Uploads from Alan Stanton, with geodata

Streetlight TH021

nobody@flickr.com (Alan Stanton) — Wed, 15 May 2013 06:53:03 -0700

THE PROBLEM
14 May 2013. The metal access plate to streetlight number TH021 was on the pavement with wiring accessible.

ACTION
Local resident Martin Ball borrowed my camera to take this photo.
The following afternoon 15 May at 2:40 pm I reported it to Street Management, Transport for London (TfL) via the website FixMyStreet.
This streetlight is the responsibility of TfL as it's in a part of High Road Tottenham on a "Red Route". To make sure, as well as sending a photo, I gave the address. It's near the corner with St Loy's Road, outside the grocery store Ozdiller Supermarket at 467-469 High Road N17 6QB,
I added Transport for London's unique ID number TH021 - shown on the other side of the column. But either the number or the address should be enough.

Any member of the public can use FixMyStreet - a free website - to report street faults, either to their local council or to Transport for London.

WHAT HAPPENED?
The next morning I got this email from Transport for London .

----- Original Message -----
From : ENQUIRE@tfl.gov.uk
To : Alan Stanton
Sent : Thursday, May 16, 2013 10:23 AM
Subject : Street Lighting Problem

Our Ref: 1012349536/CG
Date: 16.05.2013

Dear Mr Stanton

Thank you for contacting us on 15 May 2013 regarding a metal access plate from a streetlight on the pavement on Tottenham High Road.

I have brought this to the attention of our highways maintenance team, who will investigate further and take any necessary actions.

Thank you once again for contacting us. If I can be of any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely

[Name] Customer Service Advisor
ticketno: [3550433]}
Street lighting problem - TFL Central London - Ref. 1578624
Location: Near First And Second Floor Flat, 469A High Road, Tottenham, London, N17 6QA
Details: A user of FixMyStreet has submitted the following report of a local problem that they believe might require your attention.
Subject: Metal Access Plate from Streetlight on Pavement
Details: On the Transport for London (TfL) Red Route in High Road Tottenham near the corner with St Loy's Road N17 the metal access plate to a streetlight number TH021 is on the pavement and bare wires are accessible. The nearest address is a grocery store called Ozdiller Supermarket.467-469 High Road N17 6QB,

To view a map of the precise location of this issue, or to provide an update on the problem, please visit the following link: www.fixmystreet.com/report/357415

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FIX MY STREET compared to LOVE CLEAN LONDON

Also on 14 May 2013, I reported another problem in High Road Tottenham photographed by Martin Ball — a trip hazard from a rocking paving stone outside Ladbrokes betting shop at 480 High Road N17.
I used a different website: Love Clean London, run by the Greater London Authority.

Although I reported that the paving stone was on a 'red route', Love Clean London ignored this fact and instead, forwarded my report to Haringey Council's Highways Team. This resulted in a visit by Haringey staff which should not have occurred. And possibly some short delay before it was referred on to Transport for London.

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§ Thanks to Martin Ball for taking the photo on this page and photos outside Ladbrokes.
§ Aerial view of where the photo was taken.

Loose Slab - Outside Ladbrokes Betting Shop

nobody@flickr.com (Alan Stanton) — Tue, 14 May 2013 14:15:27 -0700

Alan Stanton posted a photo:

THE PROBLEM
14 May 2013. Loose and rocking paving stone outside the front door of Ladbrokes Betting Shop, 480 High Road, Tottenham Hale, London, N17 9JF.

ACTION
Local resident Martin Ball borrowed my camera and took two photos.

The following morning 15 May at 8.32 am, I reported it using Love Clean London, the London wide website for reporting street faults.

In my report I stated that the pavement (sidewalk) is on a part of High Road Tottenham which is a Transport for London (TfL) "red route". Meaning it's a main through route and is maintained by TfL. This is shown by the red line on the roadway. (You can see this in the lower photo, although it is not completely clear. )

As well as sending these two photos, I gave the address and postal code of the nearest shop.

WHAT HAPPENED?

The next afternoon at 16 May at 4:37 pm I got an email from Haringey saying they had inspected the problem and redirected it to Transport for London.

