Ive Farm Playing Field
The Council is negotiating turning Ive Farm Playing Field, which they have left derelict, into a campsite for the Olympics.
Is the Council keeping local residents in the dark about this, hoping that they can sneak it through without proper consultation?
Oliver Close, Villiers Close and Ive Farm Close residents whose homes back onto the site will certainly have objections particularly if, like the site in Walthamstow, it has live entertainment and bars serving alcohol.
The Liberal Democrat Group Leader and Leyton Ward Councillor Bob Sullivan says:
“There must be proper consultation with local residents, If the Council forces this through all proceeds should go towards bringing the playing field back into use.”
Church Lane Car Park – UNDERUSED?
The report into Parking Provision across the Borough indicated that the Church Lane Car Park was underused, and recommended that measures be taken to improve occupancy. It seemed strange, at the time, that this report should also include the provision of a multi-use games area (MUGA). Surely not a practical way of improving use by drivers!
FOCUS Team campaigner Mahmood Faiz believes that ideally a town centre car park should not necessarily be full every day, as it is a facility to encourage motorists to patronise the smaller local shops that do not have off-street parking of their own.
The photograph was taken on a normal weekday morning, and shows just two disabled bays vacant – hardly underused!
Call for Safety Improvements
At a recent visit by Caroline Pidgeon, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on the London Assembly, the FOCUS Team took up concerns expressed following the tragic recent event on the Gainsborough Road footbridge, urging her to press Transport for London (TfL) for urgent action to make the bridge safer.
FOCUS also proposed that the height of the sides of the road bridge should be increased.
It is understood that Liberal Democrat councillors in Redbridge have also raised similar concerns about other bridges spanning the A12 as it runs through their area.
To date, TfL, responsible for the A12, has agreed to look at what measures may be possible on the bridges.
FOCUS will keep you in touch with developments.
LABOUR COUNCIL INCOMPETENCE
Serious questions must again be asked regarding the competence of the Labour-run Council after it emerged that, at a recent Cabinet meeting, leading Councillors approved the 2012-13 Budget Review of ‘Fees and Charges’ without realising it was in places identical to that of the previous fiscal year. The mistake was only identified and rectified when pointed out by shocked Liberal Democrat councillors several days after the meeting had taken place.
It has taken months for the real figures to be released to the Liberal Democrats and now will not be approved by the Council until March, 5 months late.
This follows on from reports earlier this month, raised by Lib Dem Group Leader Councillor Bob Sullivan, that the Labour administration had failed to honour their pledge to ensure local businesses were receiving payment within 10 days: money that could make the difference between a company staying afloat or going under in these difficult economic times.
Commenting, Councillor Sullivan said:
“I am appalled that something like this has been approved by the Labour Cabinet without even the slightest glance at the figures.
“If Liberal Democrats hadn’t noticed this and chased it up with officers, residents in Leyton and elsewhere would have been faced with confusion over services, or even worse another large hike in fees.
“Labour councillors from top to bottom aren’t putting in the hours and doing due diligence in important areas. It’s now only a matter of weeks until we set the council’s budget for next year and Labour need to end this appalling complacency before then. The residents of Waltham Forest should not have to suffer the consequences of Labour’s incompetence.”
COUNCILLOR OUTRAGED AT NEW PARKING CHARGES FOR LOCAL RESIDENTS
New parking charges have been introduced at Waltham Forest Town Hall for local residents after 6pm.
Until recently it was free to park for residents who wanted to attend meetings or events at the Town Hall in the evenings and experience local democracy in action.
But new charges will affect community groups, as well as charities and local residents, who often attend council meetings in the evenings to input into consultations or be updated on the council’s work.
Lib Dem Councillor Mahmood Hussain said:
“As a local Liberal Democrat I believe that Labour have once again got their priorities wrong and are penalising local residents before finding savings elsewhere.
“The Labour administration could reverse these charges for less than half the cost of their subsidies to the trade unions.
“This makes our council meetings less transparent, less accessible and more expensive for local residents. Labour should think again.”
LIB DEMS’ AMBITIOUS 2012 BUDGET IS AN OPPORTUNITY NOT TO BE MISSED
This year has again seen cuts to the council budget as a result of the government’s important deficit reduction programme.
In administration in 2009/10 the Lib Dems laid the foundations for the difficult decisions that have been made over the last two years to balance the Town Hall’s books.
The success of the cuts to back office functions alongside extra money from the government for the council tax freeze has created unexpected flexibility in the budget to soften the impact on local residents and invest in jobs and growth.
This year the Lib Dems have identified over £6 million in additional savings and reserves that could be used to help residents now, invest in local jobs and ease the cuts on Labour’s failing Children’s Services.
