Lovely to see that our neighbouring community website, the lively and conversational Bowes and Bounds Connected, has restarted its weekly newsletter. Highlighted this week are two items that also affect us in Alexandra Park:
First, Haringey Council's new exorbitant fees for businesses having tables and chairs on the pavement. These are many times the charges of many other London boroughs. Hence there are no longer tables and chairs outside Sweet Tree café (as in this old photo), nor even outside the Prince pub. Myddleton road's cafes and bars are of course massively affected by the new fees.
Second, the proposed ward boundary changes would split Bounds Green ward in two, so the newsletter highlights the possibility of submitting alternative ward maps such as APN's. This proposes retaining Bounds Green ward as it is, as well, of course, as retaining a tweaked Alexandra [Park] ward!
Replies
This is the first time I have heard about the huge sums small businesses are being charged just to have chairs and tables on the pavements. It is astonishing and depressing. And why is Haringey so out of step with other London boroughs in terms of what they charge?
Yes, anyone would think that the Council want to discourage small businesses and reduce the local community vibe.