Statement from the Pinkham Way Alliance

Enjoy the photos at the 
'Pinkham Panthers' web site

Help Needed to prevent the Destruction of Pinkham Woods

London Borough of Haringey is currently consulting on their plans to change the designation of the Former Friern Barnet Sewerage Treatment Works site (known locally as Pinkham Woods) from:

“Employment generating uses subject to no adverse effect on the nature conservation value of the site." to “Locally Significant Industrial use" without any caveat on protecting its nature conservation value.

It is important that those organisations and individuals who care about London’s wild places oppose this change. Consultation responses must be submitted by 3 November. The consultation documents can be downloaded from Haringey’s website at the following links:

http://www.haringey.gov.uk/index/housing_and_planning/planning-mainpage/policy_and_projects/local_development_framework/corestrategy/corestrategysubmission/core-strategy-examination.htm

http://www.haringey.gov.uk/revised_consultation_on_core_strategy__cssd-03__document_sept_2011.pdf (large file)

The consultation states this proposed change in use "Complies with discussions which have already taken place to use part of the site for a recycling centre and other part as waste station".

What is not mentioned in the consultation is that these pre-application discussions relate to a planning application by London Borough of Barnet and the North London Waste Authority to build a 300,000 tonne per annum mechanical biological treatment plant (one of the largest in Europe) plus a vehicle depot for London Borough of Barnet’s fleet of vehicles, that is expected to result in over 1000 vehicle movements per day.

A Freedom of Information request has revealed that Haringey’s pre-application discussions have identified that these proposals would destroy 3.6 hectares of woodland on this 6.3 Hectare site. Things the consultation document also fails to mention are:

• The Former Friern Barnet Sewerage Treatment Works site was closed in 1963 and since that time has been left empty to develop into a rich wildlife habitat
• Its current designation as employment use is “subject to no adverse effect on the nature conservation value of the site” - this part of the designation is conveniently not mentioned
• The site is one of only eight in the Borough that is designated as being of Grade 1 Borough Importance for Nature Conservation Value
• Haringey’s Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) of October 2009 identified an important opportunity to de- culvert the stream on this site as one of a limited number of opportunities to restore watercourses within the Borough
• Haringey’s BAP highlights that Haringey currently has only 0.16 hectares of Local Nature Reserves per 1000 residents, compared to Natural England’s recommended ratio of 1 hectare per 1000 population. The current ratio is predicted to fall to 0.14 hectares by 2016, due to population growth
• The BAP has established a target to create an additional 0.5 Hectares of woodland within the Borough.

What you need to know to respond to the consultation

The consultation asks whether the proposed changes are:

• based on robust and credible evidence? 
• the most appropriate strategy when considered against the alternatives? 
• consistent with national policy?

No evidence has been presented that would support the sites change of use to industrial use. The consultation document itself highlights a declining demand for industrial use, that the Upper Lea valley has large tracts of employment land that are now obsolete, and part of the economic development strategy for the Upper Lea Valley is to locate green industries and resource management facilities in the Upper Lea Valley.

The focus for protecting Industrial land will be to protect sites currently in industrial use. No justification is presented for why Haringey would therefore need to designate this site for industrial use, and reverse a current policy position that has sought to protect this site for its nature conservation value.

Had Haringey provided consultees with the full picture of just how important this site is for nature conservation and its context, it would have been obvious to them that a more appropriate evidence-based use that addressed priorities in the Borough would be to designate this site as a Local Nature Reserve. A use which is particularly fitting given the sites close proximity to four neighbouring schools and which would create the opportunity to provide a green chain connecting the site with neighbouring green spaces and improving the permeability of this area of the Borough.

Coppetts Wood in Barnet was also the site of a sewerage treatment works that was closed at the same time as Friern Barnet in 1963. Coppetts Wood was designated a Local Nature Reserve in 1998.

The PPS 1 Supplement on Planning and Climate Change sets out the key Objectives for Planning Bodies in terms of the development of local planning policy. These include:

• To secure new development and shape places that minimise vulnerability, and provide resilience, to climate change; and in ways that are consistent with social cohesion and inclusion;
• To conserve and enhance biodiversity, recognising that the distribution of habitats and species will be affected by climate change.

Quite clearly, changing the designation of this site, to knowingly remove its current protection and pave the way for its destruction, is not in keeping with these key objectives of National Planning Policy.