----- Original Message -----
From : "noreply@Confirm.haringey.gov.uk"
To : Alan Stanton
Sent : Thursday, May 16, 2013 4:37 PM
Subject : Redirection of your Highways Enquiry - Enquiry 82245

This email is to let you know that we have inspected the highways problem at High Road, N17 Tottenham that you reported and have passed it to Transport for London as they are responsible for dealing with the matter.

Additional information :
+ Date and time originally reported: 15/05/2013 08:32:35.
+ Location: "paving slab" pavement "480 High Road" "London N17 9JF".
+ Nature of defect: Defective Footway.

If you need to contact them, their email contact details are londonstreets@tfl.gov.uk

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LOVE CLEAN LONDON compared to FIX MY STREET

On the same day I also reported a street light fault to Transport for London. I used Fix My Street another free website but which is not run by the London Authority or Haringey. FixMyStreet correctly classified my report as about a streetlight on a "red route" and referred it automatically to Transport for London Street Management.

As you can see, the software on the website Love Clean London did not detect that the loose pavement slab was on a 'red route'. Instead it wrongly reported the fault to Haringey. This resulted in a visit by Haringey staff which need not have occurred. And possibly some short delay while Haringey re-reported the pavement fault to Transport for London for fixing.

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§ Many thanks to Martin Ball for the two photos on this page.
§ Aerial view of where Martin took these photos,

Dumped bags

nobody@flickr.com (Alan Stanton) — Tue, 14 May 2013 07:51:20 -0700

Alan Stanton posted a photo:

Reported via the free FixMyStreet website at 2:10 pm on 14 May 2013.

The bags were completely cleared by 3:50 pm that afternoon. An excellent service to the local community from Veolia.

Sadly the dumpers were neither excellent, nor had they the slightest regard for the local community. If you know who they are, please don't hire them. And ask your friends and acquaintances to boycott them as well.

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§ Thanks to Martin Ball for taking the photo of the dumped bags.

Job search young family wishing to work

nobody@flickr.com (Alan Stanton) — Mon, 13 May 2013 17:41:30 -0700

Alan Stanton posted a photo:

On the wall of Santander Bank, High Road Tottenham, near Holcombe Market.

Many years ago I saw these tear-off strips in the U.S. This is the first time I've seen them in Tottenham.

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§ Note: I've blurred the phone number.
§ See where this picture was taken.

375-379 High Road, Tottenham N17

nobody@flickr.com (Alan Stanton) — Sat, 11 May 2013 19:16:20 -0700

Alan Stanton posted a photo:

See where this picture was taken. [?]

4 May 2013

nobody@flickr.com (Alan Stanton) — Fri, 10 May 2013 02:45:19 -0700

Alan Stanton posted a photo:

The tree branch has stayed dumped on the green near Homes for Haringey flats 93-98 Holcombe Road N17 for at least two months.

----- Original Message -----
From : Alan Stanton
To : Homes for Haringey
Cc : Ward councillors, Chief Executive Homes for Haringey
Sent : Friday, May 10, 2013 4:46 PM
Subject : Large dumped tree branch on the green area near 93-98 Holcombe Road

Please see my photos posted on Flickr. They show a large tree branch dumped on the grass near Homes for Haringey flats 93-98 Holcombe Road N17. It's been there for at least two months, despite my reporting it informally to HfH staff. It's large and fairly obvious and should not need a councillor spotting and reporting before it's removed.

Can I please ask that as well as arranging for the branch to be cleared, some thought is given to possible ways to encourage Homes for Haringey staff and Haringey staff to share and widen their knowledge and experience of reporting such problems. Perhaps also including staff in Veolia?

Over and again I've seen examples of problems on estates which should have "jumped out" to the eye of an experienced professional. For some HfH staff, they do stand-out and are quietly reported and fixed. But others don't.

Sometimes it seems that staff remain blinkered by their former expertise. Perhaps they can "see" a broken gutter but not, say, a blocked drain gully or a faulty street light on an estate. Or maybe they report a problem but don't recognise recurring patterns which mean they're seeing a symptom and not looking for the cause. The classic case is probably the broken communal door which is fixed several times before someone realises that a group of young people are breaking it to gain access to a block.

Are Homes for Haringey taking part in the pilot scheme for using the mobile phone app which staff in the Environment Department were trialling last year? This should make it far easier to photograph and report problems with minimal extra work. But monitoring and reporting won't happen unless staff 'reframe' the problems they are used to "seeing".

