Mete Coban MBE was joined by the Leader of Haringey Council, Cllr Peray Ahmet, the Cabinet Member for Climate Action, Environment and Transport, Cllr Mike Hakata, the Greater London Authority (GLA) Member for Enfield and Haringey, Joanne McCartney, and Luke Newcombe, the founder of GrowN22 – a community-based gardening venture operating in Haringey, Enfield and Islington.
He was given a whistlestop tour of some active travel, environment and sustainability initiatives as part of the council’s efforts to tackle climate change.
Mr Coban first visited the Westbury Banks Nature Reserve, which has been totally transformed from a fly-tipping site in 2017 to the green oasis it is today thanks to support from the Mayor of London’s Grow Back Greener Fund and the hard work and dedication of GoodGym Haringey, GrowN22 and Noel Park Big Local.
From there, it was on to the West Green Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) filter on Westbury Avenue. Introduced on an experimental basis as part of the Streets for People programme, the trial scheme aims to reduce the overall level of traffic in the area so that the community can walk, cycle and wheel in cleaner air and safer streets.
The Deputy Mayor also got to visit a School Street at Noel Park Primary School – one of 34 in Haringey that are tackling pollution and transforming roads at school drop-off and pick-up times, protecting around 16,000 children in the process.
Evidence shows a 42 per cent reduction in traffic across existing School Streets in the borough, as well as vehicle emissions (NOx) down by 26 per cent.
Finally, the last stop of the day was to the Gladstone Parklet, which was co-designed by Noel Park Primary School’s Eco-Council pupils with inputs from local residents too.
The project saw the council and partners Grow22 convert a grey, unused road space into a parklet with planting, trees and new seating.
Permanent public realm improvements like cycle lanes and safer, accessible crossings were installed at the parklet, which includes pollinating plants, two sapling trees and lockable seed-drying library cabinets for community use.
The parklet is complementary to the School Streets programme with an air quality monitor in situ, while the on-site tree nursery helps nurture an eco-supply chain with other urban greening projects in Wood Green as well.
These are just some examples of the measures the council is taking with the borough’s community groups and residents to build a greener Haringey together.
