Housing associations told to ditch the dishes
Friday 15 August 2008
Haringey Council is taking action to improve the appearance of a new Tottenham housing development after residents unwittingly broke planning rules by installing satellite dishes.
The council gave permission for the housing association-run properties in Academia Way, N17, on condition that the blocks include communal television cable systems for use by residents.
But some residents moving into the new properties have installed their own individual satellite dishes on the exterior of the buildings, spoiling the visual appearance of the development.
Haringey Council is now demanding that the three housing associations responsible for the properties - Family Mosaic, Landmark and Genesis - instruct residents to remove the dishes and restore the buildings to their intended appearance.
The action is part of the council's efforts to make the borough a more attractive place to live and work through its new Greenest Borough Strategy.
Cabinet Member for Housing, Cllr John Bevan, said:
"Of course housing association residents should have as much right as anyone else to access television channels not available on terrestrial networks.
"But we're trying to improve our built environment in Haringey, and the fact is that housing blocks covered with satellite dishes are unsightly. It's also unfair to those residents who don't wish to install a dish.
"The housing associations should have informed residents of the planning conditions before they moved in to Academia Way. I am insisting that they now make the position clear to residents and request they remove the dishes, as well as explain that a huge range of alternative TV channels are available through their central cable system."
If the housing associations do not comply, the council will take appropriate planning enforcement action to ensure the dishes are removed.
The council has introduced the inclusion of a centralised cable system as a planning condition for blocks of flats ahead of the digital switchover, due to take place in London in 2012.
The centralised system will enable residents to continue to receive channels currently available on analogue without installing their own individual satellite dish or digital television box.
Homes for Haringey, which manages the council's housing stock, has already overseen the removal of all satellite dishes from Kenneth Robbins House, Park Lane, N17, with all residents now using the central cable system. Homes for Haringey will be installing communal digital TV aerials in several council-owned blocks in the next few years.
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