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11.10.04
Stroud Green Councillor Laura Edge has criticised Haringey Parks Department
for failing to consult on plans to introduce parking charges between 8am and
8pm in Finsbury Park.
Details of the plans first came to light last week and it was proposed that
they should be implemented in the week beginning Monday 11th October. Park
users were not consulted over the charges and details of the scheme only
became known after Councillor Edge passed them on to the Friends of Finsbury
Park.
The introduction of parking charges in Finsbury Park has been on the table
since the award of Heritage Lottery Funding for the restoration of the Park.
The terms of the grant required Haringey Council to commit to increase the annual
maintenance budget for the Park and a resolution to raise part of this
revenue from parking charges was agreed by the Executive in October 2002. However, there has been no effort since to consult with park users over the
proposals, which many believe are excessive.
Cllr Edge says:
"The current plans are ludicrous; one of the supposed aims of the scheme is
to prevent commuters from parking in the park following the introduction of
Controlled Parking Zones in surrounding streets. However, it is proposed
that the scheme operate from 8am to 8pm, which is longer than the hours of
operation of the CPZs in those streets. If you want to deter commuter
parking why not introduce charging for a shorter period in the middle of the
day? It's a classic case of using a sledgehammer to crack a nut and will
have the effect of penalising genuine park users."
The Council has now admitted that it bungled the consultation process and
has promised to revisit the plans and take on board the comments made by
users in order to come up with a more acceptable scheme. Whilst welcoming
the change in approach Cllr Edge says:
"Mistakes such as this understandably generate considerable mistrust among
local residents and illustrate that Haringey Council simply does not take
consultation with local residents seriously.
"The political will is needed to establish an efficient council-wide approach
to community consultation involving the creation of a genuine, constructive
dialogue with local people rather than the current top-down approach."
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