held and administered by the [non-maintained web site] Alexandra Palace Television Society.

http://www.apts.org.uk

 

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West London Mum: "West London Residents Against Incinerator"

Link to web site, boys and girls

"Be afraid! Be very afraid! A new dangerous neighbour has set its sights on West London.

"Yes mummies, daddies and kiddies, disturbing plans are afoot to build a giant waste incinerator at Willesden Junction, with devastating effects for family-friendly neighbourhoods for miles around. So what would we be looking forward to if Ealing planning department give this the green light? (And folks, they really are leaning towards giving this the green light…)"