BARNET: THE ROTTEN BOROUGH
The Council takes no notice of residents. There is no benefit in having local government here.
We may as well be run by Whitehall, but not by Eric Pickles.
The Councillors voted themselves a large pay rise.
They knew that this was against the wishes of the vast majority of the electorate.
Two out of the three MPs for the Borough, Mike Freer (the ex-leader) and Matthew Offord,
were previous councillors and therefore mostly responsible for the mess in which we are now.
Freer appointed his successor, Lynne Hillan.
They obviously can’t complain much at the present council on behalf of constituents.
Councillor Brian Coleman has already laid the blame for the deficit at the door of the previous Council.
The MPs are therefore not able to properly do their jobs.
The Secretary of State for Local Government, Eric Pickles, is disinterested in bashing Tory councils.
He doesn’t seem to do much at all.
His policy of “localism, localism, localism”, doesn’t work with bent Councils.
If he believed in “localism”, he wouldn’t override the wishes of local people in planning matters.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/25/nuclear-waste-kings-cliffe-landfill
All the checks and balances have therefore failed.
They all waited until after the election to propose that:
1) the CPZ residents pay for the whole of the Council deficit and
2) they hugely increase the Councillor’s “allowances”.
Imagine asking the people living in CPZs to pay for the whole of Britain’s deficit!
Their perceived ability to charge as they wish for parking and
pay themselves any allowances they like has now been abused.
This power needs to be removed.
THE CONSERVATIVE COUNCILLORS (EXCLUDING KATE SALLINGER )
AND THEIR FEW QUALIFICATIONS
(Kate Sallinger was dumped after she refused to be bound by the democratically corrupt whip system)
The “cabinet” are shown in red. These are the people most to blame.
|
Name |
Ward |
Cabinet |
Ed Quals |
|
Maureen Braun |
Hendon |
|
|
|
Dean Cohen |
Golders Green |
|
BSc unknown degree classification, unknown University |
|
Melvin Cohen |
Golders Green |
YES |
Solicitor, LLB unknown degree classification, UCL |
|
Brian Coleman |
Totteridge |
YES |
|
|
Alison Cornelius |
Totteridge |
|
|
|
Richard Cornelius |
Totteridge |
YES |
|
|
Tom Davey |
Hale |
|
|
|
Barry Evangeli Deputy Mayor |
East Barnet |
|
|
|
Anthony Finn |
Hendon |
|
Chartered Accountant, BSc Econ, unknown degree classification, unknown university |
|
Brian Gordon |
Hale |
|
Solicitor, LLB, unknown degree classification, unknown university |
|
Eva Greenspan |
Finchley Church End |
|
|
|
Andrew Harper Acting leader |
Garden Suburb |
YES |
|
|
Helena Hart |
Edgware |
YES |
|
|
John Hart |
Mill Hill |
|
|
|
Lynne Hillan Ex-leader |
Brunswick Park |
YES |
|
|
Suri Khatri |
Mill Hill |
|
BSc, unknown degree classification, unknown university, MSc, unknown university |
|
David Longstaff |
High Barnet |
|
|
|
John Marshall Chief Whip |
Garden Suburb |
|
|
|
Graham Old |
Finchley Church End |
|
|
|
Bridget Perry |
High Barnet |
|
|
|
Wendy Prentice |
High Barnet |
|
|
|
Sachin Rajput |
Oakleigh |
YES |
BA, unknown degree classification, unknown university. See www.sachinrajput.com !!! |
|
Robert Rams |
East Barnet |
YES |
|
|
Hugh Rayner |
Hale |
|
|
|
Lisa Rutter Mayor |
Brunswick Park |
|
|
|
Joan Scannell |
Edgware |
|
|
|
Brian Schama |
Mill Hill |
|
|
|
Daniel Seal |
Garden Suburb |
|
|
|
Mark Shooter |
Hendon |
|
|
|
Steven Sowerby |
Oakleigh |
|
|
|
Andrew Strongolou |
Underhill |
|
|
|
Andreas Tambourides |
Brunswick Park |
YES |
|
|
Daniel Thomas |
Finchley Church End |
YES |
BA, unknown degree classification, unknown university |
|
Reuben Thompstone |
Golders Green |
|
|
|
Rowan Turner |
Underhill |
|
|
|
Darrel Yawitch |
Edgware |
|
|
So there you have it.
With few exceptions, not even a third class degree from a non-Russell University.
These are the brains running the fourth class Council.
