We asked the Camden and Haringey candidates for the Highgate wards from the Green, Labour and Lib Dem parties to answer the following two questions. Their responses are listed in the order they came in.

1. What do you think are the main issues facing Highgate right now?

Response from Camden Highgate Labour Councillors Anna Wright and Camron Aref-Adib:

As locally elected representatives it’s always hard to give short answers to the question about the big issues. Because for each or our residents, depending who they are and where exactly they live, the issues they consider to be  most important to them will vary widely. We know this from the many conversations we have with people on the doorstep, at our regular advice surgeries, and at local meetings and events. For some in Highgate, the issue of air quality and traffic congestion is high priority. For others, overcrowded housing, homes that are waiting for repairs, unreliable heating or hot water, or poor treatment by landlords in the private rented sector are the most pressing concerns. Community safety and anti-social behaviour are high on the list for many – we all want to feel safe and secure where we live. Clean streets, efficient recycling and more green space and tree planting are a priority, especially in Highgate where there is so much potential to improve and maintain the historic setting. Standing up to developers where new planning applications threaten Highgate’s heritage will always be important. We are also acutely aware of the pressures on the high street and the need to support small shops and independent businesses and help them to thrive.

The cost of living and the impact this is having on so many is front of mind for us at all times which is why, as Labour councillors, investment in financial support to those most in need remains a priority. At the heart of many of these issues is that Highgate is a place of inequalities, evidenced by the significant differences in financial security, in housing and in life expectancy between the most disadvantaged and the most advantaged residents across the area.

The business of politics means navigating between what can often be competing priorities and demands and making difficult choices about the allocation of limited resources. But as your Labour Councillors we always try to listen and learn from our residents because the main issues facing you must be the main issues facing us. We stand for honestly and transparency — we’re upfront about what we can do and don’t make promises we can’t keep.

Response from Haringey Liberal Democrat Cllrs Nick da Costa and Scott Emery and candidate Shamim Muhammad:

From speaking with residents across Highgate, a number of key issues consistently come up:

• The condition and future of Archway Road and Highgate High Street.

Residents are concerned about rubbish, shop closures, and road safety. Many feel that Highgate’s high streets get no support from the council. They should be clean, safe, and thriving; not left behind.

• Crime and community safety

Many residents feel the impact of crime and then feel worse when there’s no follow-up when incidents are reported. We’d employ Community Wardens to identify sources of crime, address anti-social behaviour, and to give the police more space to focus on important crimes.

• Protecting our green spaces

Highgate’s woods, parks, and open spaces are central to our community. Residents want to see them protected, maintained, and enhanced.

• Housing and living conditions

Haringey is currently one of the worst in the country for dealing with damp and mould. Coupled with delays to repairs, and the quality of housing, particularly for council and housing association tenants, housing remains one of the biggest issues facing Highgate residents. We are planning to introduce an app that allows residents to track jobs and directly speak to officers.

• A council that listens and responds

Perhaps most importantly, residents want a council that is responsive, accessible, and works with them to solve problems, rather than creating barriers. We’’d get the phone lines working, have real consultations and make sure we are working with residents on the future of Haringey

Response from Camden Liberal Democrat candidates Henry Potts and Munro Price:

Affordable housing is a huge challenge, whether that’s about wanting your kids to be able to buy somewhere locally or key workers being able to live in Camden. There are opportunities to build more affordable housing, without losing the character of the area (for example, sensible limits on the heights of new building). We shouldn’t have patches of land sitting unused for years while planning arguments go on.

Another major problem is the volume of traffic coming through the village and the noise, congestion and pollution it produces. To tackle this, a sustainable transport policy should look at the number of heavy goods vehicles passing through, and at using school buses to tackle the problems around the school run.

Response from Camden Green Party candidates Alice Brown, James Dicker and Lorna Russell:

The Green Party believes that neighbourhood planning is a vital part of the planning process. Neighbourhood plans should enable each local community to express their own vision of a ‘lifetime neighbourhood’. The Camden Green Party manifesto, CARING CAMDEN, includes a section on planning, including the pledge to ‘Give proper weight to neighbourhood plans, making planning more democratic.’

We want the Council to increase support to neighbourhood forums in Camden, following the withdrawal of financial support from the UK government. Financial support is necessary to secure planning advice and ensure conformity with the strategic policies of the Local Plan.

Key priorities

We understand that key priorities of the Highgate Neighbourhood Plan include making the area more accessible for disabled and elderly people, increasing safety on the main traffic routes through the area and improving public transport. These priorities are included in our manifesto.

We are aware of the need to protect small and diverse businesses in Highgate, and throughout Camden, and our manifesto includes a section on the importance of a local, wellbeing economy. We plan to develop a fuller, more detailed manifesto through discussions with community and civic groups over the next year. We hope to learn more about the Neighbourhood Forum’s priorities and ideas if elected as your representatives.

Protecting Highgate

The Highgate Neighbourhood Forum Area is protected to a degree from the major harms that can result from development, due to its special character and history. However, there is a risk that smaller scale development can adversely affect the historic built environment. One of us (Alice Brown) is a conservation architect and has previously acted as an advisor for Kentish Town Neighbourhood Forum in reviewing planning applications. She would be happy to assist in this work the Highgate Neighbourhood Forum.