It's also possible that there are systemic issues when problems are being reported by staff at lower levels but not resulting in action. (This seems to have been the case recently with a broken gate on the Green Block in Reed Road N17.) Plainly, delaying and postponing tasks which eventually need doing can increase costs. An increase which will sometimes be significant, for example if there is "failure demand" - repetition of a service request. Or if the problem gets worse. (For example in the photographs in Holcombe Road, the ivy will eventually need to be hacked back. Several years ago it grew up the side of the block and damaged and obscured windows.)

Thanks for your help.

_____________________________________________

► Update 15 May 2013

----- Original Message -----
From : Homes for Haringey, Estate Services Team Manager
To : Cllr Alan Stanton Alan
Sent : Wednesday, May 15, 2013 3:52 PM
Subject : Re: LBH/1808413 - Cllr Stanton

Thank you for your recent enquiry regarding the branch dumped in the communal area at Holcombe Road N17, Your enquiry was passed to me for a response. My response is as follows:
I can confirm that the branch has now been removed and that I have asked the estate based staff to report such issues as soon as they come across them the Estate Services Team Leader has also been instructed to carry out weekly chase ups until such jobs are completed to satisfaction.
Please accept my apology for the length of time it took to repair the gates at Reed Road this was mainly because this was initially reported as an insurance claim as a resident had suggested that the gate was damaged by one of Veolia’s refuse collection lorries so a full investigation had to be carried out before repairs could be logged.
The Parks department have been informed about the ivy at Holcombe Road and have been asked to carry out cutbacks in a timely fashion in order to prevent overgrowth.

Vinspiring

nobody@flickr.com (Alan Stanton) — Wed, 08 May 2013 06:15:36 -0700

Alan Stanton posted a photo:

4 May 2013. A group of V-Inspired volunteers showing their work on the flowerbed at the corner of Stoneleigh Road and Road Tottenham N17.

Most of the volunteers are students at the London School of Commerce in Southwark and are mainly from overseas. They regularly volunteer for V-Inspired - a national charity.
_____________________________________

Website for Vinspired

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See where this picture was taken.

What's Going On Here?

nobody@flickr.com (Alan Stanton) — Wed, 08 May 2013 06:04:00 -0700

Alan Stanton posted a photo:

4 May 2013. Passers-by curious about activity at the corner of Stoneleigh Road and the alleyway leading to Holcombe Road.

_______________________________
See where this picture was taken.

Day Lighting

nobody@flickr.com (Alan Stanton) — Wed, 08 May 2013 01:54:39 -0700

Alan Stanton posted a photo:

4 May 2013. Dayburning lights in Haringey's Carpark C, Stoneleigh Road N17.

In Carpark "C" in Stoneleigh Road
In the merry month of May.
The lights they shone
Each one full on.
Though 'twas just past midday.
Such waste of power each daylight hour
In Sustainable Haringey.

----- Original Message -----
From : Alan Stanton, Tottenham Hale ward councillor
To : Haringey Environment Department
Sent : Wednesday, May 08, 2013 12:00 PM
Subject : Dayburning Lighting columns in Carpark 'C' Stoneleigh Road N17

Please see my Flickr page here. It has several photos showing day-burning lighting columns. This problem occurred previously, but the repair or perhaps adjustment didn't last.

Important : Please note that this is not simply a service request for a technical "fix".
There's an underlying question of why the last "fix" didn't work for more than a few months.
Plus a separate "systems" problem about monitoring and reporting. It should not need a ward councillor to spot and report this.

______________________________________
§ See where I took this and the other photos below.
§ Sing-along-a Sustainable Community Strategy 2007 - 2016.

Pavement Obstruction

nobody@flickr.com (Alan Stanton) — Tue, 07 May 2013 03:17:22 -0700

Alan Stanton posted a photo:

Repair Barriers left on pavement for many weeks. Reported to Haringey Council via the free
FixmyStreet website.

These repair barriers were left on the pavement in Holcombe Road London N17 near the corner with Dawlish Road. Possibly they are there because the metal utilities access cover could be a trip hazard. However no work seems to be going on. They are now an obstacle.

