Andrew Dismore

Below you can find some of the letters I have written to the press in both Barnet and Camden concerning some of the big issues facing our communities. Such as HS2, Library closures, Parking charges and much more.

HS2

Dear Editor,

The councillors who wrote last week are absolutely right about opposing HS2. If it were to go ahead, there would be massive destruction of homes and communities through a wide swathe of Camden. For this huge disruption there is no benefit to local people whatsoever, only years of disruption, displacement and misery.

The suggested alternative proposed by some, that it should be routed to Paddington, could almost certainly  have the same impact on social housing and communities along the line there, too. The fact remains that neither of these routes is suitable. IF there is to be a HS2, why not start it direct from Heathrow and from Stratford with  the airport at one end and the Channel tunnel high speed line at the other, joined together  by Crossrail and the Heathrow Express?

But that “IF” raises the question as to  why we should  have it in the first place: the current estimated cost is £17billion, and given the cost overruns of any major engineering project, will probably be many billions more when the final bills come in.

I can think of many higher priorities on which to spend £17billion, not the least of which is more affordable and social homes for Londoners especially in Camden and Barnet, when so many local people cannot find anywhere to live and are being forced out of their local neighbourhoods by shortage of decent housing and the Conservative led coalition’s housing benefit cuts.

We need more homes, not half an hour off a train ride to Birmingham.

Yours faithfully,

Andrew Dismore

Prospective London Assembly Labour Candidate for Barnet and Camden

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Library Closures

Dear Editor,

I do  not believe any Labour councillor  wants to see libraries closed and Camden Labour councillors, especially Cllr Tulip Siddiq,  are to be commended for the efforts they have made to consult local people for their ideas and to look for  alternatives that would enable threatened libraries to stay open.

It is outrageous that Conservative and Lib Dem councillors criticise from the sidelines, when it is their very own Conservative and LibDem  coalition Government that has tightened the screws on Camden’s funding to the extent that major savings are needed across the Council, leading to the pressures on the budget for libraries. Camden’s approach can be contrasted with Conservative Barnet, who don’t seem interested in their libraries and museums at all. Barnet  does not engage with the public and library users to find out whether there are other options to keep open the libraries they intend to close: indeed they don’t engage with the public at all, on anything! They  have even just made it harder for the public to raise issues with restrictions on discussion at neighbourhood forums.

I joined the protest on Saturday to keep popular Friern Barnet library open with many local residents, including lots of children in attendance. It is clear to me after talking to local people that there are lots of good ideas from the community there, but Tory Barnet is impervious to their constructive suggestions, as to how to keep the Barnet libraries and museums open, in contrast to listening Labour Camden.

I am as sure that Camden Council will do all it can to preserve the libraries as I am sure that Barnet will not.

Yours faithfully,

Andrew Dismore

Prospective London Assembly Labour Candidate for Barnet and Camden

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Parking Charges

Dear Editor,

The hard hearted incompetence of Conservative Barnet’s parking policy and its enforcement  goes from bad to worse. Residents are charged through the nose with increases of up to 150% for residents’ parking outside their homes, if they can find a space . We now hear of challenges in the courts, it’s got so intolerable. Parking meters are out of order all over the place, in their attempts to force people to use mobile phones and credit cards, with no thought to those, especially pensioners and people with disabilities, who cannot. Residents get fines for parking where they have left their cars for years, and when there is no alternative place safely to move to. One can only sympathise with the poor garage owner reported last week as having been fined because he got his parking docket form a machine on the wrong side of the road!

Barnet’s parking supremo  Cllr Brian Coleman used to try to claim to be a friend of the motorist: a hollow claim indeed now, given his hostile reaction to anyone who criticises his policies. It is absolutely clear that Barnet sees its car owners as a cash cow to be milked to beef up the Council’s finances, but with no benefit to them in return.

Yours faithfully

Andrew Dismore

Labour’s London Assembly candidate for Barnet and Camden

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Church Farmhouse Museum closures

Dear Editor,

It is a real tragedy, that Conservative Barnet Council refused to engage constructively with local people, including award winning HADAS ( Hendon and District Archaeological Society)  to try to find a way to keep the Church Farmhouse Museum open.

How could the museum’s community supporters  possibly be expected to submit a business plan, if the Council would not provide the information needed to work out costs and expenses, inventories, and anticipated rent?

Having already made redundant the long serving and highly respected curator Gerard Roots ( to whom I pay tribute for all his enthusiasm and hard work over the years), the truth is the Council has no intention of allowing the museum to be reopened. They had already started touting the exhibits round other museums, including the Museum of London: by breaking up the collections, they further hope to  destroy all chance of our local heritage being preserved for future generations of schoolchildren to learn of their community’s history and way of life.

The Conservatives would far prefer to see this historic listed building lie empty and a target for vandals and speculators  than allow local people to take it over.

Yours faithfully

Andrew Dismore

Labour London Assembly candidate for Barnet and Camden and

Chair of Trustees, Council of British Archaeology, London