Labour focusing on the environment and social justice

In the first of three interviews with local party leaders ahead of the local election in May, Labour’s Peray Ahmet discusses her priorities for Haringey, writes Simon Allin, Local Democracy Reporter

Haringey Council leader Peray Ahmet (centre) with her Labour team in Crouch End

Haringey’s Labour group plans to work closely with residents to deliver a “big agenda around social justice and climate justice” if it is re-elected in May.

Labour aims to build at least 3,000 council homes during the next decade and continue its work to slash the borough’s carbon emissions.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service ahead of the local elections, group leader Peray Ahmet said “working collaboratively” would be “front and centre of all we do”.

She added: “It is about putting residents at the heart of that, and also making sure that whatever we do is co-produced alongside our residents.”

Four years ago, the Labour group set out several ambitious pledges in its election manifesto, including commitments to deliver at least a thousand new council homes by 2022 and to provide a free school meal for every primary school child.

Describing the 2018 manifesto as “quite a radical departure” from previous Haringey Labour manifestos, Cllr Ahmet admitted that neither of those pledges had been met. “The thousand council homes we have not delivered, but we are off to a good start,” she said.

“We have a couple of hundred that we have built, but we have permissions for many more as well.

“But it was an ambitious target, one that, considering we hadn’t set up the basics at the time, was – I don’t want to say too ambitious – but one thing we have to be clear on is for the next four years we certainly will continue the ambition, and in fact it will be over 3,000 council homes over the next decade.”

Cllr Ahmet, who took over leadership of the group and the council in 2021, said Labour’s 2022 manifesto would also focus on improving the quality and safety of housing in the private rented sector. It will also emphasise “placemaking” – ensuring new developments have adequate facilities such as playgrounds, schools and health provision, and that they address the needs of people who already live in the borough.

The Labour leader said the “green agenda” would be “front and centre of our whole manifesto”, with the group keen to promote the message that climate justice is a matter of social justice.

The council’s climate action plan aims to make the borough carbon neutral by 2041. Environmental pledges will include a focus on creating “20-minute neighbourhoods”, which Cllr Ahmet said would involve making sure essential services and shops are “a short walk or bike ride away”, and “cutting down unnecessary car journeys where possible”.

Three low-traffic neighbourhoods are set to be introduced following the election, after being delayed to ensure exemptions to improve access for those with disabilities are in place “from the outset” according to Cllr Ahmet.

There will also be a continued focus on reducing youth crime and youth violence through early intervention measures.

While the Liberal Democrat opposition group is calling for a £46million revamp of the Grade 2-listed civic centre to be scrapped, Cllr Ahmet defended the scheme, saying the council’s staff and community “deserve a place they can be proud of”.

She added: “We’re not just building a hub that will house our offices and have no access for the public – this is a building for Haringey and our population.”

The civic centre project is designed to be self-financing, meaning the council should recoup the investment, and Cllr Ahmet said the authority was already investing in youth provision. A new youth hub is set to open in Wood Green this summer.

Since Cllr Ahmet became leader last year, the council has continued to face criticism over its handling of the High Road West development, a regeneration scheme set to provide nearly 3,000 homes in Tottenham after demolishing 297 existing flats on Love Lane Estate.

Residents of the estate narrowly backed the council’s redevelopment plans in a ballot held last year. Campaigners subsequently called for an independent inquiry into allegations that council officers had put pressure on residents and collected votes, but senior councillors gave their backing to a report stating that the authority had “not received evidence relating to misconduct by officers” that would warrant an independent review.

Cllr Ahmet said any complaints should have been submitted to Civica, the independent organisation that oversaw the ballot, and added: “If there is any evidence of any wrongdoing, then someone should submit that, but a couple of tweets from seasoned campaigners isn’t evidence of any wrongdoing.”

The Labour group leader said the High Road West scheme would deliver around 500 council-rent homes and facilities for the local community, including a new playground and library. “One of the things we absolutely have to focus on is getting those things right, because essentially it is really important for the people who live there and will live there.”

Cllr Ahmet recently pledged to hold an independent investigation into the council’s property dealings following concerns some transactions had suffered from a lack of oversight. The authority has been accused of wasting millions on the purchase of former nursing home Cranwood House in Muswell Hill and former office block Alexandra House in Wood Green. She said she hoped the findings of the “extensive” investigation would, subject to legal issues, be published in full, and underlined her commitment to “getting our processes right” around property transactions.

In October last year, an Ofsted report highlighted “significant areas of weakness” in Haringey’s special educational needs and disabilities (Send) service. Cllr Ahmet said there was a “recognition that we need to work with parents” to improve the service, which had “really started to make some changes”. She added that the council needed to bring agencies such as schools and health services together to address needs.

For more information about the Labour Party in Haringey:

Visit haringeylabour.org.uk

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