Lib Dem Leader Cllr Bob Sullivan said:
“As a Liberal Democrat I am appalled to see that Labour are still subsidising their trade union paymasters, they are still spending half a million pounds on a wasteful council newspaper and they are still spending a million pounds a year on press officers and PR.
“And not only that but they’re hoarding money for a pre-election spending spree in 2014, when they could be helping residents now.
“Waltham Forest Labour have spent millions of pounds of tax payers money on consultants but they’re not investing enough in local jobs, they’ve spent £3 million earmarked for the Olympics on fireworks and parties whilst increasing fees for local sports and youth services, and next year they’re spending £3 million in their ‘priorities fund’ but barely 4% of it is to tackle unemployment.
“Lib Dems have identified over £6 million in extra savings and hidden reserves that could be spent now on helping local residents: Investing up to £4 million in jobs and growth, softening the blow of cuts to our struggling Children’s Services, and investing in local services by reversing the cut to Chingford South and Harrow Green libraries.”
“Waltham Forest Labour are out of touch, out of steam and out of ideas. They should get their priorities right for residents, stop wasting money on vanity projects and PR and be ambitious for Waltham Forest by accepting the Lib Dem’s budget amendment next week.”
Fire Brigade 999 Service for Sale!
Residents in Waltham Forest will be put at risk if the Mayor’s plans to privatise Fire Brigade 999 call handling go ahead, warn the borough’s Liberal Democrat Councillors.
Conservatives on the London Fire Authority backed by Mayor Boris Johnson propose to contract out the Fire Brigade Control Room that handles over 200,000 emergency 999 calls a year. They intend to push their controversial plan through before voters get a say in next May’s Mayoral and London Assembly elections, when controversial Conservative LFEPA boss Cllr Brian Coleman risks being ousted.
Liberal Democrat Councillor Farooq Qureshi said:
“I was shocked to hear of this plan. It makes no sense to separate the people answering 999 calls from the rest of the Fire Brigade. There are no private companies with a decent track record in this highly specialised fire safety work. It will just end up costing more money as the Fire Brigade will need an army of staff to check the private call handlers are getting it right. This is all about Conservative dogma rather than what is best for local residents’ safety.”
The Fire Brigade’s Union is also strongly opposed to the privatisation plan.
Commenting on the sell off Liberal Democrat Candidate for Mayor of London, Brian Paddick said:
“As a former police chief I recognise that control rooms are an essential part of the emergency response. Privatising the fire brigade control room runs the risk of providing a second class service at a higher cost to the public.”
The Council’s New Year Resolution should be to pay local businesses on time
Figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats show that Waltham Forest Council have failed to meet their own targets for paying local businesses within 10 days for 7 out of the last 8 months. And they have only once met their targets for paying small businesses on time since last April 2011.
According to the Federation of Small Businesses the Government estimates that in 2008, 4,000 businesses failed as a direct result of late payment and it costs UK businesses £180 million in debt interest charges. The problem of late payment is not just a commercial one, but it is also ethically wrong. When large businesses or the public sector pay late, it can put small firms out of business.
Liberal Democrat Leader and Finance Spokesperson, Councillor Bob Sullivan said:
“This is a tough time for small businesses and these targets were set to try and help cash flow for local businesses in Waltham Forest.
“For some small businesses, being paid promptly can mean the difference between growing or standing still; between creating jobs or cutting them; between keeping the doors open or closing them for good.”
“It is unacceptable that the council is failing local businesses in this way. Officers and Cabinet members should use the new year to turn over a new leaf and pay local businesses on time in 2012.”
Leyton Orient bid to move to Eton Manor refused
Leyton Orient FC, backed by Waltham Forest Council, approached The Lee Valley Regional Park Authority (LVRPA) who own the Eton Manor site which is in Leyton, with a bid to take over the planned hockey stadium and turn it into a football and rugby stadium after the Olympics. The Orient bid would in the words of Barry Hearn, make the post Olympic Eton Manor area more sustainable and enable the football club to remain in Leyton. He said that if he could not move to Eton Manor then the club was likely to move out of the area or fade away. A detailed financial appraisal was presented to LVRP Executive committee in November. The Executive referred its decision to a Special Authority meeting on the 15th December.
The LVRP authority meeting on the 15th considered a report from the LVRP Chief Executive outlining the reasons why it could not agree to Leyton Orient’s plans and to refuse Orient’s request. Councillor Bob Sullivan says that as the Waltham Forest member on the LVRP authority he enthused the sustainability of the Orient’s bid and said that he and Waltham Forest residents would not like to see the football club move from Waltham Forest. Unfortunately, all other members voted against Orient’s proposals.
Bob is not sure what Barry Hearn and Leyton Orient FC will do now. He hopes that their forecast of the future can be resolved and the club can stay at Brisbane Road.