As a final bit of context, the site is situated to the south of the North Circular at Pinkham Way and north of Muswell Hill golf course. It is effectively the area of woodland opposite the Alan Day Car dealership, and can best be viewed from the bridge that connects to the Friern Barnet Retail Park. The site forms an intrinsic part of a designated green corridor that connects Alexandra Palace Park via the mainline railway lines to Tunnel Gardens, Blue Bell Woods, Muswell Hill Golf Course, and other green spaces. Haringey's own Nature Conservation officer described the site as:

"an important part of a larger ecological complex and corridor including other SINC’s (Hollickwood Park, Muswell Hill Golf Course, Tunnel Gardens and Bluebell Wood, Albert Rd Rec and Rhodes Avenue Spinney)."

Those who have visited the site will know that this site has one of the richest habitats for wildlife in the Borough, with a mixture of woodland and scrub.

Photos showing just some of the wealth of plant and insect life the site supports can be viewed at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/64663114@N03/sets/72157626961990241/with/5888474701/

In addition to the loss of this important site for nature conservation, the resulting vehicle movements that would result from the planning application this change in use is being made to facilitate, will further increase NOx emission rates on the local road network, exacerbating a problem which already sees local residents on Colney Hatch Lane exposed to NOX emissions in excess of national objectives.

Please urgently submit a response to the consultation that:

• Opposes the change in designation of the Former Friern Barnet Swerage Treatment Works site to Locally Signifucant Industrial use
• Insisting that any designated use retains the caveat subject to no adverse effect on the nature conservation value of the site
• promotes its designation as a Local Nature Reserve.

For further context on the real drivers behind this change in designation, please visit: http://www.pinkhamwayalliance.org/

Sunday Telegraph: "Why are we so rubbish at throwing things away?"

The ParkGate crisis:
Link to Sunday Telegraph

"It took the human race a long time to invent the rubbish bin, and although the idea seems simple, many of us have yet to master the details. Some leave their rubbish anywhere except in the bins, others appear to confuse the bins with bicycle stands and public urinals, while a few fail to grasp the core notion that the things are meant to hold rubbish

"Into this awkward latter category now arrives Oliver Letwin, the 55-year-old Cabinet Office Minister, who last week had to apologise for dumping government papers in park bins near his Whitehall office. They allegedly included sensitive briefing notes and print-outs of emails about al-Qaeda, former prime minister Tony Blair, and retail tycoon Sir Philip Green."

Sunday Independent: "The night I ate out ... of a bin"

Link to Sunday Independent

We throw out £17bn of food each year. Is it all inedible? Charlie Cooper joins the 'freegans' who live on little else.

"... Brown does not live in poverty – he lives in a small house in the suburbs of Wakefield in West Yorkshire. He never buys food, and lives entirely off what he finds in the bins of his local supermarkets – what he can't eat, he hands over to family and friends.

"Although the amount of good food thrown out by stores is shocking, it's nothing compared to what goes to waste at the manufacturing level. The Government estimates that, whereas 362,000 tonnes is goes into bins at store level, the figure for the manufacturing stage of the food chain is closer to 2.6 million tonnes. 

"The biggest source of food waste in the UK, however, is in the home. The Government estimates that 8.3 million tonnes is lost this way. Changing attitudes is at the heart of the Government's campaign, Love Food Hate Waste, which wants to get people making the most of ingredients – using food in imaginative ways rather than just throwing it away."

Friern Barnet Library? No, trying to save another library

From 'Wembley Matters' web site: Sat. 15 Oct.:

Warm welcome at Kensal Rise vigil

"I've just been down to Kensal Rise Library where people are keeping vigil in the warm sunshine to stop Brent Council boarding up the building. The atmosphere was friendly with passers-by stopping to have a chat and telling us how they value the library and appreciate the campaigners' efforts. Passing cars tooted in support."

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Daily Telegraph: "As libraries close, is that the end of the stories?"

Children finished off some of their home made posters and paraded up and down with placards. Adults brought books to add to the outdoor community library that has sprung up and others browsed to borrow books.

Link to Daily Telegraph

"The first excitement was the boarding up of the library. “Closed until further notice” read the sign on the doors padlocked by Thursday afternoon. A 21st-century service means libraries few and far between.

