FLY-TIPPING – KIKDALE ROAD

Sofa dumped on the pavement

The FOCUS Team came across this sofa dumped on the pavement in Kirkdale Road, next to the recycling bins.

An assortment of stuff had also been dumped next to one of the bins.

The FOCUS Team has alerted the Council requesting removal.

Please do not dumped rubbish in the street, or public open spaces.

Residents are reminded that the Council operates a weekly collection of large unwanted items. Simply call Waltham Forest Direct on 020 8496 3000 for advice and to book a collection.

VOTE LIBERAL DEMOCRAT ON 7 MAY

Carl Quilliam outside Leyton Fire Station

Five reasons Liberal Democrats’ Carl Quilliam wants your vote in Leyton and Wanstead

Waltham Forest E-Guardian – Wednesday 15th April 2015

The Guardian Series has asked each parliamentary candidate to list five reasons why they should become an MP at the General Election on May 7.

Here the Liberal Democrat candidate for Leyton and Wanstead, Carl Quilliam, explains why you should vote for him.

  1. I’m a Liberal Democrat

Over the past 5 years Lib Dems have cut taxes by over £800 for 23 million people and taken over 3 million low paid workers out of tax all together. We’ve delivered the highest ever increase in the state pension and invested an extra £2.5 billion in education to close the attainment gap between the richest and poorest children.

Having more Lib Dems in parliament can make a difference and locally we have been the main opposition to the Labour party for decades. If you elect me in May I will be a strong voice in parliament for pensioners, the low paid, families and everyone in Leyton and Wanstead who needs someone to stand up for them.

  1. I want to ensure better NHS services for mental health

Mental health services have been seen as a Cinderella service for too long. Lib Dems have delivered the first waiting time standards for mental health services and enshrined in law the principle that mental and physical health should be treated equally.

Mental health services need more investment and proper integration between care services and the NHS. As a Lib Dem MP I’ll campaign for more investment in services locally and make sure the recent problems exposed at Whipps Cross are tackled and not swept under the carpet.

  1. I want to ensure we build enough homes for the next generation

For years not enough affordable homes have been built to meet what we need. In government the Lib Dems have allowed local councils to build council houses again for the first time in decades but there is much more to do.

I will push for more council housing to be built for local people to help tackle the long waiting lists. I’ll support more homes for sale and rent that are truly affordable. And I’ll fight for more rights for private renters, building on the local Lib Dems’ campaign for landlord licensing and ensuring renters get a fair deal.

  1. I want to tackle youth unemployment in our area

Youth unemployment has been too high for too long in Leyton and Wanstead. Locally Lib Dems have created 2,580 apprenticeships, given £459,212 in start-up loans, supported 7,000 new businesses and increased the number of women in work by 24,800.

But there is much more to do to ensure we keep building a stronger local economy and tackle youth employment. If I’m elected in May I will campaign for more apprenticeships and better training and jobs for young people locally.

  1. I will fight for more funding for local schools and more school places

Lib Dems have helped to deliver opportunity for all by investing £14 million in schools to make sure each and every disadvantaged child has a good start to their education. On top of that 3,800 local children have benefited from having a free school meal.

Lib Dems in government have also helped deliver millions more investment in our school buildings – and without Labour’s expensive PFI deals – to create much needed school places. But we still need more places for local kids and if I’m elected I’ll make more places and more investment a priority as your MP.

GENERAL ELECTION SPECIAL FOCUS

A constituency-wide General Election special edition of the FOCUS newsletter has just gone to press, and will be delivered by our team of volunteers.

Please contact Carl Quilliam, our Parliamentary candidate, if you would like to  help his campaign.

His email address is: leytonandwansteadcarl@gmail.com.

You can also contact him via his agent, Clyde Kitson, on (010)  87534 284 or Bob Sullivan on (020) 8556 8335.

You can access an advance copy here: General Election Special

DEMOLITION NOTICE SERTVED ON LANDMARK TOWERS

Fred Wigg & John Walsh Towers

Fred Wigg & John Walsh Towers – Montague Road

Waltham Forest E-Guardian – Thursday 2nd April 2015

A demolition notice has been served on two landmark Leytonstone towers.

Amid anger over the number of social housing units being axed from the re-build Ascham Homes has served initial notice on Fred Wigg and John Walsh Towers.

The multi-storey towers which house hundreds of families in Montague Road are set to be stripped back to the bare structure and rebuilt around the outside in a regeneration bid, but they will not be torn down completely.

However, the number of social housing units will be stripped back from 234 to 160.

The notice, given by the council, outlines the plans to replace all flats from numbers one to 117.

It states the deadline is seven years from now: “The regeneration will replace existing Council homes with new, improved accommodation and the construction of a low rise infill block to provide up to 46 additional newly built flats.

“The Council intends to demolish the Relevant Properties before 8 the March 2022.”

Tens of millions of pounds will be spent on the project which will span six years.

Also, designs have revealed another building to be erected in the middle of the new towers.

Some of these new flats would be sold on the open market to raise £30million towards the project.

The public meeting heard from the former assistant director of housing for Hackney council, Peter O’Kane, who lives in Ferndale Road, Leytonstone.

Campaigners and objectors have called the plans ‘risky’ and have been heavily critical of the number of council houses being cut.

