Gardens Residents Association (GRA), London N4
The GRA was formed in 1999. It is a multi award winning residents association run by the residents of the Gardens neighbourhood in Haringey London N4.
We are interested in residential and quality-of-life issues and welcome all local residents who live in the Gardens area.
Saturday, October 25, 2014
HALLOWEEN PARTY
THE GARDENS RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION (GRA)
Present in the
THE GARDENS COMMUNITY GARDENS
Doncaster Gardens, off Stanhope Gardens.
HALLOWEEN PARTY
WITH
MAGICIAN - HOT DRINKS - MUSIC & FUN
Ages 3-12 years of age
7pm to 8pm
FRI 31st Oct 2104
Children must be Accompanied by an Adult
Sunday, August 24, 2014
Objection to proposed phone mast on Stanhope Gardens
Please help to raise objections against a proposed phone mast installation on Stanhope Gardesns. Either use the letter below, or personalize it as you wish, and ensure that you respond to the appeal by 3rd September at the latest. You can either respond electronically or by letter.
By e-mail:
• Go to www.planningportal.gov.uk
• click on “search for an appeal online” (bottom right hand side of webpage)
• on the next page, click on "search for a case" and then enter the last 7 digits of the appeal reference in "case reference" to find it– 2221148
• Click on the case reference number which will then take you through to the form
By letter:
• You must provide your name and address
• You must provide the Planning Inspectorate appeal reference number (APP/Y5420/A/14/2221148)
• You must provide the address of the appeal site (Footpath of Stanhope Gardens near Junction of Warwick Gardnes N4 1JE)
• Say either “I am against the appeal proposals” and explain why; or “I support the appeal proposals” (which we don’t!) and request to be notified of the result
• Write legibly in black ink, or type, your letter, and send three copies to the following address
The Planning Inspectorate
3/10b Kite Wing
Temple Quay House
2 The Square
Temple Quay
Bristol
BS1 6P
• Go to www.planningportal.gov.uk
• click on “search for an appeal online” (bottom right hand side of webpage)
• on the next page, click on "search for a case" and then enter the last 7 digits of the appeal reference in "case reference" to find it– 2221148
• Click on the case reference number which will then take you through to the form
By letter:
• You must provide your name and address
• You must provide the Planning Inspectorate appeal reference number (APP/Y5420/A/14/2221148)
• You must provide the address of the appeal site (Footpath of Stanhope Gardens near Junction of Warwick Gardnes N4 1JE)
• Say either “I am against the appeal proposals” and explain why; or “I support the appeal proposals” (which we don’t!) and request to be notified of the result
• Write legibly in black ink, or type, your letter, and send three copies to the following address
The Planning Inspectorate
3/10b Kite Wing
Temple Quay House
2 The Square
Temple Quay
Bristol
BS1 6P
Dear
Madam/Sir,
Town and Country Planning
Act 1990
Location:
Footpath of Stanhope Gardens Near Junction of
Warwick Gardens N4 1JE
Proposal:
Prior notification for installation of a 15
metre high monopole along with 4 no. radio equipment cabinets and 1 no.
electrical metre cabinet
Appeal
by: Vodafone Limited
Appeal
Reference: APP/Y5420/A/14/2221148
I
am against the appeal proposals. I agree with the reason for refusal that due
to the size and scale of the equipment it would have an adverse effect on local
residents and the area.
I
oppose the proposals for the following main reasons:
·
Insufficient evidence that alternatives have been adequately pursued
·
The mast and five cabinets would result in excessive street clutter and
obstruction in an unsuitable location.
·
Dominant and out of character with the character of the street and the
height would be unduly prominent and intrusive in views along Stanhope Gardens
·
Would be overbearing and unduly dominant from the windows and
garden/balconies of neighbouring properties
I
support the significant number of original objection responses to the local
authority which I hope you will also take into account. These include detailed
objections which set out how the proposals are contrary to local plan policies,
the NPPF and operators code of conduct and guidance.
There is insufficient
evidence that alternatives have been considered:
·
Relocation at the land at St Annes Hospital which is over 10 hectares in
area and could accommodate such equipment in a significantly less obtrusive
manner.
·
Evidence that other owners have been actively engaged in a dialogue to
relocate the equipment. Further evidence of correspondence with
owners/occupiers and any follow up actions is required.
