Why aren't covered reservoirs on Mount View Rd open to the public?

Ian

Not really much sense in joining a free online group then insulting its members and the people who set it up. Nothing forces you to read this, nor comment on it and it is not a very civilised way to behave to join such a community forum then indiscriminately insult people. I'm afraid the rudeness, as Miss Annie points out, says more about you than it does about the people here and singling out Andy and Dave seems odd. Aside from putting the hours in to set this up, which I and others greatly appreciate, they don't choose the company they keep - far from it it seems...

Liz

@ Northern Heights - I don't run the other forum. I posted Lynn's contact details as a polite way of suggesting you contacted her directly rather than via this forum. I'm with Miss Annie on this one.

tosscat

Isn't Harringay Online broadly by and for the Upper East Side? I like to think of sg.org as being a bit less formal, and all the better for it.

missisclack

I think that we've all got the measure of The Northern Heights.

ShaunG

H Online I always think of as being essentially Green Lanes/ Ladder focused, though maybe it creeps over the tracks. The picture of the guy with the mug puts me off a bit, but anyway it's not a competition, good luck to them. I just prefer (and hugely appreciate) this place. Andy and David, don't worry about the occasional knocker, they usually go away after a bit. But where is the covered reservoir in F Park?

ADGS

Between Mount View Rd, Ossian Rd, Mt Pleasant Villas and Ferme Park Rd.

twinspark

Crouch HIll, Ferme Park Rd. Mountview Road and Mount Pleasant Villas are areas with a high risk of subsidence due to London clay, traffic etc. [ it's true - ring for a home insurance quote and see - the building firm Purkellys on Mount Pleasant Villas was one man and a van 20 odd years ago, then they became specialists in underpinning and subsidence repair, now they have yard with lorries and kind of plant and kit. Therefore the covered reservoir represents a risk to the public if used as an open space - imagine if the earth opened beneath you mid-spliff or whilst your dog was doing it's stuff!
It's an old, dreary argument I know and yes Thames Water has long claimed it would increase contamination. - i.e. more leaks for them to not fix.

Three other reasons why it's not become a park:
Finsbury Park
Stationers Park
Priory Park

Green space is reasonably abundant in the area plus a council is unlikely to spend money on ground it doesn't own. Then there's the Parkland Walk - the escape route to Highgate and nirvana beyond that is?¿ 'the Heath' oooh!

The covered reservoir would be a perfect venue for a Lib-Dem rally and further their opportunist borrowing of votes - although if a fissure were to appear in the ground they'd have to act sharpish or disappear down a gap in the middle!

@ Ali @ADGS
Harringay is the original spelling for the borough but this was amended to Haringey when it was enlarged to incorporate the borough of Hornsey.

Arkady

Haringey, Harringay and Hornsey *all* have the same etymology, if one looks into it. Wikipedia say “The name Hornsey originated from a Saxon chieftan named Haering; 'Haering's Hege was Haering's enclosure.[1] It shares this derivation with Haringey which is a modern variant now applied more specifically to the Borough.”

ADGS

There isn't really an 'original' spelling, or at least not one which can now be traced, and at the time it wouldn't have been considered a meaningful question anyway. The two spellings both drift back off into the mists of time, and all that varied was which was preferred by whoever had the upper hand at the time either of them was formalised in respect of any particular issue.

Ali

Stroud Green: A History and Five Walks. This excellent little book says that the Northern Heights Tennis club used to operated from the covered reservoir before the 2nd World War so it have been used before which I assume no problems to the Water. Does anyone know if the allotment group have got anywhere with Thames Water?

odd stewart

So there's this lot:

http://stroudgreenreservoir.ning.com/main/authorization/signIn?target=http%3A%2F%2Fstroudgreenreservoir.ning.com%2F

It says you can only join if you are invited. Anyone know someone who can invite?