"Kensal Rise closed despite a vigorous campaign that brought 400 people to St Martin’s church one night to hear Alan Bennett. 'Libraries have to be local,' he told them, 'the early part of a child’s reading life is vital.' That was true in his life as for a hundred other writers such as Laurie Lee, who 'gorged' on Joyce and Huxley at Stroud public library."

Bounds Green & District Residents Association

Barry James is one of the leading bgdra activists against the Pinkham Way plan; here is an update from him from the front line:

Dear fellow residents,

Hopefully you are aware of the latest from Haringey Council but just in case you aren’t – here is the news.

A few days after Haringey Council made its announcement that the NLWA outline planning application was 'on hold', it emerged that the government’s Planning Inspectorate had lambasted Haringey Council on the consultation process used for the Core Strategy. Specifically, Haringey had sought to change the land designation at Pinkham Way from ‘employment’ to ‘industrial’. Clearly the council thought that they needed to make the change to smooth the path for the NLWA’s proposed new waste plant. 

Sadly they tried to slip the change through the backdoor of the Core Strategy, but the inspectorate (with help from residents) spotted the manoeuvre - with the result that Haringey were accused of running a consultation that 'could appear to be prejudicial to the interests of fairness and natural justice'.

Haringey are now running a new consultation which is open between 22nd September and 3rd November.  It is unlikely that you will know about it unless you are already registered with the Council, as someone who has expressed an interest, or you visit libraries a lot. For your information, here are scanned copies of the three page consultation letter from the Council. (Page 1; Page 2; Page 3)

Details of the consultation can be found online at:
www.haringey.gov.uk/local_development_framework/core-strategy-examination

I am reminded of the tip from Sir Humphrey, in that wonderful TV show 'Yes Minister', when he suggested that if there was a need to slip something important passed a Minister of State without him noticing, then you made sure his nightly red dispatch box was full to the brim with boring and largely irrelevant departmental paperwork and the important paper (always a single sheet) was slipped into the middle somewhere. Haringey Council obviously watched the programme.

Don’t let Haringey Council slip something past you – follow up on the information we have supplied here, and make sure you let them know before November 3rd that the change of land designation at Pinkham Way is wholly unacceptable.

Good Reading,
Barry James

Evening Standard: "Boris gives approval to green power station after overruling council"

Link to web site

"Boris Johnson has forced through plans for a green power station in the face of local opposition.

"The Mayor overturned a decision by Merton council to reject an anaerobic digestion plant which turns rotting vegetation and slops from the capital's pubs and restaurants into electricity.

"It is the first time he has used new powers to rule on a waste facility planning application considered to be of strategic importance to the capital."

GLA waste report, and Boris's waste conference

Link to 2009 GLA waste report

"In our report, we identify barriers that are preventing widespread use of new waste to energy technologies. The publication of the Mayor’s Municipal Waste Strategy provides a timely opportunity for the Mayor to actively pursue fundamental changes to the way waste is managed in London.

"This report makes a number of practical recommendations to the Mayor and the London Waste and Recycling Board (LWaRB) that we believe could accelerate the development of the necessary infrastructure for converting waste to energy.

"We highlight, in particular, the long-term nature of municipal waste contracts which can limit the ability of local authorities to produce the waste streams needed for the new plants. The need for planning guidance as to where these plants could be sited and the role that the Mayor and LWaRB could play in supporting the development of these infant industries is also discussed. Inadequate infrastructure like the piping and grid connectivity should also not be forgotten.

"Finally, and not least, public concerns to any new technology require an effective communications strategy particularly if there are fears over possible health impacts."

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Link to Let's Recycle web site

"The C40 Cities network was established in association with the Clinton Climate Initiative, to bring together many of the largest cities in the world, in order to examine ways in which climate change can be addressed.

"From 22 to 24 March 2010, it held its 6th quarterly meeting, with the Greater London Authority hosting representatives from 30 of those cities. The representatives worked together to exchange information, and also to visit some of the best resource recovery and waste treatment facilities throughout London.

"London's Mayor, Boris Johnson opened the workshop in his own inimitable style, arguing the case for waste prevention through addressing the over-packaging, and joked about the health and safety problems of mens' shirt packaging.

"James Cleverly, who as a member of the GLA earlier this year took over the chairing of the London Waste and Recycling Board from the Mayor, outlined the waste treatment deficit faced by Greater London, in order to meet the mayor's target to treat London's waste within its boundaries by 2025."