·
The railway lands are ignored due to lack of power supply. It does not
appear unfeasible to run connections to existing utilities infrastructure
·
The railway lands are ignored due to lack of access. Network Rail carries
out regular works and have previously created a temporary access from Stanhope
Gardens and have only just carried out major works to the railway involving
diggers and laying new drainage infrastructure where access was obtained via
the St Anne’s site.
·
That other options were discounted due to proximity to low rise residential
properties and inadequate footway widths; exactly the same circumstances in
this proposal.
·
For example the appellants say (5.4): “It was recognised from
the outset that the majority of roads in the area are purely residential in
character, presenting no appropriate stretches of adopted highway controlled
land to site a streetworks style installation. Indeed in trying to identify
possible adopted highway land opportunities to site a ground based
installation, it became apparent to the appellant, that the majority of the target area was unsuitable given its residential
layout and built character.” Stanhope Gardens is part of that
residential character that is rightly discounted.
Prejudice safe and
accessible pedestrian movement:
Vodaphone’s
agents say that the location is a “wide section of pavement”.
·
The pavement is too narrow and the equipment would cause obstruction.
The appellant and highways authority pay little attention to the width of the
pavement and the impact of the proposal. It is only about 2.3m wide. One of the
five cabinets is 800mm deep and will reduce pavement width to only about 1.5m including the kerb. A light column at
the front edge of pavement next to the installation effectively reduces the
pavement width to a gap of approximately 0.8m when walking along the street.
·
The extent of pavement covered by the mast and cabinets is excessive in
this location and this amount of equipment will add to clutter and cause obstruction
to accessible pedestrian movement.
·
The Council are currently dealing with planning applications at St Anne’s
Hospital for up to 463 residential units (Ref: HGY/2014/1691) and are promoting
redevelopment through its Site Allocations plan. A new pedestrian access is
being promoted through the car park of the neighbouring block of flats directly
onto this section of Stanhope Gardens. This proposal will seriously impact on
the pedestrian links from this very significant development to public transport
and shops.
·
The appellants recognise constraints as they say that “due to the
proposal positioning upon a section of footpath there is no option to introduce
soft landscaping in this instance”
Visual impact
·
The mast would be clearly visible and prominent in the middle of views
along Stanhope Gardens far in excess of the height of other features .The 15m
mast will dominate the streetscene and views even more in the seasons when
trees are not in leaf. Network rail are also due to cut back vegetation in the
near future.
·
At 15m high the mast will be unduly overbearing when viewed from
neighbouring properties including windows and balconies
·
The light columns (shown at 6m in the submitted drawings) are
significantly lower than a 15m mast in this specific location, not the “notable
vertical features” as claimed.
Other
matters:
I
would ask you to address the genuine perceptions and fears that such equipment
could pose a health risk particularly in such close proximity to housing
including my home..
Also,
the Planning Inspectorate’s guidance states that after you accepted the appeal
as valid, the LPA should notify any person who was notified or consulted about
the application and any other person who made representations about the
application that the appeal has been made.
You
should be aware that it appears all original consultees and objectors do not
appear to have been notified of the submission of this appeal and that despite the
LPA extending the deadline to make comments we would like to draw to your
attention this issue to consider whether the views of interested parties will have
been prejudiced. It has taken the work of the residents association to identify
a failing in this respect and put up site notices about the appeal.
This
is particularly important as some people may have had limited notification and
time to respond in the summer holiday period.
Taking into account the
above and other objections I would respectfully ask the inspector to find these
proposals unacceptable and dismiss this appeal.
Regards
Name
Address
Email
Sunday, June 15, 2014
GRA Meeting Dates 2014
Tuesday 1st July
No meeting in August
Wednesday 3rd September
Thursday 2nd October
Monday 3rd November
Thursday 4th December
7:30 - 9:00 PM at the Kurdish Community Centre, Fairfax Hall, Portland Gardens (off Portland Gardens), Harringay N4 1HU
No meeting in August
Wednesday 3rd September
Thursday 2nd October
Monday 3rd November
Thursday 4th December
7:30 - 9:00 PM at the Kurdish Community Centre, Fairfax Hall, Portland Gardens (off Portland Gardens), Harringay N4 1HU
Thursday, April 24, 2014
GRA AGM - 8th May
The 2014 GRA AGM will be held at the Kurdish Community Centre in Portland Gardens on Thursday 8th May at 7:15 PM.