Mountviewroadrocks

I lived on Mountview Road from 1960-1971 As kid's we enjoyed the reservoir and playground for 11 years. There was a pavillion(a clubhouse) on the reservoir. All the local kids used it as a park. I can't see the sense in closing it to the public. Sound like the water company has the hump with local residents for some reason. Why don't residents set up a decent action group. Joanne Lum ley used to live round the corner. Try her as a mouthpiece.

trainspotter

I think it'd be nice to have that space open to the public -- would make a good picnic spot as there's a nice view into the city.<br><br>I like both forums.  Harringay Online has a lot of members so you can get good recommendations for local tradesmen etc but this site is more Stroud Green focused and good for the low-down on new eateries, planning stuff and interesting historical stuff.<br><br>Both sites appreciated and the moderators/admin teams do a good job.<br>

Arkady

I've been thinking about the reservoir a lot.

I don't think we'll persuade them to reopen it for public access. But I'm wondering whether we can persuade them to seed it as a wildflower meadow. They only mow it once or twice a year, so it would be perfect for that. It would look stunning and be great for pollinators. Can anyone think of any obvious objections? If necessary we could crowdfund the seed and volunteers could sow it.

Scruffy

I quickly skimmed through this discussion (it's rather long), so I may have missed this being pointed out by someone else already, but perhaps there's a liability issue in allowing public access, as underneath what looks like a field is likely to be a late 19th century brick structure holding it up, and the cost to make it safe might be prohibitive.

I remember playing on the reservoir around 1971 when I was (briefly) at St Peter-in-Chains school. We went as a class, and some of us rolled on our sides down the steep slope that leads to the wall along Ossian Road.

Depending on the foliage in the trees, if you stand at the fence near where the playground used to be, you can see the dome of St Paul's Cathedral. That part of Mountview Road was a location used (very briefly) in Sean of the Dead.

The wildflower meadow idea sounds lovely. The only objection I can think of is the possibility of it being populated by wildlife or vermin. Foxes? Muntjac deer (We could parachute breeding pairs in)? Rats?

miss annie

There will no doubt already be mice, rats and foxes. Seeding a wildflower meadows takes ten minutes and a load of seeds. You literally just run about throwing the seeds hither and thither. No planting, no thinning out of seedlings, no maintenance. They might go for it if you swing a save the bees angle.

miss annie

Actually, beehives would be brilliant!

marko

Perhaps just jump the fence at night with a few packets of seeds?

Scruffy

A few packets? You'd need sacks of seeds or many seed-bombs (use drones!) for that area. Seriously, though, if seeding the reservoir could result in the sort of wildflower meadow of which you can see pictures by Googling the term, residents of houses overlooking the reservoir should be all for it.

Arkady

Yeah I think locals would love it. It would take a lot of seed, but could perhaps be done in stages. I understand that they are self-perpetuating once established as long as you mow at the right time of year.

I guess Thames Water are the relevant authority?

Ali

Get in contact with Steve Robertson at Thames Water he is the head honcho

markpack

This sounds a great idea. Have you managed to find out any more @Arkady ?

Arkady

I mean to pursue it, but haven't has time yet!

mattleys

I live facing the reservoir and would love this. However, it has to be said when it's left unmowed it's already a pretty good wildflower meadow without any additional seeding! It's always a shame when they mow it. It attracts birds and butterflies and must be a fantastic breeding ground for insects.

sparky

I remember playing football after climbing the fence with around 10 pals 30+ years ago and playing football on the reservoir. Did so for a good few months until someone told us we could be swallowed up and drown as it was a reservoir...we never went back.

Scruffy

Three blokes in hard hats scraping and banging things on the reservoir this morning (near the edge along Mount Pleasant Villas). Anyone know what’s going on?

LukeG

Cleaning out the filters that catch bits I think. As a general comment, it's likely it's not open to the public from a monitoring POV, as it's both unsafe if kids break in there and drown as well as contamination issues in the fresh water; sadly the water company probably thinks it's cheaper to keep it mown.

Scruffy

Thanks for that, @LukeG
I had imagined the reservoir was no longer storing water.

LukeG

No worries, I've seen them doing repairs and opening the covers, going in with equipment. I wonder what it looks like inside! @Arkady did you manage to chat to them?

Arkady

Nope. Life has been quite busy - I've been planning for a five week wedding/honeymoon/sabbatical that starts next week, work has been chaotic, and I've had some family trouble. I hope to get on to it when I get back, but if anyone else wants to start the conversation with Thames Water that would be great.