Oakhill Park Bin Lorry Depot - What is the truth?

Thanks yet again must go to Mr Mustard who passed on the response to a Freedom of Information Request he received this morning. Knowing that I had blogged previously about the Council considering using Oakhill Park for a bin lorry depot when the main Mill Hill depot is sold off he thought I should see the response.

Frankly I am utterly shocked and no longer know who to believe. Cllr Evangeli reassured me that the bin lorry depot in Oakhill Park will not go ahead. Cllr Rams tweated that it would not be going ahead because he had stopped it. So what was the response from the Council this morning.

As per the published Council budget, a total of £12.1m is currently allocated for the re-provision of depot services. From this £12.1m a maximum of £2.4m has been earmarked for the redevelopment of the Copthall & Oakhill Parks & Cleansing Area Operations sites.

So the question is who is telling the truth, a council officer in a Freedom of Information Request response sent today or the assurances of two local councillors back in December.

Every single resident in New Barnet, East Barnet and Brunswick Park should be concerned about this. It's all very well getting a verbal denial that something is happening but when you see that millions in cash have been allocated for the redevelopment of our local park as a 'Cleansing Area Operations Site' you should start to get very worried.

What is the truth here?

Oh Yes It Is - Oh No It Isn't - The Bin Lorry Depot Saga Continues

This morning I trotted off to see my local councillor at their surgery in New Barnet. A couple were already ahead of me in the queue very unhappy with the proposals to let out the parks for private hire. Cllr Evangeli spent 35 minutes with them trying to address their concerns. I couldn't hear what was being said but when they came out I got the impression they were not convinced. Now it was my turn. I came straight to the point why do the council want to build a satellite depot for bin lorries in Oakhill Park. Ah but they don't said Cllr Evangeli, "I have been reassured by the leader that it will not happen". Well that's all very interesting but I held in my hand a copy of a delegated powers report authorising an architect to prepare drawing in readiness for a planning application no later than 31 March 2012. "No it not going to happen" repeated Cllr Evangeli. Well my problem is that the Commercial Director of the Council Mr Craig Cooper has authorised the retention of an architect at a cost of £51,800 PLUS an additional allowance of £35,000 for any necessary surveys. Now Cllr Evangeli says it won't happen but Mr Cooper has just authorised a spend of £86,800 to make it happen. Talk about left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing. I made it clear to Cllr Evangeli that when the Council is cutting from line services, a senior officer frittering away 86 Grand is frankly nothing short of a disgrace. I await what happens next.