Park Royal City

Link above to 'London Reconnections' video
(and other links from there)

"A major regeneration of the area, dubbed Royal Park City, designed by world-renowned architect Sir Terry Farrell would revolutionise one of London’s poorest areas. And the council has developed a computer-generated video clip with interactive artist’s impression of the ambitious project.

"Filmed to the soundtrack of 80s classic 'We Built This City' by Starship, the video is four minutes long."

Further details (PDF).

The Guardian: "The winner of a new generation of electricity pylons is announced"

Plug into Chris Huhne

"With more than 88,000 pylons in the UK, and a need for new transmission infrastructure, the Royal Institute of British Architects, the Department of Energy and Climate Change and National Grid called on architects, designers, engineers and students to come up with designs that balanced energy needs and visual impact.

"The winner is T-Pylon, by Danish company Bystrup Architecture, Design & Engineering, made from hot-dip galvanized steel with a paint finish, and as alternatives, Cor-Ten steel, stainless steel, and hot-dip galvanized without paint.

"It has a classic appearance and elegance, yet its starting point is a pure engineering response."

NLWA clarifies incineration

“Please be kind enough to clarify if the SRF contract statement, made as a press release, is the limit of the information being released, or otherwise.

"(For instance, will details of the possible rail arrangements and routes be made public? Does the NLWA have any sort of confidentiality agreement with Network Rail, or rail-freight operators?)”

"In response to your questions, this is the limit of the information that will be released about the proposed sites put forward by bidders in the Authority's procurement for the fuel use contract. Release of any further information would be in the hands of the bidders, and could arise in connection with public consultation ahead of a planning application.

"Similarly, details of the possible rail arrangements and routes will not be made public by the Authority.

Under the Authority's procurement, transport requirements are contained within the scope of the Waste Services Contract. There is therefore no negotiation relating to these services with Network Rail, and no Confidentiality Agreement."

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Link to HOME (see all posts).

Evening Standard: "Resident's 'BinCam' catches flytippers"

Link to Evening Standard

"A city worker frustrated with his local council for failing to clean up rubbish outside his house has set up a 'BinCam web site' to shame flytippers.

"The action centres on a green council bin in West Hampstead, alongside which the flytippers dump rubbish. The bin is seen overflowing because the rubbish is only collected once a week. A still image is taken every minute and uploaded to the website. Mr Robertson, 33, said:

"There were two weeks just over a month ago where there was rubbish everywhere. People were dumping it all the time and that was really the crunch point. I didn't want to hang around all day taking pictures of rubbish so BinCam was born to do the work for me."

Amongst highlights:

"Return of the Night Plonker"

Evening Standard: "Campaigners win incinerator battle"

Link to Evening Standard

"Campaigners have won a High Court battle and thrown plans for a £117 million waste incinerator project in the West Country into disarray.

"In a judgment with important implications for new waste management schemes nationwide, a judge quashed Communities Secretary Eric Pickles's decision to grant planning permission for the incinerator project at St Dennis in Cornwall.

"Mr Justice Collins, sitting at the High Court in London, ruled there had been a failure to properly consider whether the EU Habitats Directive required special assessment to be carried out before permission was granted."

Pinkham Way Alliance: "Application is not withdrawn", but also: "Concert by Dame Emma Kirkby"

HARINGEY CONTINUE TO VALIDATE PLANNING APPLICATION, DESPITE THEIR PROMISE TO PUT IT 'ON HOLD'

"Given the promise to Haringey council tax payers in the statement of 19 July, the continuation of the validation process demonstrates bad faith on the council’s part – the council elected by us."

On 19 July, Haringey Council proclaimed on its website: “Pinkham Way application on hold”. Despite this, it transpires that Haringey’s planning department has been in contact with the applicants (Barnet Council and the North London Waste Authority) over the summer months about ongoing, major changes to this supposedly “on hold” application.

Haringey planners are insisting that they have to continue with this evolving planning application until they can ‘validate’ it (that is, confirm that it is legally complete). We have made clear our serious concerns about this attempt to validate the planning application in a recent letter to the Haringey Cabinet. There are legal questions that need clearing up; we’ll keep you posted.

Read more information on this worrying situation, and why it only benefits the applicants.

Please help us pressurise the politicians of Haringey right away to get them to do what they said they would do and not take this planning application forward until after the planning inspector has scrutinised the over-arching North London Waste Plan next spring.

