Waltham Forest Direct Shops AXED!

Leytonstone's Waltham Forest Direct shop - due to close

The Council has decided that the two Waltham Forest Direct (WFD) shops in Leyton and Leytonstone are to be axed.

A Liberal Democrat amendment at the budget setting meeting to retain the WFD shops was defeated by Labour councillors who decided to close the Waltham Forest Direct Shops in Leyton, Leytonstone and Chingford.

It was noted that the branch in Walthamstow is staying open!

This will be a big blow to Leyton residents who use it to sort out Council queries and benefit problems. Liberal Democrat Councillor Bob Sullivan has heard that a limited WFD service may become available at the new re-furbished Leyton Library. Possibly something similar is envisaged for Leytonstone?

We shall see!

Leyton Library Reopens

Councillors Bob Sullivan and Naheed Qureshi seen at the entrance to the Library

Liberal Democrat Group Leader Councillor Bob Sullivan attended the official opening of the new refurbished Leyton Library on High Rd Leyton  along with my colleagues Councillors Naheed Qureshi and Winnie Smith.

The upper floors of the library are now open to the public due to the new lift which connects all floors.  On the first floor there is a very large computer room that was previously used as a reading room many years ago. 

 There are many smaller rooms on this floor and the upper floors that offer meeting rooms for hire.  Riverley Childrens Centre has made use of some rooms for their childrens activities already.

The library put on a good show for local children (storytelling and facepainting) which went on through the day.  The refurbishment of the library has taken some time but it was worth it in the end.

Don’t forget that every Saturday from 10 till 12 noon we hold our councillors surgery/advice cenre at the Library.  Why not pop in to see one of us and the new library one Saturday?

Primary School place shortage

As the Liberal Democrats warned in March Waltham Forest faces an explosion in demand for primary school places and a shortfall in school places.Across London more than 5,000 primary school pupils could be in temporary classrooms in the 2010/11 school year, according to London Councils. The BBC yesterday reported about a pupil from Walthamstow who had been rejected by the seven schools closest to her home.This will continue to be an important issue for our area.

Drapers Field – UPDATE Labour council plan ‘secret’ meeting

Drapers Field – MEETING MONDAY SEPTEMBER 13th 6pm till 8pm

The Olympic Authority and the Council are going to hold a drop in meeting at Drapers Field on Monday 13th September 6.00pm to 8.00pm.  It will be held in the Sport England pavilion next to the astro turf pitch. 

Apparently the Olympic Authority/Council will explain what they intend to do with Drapers Field when they close it down from September 2011 to December 2012.

Secret meeting–  This initial meeting has only been notified to the residents around Drapers Field.  They obviously believe that only local residents are concerned about the loss of the only sports and leisure facility in the area.  We have only found out by local residents telephoning us.

MAKE YOUR VIEWS KNOWN – If you are concerned about what is being planned for Drapers Field then please go to the meeting and make your views known.

 Other Draper’s field news : – Bob Sullivan and John Howard had a useful meeting with two representatives from Sport England on Friday morning.

Sport England has poured hundreds of thousands of pounds into local sport facilities, including Drapers Field and Score. Sport England is concerned to make sure its investment is protected and that the conditions attached to its grants are not broken. It also has a statutory duty to protect playing fields. The representatives told us that their starting position is to oppose any loss of playing fields unless the facilities are re-provided.Both Sport England and the FA believe there is a demand for playing pitches in the area.The local Liberal Democrats will continue to campaign to protect local sports facilities, not just at Drapers Field but also when the future of other sites such as the Pool and Track in Walthamstow is considered. We already know that the Pool and Track appears on Labour’s ‘hit list’ of possible property disposals.

Draper’s Field – Update

Drapers Field

As you may have read the Labour Cabinet has agreed in principle to close Drapers Field for 16 months from September 2011. The Guardian archives show that over £1.5 million was spent installing the all-weather pitch (the only one in the borough), and upgrading the other sports facilities.
The Council Leader is reported to have said: “We would be able, through the compensation package, to completely refurbish Draper’s Field … we could turn it into a very special park.”
Leyton and Wanstead Liberal Democrats  believes that we should not be closing a valued sports facility, which is used by 100,000 people a year, including Norlington School, which uses it 4 days a week.
If you believe that, as an Olympic borough, we should be cherishing our sporting facilities. Please sign our on-line petition at:
http://ourcampaign.org.uk/DrapersField

Lib Dems Push the Government to build new schools in Waltham Forest

Leytonstone School

Liberal Democrat councillors are pressing the Government to provide the money for new school buildings for our local children.

 “Anyone who has visited schools such as Leytonstone, Norlington, Connaught and George Mitchell knows how much new buildings are needed. We owe it to the children of our borough to do all we can to provide them with the high quality education they deserve. This includes making sure that they can learn in decent surroundings,” said Liberal Democrat and  Forest Ward Councillor Farooq Qureshi.

The Liberal Democrat group is hugely disappointed that the cancellation of the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme has hit local schools so badly. It is an enormous shame, but if Labour had made faster progress with the BSF schemes since 2003 we would not now be in the situation where more Waltham Forest schools have been stopped compared with other boroughs.  However Lib Dem councillors believe the most important thing is what happens next. 

Local campaigner Samina Safdar says: “BSF was a cumbersome, bureaucratic and expensive way of funding school buildings which funnelled money into the pockets of consultants and private contractors. The government has pledged to continue to invest in school buildings and the Liberal Democrats will be at the forefront of the campaign to make sure that Waltham Forest schools get their fair share of this spending.”

Liberal Democrats raise concerns over Drapers Field

Cathall Focus Team at Drapers Field

Leyton and Wanstead Liberal Democrats have expressed alarm at news that the Labour council is negotiating to exclude local people from popular sports facility, Drapers Field, during Olympic year – just a few months after pledging to protect Waltham Forest’s green spaces and leisure facilities.

The news has sparked anger among local Lib Dem campaigners who say the all-weather pitch and playing fields are used by over 9,000 people every month. Information obtained by local Lib Dems shows that Labour Council Leader Chris Robbins has negotiated to lease the playing fields to the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) for possible use as a VIP car park or other Olympic related uses. As a result local children and football clubs will have nowhere to play in Olympic year, while international athletes compete for medals just a few hundred yards away.

Local Lib Dem activist Joe Dyer said: “To allow Drapers Field to be given over to the ODA and turned into a car park would be a travesty for local clubs and schools. The Olympics should be used to encourage sport, not destroy it. Under Labour the Council is in danger of missing a huge opportunity. There are no other all-weather pitches in the immediate area. This could cause enormous disruption to users.”