Ukraine & legal aid - You won't fool the Children of the Revolution

This morning I awoke to pictures of the inside of the palace of the deposed leader of the Ukraine. It seems that he has run away leaving his palace in the hands of protestors. The level of corruption and theft from the state is staggering. Amongst other items was a spanish barge in its own dry dock. To get rid of this greedy and evil regime, hundreds of protestors gave their lives. Despite awful violence, the protestors didn't give up. They really had no choice, they were backed into a corner and so they just had to keep going. I salute the bravery of people prepared to face beatings & death for the cause of freedom and justice.

This week I had a discussion with Andrew Dismore, the Labour candidate for Hendon about the issue of the Pavillion Way playing fields. These grounds were given to the residents of Burnt Oak, a staunchly working class area, by the Laing building company. There was a covenant that the grounds could only be used as a sports ground. Barnet Council want to see these facilities for local children replaced with yet more homes and a Chinese language school. They have deliberately sat on the terms of the covenant, discussing it in secret blue papers, but not telling the residents. Despite this the residents have found out. There is a rock solid case for a legal challenge, but sadly for the working class dwellers of the Council estate, this costs money. The coalition government has changed the rules for legal aid, so they have effectively made Great Britain a country where the legal system is simply a tool for the rich and the powerful to impose their will on the rest of us.

You only have to look to the Ukraine to see where this leads. It leads to corruption, huge palaces for the powerful, built at the expense of the impoverished, who have no means to do anything about it. The press, controlled buy rich media barons, lead a campaign against legal aid, painting a picture of taxpayers money being wasted. They never mentioned the countless cases where ordinary people got justice in the face of the rich and powerful.

Legal aid is the foundation stone of a fair and democratic society. The people of Burnt Oak have been given a bitter lesson in the harsh realities of the Tory view of justice and law. Despite having a cast iron legal case, without the cash to take it to court they are scuppered. At the moment Mr Cameron and his local cronies may find this all rather cosy. I'd suggest that they consider the case of the Ukraine and consider where this could lead. Ask yourself this question. Without legal aid for the masses, what is there to prevent huge electoral fraud in the UK. At the last general election in Hendon, Mr Dismore lost by 105 votes. It is a matter of public record that in working class areas, polling stations were undermanned. There were huge queues and people were turned away. This happened in Mill Hill at the station in Page Street. Strangely the one at St Michaels Church in Mill Hill Broadway (a more affluent area) saw no such queues. Would Mr Dismore have got the 105 extra votes if the polling stations had been properly manned? No one can be sure, but what I do know for certain is that when people lose faith in the fairness of elections, they turn to violence. You only have to open your papers this morning to see where that leads. I am a pacifist, so the last thing I would ever want to see is violence. The only way to maintain a peaceful society is to ensure that every citizen has access to the justice system. That is why full legal aid must be restored. If Tories think they are being clever in denying it to the poor, they should consider where the road they are building leads to.

If there is an anthem for the day, it should be Children of the Revolution by T-Rex. No you won't fool, the Children of the revolution.

Pavillion Way Sports ground redevelopment - Update

I have received confirmation from Barnet Council regarding the contents of secret papers discussed by the Barnet Council Cabinet Resources committee. Whilst the member in question is not prepared to go on record, they have confirmed that the Committee were fully briefed on the details of the restrictive covenants regarding the site. They have also confirmed that the Council DO NOT intend to share this information with the residents affected.

The covenant on the land allows for any resident on the estate to the South and East of the playing fields to have the right to enforce the covenant, which would require the council to properly maintain the sports ground and to prevent sale and redevelopment of the ground.

The Barnet Eye believes that the Council has failed in its statuatory duties by not publishing the covenant in the "Legal Issues" section of the cabinet papers, that would be visible for all to see. The Barnet Eye accepts the point that legal advice concerning the covenant can be withheld (as opposed to should be).

The decision to refer the decision back to Cabinet by the Scrutiny committee was made on Tuesday Night


We note that Chair of the Committee, Hugh Rayner, who has interests in property development, voted against referal. Good to see Tories John Hart and Brian Gordon standing up for the residents of Burnt Oak though.

Pavillion Way Sports field sale - What the Council haven't told the residents about the restrictive covenants

The Barnet Eye was most disturbed to read last week that the Council is selling the football pitches at Pavillion Way. What does not seem to have been mentioned to local members of the public is the fact that they can force the council to abandon the sale. You see there is a restrictive covenant on the Land in favour of Laings Land Limited. Laings were a large building company based for many years in Mill Hill. The Company were very progressively socially minded. They foresaw the day when a greedy council may try and cash in and sell the land, so they put a restrictive covenant in.

This covenant provides that the council cannot use the property except as sports pitches for use by the general public with ancillary changing rooms and parking and planted areas, all maintained at the Councils expense. Even more interesting is the fact that covenant is enforcable by all the individual owners of the housing estate to the south and east of the property.

Now has the council chosen to recognise the generosity of Laing's to the people of Burnt Oak and respect the wishes of their generous gift? Nope. Word reaches the Barnet Eye that a secret Council report has been published (which you are not allowed to see because it is "commercially sensitive") which contains advice for how the Council and property developers can get around the wishes of the benefactor.

We've been informed that there is an "Upper tribunal" that can release the covenant if it (i) Is obsolete or (ii) Impedes reasonable use of the land. Last time I looked, football was still our national sport and there is a shortage of facilities for sport in Barnet, so (i) is clearly invalid. As to (ii), the council are the ones trying to restrict the "reasonable use of the land". This is because the land is designated as sports facilities in an area that needs them. The council are trying to hoodwink the people out of their rightful inheritance, so that a few developers can line their pockets. It is quite frankly, disgusting.

I urge all owners of properties to the South and East of the site to inform the council that they wish to enforce the covenant. Furthermore, I ask them to insist the council fulfill their part of the bargain and maintain the covenant as agreed.

The Barnet Eye will be keeping a keen eye on this one. It is clear that the council cannot be trusted to look after the people of Barnet.