Friends of Down Lane Park (FDLP) Campaigning for a Better Park

Friends Activities

Friends of Down Lane Park(FDLP) restarted in June 2007:
Spent following months interviewing local people in the locality and in the parks.
Drew up a report and presented it to Haringey Parks managers and lobbied with it.
Lobbied since then for the renovation of the Park (see Plea to Council).

Diary of Activities (latest first)

June 2009	Our campaigning is beginning to pay off. Haringey Parks Development are optimistic that we will receive the funding of £400,000 for the new play area. This money can supply an excellent new playground for Down Lane Park. It will comprise a play area with modern equipment and additionally a natural play area. We are all proceeding on the basis that this funding will be available for next year. We are working with Jan Wilson, who will manage all of the park renovation, to design the new play area. Final design is scheduled to be completed by early February 2010 and work is projected to start on site in July 2010 and complete before March 2011.
May 2009	Haringey Council Cabinet has decided to allocate £145,000 to create designs and a business plan for a renovated park and a green link between Chesnut Road and Tottenham Hale station and beyond to the new houses. FDLP will be working with Haringey Recreation Services and Wynne Williams Associates in this venture. All who are keen in creating a new , better park are welcome to our meetings. Note: Wynne Williams replacing Groundwork.
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December 2008	We will be working with Groundwork – redesigning/renovating the park : Paul Ely, Haringey Parks Development Manager has commissioned Groundwork, an Urban Landscape Design charity, to work with local people and the Haringey Parks Development Team to renovate the park. FDLP will be heavily involved with this project. The project will begin next April and will consist of assessing the present situation and planning park renovations including redesign. Groundwork will also prepare a business plan which will make the case for funding.
December 2008	FDLP will be playing a critical role in redesigning and renovating the park. FDLP members are encouraged to get involved with Groundwork to obtain the kind of park we would wish. Some members will have special interest such as mothers of toddlers or people interested in sports development, others wanting more security and others concerned about elderly wishes. Many will want to take part in renovating the park overall.
October 2008	We had a meeting with Tottenham Hale local councillors and also Recreations Services manager and lead councillor. We were pleased with the commitments made to get funding to renovate the play and sports area of the park. Below are the commitments they made.
	We wait now for the delivery of them and will keep everyone posted on any progress through these emails and through the website.
	Action points from FDLP meeting with councillors and officers on 27/10/08 at Welbourne Centre.
	Cllr Lorna Reith , local Councillor and Deputy Leader of The Council and Cabinet Member for Community Cohesion and Involvement.
	Undertook to
	Promote in Haringey Council the funding of renovations to the park , especially the children’s play area and sports area.
	Bring the issue of the GLS Site S106 money to the Cabinet, where all Haringey major decisions are made, and propose there that funding be allocated to Down Lane Park. Note: £ 1million pounds for each of the next two years are due to be provided to the Council by the GLS site developer for local community projects. £5 million will be provided overall after all the building has been completed. This type of contractual contribution by a large developer to local community improvements is called S106 money.
	To introduce Friends group to a new group being set up & led by Greater London Authority(GLA) officers looking at options for developments in the area.
	Paul Ely, Recreational Services Parks Development Manager.
	Undertook
	To find out what possible projects or areas could qualify for any of the £5 million GLS Site s106 money,
	That if Haringey is successful in obtaining a £2 million bid to Government for the children’s play areas, to explore the potential for locating the large adventure playground mentioned in the bid to Down Lane. Note: The Government has invited Boroughs like Haringey to bid for one of 30 pots of £2 million pounds to upgrade the borough’s playareas. A condition of winning is that £800,000 of the £2million be spent on an adventure playground in one playarea.
	To introduce our Friends group to Groundwork for us to work with them. Groundwork in is a voluntary group which works with local people to improve their local environment.
	To come back to our next meeting to further our cause together.
	Councillor Dhiren Basu: Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture, and Lifelong Learning.
	Undertook
	To support Down Lane Park wherever possible and specifically to support the proposal for funding for Down Lane Park when Lorna raises it with the Cabinet.
	That if Haringey is successful in obtaining a £2 million bid to Government for the Borough’s children’s play areas, to propose that Down Lane Park be selected for the large £800,000 adventure playground.
	Councillor Sheik Thompson local Councillor who has been very active in Friends of Down Lane Park and is Chairman of local residents association CARA N17.
	Undertook
	To advance the proposal by all means possible in the Council.
	To press that this years GLS S106 site million pounds be allocated to renovations of the children’s play area and of the sports area of Down Lane Park.
	To press that if £2million playareas bid is successful that the Adventure Playground be prioritised for Down Lane Park.
	To continue as before to campaign passionately for local resources and facilities.
	Councillor Alan Stanton local Councillor and longstanding supporter of Down Lane Park and of Dowsett Estate residents association.
	Undertook
	To advance the proposal by all means at his disposal in the Council.
	To press that this years GLS site s106 million pounds be allocated to renovations of the children’s play area and of the sports area of Down Lane Park.
	To press that if £2million Borough playareas bid is successful that the Adventure Playground be prioritised for Down Lane Park.
	To continue as before to campaign passionately for local resources and facilities.
	FDLP co-signed with Dowsett Estate Residents Association & CARA N17 a letter to Niall Bolger, Director of Urban Environment bemoaning the lack of security alongside the park on the way back from the Tube and requests that new lighting be installed there. The letter asks Niall Bolger what plans he has for renovations to the park and what is the timetable for implementing them. It also regrets the state of the pavements and asks that new pavements be installed.
August 2008	Held a summer community event in the park jointly with CARA. Good fun and much support for what we are doing.
July 2008	Decided that an immediate focus of our campaign was to be for the Council to renovate/repair the toddler swings and ground beneath because they are so poor. This cannot wait for the full renovation of the children’s area. Started preparing for a summer community event in the park jointly with CARA. Decided to use website as forum for local people to express their views and publish photos with comments. Create publicity about ourselves and encourage people to join us and/or support our lobby for a better park. To do this using the community event, website, distributing publicity material and using the local media.
June 2008	We have received a ‘Making a Difference’ grant of ￡750 and CARA(Chesnut Area Residents Association) ￡1250 from Haringey Council to run a community event in the Park. Created a website.
January to May 2008	Lobbied Council . Got more information. Connected with Haringey Friends of Park Forum. Applied for Making a Difference grant for a community event in the Park.
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Winter 2007	Spent Autumn months interviewing local people in the locality and in the parks. Drew up a report and presented it to Haringey Parks managers. Haringey parks managers welcomed the report and its findings. They had already submitted plans for renovation of the park to be funded for ￡850,000 but so far those who decide funding have not come up with the money. A grant was due to come on stream in October 2007 but never materialised. Lobbied throughout the winter for the renovation of the Park (see Plea to Council) to no avail as yet.
July 2007	Restarted Friends of Down Lane Park(FDLP) group
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