January | February 2014
URBAN BLIGHT – SHOPS CLOSING DOWN
According to data from Pricewaterhouse Coopers and the Local Data Company, in 2013 on average 16 town centre shops were closing down every
day. The Muswell Hill and Fortis Green Association regrets that any local businesses are forced to close, and urges its members to support their neighbourhood stores.
XIX CENTURY SOCIAL MEDIA
in November, the Garden Room at North Bank was host to long-term member Hugh Garnsworthy showing a fascinated audience a selection of
slides of his unrivalled collection of postcards, from the 1870s to the 20th Century. As one member pointed out: with the limited number of characters, a photographic image and very speedy delivery, the postcard is one of the first and most enduring examples of social media!
WEB’S WONDER
The Muswell Hill and Fortis Green Association has a new website (https://mhfga.org). Visitors ca now find lots of information about the Association
and our area and, in particular, brand new photos of Muswell Hill today, our shop fronts, and also photos of old postcards of Muswell Hill, from over a 100 years ago, when parking wasn’t a problem!
PLANNING UPDATE
Muswell Hill is on the developers’ radar. A relatively large number of applications for significant residential projects is in the pipeline which will have an impact on the community if they go ahead. On the planners tables are Muswell Hill Road (the Odeon shops and flats), St Luke’s Hospital, 30 Muswell Hill, The Green Man and LCCCP School (56 Muswell Hill ), 77 Muswell Hill, and Connaught House, Connaught Gardens.
HIGHGATE WOOD
The keepers have planted some plants in the pond which is located in the permanent conservation area next to the playground and railway line. All the plants introduced to the pond are native and are of particular benefit to insects, particularly bees and butterflies. A new conservation area, close to Bridge Gate, has been coppiced and will be managed to help create greater variety and regeneration and provide new glades that will attract many plants, invertebrates and birds.
W7 BUS STOP A SUCCESS
The new bus stop on the Muswell Hill roundabout for the W7 has now been made permanent.
A MUSWELL HILL LIFE
Wendy Joy Steerwood
PRIME THINKERS
A local initiative brings together collective brainpower to help new, small or growing businesses, and benefits a local charity at the same time. Business owners can present their problems to a group of eight to ten “thinkers”, comprising managers, senior government officials and experienced entrepreneurs who will help identify solutions and ideas to benefit the business in question. The cost is modest – £100 – which goes directly to the charity Kith & Kids, and the “thinkers” volunteer their time and expertise.
ARTISTIC HUSBAND AND WIFE TEAM
Stephen Gottlieb (who was sadly to pass away in the following April) is a lutemaker, building all types of renaissance and baroque instruments from highly decorated to classically simple. Stephen’s wife Jane Dorner is a glass artist and makes free-standing sculptural pieces and wall-mounted structures for modern interior settings.
ROADS AND SAFETY
Potholes – Haringey Council is currently trialling a reduction in our intervention levels for pothole repairs. This sees the threshold reduce from 60mm and 50mm to 30mm and 25mm respectively. Planned Carriageway/Footway Maintenance – The Council is investing £6m to improve the condition of its roads ad footways. WalkSafe N10 – A group of parents, teachers and governors from Coldfall and Coppetts Wood primary schools is concerned about the safety of pedestrians on local streets, especially children when they are walking to and from school. The group is working closely with councillors from Haringey and Barnet and has won support from both Councils’ Area Committees.