Archive for Going green
29 March, 2008 at 8:05 pm
· Filed under Campaigns, Family & friends, Going green, Local history, Neighbourhood ·Tagged Eden Grove, electricity, Holloway, housing
Richard & I had a normal Saturday morning today (shock, horror) including food shopping, laundry, picking up Percy’s Frontline prescription and unblocking the vaccuum cleaner. We know how to have fun... Then with Rich heading off to catch the old firm game, I caught up with the campaign team for lunch.
We had teams out in Holloway and St George’s, and ended up lunching just over the border in Camden at Rustique Cafe on Fortess Road. It’s a lovely bohemian cafe with sofas, wooden chairs, warm walls and a great good value menu. I can heartily recommend the pancakes with apples and cream cheese. There are similar cafes I love at Newington Green and Hazelville Road but nothing quite like it nearer home, certainly not on Upper Street.
After lunch, James Kempton & I went off to deliver letters to the new flats on Eden Grove and Hornsey Street. These are a mix of private and affordable homes, plus a gym, studios and the inevitable Tesco metro, as well as an attractive new open space between the D-shaped blocks (designed by Piers Gough). For as long as I can remember - certainly since I was a student at North London Poly in the late 80s - the site was a largely-derelict and inaccessible industrial estate. Now it’s completely transformed.
While most of the buildings are completely new, there are some older ones, all vaguely ecclesiastical. The development has preserved the old Mount Carmel school on Eden Grove, a victorian building with gothic windows that’s now converted to flats. Tucked away at the west end of Eden Grove is Sacred Heart church which dates from 1870. Next to it is a fascinating facade: “Vestry of St Mary, Islington” above, “Electricity Generating Station” below. This dates back to 1894 when the Vestry, the predecessor of the borough council, ran its own utilities. Over a century on, James is enthusing about the Council developing new green projects for local electricity generation; this is an idea I floated when I was a councillor so I’m delighted it’s still on the agenda.
Meanwhile we had a great opportunity to see the buildings in action as lived-in homes rather than the building sites or half-empty developments we’d visited before. I wondered if the private flats would be one of those gated communities that are cut off from their neighbourhood by choice or design. We were pleasantly surprised. The concierge was welcoming once he’d established we were legitimate callers. Wherever you go delivering, you find the pizza leaflets have got there before you. In this case I actually met the pizza man, complete with pizza, wandering around the central courtyard looking for a particular flat... There is an active residents’ association, with a sociable outlook (a pub crawl features among recent events). I also had the chance to chat to some of the residents who were genuinely pleased to have us seeking their views. New Holloway is not New Labour! I’ve already picked up one issue where we can get some results for them. So we’ll definitely be back for more.
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28 March, 2008 at 6:33 pm
· Filed under Consumer, Going green ·Tagged British Gas, energy efficiency, fuel poverty, Homes for Islington, Nick Clegg
More news on British Gas today. The Chief Exec of British Gas’ parent company Centrica is now earning £5,100 a day. His £23k pay rise is itself a reward for the 40% increase in operating profits for the company. All this at a time when, as Nick Clegg has been highlighting in Parliament, 4.5 million households currently live in fuel poverty, spending at least 10 per cent of their income on meeting energy costs.
Last month, Richard & I upped the energy saving round the house. We’ve put foam strips round the back door and stuck film inside some of the windows. And in some excellent news from Homes for Islington, we’ve recently heard that they are going to insulate our cavity walls - and get the utility companies to pay; so no extra cost to leaseholders. Until then, working from home, with the weather so cold, I’ve had the heating on most of the day. Luckily I can afford it. But what is the Government doing about those who can’t?
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24 February, 2008 at 9:32 am
· Filed under Campaigns, Going green ·Tagged aviation, Emily Thornberry, HACAN, Heathrow, noise
Yesterday, I joined campaigners from Friends of the Earth, as well as Sian Berry from the Green Party and John Stewart from HACAN, at Finsbury Park. We were there to mark our objection to plans for Heathrow expansion. The protest highlights the end of the Government’s consultation on the Heathrow proposals. It’s an issue where Lib Dems have led from the start. Next week, our leader Nick Clegg and Mayoral candidate Brian Paddick will be top of the bill at the HACAN rally at Westminster Central Hall.
Meanwhile, back in Finsbury Park, we crossed muddy parkland to get to high ground and unveil our ‘North London against Heathrow Expansion” banner. All the other groups in the park were moving rapidly. Up hill were footballers; down hill, a group of fitness enthusiasts being directed in press-ups by three guys in army gear. Brave souls: the wind was freezing.