THE CPZS (CONTROLLED PARKING ZONES)
Quote from L B Barnet Website:
“We introduce CPZs, after consultation, for various reasons:
Where they do “consult”, they ignore.
· to make it easier for residents to park near their homes
Ignored by Design Team and irrelevant in roads with off-street parking.
· to increase the turnover of parking to help users of local services, businesses and shops
If they believed this, then all (and not just some) bays would allow only 1.5 hours stay
· to ease congestion caused by inconsiderate and inappropriate parking
Double yellow lines could do the job
· to help provide facilities for loading and for people with disabilities”
Inconsiderate unloading is totally unenforced, and disabled badge abuse is hugely widespread.
We have seen local traders, and even an ice-cream van with one.
Every Tuesday afternoon, a 30 ton plus lorry parks at the top of Alba Gardens NW11,
blocking the whole road.
The parking attendants are nowhere to be seen to deal with these abuses.
Of course, there is no consideration to help tradesmen visit non voucher owning residents.
There is no proper scheme to help business owners and their employees.
Business owners are ripped-off with higher business permit costs.
They should be able to park outside their shops and offices.
But they don’t have a vote, do they?
More cynical exploitation by the Council.
Here is a quote from previous Councillor Matthew Offord (now the new 106 vote majority MP for Hendon):
“The Council has identified several areas around shopping areas and railway stations.
The parking problems around the Brent Cross Station area are caused by commuters using the underground station.
Our aim by introducing a CPZ into the Brent Cross Station area is to reduce commuter parking,
so that residents will find it easier to park closer to their homes”
First sentence is about identifying areas they can plunder.
Second disconnected sentence is about the specious reasons given for the CPZ.
BARNET MOTTO:
Barnet website on its governance page states:
“transparency, integrity, accountability”.
Sounds like the Third Republic and just as much a sham!
How many people demanded the CPZs?
We believe that no one asked for these schemes.
No transparency, no integrity and no accountability.
So, the scheme is set up to bash the commuters!
They could have made money from the commuters!
Let commuters park all day in non-residential parts of roads at premium rates!
Many roads have rear garden fences at each end.
Let commuters park there.
Commuters parking their cars and using public transport help London don’t they?
London Assembly member and Barnet Councillor Brian Coleman doesn’t apparently see that!
Wearing one hat as Assembly Member, he is responsible for London-wide management.
Wearing his other hat as Barnet Councillor, he is only responsible for Barnet.
These two conflicting functions can’t be dealt with by one person.
MORE INCOMPETENCE
Let us look at Alba Gardens, London NW11.
A road used heavily by shoppers.
The busiest day is Sunday.
Barnet thinks that it is full of wicked commuters so it bans parking for just one hour a day, and excludes Sunday!
Most of Sunday (and Friday mornings), residents can’t find a place to park.
The idiots at the Parking Design Team didn’t send anyone down on a Sunday to survey the area, did they?
You leave your parking space at your peril.
And for the 5 hours of sole use of half the road, we have to pay as much as residents
who have a 50 hour a week residents’ bay.
When we have complained the following has occurred:
1) they sent someone down on a day of torrential rain when few were shopping
2) they sent someone down twenty minutes before the bay comes into operation (when few people park)
3) they don’t send someone down on Sundays, when the parking is at its worst
4) they don’t send someone down on Saturdays, when the bays should not be in operation
and from these “surveys” they then say that there are enough spaces.
We are not sure whether they are liars or just thick.
A parking attendant visits Alba Gardens and neighbouring roads
every Saturday to put tickets on cars.
Why?
The streets around are almost silent on Saturday.
None of the criteria which Barnet cite for justification of CPZs are relevant on a Saturday in this area.
So the basis for Saturday operation of bays is a lie.
But they didn’t send anyone to survey the Zone on a Saturday, did they?
The Zone doesn’t even apply on a Saturday.
The shops are nearly all closed on Saturday
But the empty short term Pay and Display bays are still in operation.
They are there for the sole purpose of tricking motorists into accidentally getting PCNs.
A long list of evidence of total incompetence is found below in the COMPLAINTS section.
Incompetence leads inexorably towards dishonesty, and so….
The inclusion of roads in a CPZ with universal off-street parking doesn’t help the residents does it?
Look at Brampton Grove in Offord’s constituency!
Why is it in the CPZ when people can park six cars on their front garden?