Information for contacting Haringey Councillors.

HARINGEY FAIL TO NOTIFY ALL RESIDENTS OF KEY CONSULTATION

　

Thank you to all of you who have contacted Haringey about the ongoing ‘reconsultation’ through which they are seeking to redesignate the Pinkham Wood site for industrial use and, it appears to us, diminish its conservation status.

If you've received an email invitation to take part from Haringey Council, please hold your fire. We are seeking expert opinion, and will circulate what we’ve learned in the week of  Monday 24 October - the reconsultation closes on 3 November. If you've already replied, there's nothing to stop you adding to your submission later.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Haringey Council have taken little notice of our requests to ensure as many people as possible are included in the reconsultation. They appear to have made little effort to contact more people than the first time around. We also know of people who responded to Haringey's first, flawed consultation who have been told late about the reconsultation, or, in some cases not at all. This is not good enough, and we're making sure that the council and the inspector who instructed them to ‘reconsult’ know it.

You can help by printing out copies of a single A4 page (also available on our website) and delivering it to as many houses in your road as you can. It has a tear-off strip so people can send it to Haringey asking to be consulted. It would be great if we could all do this as soon as possible. We must let people who don't get this newsletter, and especially those who do not have access to email, know what is going on.

CONCERT BY DAME EMMA KIRKBY

To end on a high note… we are delighted that internationally acclaimed soprano (and Muswell Hill resident) Dame Emma Kirkby will be performing locally in aid of the PWA.

Her concert will be at 4pm on Sunday 20 November, in St Andrew’s Church, Alexandra Park Road.

More information can be found on our events website. Please keep the date free - it'll be a fantastic afternoon.

Once again, thanks for your help. I should stress that the next few weeks and months are crucial in this struggle. Please don't think that the best chances to stop these plans are all in the future; they're already happening.

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Don't forget you can also follow us on Twitter, join the Facebook Group and visit our partner website the Pinkham Panthers. You can donate here.

Kind regards,

Bidesh Sarkar

Chair

Pinkham Way Alliance

Pile of Rubbish Crisis: NLWA's Chair Clyde Loakes steps in

Naughty, naughty: Binmen appearing to put rubbish
and recycling into the same section of a refuse truck. 
Link to 'Waltham Forest Guardian'

"AN investigation is to be launched into claims that the council's new rubbish contractors have been failing to recycle waste.

"Cabinet member for the environment, Cllr Clyde Loakes, today announced that the team photographed by the Guardian is to be investigated. He said:

"The council...will expect our contractor to take the tough disciplinary action required, should it be found that staff failed to collect recycling correctly. We take a zero-tolerance approach to recyclable materials that are either contaminated or collected incorrectly.

The recent change of contract, the new single collection day for both bins, and the introduction of split-body vehicles are all designed to make sure we drive up our recycling rates."

Saturday 15 October: Friern Barnet Loved-by-Locals-but-not-by-Council Library

(Click to enlarge)

More Q&A from the NLWA (no point asking Barnet anything)

Question 1:
Clarification of the status of the 'North London Joint Waste Strategy' (the what?)

Question: The NLWA web site says the following:

Q: How does the 'North London Joint Waste Strategy' fit in with the procurement and the 'North London Waste Plan'?

A: The North London Waste Plan identifies where in north London sites to deal with all waste could be situated.

The North London Joint Waste Strategy sets out how municipal waste is going to be dealt with in north London through to 2020.

The procurement process is the identification of what facilities are needed to manage the municipal waste. Each of these processes contribute to a new environmentally sustainable approach for managing waste in north London into the future."

Does that mean that the NLWP is only about "Sites", and not about "Issues"?

Or how do the NLWP (intended to be 2012) and the NLJWS (of 2008) interrelate, and have preference?

The Independent: "Global warning: climate sceptics are winning the battle"

Link to The Independent

"Climate sceptics are winning the argument with the public over global warming, the world's most celebrated climate scientist, James Hansen of NASA, said in London yesterday.

"[Yet] significant climatic 'extreme events' were now occurring over 10 to 15 per cent of the planet annually, whereas between 1950 to 1980 they occurred over less than 1 per cent. He added:  

"So in places like Texas this year, Moscow last year, and Europe in 2003, the climate change is so big that they are undeniable. Within 10 to 15 years they're going to occur over 15 to 20 per cent of the planet, so people have to notice that the climate is changing."