Tuesday, April 09, 2013
Meeting Dates for 2013
Thurs 9
May (AGM)
Tues 4
June
Wed 3
July
No
meeting in August
Thurs 5
Sept
Mon 7
Oct
Wed 6 Nov
Thurs 5 Dec
7:30 - 9 PM at the Kurdish Community Centre, Fairfax Hall, Portland Gardens, off Stanhope Gardens,Harringay, N4 1HU.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
The Gardens Community Garden 10 Year Anniversary Celebration
On 29th September 2012 we celebrate 10 years of community volunteering in the Gardens. The Gardens’ Community Garden opened on 14th September 2002, an amazing achievement by local residents and the residents association, the GRA have worked hard to create & maintain this pocket oasis for all.
The site of the Community Garden used to be an entrance road way to the once famous Harringay Stadium, which following years of disrepair, was eventually demolished and redeveloped as Sainsbury’s circa 1987, sadly with no one to take ownership of the strip of land and railway arch at the end of Doncaster Gardens. This caused serious problems with vandalism, trespassing, dumping and maintenance issues to local residents, Haringey Council and the railway company. Formed in 1999, the Gardens Residents Association (GRA) through a series of consultations, conceived the idea of securing the land, designing, fundraising and building the community garden for everyone to enjoy.
Now ten years on, with 20 local and national awards to date and many fantastic events behind us, the space has truly become a ‘”Community Centre Without A Roof” , “The Oasis of the Gardens”.
We would like to thank all the funders for initially funding the Gardens, Network Rail (our landlord), our local three St Ann’s Ward councillors and Haringey Parks Dept who have supported us along the way, without their support we would have had to close the gates years ago.
And a very special thank you to all our garden and event volunteers. The only way the garden works is by people being involved and keeping it open and growing, driven through the residents association. Without regular income from volunteer’s activities and events, the garden would certainly not be here.
So here is to 10 years more of great memories and gardening for young and old being created in the Community Gardens. With funding in place for the Community Streets Project, we have fantastic future for our streets and “ the Gardens”, with your involvement we have a fantastic future for the Gardens Area.
Andy Newman – Vice Chair & Community Garden Co-ordinator
& Francois Ballay Chair of the Gardens Residents Association
Friends Of Chestnuts Park (FOC)
FOC who are funding the evenings film event, are very pleased to be working with the GRA and supporting the Community Gardens 10th Anniversary event.
Friends of Chestnuts Park have worked hard for many years and campaigns for improvements to our local park. Recent successes include transforming the playground area and development of the senorary play area and Multi sports play space. We have lots of ideas for what needs to happen next in the park. What are your ideas?. There are challenges ahead with cuts in the Parks Services so there is never been a better time to get involved. We meet every two months on the third Saturday of the month in the park café. The next meeting is 11am Sat 18th Nov 12. Most meetings include a practical planting session or other activity.
Do come along or get in touch at Friendsofchestnuts@hotmail.co.uk
Ceri Williams – Chair of FOC
• The Wildcat Arts Collective
WAC is delighted to be working in partnership again with the GRA’s Community Garden. WAC organizes cultural/arts events around comedy, music, poetry, dance and film/outdoor screenings. These events, aimed at three groups: children (Kids Collective), younger teenagers (11PLUS) & Parents / Carers, they are affordable, progressive and inclusive.
We are open to new ideas & projects & like to make links with other community groups. We are always looking for people to get involved.
For further information, you can e-mail us wildcatartscollective@hotmail.co.uk or call: 07966096482
www.wildcat-arts-collective.org.uk/
Dave Downes – WAC
OUTDOOR FILM - THE SIMPSONS MOVIE – 7pm to 9pm
2007, USA, 87mins.Director, David Silverman.
The locals' casual disregard for the environment leads to Springfield being sealed off from the outside world - not even Greenday can make a difference. The Simpsons Movie is right up there with the classic TV episodes such as 'Radio Bart', 'Homer Badman' and 'Flaming Moe's'.
Very, very funny and genuinely cinematic - a rare opportunity to see this film outdoors on a big screen, with communal laughter ringing in your ears (and you get to see Bart's doodle, too!).

.jpg)
.jpg)