The CPZ doesn’t
“make it easier for residents to park near their homes”
it doesn’t
“increase the turnover of parking to help users of local services, businesses and shops”
it doesn’t
“ease congestion caused by inconsiderate and inappropriate parking
it doesn’t
“help provide facilities for loading and for people with disabilities”
It’s a lie isn’t it?
What about Sinclair Grove NW11 in Freer’s constituency?
Big front gardens, residents can park on their front drives if pushed.
What about Alba Gardens NW11
Small front gardens, residents can’t park on their front drives.
But the Design Team treat them the same!
Not much “localism” here!
It can’t be as easy to park closer to homes in both roads.
Why is Sinclair Grove in the Zone?
Why is Alba Gardens not protected for more than one hour a day?
Why are short term Pay and Display bays in operation on a
Saturday in the Brent Cross Station Zone.
Most of the shops are not open on a Saturday.
Which one of the four aims of the CPZ does it fulfil to be in operation on a Saturday?
None.
In fact, the whole CPZ idea and its founding principles are a lie.
The CPZs were supposed to break even.
Then the Council suddenly became green and gave this as the reason for increasing the
charges for second and third cars.
Then the Council turned to theft and demanded that the CPZ residents (perhaps 10% of the population)
pay for the deficit the Council caused.
In a limited company this is called oppression of a minority.
The law quite properly regards this as unjust.
It was never even envisaged by Parliament that a bent Council would do this to a minority of the residents.
On the 29th January 2011, the Council quietly stuck up a Notice to propose that two residents’ “spaces”
in Alba Gardens NW11 be taken away.
One of our ward Councillors, Dean Cohen, says that he didn’t know about it.
So who decides these matters?
The two “spaces” amounted to half the road.
Lies!
Does this “make it easier for residents to park near their homes”
More lies!
Half the bays to be taken away were to become long-term pay and display bays, enabling
the previously vilified commuters to park.
Long-term pay and display bays don’t “increase the turnover of parking to help users
of local services, businesses and shops” do they?
Even more lies!
The Council’s reason for the changes: “In order to ensure that the…… CPZs continue to operate effectively”.
Rubbish.
The biggest lie of all!
And when we have taken the trouble to visit Hendon Town Hall to look at the plans,
we find that they disagree with the Notices.
Nor do the Draft Orders contain the reason for the changes in the scheme as the Notices state.
The lies just go on.
When we drew the attention of the Design Team to the Draft Orders not agreeing with the Notices,
the half-wit on the telephone automatically denied it.
He then consulted a superior, who refused to come to the phone.
After being forced to admit that he was wrong, the idiot said,
“well the Notice is the correct version, and it is “only” the Order which needs to be changed”.
All they can do is lie and lie and lie.
It is obvious, that the Councillors have to make sure that those employed in the Council
have even lower intelligence than them.
We wrote a letter to them about it on 10th February.
Now after three-and-a-half months, they have partially answered our letter.
What incompetence.
They now propose to amend the scheme, STILL IGNORING SATURDAY AND SUNDAY PARKING and
without giving proper Notice or re-laying the Draft Order at the Town Hall.
They have a total disregard for proper attention to the law, whilst raking in the money from illegally issued PCNs.
They are thieves.
This is one of the few parts of the Council we can see in operation.
It remains to be seen how they conduct other less public aspects of the undertaking.
We know that they try and break the law if no-one is noticing!
The debacle with the Parking Adjudicator, the sheltered housing and the
daily flouting of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 show us what kind of Council they are.
Goodness knows what a shambles Housing Benefit, Social Services and other services must be.
We know already how they treat the vulnerable by the way they dealt with the sheltered housing they run.
They thought that the sick and elderly won’t complain.
The same thinking goes for the Council’s treatment of CPZ residents.
They are a minority.
They didn’t even properly notify the parking charges increase.
Their response to the threatened judicial review regarding the parking charge rises is an insult
to the people of the Borough, an insult to the Court and an insult
to the QC who is supposed to be acting for them.
They can’t even draw the lines on the road in accordance with the law.
This means that many PCNs are legally unenforceable and illegally collected.
Parking Orders are incompetently drafted and many PCNs are legally unenforceable and illegally collected.
They pretend to have an appeal system.
It rejects appeals without proper consideration.
Those responsible for appeals lie.
It is corrupt and dishonest.
Quite simply, they are thieves.
They even recently put up a play area in Bridge Lane NW11 without planning permission.
Morons!
Dirty roads, potholes, broken pavements and waste from the plethora of recycling bins spilling on to the pavements.
The older ones amongst us will remember that Barnet had BS5750 (ISO9000) accreditation.