BBC: "Tax havens: Is the tide turning?"

Link to BBC web site

"Protesters stage sit-ins in shops and banks around the UK, in the hope of getting tax avoidance by massive corporations on to the political agenda."

"In recent months, a loose coalition on 'tax fairness' has emerged, uniting angry taxpayers, business ethics pressure groups and development NGOs. The focus is now on tax avoidance - legal arrangements to pay less tax, sometimes using complicated financial structures - rather than just illegal tax evasion."

Saturday 15 October: Bowes Park Environment Fair

[Updated] London Borough of Barnet: Moving the Waste Incinerator out of the Borough

The 'Pinkham Way' plant seems identical to the 'Mechanical and Biological Treatment' plant (MBT) that was intended for the A5 Edgware Road, London Borough of Barnet, by Brent Cross shopping centre developer Hammerson. [Link to Opposition report.]

This would have been across the road from housing and a school in the neighbouring borough of Brent. Outline planning permission for this plant has already been granted - by the London Borough of Barnet.

MBT plant on A5 Edgware Road, Cricklewood (looking north
towards Staples Corner/North Circular Road).
[Click to enlarge.]

The MBT plant would create 'incinerator-fuel' [which Pinkham Way would also produce].
This would be sent, via conveyor belt, under the Thameslink railway line behind the plant, to the 'Combined Heat and Power Plant' (CHP), where it would be incinerated (releasing gas, to be burned separately in the same building).

'Illustrative picture' of the incinerator/CHP plant
(strangely lacking the 140-metre approved chimney!)

This plan now seems abandoned. [Because of campaigning?]

An attempt is now being made, under compulsory purchase, for a 'Materials Recycling Facility' (MRF - pronounced "murf") on the Edgware Road site instead. This would be supplied by the boroughs' kerbside recycling lorries, instead of by their dustcarts.

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Part of the successful planning application from the Brent Cross developers (mainly Hammerson) on 12 November 2008:

WASTE HANDLING

"The application proposals involve the creation of a new rail-linked Waste Handling Facility [essentially the proposed Pinkham Way building, with railway sidings] on a site adjacent to the A5 [Geron Way, off Edgware Road; originally the Roman Road, Watling Street]. The existing facility will not be closed, until a new facility has been constructed. [The current plant just loads domestic rubbish on to trains, which then travel to Calvert in Buckinghamshire.]

Evening Standard image
(the incinerator is south-west of the shopping centre)

"The waste facility is likely to be operated through a new contract, yet to be awarded by the North London Waste Authority (NLWA). The 'Development Partners' [in 2010, Multiplex gave up, just leaving Hammerson south of the North Circular Road; typical for the shambles that is Brent Cross, their web site still said 'Multiplex' for another year] are in advanced discussions with the Authority, regarding the design, specification and programme of this facility. [It's moved to Pinkham Way. Ask the NLWA to explain.]

"Key elements of the specification proposed by the Development Partners are that the Waste Handling Facility:

• will be connected directly to the Combined Heat and Power plant [incinerator]
• should be designed to manufacture a 'Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF)' [no known difference from Pinkham Way's 'Solid Recovered Fuel' - you can call it what you like! There is more here.] from residual municipal waste, suitable for use in the Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant [incinerator], to be constructed as part of the development [further east, near Brent Cross shopping centre];
• will produce sufficient fuel to meet the requirements of the CHP, when it is fully operational [serving the 150 hectares, made up of 14-million-square-feet of development over 20 years].

Click above to enlarge
(the 'Pinkham Way MBT waste plant' at Brent Cross - 
Hammerson, the site developer, described initial heat treatment of 
residual waste "at up to 700 degC.", and "there could be a stack".)

 "Negotiations are continuing with the NLWA, concerning these and other aspects of an agreed specification and programme for developing the Waste Handling Facility (WHF).

"... The [incinerator] stack will be a maximum height of 140-metres above finished ground level, ... with a [CHP] building size of 65 by 45 metres, and 45 metres high.

"... If RDF from the WHF [for the CHP!] is not available, an alternative fuel source would be used, which is likely to be natural gas. ... The development partners [would then] consider the use of free-standing wind turbines."

All this got approval from Richard Cornelius, the current Barnet Council Leader.

