The Haringey Independent takes a look back at the year that was in 2013 with a review of the year’s biggest headlines…

January

In January, the Mayor of London announced that one of the borough’s police stations would close and operating hours at others would be slashed.

Boris Johnson’s police and crime plan proposed to make the police station in High Road, Wood Green, the only one in Haringey to operate 24 hours a day.

Muswell Hill police station was to close and stations in Tottenham and Hornsey would have their opening times cut from 24-hours to a day timeonly operation.

Tottenham MP David Lammy criticised the plans and said setting up police counters in coffee shops and post offices or using social media was “no substitute” for a permanent building.

Earlier that month, Reverend Paul Nicolson, the founder of Taxpayers Against Poverty, warned that the benefits cap would have a catastrophic effect on the borough’s poor.

He said the cap, which was introduced in Haringey in April before its national roll out during the summer, treated benefit claimants as “guinea pigs” in the Government’s welfare experiment.

Also in January, people who received council tax benefit threatened Haringey Borough Council with legal action after it announced they would have to pay at least 20 per cent of their full council tax.

Those affected accused the council of failing to carry out a proper consultation.