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§ Click to view location.
(Back button returns to this page.)

Blossom - Reed Road, Tottenham

nobody@flickr.com (Alan Stanton) — Mon, 06 May 2013 13:13:44 -0700

Alan Stanton posted a photo:

4 May 2013. At long last we've got some spring sunshine. Liz Ixer reminded me not just to enjoy it, but add some photos to this Flickr Blossom group.

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§ Aerial view of where I took this photo.

Vicarage Mansions, Abbotsford Avenue

nobody@flickr.com (Alan Stanton) — Mon, 06 May 2013 10:48:10 -0700

Alan Stanton posted a photo:

30 April 2010. An old photo - because I like the tiles, the colours, and the typeface of lettering over the doorway.

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§ Aerial view of where I took this photo.

Blossom - Circular Road, Tottenham

nobody@flickr.com (Alan Stanton) — Sat, 04 May 2013 16:43:14 -0700

Alan Stanton posted a photo:

4 May 2013. Spring's a little late this year.

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§ Aerial view of where this picture was taken.

Red Shed

nobody@flickr.com (Alan Stanton) — Fri, 03 May 2013 03:41:55 -0700

Alan Stanton posted a photo:

28 April 2013. The Shed, the National Theatre's temporary (one year) new venue.

You can see a four minute video where Ben Power, Associate Director of the National Theatre, introduces the project.

"It's much more intimate. Much more stripped back. It's a much rawer space than the other theatres.
I think the proximity of the audience to the performers is going to lead to a really exciting atmosphere. And make a kind of theatre which is really immediate, visceral, memorable theatre."

════════════════════════

Unfortunately we wasted our time at the Olivier Theatre next door which had none of these qualities. Which need not have mattered except that Zena, her sister and I went to a supposedly political play called This House. For me, It turned out to be pointless and tedious - or at least it was until the interval, when I left.

Afterwards I read a couple of the critics - who'd obviously seen and unanimously enjoyed a completely different play with the same name. For example, according to Matt Trueman in the Guardian it was a lampoon which "brilliantly skewers the hollow survivalism of party politics".

What I saw was a group of actors having to play cardboard cut-outs of (mostly) boors and bullies shouting and swearing a bit. So maybe the brilliant lampoon was in the second half.

I was outside in the sunshine enjoying the crowds, views of the river and second-hand bookstalls under Waterloo Bridge.

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§ Aerial view of where I took this photo.
§ Positioning the Shed - another video about the thinking behind this new temporary theatre.
§ Matthew Lloyd's website page about the National Theatre with scanned documents about its architecture. He explains that the Shed will temporarily replace the small Cottesloe Theatre during its reconstruction.
§ Discussion about the Red Shed in Harringay Online Community Website.

Spire of the church of Mammon

nobody@flickr.com (Alan Stanton) — Thu, 02 May 2013 13:08:04 -0700

Alan Stanton posted a photo:

28 April 2013. View of "the Shard" from Waterloo Bridge.

"Spire" is the description of Renzo Piano, the architect, quoted in an article by Dominic Bradbury in The Daily Telegraph in November 2011.

The 'church of Mammon' describes my own feeling about the building, seen across a row of cranes.

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§ Aerial view of where I took this photo from.
§ Told by Renzo Piano that the Shard "flirts with the sun" Jonathan Glancey presses his nose to the glass; and is inspired to elevated flights of fancy about the Ancient Britons; the Romans; Giovanni Canaletto, John Ruskin; James Whistler; Joseph Conrad; and James Cagney playing a dying gangster.
§ More views about the Shard in links on my page here.
§ There are now hundreds (several thousand?) photos on Flickr with the Shard building somewhere in the frame. Explore some of them in the group I can see the Shard from here.
§ Link to Louis Berk's photo of the nearly completed Shard on 5 April 2012.
§ The Shard Wikipedia link.
§ The Shard website.

The Sincerest Form of Flattery

nobody@flickr.com (Alan Stanton) — Wed, 01 May 2013 14:33:31 -0700

Alan Stanton posted a photo:

29 April 2013. Circular Road N17. The purple bags contain rubbish collected and stacked by Veolia, Haringey's waste contractors. The other stuff has been added to the pile in the reasonable expectation Veolia's trucks will remove it all.

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§ See where this picture was taken.