LOCAL TUBE STATION TICKET OFFICE CLOSURES TO BEGIN

Leyton Station Ticket Office first for the chop!

Waltham Forest E-Guardian 8:01am Friday 27th March 2015

Ticket offices at Tube stations across Waltham Forest will begin to close in the coming weeks.

The office at Leyton Station, scheduled to close in April, will be the first to go, followed by Blackhorse Road, Leytonstone and Walthamstow Central.

Closure works take around a month, except Walthamstow Central which could take up to three.

Labour London Assembly Member Jennette Arnold has condemned the move, claiming the move will leave passengers with less staff support.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson’s plan to close all the capital’s tube ticket offices will cost taxpayers almost £134million, Ms Arnold said.

She described the cost as “staggering”.

The £134million will fund additional ticket machines in 27 London stations, four new customer receptions and the conversion of 181 ticket offices for other uses.

Jennette Arnold said:

This argument isn’t about whether staff are based in ticket offices or not.

It is about whether there are enough staff in stations to provide the good service people in Waltham Forest have come to expect, particularly the elderly and disabled who often rely more on station staff for assistance.

The closures in Waltham Forest are expected to be completed by the end of the year.

‘MY YOUTH BUS’ FACING FUNDING AXE

Bus ‘keeping kids off streets’ facing funding axe

Waltham Forest E-Guardian – 12:05pm Thursday 26th March 2015

A bus which visits deprived estates to help children learn, play and relax could be taken off the road due to council cuts.

The My Youth Bus is kitted out with game stations, cooking facilities and a sound system and used by dozens of young people every night.

The My Youth Bus project, run by charity Worth Unlimited, has been operating in Walthamstow, Leytonstone and Chingford since December 2007.

Funding of £33,000 is provided through the council’s Youth Activities Fund.

However, the cash is due to be cut from September this year.

Amber Bowden, 11, and Alex Brown, 14, from Buxton School in Leytonstone, raised the issue with Mayor of Waltham Forest Terry Wheeler.

They use the bus on the Cathall Estate in Leytonstone, an area well known for crime and deprivation.

Alex said:

This bus means a lot to both of us.

It is like a family on here. It is amazing and it means the world to us to be able to come here every week.

They are taking away money because they don’t actually understand what it is like for kids growing up – they think it is just a bus for a small group of kids and they are wrong.

There is always someone you can talk to on this bus – adults we know and trust.

Amber Bowden added:

We wouldn’t be allowed out if the bus wasn’t here.

The bus is as important to our parents as it is us because it gets us out.

The youth workers who come every week are amazing. There is nothing else like this around here.

Thomas Fether, 15, and Jahmal Burgess, 13, have been using the bus since it started operating.

Jahmal said:

This is something we really enjoy.

It is the only thing for us to do, we need that money.

Makiya Jacobs, 13, said:

It is fun so we keep coming.

When we come here we can have our own space – we always have fun.

It keeps kids off the streets. If I wasn’t here I would just stay indoors on my own.

Carl Clarke has been a youth worker on the bus for 20 months said:

The most important thing for us is that they have somewhere to go that isn’t the street, where they can get an education outside of the classroom,

We don’t want children on the streets or spending all their time at home on the internet.

It is about getting these kids to get the best out of themselves and some just don’t do that in traditional settings.

The bus is another opportunity for them to learn and excel.

Worth Unlimited said it would like to hear from any businesses interested in sponsoring the bus.

The council has been approached for comment.

PLANNING NEWS – LEYTONSTONE UNDERGROUND STATION

A second mini cab office

An application has been lodged at the Town Hall to use the small kiosk, inside the station concourse as a minicab office.

Local traders in Church Lane are already concerned about the number of Gold Line cars waiting for passengers, and feel strongly that there is no justication in increasing the problem by granting permission for a second mini cab operator.

If you wish to express your view you may write to:

Building Control

Environment & Regeneration

Waltham Forest Council

Sycamore House

Forest Road

Walthamstow, London, E17 4SU

Telephone: 020 8496 3000

Email: building.control@walthamforest.gov

quoting planning application number: 150598

DAVIES LANE PRIMARY – EXTENSION OPENED

The entrance to the south site of Davies Laner Primary

The extension to Davies Lane Primary School came into use earlier in March, when Reception and Year One pupils moved from the main building. This will allow further works to be carried out on the main site.

The new building is situated on the south side of Davies Lane adjoining the Children Centre.

The main block on the south site

LIBERAL DEMOCRATS SELECT CANDIDATES TO CONTEST THE GENERAL ELECTION

Liberal Democrats are taking the fight to the Tories and Labour across Waltham Forest.  The Liberal Democrat candidates in the General Election are below.  If you would like to help the Lib Dems in the General Election then please contact any of the candidates.

CHINGFORD AND WOODFORD GREEN

Anne Crook

mobile: 079847 771 487 – email: amc59@gmail.com

LEYTON AND WANSTEAD

Carl Quilliam

email: leytonandwansteadcarl@gmail.com

WALTHAMSTOW

Steven Cheung

mobile: 07872 427 778 – email: steven@stevencheung.co.uk

web: www.stevencheung.co.uk – twitter: twitter@stevencheung