Link to pre-approval 'Estates Gazette'
video at Hendon Town Hall

Unilever: Claims about packaging

Pinkham Way Alliance: 'The letter's in the post'

PINKHAM WAY ALLIANCE

c/o Hollickwood School

Sydney Road, Muswell Hill, N10 2NL

7 October 2011

To: Haringey Cabinet Members, River House, 225 High Road, N22 8HQ

“Pinkham Way application on hold”

You may recognise the above quote as the headline for the Council’s statement of 19 July last, which stated:

“The submission of a plan to put a waste processing plant in Pinkham Way has been put on hold following intervention by Haringey Council…..the NLWA has agreed to the Council’s demands, which will see them submit a detailed plan for consultation with residents and consideration by the council’s planning committee after the Inspector reports (on the NLWP) in April 2012.”

This statement was clearly designed to be taken at face value. Indeed the Bounds Green councillors, who had faced unprecedented pressure from concerned residents, took the chance to publish a newsletter that interpreted it in such a way.

Simultaneously however, a private response from an official in the planning department, answering a resident’s query, indicated that the attempts to validate the application would continue. On 21 July our legal advisors wrote to Mr Crompton, asking for clarification of this discrepancy.

At the date of writing – 11 weeks later – they have received no response, save a holding letter mentioning the difficulties about premises. This silence gives us the clearest indication of the attitude within some circles in Haringey, much clearer, in fact, than a written response ever could.

We would like to make the following points.

By allowing its officers to continue, or being unable to prevent them continuing the process of validation, the council has failed in its promise to put the application “on hold”. Were validation to happen now, the applicants would have the right to demand that Haringey proceed to determination. The council would have no option, otherwise the applicants would have the right to appeal to the Secretary of State on grounds of non-determination during the statutory period.

In that case, the ‘agreement’ made by the NLWA and Barnet would have been cast aside, and your 19 July announcement would have been, in effect, shown to be untrue.

Should the council permit its credibility to be put at risk in this way by the applicants and its own officials?

If the application is not validated, however, the question of determination would evidently not arise, and the council could fulfill its publicly stated promise to put the application properly on hold - a promise that ratepayers have the legitimate right to take at face value, as, plainly, did your colleagues in Bounds Green, who as you know include Ali Demirci, the present Chair of Haringey Planning Committee.

Furthermore – and very importantly – what was always indicated to be, and was when submitted, an outline application, is now suddenly being treated as hybrid, which, your officials claim, is one part detailed (for change of use) and one part outline (for buildings etc).

While there is no statutory definition of a hybrid application, a crystal clear illustration can be found in Section 24 of the DCLG document dealing with planning application fees:

http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/planningandbuilding/pdf/10.pdf

Section 24, however states that a hybrid application is ‘one that seeks outline planning permission for one part, and full planning permission for another part, of the same site’.

The illustration states that such applications deal with different parts of the same site, not different parts of the same application. There are no qualifying phrases, such as ‘in the majority of cases’, simply an unequivocal statement.

Thus, in our opinion, there is no evidence to show that this is in any way a well-founded route to validate these applications, which were plainly flawed from the outset. We have corresponded with officials about this, but remain unconvinced by the legal basis for the council’s actions.

Should validation go ahead and our above concerns become confirmed, the council, for the price of a few months delay for the applicants, would have needlessly laid itself open to a legal challenge and the loss of its own credibility.

The conduct of the previous (November 2010) Regulation 27 consultation, which, as you know, dealt with the redesignation of the Pinkham Way site, shows that our concern about procedures and motives is well justified. Entirely because of the points raised in the PWA’s submission to the Core Strategy examination, subsequent correspondence, and in our appearances at the public hearings, the Inspector found that consultation to be so flawed that a re-consultation was required. This is in progress at present; please be assured that its conduct is under minute scrutiny.

Whether the previous consultation’s flaws arose through human error, incompetence or willful disregard does not concern us. What it has led us to do, as you will appreciate, is to question ever more closely the council’s actions in this whole matter. We feel sure that in our position you would have the same concerns.

Given the promise to Haringey council tax payers in the statement of 19 July, the continuation of the validation process demonstrates bad faith on the council’s part – the council elected by us.

We ask you to instruct the planning department:

1. to cease their attempts to validate, and 
2. to return the applications relating to the former Friern Barnet Sewage Works at Pinkham Way to the respective applicants, the NLWA and Barnet council, as being inadequate and unacceptable as valid applications at this time.