I recently read a description of being a candidate as running a marathon every week, while throwing £5 notes over your shoulder, and having to be smartly dressed 24 hours a day. Mindful of this last bit, I had put a smart jacket on under my fleece. We managed to find a spot, lined up children, bikes, and Basil the dog. Out came the cameras, so off came my fleece.The ground was too muddy to put my fleece down, so I had it and my handbag clamped between my knees, thankfully all hidden by the banner which we clutched against the wind. Ah, the glamour of politics. “Look serious”, said the photographer. Not a problem. By the time the photos were done, our hands nearly matched my (blue) jacket. The campaigners are so dedicated, and their cause is so good; so I hope against hope that the Government will, for once, listen.
I’ve blogged before about the campaign launched by Lib Dem councillors, Islington Quiet Skies, to highlight the problems caused by existing night flights for Islington. As Hillrise councillor Julia Williams says, “The Government should realise the effect that loud noise has on people at this time and reduce- or ban outright- the flights over our communities before 7am.” Expanding Heathrow will make it far worse.
I can’t think of a single issue around Heathrow where the Labour Government has taken the side of residents against the interests of the aviation industry. And so far Islington South’s Labour MP Emily Thornberry hasn’t rebelled on a single aviation vote; in 2006, she even voted to overturn a House of Lords’ attempt to keep a ‘cap’ on night flights from Heathrow. Something for Islington residents, woken by flights that start as early as 5am, to mull over.
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20 February, 2008 at 8:34 am
· Filed under Campaigns, Going green ·Tagged Emily Thornberry, Heathrow
Having highlighted Emily Thornberry’s fib to Friends of the Earth (she told a public meeting she had signed Susan Kramer’s EDM against Heathrow expansion, when she hadn’t), I should point out that nearly two weeks on, her signature has finally appeared.
I don’t know why she didn’t just say she was going to sign it, rather than pretend she already had. Maybe her antipathy to anything remotely Lib Dem put her off. But well done to Islington FoE for forcing the issue. The more support for Susan’s campaign the better, however belated. The Heathrow expansion consultation ends on 27 February.
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19 February, 2008 at 11:12 pm
· Filed under Going green, Neighbourhood ·Tagged environment, graffiti, videos, Will Perrin
Meeting the Islington graffiti cleanup team last week reminded me of this lovely video made by the splendid Will Perrin. I defy you not to enjoy.
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15 February, 2008 at 1:33 pm
· Filed under Campaigns, Going green ·Tagged Emily Thornberry, Heathrow
After the HACAN/Friends of the Earth event, I had an email from one of the organisers: “Further to the meeting, Emily Thornberry is not listed as a signatory to EDM 350 against Heathrow expansion, contrary to her claim to have signed the EDM against Heathrow expansion in the meeting. Incidentally, 13 Labour including Jeremy Corbyn, 38 Lib Dems and NO Tories have signed it.”
So has Emily kept her word? Not so far.
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15 February, 2008 at 1:27 pm
· Filed under Campaigns, Going green ·Tagged airports, aviation, climate change, Heathrow, Islington, noise
New research suggests that aircraft noise can raise your blood pressure as you sleep. That’s if you can sleep. Islington’s skies are getting noisier each year, and Lib Dem councillors have already launched an Islington Quiet Skies campaign.
The Government’s plans for expanding Heathrow are out for consultation until 25 February, when a major rally against the third runway proposal will take place in Westminster. If the government gets its way, and Heathrow its third runway, aircraft noise in Islington and all over north London will get much, much worse. An expanded Heathrow will be the equivalent of building another airport the size of Gatwick, with new flight paths over Islington, Hampstead, Ealing and Brent. It will produce as much CO2 emissions as Kenya.
Last week I spoke at a HACAN/Friends of the Earth meeting in Highbury, outlining why Lib Dems oppose the Government’s plans. We also had a “flying” visit from Labour MP Emily Thornberry, who was given a hard time over the Government’s decision to expand Heathrow and exempt aviation from the new Climate Change Bill. How can Labour claim they are serious about fighting climate change when they’re actually expanding air travel? It’s like ordering extra doughnuts with your diet Coke. So much for the government showing leadership on climate change.
British Airways and BAA want Heathrow to act as BA’s hub, able to maximise connections and compete for inter-continental passengers. Good for their business, but no good to London. We need regeneration of east London, sustainable transport links, more housing. Meanwhile, Heathrow’s plans will see a whole community flattened, with all the arrogance of an 18th lord moving the village to improve his view.
Ministers talk about the new localism, listening to local communities. London’s councils don’t support airport expansion. As the lead Lib Dem on the obscure ‘Inter-Regional Planning Forum’, I pressed for councils across London, South and East England to unite against airport expansion instead of trying to push it from one area to another.
Ken Livingstone initially supported increased airport capacity, but has now changed his mind. All the main mayoral candidates oppose the third runway. Millions of Londoners oppose it. Will the government listen? Or will the noise of the planes drown us out?
