Caroline Pidgeon AM joined our fantastic Team in Harringay ward in Haringey on Tuesday 20th May to talk to local residents in the Turnpike Lane area about local issues.
Caroline spent the afternoon with the fantastic local team Cllr Karen Alexander, Cllr David Schmitz and Focus Team member Asha Kaur and received a superb response from local residents who are impressed by the hard work of the local Lib Dem Team.
Caroline Pidgeon AM joined thousands of other Londoners in a mass cycle ride on Saturday 17th May in support of the Space for Cycling Campaign organised by the London Cycling Campaign in the run up to the London borough elections.
Labour-run Haringey Council spends nearly half a million pounds a year on a building which is massively under-occupied. The Civic Centre building in Wood Green, which hosts the council meetings and is the base for the registrars’ service, is more than half empty.
In fact only 43% of the office block is currently used. This is despite the council spending £400,000 a year on the running costs for the Civic Centre.
Caroline Pidgeon AM joined local Lib Dem Councillors and campaigners in Haringey on Friday 5th July to look at a number of transport issues in the Borough.
Harringay Green Lanes Station
Caroline met with Cllr Schmitz and others to look at the issues at this station, in particular the Gospel Oak to Barking Line’s closeness to houses on Lothair Road. Caroline heard about ongoing work to try to resolve some of the noise issues which come from Goods trains and others in the early hours on this line and have potentially caused structural damage to homes, as well as excessive lighting at night at the station.
“Given that this line will now be electrified there is clearly going to be a lot of further work over the next few years and ultimately there could be more trains on this line. I have therefore asked Network Rail to consider the idea of a noise barrier – something I helped with at a different Underground station in Kensington, as well as seeking clarification on what works are planned to try to resolve these noise and vibration issues” commented Caroline.
Caroline Pidgeon AM, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on the confirmation today by the Treasury that funding has been secured to ensure the long overdue electrification of the Barking to Gospel Oak train line, said:
“This is incredibly welcome news. Electrification of this railway line stretching from Barking to Gospel Oak is exactly what long suffering passengers on this line have been waiting for. They can now look forward to a much more reliable service.
The London Assembly’s Transport Committee has heard from Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, about the next opportunity for funding the electrification of the Gospel Oak-Barking line.
No details were provided in last month’s Budget, despite an announcement delivering £3 billion a year on infrastructure, but his letter suggests that the proposal may be reconsidered in the next spending round in June.
The London Assembly’s Transport Committee has written to George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, to urge him to fund the proposed electrification of the Gospel Oak to Barking railway line.
Electrification of the line would bring significant improvements for both freight and passenger traffic, including reduced overcrowding for passengers, improved connectivity with the rest of London’s rail network, environmental benefits and the ability to run longer trains on the line.
The London Assembly today urged Mayor Boris Johnson to halt his plans to dilute police Safer Neighbourhood Teams and recklessly close police front counters across London.
The Assembly's motion calls on the Mayor to retain the existing neighbourhood policing model of a dedicated sergeant, supported by two Constables and three Police Community Support Officers, allocated to each ward in London.
Caroline Pidgeon AM, who seconded the motion, said:
“Londoners value their local police stations and the local, recognisable police teams dedicated to serving their ward. Shutting up cop shops to public access and destroying the local policing model risks setting policing back more than a decade and separating the police from their communities.”
Caroline Pidgeon AM, leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on the Mayor’s response today to her questions about the future of Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNTs) across London, where he failed to recognise that there would be a reduction in dedicated police officers for each safer neighbourhood team, said:
“The Mayor should come clean with Londoners and admit that he is decimating the current and successful model for safer neighbourhood teams.
Caroline joined local Lib Dem Councillors and Assembly Candidate Dawn Barnes out knocking on doors in Stroud Green ward on Thursday followed by carrying out a bus survey about the W3 bus at Finsbury Park.
The route is officially the most complained about in London, with TfL receiving over fifty complaints from passengers in a four week period last autumn. Liberal Democrats held their own survey session at Finsbury Park bus station to find out why the bus route attracts so much criticism.
Caroline Pidgeon was joined by Haringey London Assembly candidate Dawn Barnes, Liberal Democrat leader on Haringey Council, Richard Wilson, and a number of other Lib Dem members. The survey asked whether there were enough buses at rush hour, whether there were enough buses at the weekends and if there were problems with the countdown displays.