Yours sincerely,

Bidesh Sarkar

Chair – Pinkham Way Alliance

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Link to HOME (see all posts).

[Updated] Haringey Journal: "Consultation blunder in Muswell Hill waste plant saga"

7 Oct: Statement from the Pinkham Way Alliance:

"The consultation by Haringey Council is running until 3rd November. We are working on a response to the consultation, and aiming to publish this by 24 October if possible, and by the end of that week at the latest."

Link to Haringey Journal, 19 September

"Legal concerns have forced Haringey Council to repeat a consultation relating to the proposed waste plant in Muswell Hill.

"Lynne Featherstone, MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, said: 

"It’s clear that at every turn local residents have been shut out of a decision on a massive development on their doorstep. Haringey Council has now been told that it cannot continue with its behind-closed-doors approach, and needs to let local people have their say.”

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Link to Pinkham Way Alliance web site

The 'Pinkham Way Alliance' issued a statement: 

"In June, the government inspector looking at Haringey’s new Core Strategy agreed with the Pinkham Way Alliance and our lawyers – that it may not be sound.

"In the inspector’s view, Haringey’s consultation on certain ‘fundamental changes’ - including a change in designation for the Pinkham Wood site from ‘employment’ to ‘industrial’ usage - was not fit for purpose.

"Haringey has been forced to hold this consultation again, which it is planning to do from Thursday 22 September, for six weeks.

"However - and this is where we need to act immediately - the council is not planning to advertise this consultation widely; instead it says it will only notify people who are already on its records as ‘consultees’ (people it has consulted in the past).

"The change of designation from 'employment' to ‘industrial’ on this site paves the way for the massive industrial waste plant proposed by the North London Waste Authority to be granted planning permission.

"This is clearly an issue that affects the lives of many residents living in proximity to the site – not just in Haringey, but also in Barnet and Enfield.

"Unless you are already on Haringey’s limited ‘consultees database’, or are an avid reader of the Haringey Journal, the council will not be telling you about this re-consultation.

"Please join us right away in contacting Haringey Council to let them know that we are not happy about this. Demand that they invite you - and others whose voices are clearly relevant - to take part in this re-consultation.

"Visit our website now for details of how to demand your right to be consulted.

"For deeper context and explanation on the changes Haringey are trying to make, read more about the PWA and the Haringey Core Strategy.

"Once the consultation is underway, we'll be in touch with our thoughts on how to respond. Please consider that, as ever, to reply to best effect will require us all to pay for professional expertise - if you're able to donate to help with this, please do.

Grrr!

"Don't forget you can also follow us on Twitter, join the Facebook Group and access information from our partner website the Pinkham Panthers.

"Please encourage your friends and neighbours to contact Haringey about this re-consultation. People are much more likely to act when asked by someone they know personally."

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Link to HOME (see all posts).

See proposed boundary changes, nationwide

Click above for web site
(and on proposed new constituencies for voting predictions)

Frog Island: Information courtesy of Barnet Council, 'Putting the Community First'

There have been previous comparisons made between Pinkham Way and Frog Island in east London (although the latter is not 'fully enclosed, under negative pressure').

Barnet Council has produced some images (from 2009, as part of the Brent Cross Cricklewood development). [Click to enlarge images.]

(The 'Putting the Community First' is thought to be included as irony.)

8-9 October: London Transport Museum: 'Depot Family Open Weekend'

Link to web site

Date: Saturday 8 - Sunday 9 October 2011  

Time: 11.00 - 17.00 (last admission 16.00) 

"Visitors can explore behind the scenes at London Transport Museum Depot, Acton over the weekend. As the custodian of the world’s most comprehensive and important record of urban transport, the Museum stores over 370,000 objects [more than enough] under one roof, and the collection comprises of road and rail vehicles, engineering drawings, signs and ephemera. Highlights of the weekend include guided tours of the small object store, exciting demonstrations by Transport for London’s Emergency Response Unit, and an opportunity to meet the experts of the Museum curators’ Top 10 engineering objects. 

"The Family Open Weekend is dedicated to children and their families, and with that in mind we will run fun make-and-take workshops, 'Tickets please' object handling sessions, and rides on the open-air miniature railway and life-size heritage vehicles."