They couldn’t get that now!
Three-and-a-months to answer a letter!
There are no standards available to measure just how bad they have become.
To think that these people have statutory powers bestowed upon them.
It is most probable that the culture of abuse by the Council extends to all these statutory powers that they wield.
They are not fit to govern.
We have now received a large number of complaints from residents
about the injustices caused by the current CPZs
To many of you, these injustices matter more than the proposed
large increases in the charges.
These are some of the complaints received:
Parking designs which make it more difficult to park closer to homes.
No proper and transparent consultation by the Design Team.
Failure to deal with correspondence by Design Team.
Failure to deal properly with telephone calls by Design Team.
False statements made by Design Team.
Inadequate and misleading notices of changes by Design Team.
Failure by Design Team to survey areas prior to implementation of schemes.
Where Design Team do survey, they do so only at times of day
and days of week to prove their own faulty schemes.
Failure by Design Team to inform local councillors of changes regarding their Ward.
Incompetent drafting of Orders by Council.
Failure to take account of local conditions.
Failure to take account of local conditions when these change.
Failure to take account of lack of driveways in areas where dropped kerbs are not permitted
Failure to take account of lack of parking spaces for residents outside flats.
The inclusion of roads in controlled zones where there is no parking conflict.
Failure to take account of conflicting uses of the road on days when the zones do not apply.
The provision of exclusive use bays, where dual use bays would promote a better use of the road.
Deliberate failure to properly plate the bays and yellow lines.
Single yellow lines in places where double yellow lines should be placed.
Deliberate failure to ensure that days and times of bays in a single road are uniform.
Capricious and arbitrary setting of times of operation.
The setting of times of operation of bays in a sectarian way.
Failure to take account of religious needs of residents in setting times of operation.
Cost of residents’ permits are uniform yet some roads have residents’ bays for 5 hours a week
and other roads 50 hours a week.
Failure to give extra time at machine where extra money is paid. This is theft.
The proposal by Brian Coleman that the elderly and deaf use mobile phones to pay
for parking tickets. (see letter below)
Failure to repair broken meters.
Failure to deal properly with PCN appeals.
Failure to deal honestly with PCN appeals.
Failure to compensate residents for time wasted where PCNs incorrectly given.
Failure by Councillors to put the majority of their residents before their party.
Making the residents of the CPZs pay for the Council deficit
Failure of Council to take account of local issues better than UK Government,
thereby defeating the whole purpose of local government.
The subversion of democracy by the whip system.
The questionable position of MPs Matthew Offord and Mike Freer, who were previously Councillors,
to properly deal with complaints about the Council.
The questionable position of the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles,
to properly deal with errant Conservative Councils.
Here is one of the letters we have received:
Dear Sir,
I recently received a parking ticket for parking in a bay which would not accept payment.
Although my husband tried to locate another working machine there was none to be found even though we both walked several hundred yards in different directions.
As we would only be gone for a short time, we left a note in the windscreen explaining the problem.
Finding a ticket on the car, we learned from a local resident that this particular machine and probably others had not been working for a considerable period.
We are both pensioners and my husband did not have his reading glasses to notice that the small print on the meter required us to find another nearby working meter which was obviously impossible.
I relayed these details to the council in my appeal but to no avail.
Like many pensioners, we do not carry a mobile phone around with us and would certainly not be willing to disclose sensitive bank card details so openly.
It seems likely that Barnet Council put this new signage on to this meter knowing full well that it would not be able to insert money in the way they suggested.
I believe their action to be both dishonest and deliberately misleading with the intention of discriminating against the elderly and others who do not possess either a mobile phone or a debit/credit card.
We now feel that we are being defrauded by Barnet Council who show a tyranical disregard for ordinary honest motorists.
Yours faithfully,
Mrs Sarah Winchester
We are currently collecting information about the Council,
and would be grateful to receive any of the brochures produced
at the time your Controlled Parking Zone was set up.
We would also be interested in knowing whether the setting up
of any of the CPZs or any alterations thereto have caused
you to have to park further from your home.
CONTACT:
David Grant
Suite 132, 186 St Alban’s Road
Watford,
Hertfordshire
WD24 4AS
Tel. 01923 369016
Email: fca@btopenworld.com
If your concern is solely about the increase in the charges AND
you are interested in helping to contribute to a legal expense fund
for a case to be commenced shortly, then contact the following:
David Attfield Solicitor
Email: barnetcpz@gmail.com
Website: www.barnetcpz.blogspot.com