The forum area is at risk from developments outside its boundaries, for example the Camden Film Quarter proposal. The development would have many implications for the wider area, one being the environmental impact of constructing its two massive basements. This would require the removal of 350,000m3 of ground and result in around 30-35,000 lorry loads of excavation spoil being removed from the site, most likely via Archway Road. The Camden Green Party has been campaigning for more responsible development of this site.

Addressing the need for better and more affordable housing 

The housing problem is primarily a crisis of affordability rather than a shortage of new homes. Housing should be affordable to everyone, with an adequate supply of social housing to accommodate the needs of those on low incomes. Intervention is required by the national government and a range of public bodies to provide social housing at a large scale. However, there is an important role of neighbourhood forums to identify sites suitable for new social housing.

The Green Party supports community-led housing development to address the chronic shortage of suitable housing for people with different needs. We would be keen to help Community Land Trusts, housing co-operatives and other non-profit housing providers to bring forward proposals.

At the same time there is also a problem with maintaining existing homes, with the UK having amongst the worst condition homes in Europe. We need to do more to repair and maintain homes, as well as retrofitting them so that they are fit for the future. If elected we plan to focus on improving the Council’s Housing Repairs Service, so that it can better look after Camden’s stock. We are also interested to speak to resident groups more generally about their experiences and needs.

Action on the climate and nature crisis

We are committed to do all we can to build effective action on the climate and nature emergency, which affects us all. If elected, we would seek to engage as many residents and businesses as possible in this challenge.

For example, we would like to help build up retrofit knowledge and capacity, focusing on a neighbourhood-based approach. We think that Camden Council can do much more to provide information and guidance to help people to make the switch from gas boilers to heat pumps.

We are also very aware of the need to plan for future climate risks, through adapting our physical environment and building community networks for resilience in the face of increasing climate impacts. For example, our manifesto includes policies on supporting community biodiversity initiatives and food growing. We think that neighbourhood forums are ideally placed to progress this, and ideally, we would like to see forums working with each other to build capacity, knowledge and interconnected neighbourhood planning.

2) How would you collaborate with our neighbouring Councils to address these issues?

Response from Camden Highgate Labour Councillors Anna Wright and Camron Aref-Adib:

One of the greatest challenges of local government is to make sure things are joined up. The systems and structures that we work within sometimes seem designed to confound efforts to work together and take a holistic approach to problem solving. In our roles as Cabinet Members in Camden Council, we have made it a priority to advocate for more joined up thinking and working across council departments and teams, with other partners such as the NHS, the voluntary and community sector and local businesses and with other local authorities across north London. We believe that decisions should be made as close as possible to local communities and places, and the fact we all live in London does not make the same solutions right for all. But there are some issues that can’t be solved without looking beyond our borough. For example, Anna collaborates closely with her counterparts in health and adult social care from Islington, Haringey, Barnet and Enfield in cases where working together on health and care delivery makes sense, and Camron closely collaborates with Harringey, Islington, Barnet, Enfield Hackney and Waltham Forest, serving as a member of the North London Waste Authority.

Issues like traffic management and air quality cannot be tackled in isolation, because pollution doesn’t respect administrative borders. Highgate Ward on the Camden side is unusual in bordering two other boroughs, Haringey and Islington. We recognise that we need strong collaboration across these borders to achieve improvements in traffic and road design as well as other issues for Highgate and, if re-elected, we will start our new term by convening an informal meeting with any councillors elected in adjacent council wards to discuss shared challenges.

Response from Haringey Liberal Democrat Councillors Nick da Costa and Scott Emery and candidate Shamim Muhammad

Highgate High Street is split between Haringey and Camden, which can lead to inconsistencies in how it is managed, whether on planning, enforcement, street cleaning, or support for local businesses.

We would push for a formal joint working group between the two councils, bringing together councillors, Council officers, businesses, and community groups, to create a shared strategy for the High Street, ensuring it is clean, coordinated, and thriving.

• Coordinated transport and traffic management
  Working with neighbouring boroughs and TfL to ensure that changes to roads, traffic schemes, and safety measures are joined up, particularly along key routes like Archway Road.

• Joined-up policing and community safety

Crime does not stop at borough boundaries. We would work with neighbouring councils and the police to ensure a coordinated approach to tackling crime and antisocial behaviour. Having more joint meetings and making sure there’s links formed.

Above all, our approach would be based on partnership working, bringing together councils, local organisations like the Neighbourhood Forum, and residents to ensure decisions reflect the needs of the whole Highgate community. We would welcome the opportunity to continue working closely with the Highgate Neighbourhood Forum and local residents.

Response from Camden Liberal Democrat candidates Henry Potts and Munro Price:

Borough boundaries are fairly arbitrary. Our communities, and the problems that affect them, don’t see a line on the map saying this is Camden and this is Islington or Haringey. We need to work together at a Council level, and at an individual councillor level. In particular, since the village is divided into two halves by the border between Camden and Haringey, all policies need to be coordinated. This should take place at all levels of both councils, but in the first case by the councillors for the Camden and Haringey parts of Highgate Ward keeping closely in touch with each other.

Response from Camden Green Party candidates Alice Brown, James Dicker and Lorna Russell:

As councillors for Highgate ward, we would be proactive in getting to know our counterparts in Haringey (and Islington), and the issues that affect the parts of Highgate north of the Camden boundary. We would like to attend meetings of the Neighbourhood Forum as appropriate and help arrange joint meetings for candidates and council officers from both boroughs, together with members of the Forum.