Dumping in Abbotsford Avenue

nobody@flickr.com (Alan Stanton) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 03:27:05 -0700

Alan Stanton posted a photo:

Photos by Zena Brabazon and posted with her permission.

Residents complained to Zena and to David Browne, St Ann's ward councillors, that this corner of Abbotsford Avenue and Olive Grove has recently been used to dump rubbish.

Simply reporting it for clearance doesn't solve the problem. So Zena asked Haringey's Environment staff to investigate and discover who is doing this.

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§ Aerial view of where Zena took these photos.

(Not) Customer Services

nobody@flickr.com (Alan Stanton) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:52:53 -0700

Alan Stanton posted a photo:

29 April 2013. Direction sign in High Road Tottenham near Forster Road. It pointed to the former Haringey Council Customer Services Centre at 639 High Road N17 about 800 metres further noth.

Due to the Coalition Government cuts, Haringey permanently closed its North Tottenham Customer Service Centre on 1 June 2011.

Haringey's Planning Service remained there until the Tottenham Riot on the night of 6/7 August 2011, when the building was was damaged. The Planning Service was then moved and the building vacated.

This offered Haringey Council an opportunity to get rid of one of the few remaining Civic buildings in Tottenham. The Greater London Authority agreed to buy 639 High Road.

Although I've added these photos to my set called It Should be Obvious, I confess that although I regularly walk past this spot, this is the first time I've noticed the redundant sign.

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§ Aerial view of where I took these two photos.

Grime Team Delivered?

nobody@flickr.com (Alan Stanton) — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 00:53:25 -0700

Alan Stanton posted a photo:

28 April 2013. My freedom of Information Request on WhatDoTheyKnow website.

Dear Haringey Borough Council,

On 12 March 2012 Haringey Council, in its own words:
"unveiled a ‘12 in 12’ action plan to bring a raft of improvements to Tottenham over the coming year. At least 12 key pledges will be delivered during 2012 as the council strives to secure a successful long-term future for the area."

The first of the twelve key pledges was to: “Launch a new Neighbourhood Action Team".

Posters advertising the twelve pledges appeared on hoardings on High Road Tottenham and on advertising spaces along the escalators in Tottenham Hale tube Station. One poster pledged: "A new team to tackle grime". This particular poster included a photo of some litter and circular brushes inside a heart-shaped frame.

In 2013 new posters appeared with the word DELIVERED added - printed diagonally as if by an old fashioned rubber stamp.

A new photo showed a vacuum machine marked as belonging to Veolia the council's waste contractors.

► Can you please tell me what new Neighbourhood Action Team was delivered?
► When was it delivered?
► And by whom?
► In what way was it a new team?
Was it in fact a restructured smaller team made necessary by budget cuts and redundancies of Haringey Council's own previous staff?

Thanks for your help.

Alan Stanton

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§ Read more about the 12 in 2012 pledges.
§ Aerial view of where I took this photo.
§ My photoset Pledges or PR?

Gone Grey

nobody@flickr.com (Alan Stanton) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 16:19:18 -0700

Alan Stanton posted a photo:

People ask me what difference it makes to be free of the Haringey Labour councillors' Party whip. Well, this is one thing that's changed.

At Haringey Council meetings the nameplates for councillors are colour coded for the political parties. Labour councillors get a red frame. As you see, on 18 March 2013 at the full Council meeting, mine was a tasteful shade of launderette grey.

Though I did get my own jug of water and paper doily. Also a desk near the door - very handy for popping out to the coffee machine during the meeting and avoiding the worst drivel.

Other differences? Well not much. The Labour whips have taken me off my remaining committees.
I assume this is intended as a punishment. Of course it just gives me more time to investigate, write and speak out.

Most councillors I like and respect are still courteous and friendly. The rest are no loss.

I'm no longer expected to attend meetings of the Labour Group of councillors - nor its occasional "awaydays". Nor meetings called "Leader's Conferences"; which for several years I've said were probably illegal.

I guess being barred from these meetings is seen as another sanction. But it's actually a perk. Since November 2008 when, unfortunately, Cllr George Meehan stood down, "backbench" councillors have been largely sidelined. Any ideas and contributions they make are usually ignored.

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§ Aerial view of where I took this photo.