Sunday 20 March, 22

Dear all,

Thanks so much for signing and continuing to sign our petition for London's Haringey Council to come up with a more environmentally friendly bridge design for the Stanhope Road bridge in N6. 

Last week I made my second deputation at a full council meeting - which means I spoke for 5 minutes to more than 57 councillors, the Mayor (Adam Jogee) and people on line. Nerve-racking. I hope I did ok, the link is at the bottom of this email - I come in at 1:24mins.

I hope I made most of my points clear; we are asking the council to fundamentally adjust their thinking on the Parkland Walk over their 10- year £10million project; that the PW is NOT a PARK (which I think is some of the problem in the approach so far) but a designated nature reserve and needs careful ecological treatment.

 I made the case for the trees that have already been lost (over 100 we counted when the bridge inspection work was carried out in 2020/2021) and more scheduled for felling including the 6-7 (at least) mature trees around the Stanhope Road Bridge including the beloved vine-covered 'hairy oak' tree. The council also plan to resurface the walk which is worrying as we feel it will deplete the nature reserve even more, turning the path into a cycle/runners superhighway which will compromise the enjoyment and safety of all users. This space invites a slow contemplative walk through trees. I tried to make the case for improving a number of road entrances (just minutes away from Stanhope) that would avoid the massive loss of green amenity at Stanhope. 

The council (Deputy Leader, Mike Hakata) responded by saying (amongst other things) the design is not set in stone and they are interested in the idea of a green bridge - which could be a positive for us, although we will wait to see. I am hoping that we will see a greener more integrative design (path with steps, around or behind trees?) some solid assurances of minimal loss and a real commitment that they are listening to the community and are genuinely interested in a 'co-productive' approach to this large project. ( Hakata began his statement to council by saying the Climate Crisis is the most urgent issue of our time - on this we totally agree.)

The Friends of The Parkland Walk, who full support our campaign say:

'The council's very urban Warren Truss design, is outdated and uses large quantities of carbon heavy materials. No consideration has been made towards preserving a green corridor when in other parts of the country green bridges have been successfully built that are both elegant and enhance the ecology.'

With Stanhope Bridge, the council will be setting a precedent for their approach on the rest of the PW works. This is why it's so crucial a decision. It could serve as an amazing green beacon for the council ahead of their (much heralded) tree and biodiversity action plans - still waiting for these to be published.

Please write to those in managing this project at Haringey Council.

Simon Farrow, Interim Head of Parks & Leisure, dept responsible for the project: simon.farrow@haringey.gov.uk
David Theakston, Managing the PW works:david.theakston@haringey.gov.uk
Laurence Acrill , Planning Officer for the project:
laurence.ackrill@haringey.gov.uk
Stephen McDonnell, Director of Environment & Neighbourhoods: stephen.mcdonnell@haringey.gov.uk
Mike Hakata (Labour), Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport & Climate Emergency: mike.hakata@haringey.gov.uk
Peray Ahmet (Labour) – Leader of Haringey Council
peray.ahmet@haringey.gov.uk
Luke Cawley-Harrison (Lib Dem) Councillor, Crouch End Ward: luke.cawley-harrison@haringey.gov.uk
Tammy Palmer (Lib Dem) Councillor, Crouch End Ward:
tammy.palmer@haringey.gov.uk
Dawn Barnes (Lib Dem) Councillor, Crouch End Ward:
dawn.barnes@haringey.gov.uk
WSP (contractor responsible for the plans)
David Cassells – leading the project at WSP: David.Cassells@wsp.com
Local Member of Parliament
Catherine West (Labour), MP Hornsey & Wood Green: catherine.west.mp@parliament.uk

Warmly

Gio and Hannah, North London Tree Protectors