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21 January, 2008 at 2:08 pm
· Filed under Going green, Neighbourhood ·Tagged Jacqui Smith, Labour, London, walking, websites
I’ve been trying out a great new website Walkit, which helps you plan your walking routes around London (thanks to David Hepworth for the tip).
The TfL journeyplanner is great for public transport routes, but its walking routes are, well, a bit pedestrian. With Walkit you have the option of a quiet route not just the most direct but rather boring one. Walkit also has the bonus of giving you a range of estimated times (depending on your speed), so you need never be late again. And it tells you how much CO2 you’ll save and how many calories you’ll burn up. I’ve checked some of my regular destinations on Walkit and it’s either come up with my favourite route or suggested a better one, so I’ll definitely be using the site in future.
Maybe it could even help the Home Secretary get out of her limo and walk round London after all.
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20 January, 2008 at 10:51 pm
· Filed under Campaigns, Going green ·Tagged Labour, nuclear power, politics, Thornberry
Islington South’s Labour MP Emily Thornberry was on the radio tonight expressing some scepticism about nuclear power - to my surprise. Why? Well, this time last year - on 17 January 2007 - Lib Dem MPs tabled a motion, “This House opposes the construction of a new generation of civil nuclear power plants.” Ms Thornberry voted against it.
If she has now come round to agreeing with the Liberal Democrat position, that’s welcome. But as we know from Post Office closures, what Emily says when it suits her, and how she actually votes, are two very different things.
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15 January, 2008 at 11:20 pm
· Filed under Going green, Local history ·Tagged Blackstock Road, climate change, Finsbury Park, libraries, politics, students, sustainability
I finished work at lunchtime today to go and take part in a Question Time panel at City & Islington College’s Centre for Lifelong Learning at Finsbury Park. Part of the College’s sustainability week, the Question Time was on the theme of sustainability, with speakers from all the main parties plus Stephen Taylor from Islington Friends of the Earth. It was an extremely enjoyable event. Like the BBC version, it was filmed, which was fun. Unlike the TV version, the questioners were not political plants, but asked open-ended questions; as as one questioner said “I don’t already know the answer to this”. As panellists we explored the answers rather than made digs at each other. And because all the questions were on an environmental theme, we could develop lines of thought as we went. The students were from at least 4 continents, adding a suitably international feel to a global topic. No apathy here.
Questions ranged from should the UN limit family size (no) to can we sell the need for action on climate change to people with more pressing problems (yes). I think the answer has to be to make the connection between changes that help us and that also help fight climate change. Energy efficiency saves you money; leaving the car at home makes you fitter; shopping locally boosts your community. The UK is blessed with huge opportunities to harness renewable energy. And our current building boom is a fantastic chance to lead by example on sustainable development.
The Centre for Lifelong Learning is itself a good example of this. The original building was Finsbury Park School, one of those familar redbrick London schools. Similar ones, Ambler School and Gillespie School, still flourish nearby. Finsbury Park merged with Ambler and the site closed as a school in 1964. It later became part of Islington sixth form college. In 1993 it merged into City and Islington College (candi). Then around 2001, the college chose the site for the lifelong learning centre. They could have demolished the old building and started again. Instead they took the front off, extended it with a very good modern frontage - which makes it part of Blackstock Road rather than set back - and retained the brick arches and high ceilings of the old school as the framework of the building. It looks spectacular inside and works really well.
It’s a sustainable building too in that it includes shared use. As well as the college, the site includes Islington’s new N4 public library. Roll back to 1988, I was at library school further along Blackstock Road at Highbury Grove, in what was then North London Poly. Nearby was Islington Central Library on Holloway Road, well placed to serve the residents of Highbury. But no library at all for people down the hill in Finsbury Park - and this in a small borough which has ten libraries compared to just six in the whole of Kensington & Chelsea. It’s wonderful to see this bright and well-used library in what was a really neglected area. Fantastic though it is, the library had a controversial start; it replaced the small but well-loved Arthur Simpson library on Hanley Road, further along Stroud Green Road, much to the anger of its loyal users. The fact that the old library did not comply with disability access, and that its relocation enabled the fantastic new facility in one of Islington’s most neglected centres, was no comfort. Going for the N4 library was the right decision; but I do understand those who would have liked both.
The extent to which we can ‘have it all’ was a recurring theme in the QT debate. Jeanette Arnold (Labour) said we shouldn’t make people feel guilty about their gadgets; James Humphreys (Green) said we are consuming far too much stuff that we don’t really need, and it’s got to change. Yes things do have to change, but we should do so in a way that excites people about the fantastic opportunities we have; for renewable energy, for micro-generation, for tackling fuel poverty, getting fitter, supporting local shops, encouraging stronger communities - all the things people that matter to people who may not have the environment top of their agenda. Climate change is real; it’s happening now; and it’s man-made. We have not yet missed our chance to tackle it; and the solutions are man-made too.
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