Best Kept Front Garden Award competition for the Council’s next Love your Borough Awards (2012) is now open.
If you have a front garden that you are proud of, or know a neighbour who does, then why not enter and have a go at winning.
You can enter your own, or a neighbours, front garden or balcony.
To apply please send a photo and address of the front garden or balcony you are entering to:
liza.sumpter@walthamforest.gov.uk
or you can apply online at:
The Brooks Farm Fun-day held last Sunday, was a great success. Over 500 children and families along with Mayor Councillor Geoff Walker, turned up to look round the farm.
The face-painting, raffle, children’s entertainer and animals along with the weather, made it a fun day for all. All those who turned up had a chance to indicate what they would like the farm to provide. A big thank you must go to year 3 of George Mitchell Primary school who made a brilliant scale model of the farm so that people could place their choices as to what they would like on the farm.
A small animals area for children was a popular choice along with a picnic area and butterfly garden. There were lots of suggestions, all of which will be taken into account when discussing the future of the farm.
A process of turning Brooks Farm into a Charitable Trust has begun. If you are interested in being on the trustee board or just interested in supporting the farm, or need more information, then telephone me on 020 8556 8335.
The Leytonstone Liberal Democrat FOCUS Team was surprised to learn that the Labour ward councillors are calling for the Leytonstone WFD shop to be turned into an art gallery, and be run by local people.
First they want the Church Lane Car Park to contain a multi facility, which turns out to be another name for an unsupervised kick-about area. This will hardly encourage increased use of the car park, which was the Labour Council’s professed intention.
Now they are saying that the Waltham Forest Direct (WFD) shop, on the corner of Church Lane and Leytonstone High Road, should become an art gallery. Who is going to pay for it? The FOCUS Team trusts that Labour does not intend it to be funded by a council grant, when they are claiming to be so strapped for cash, that they cannot fund it for its original purpose.
The FOCUS Team would like to know what you think?
The Council has commissioned Kinnear Landscape Architects to develop improvements for Abbotts Park.
There is to be a public consultation in the park on Saturday 25th June between 2 and 5pm.
Council officers and the design team will be there to hear your views on the proposals, which as usual are subject to planning consent and funding.
If you cannot make this meeting, the plans will also be on display in Leyton Library, Leyton High Road, corner of Ruckholt Road on Monday 27th June. A representative from the designers will be present between 4 and 6pm.
This is your opportunity to express your views on this scheme.
A planning application has finally been lodged with the Council for the temporary use of Drapers Field as a service centre/store for the Olympic Village.
The application number is: 2011/0623, and comments can be made online at the Waltham Forest website, or by post to the Planning Officers at the Town Hall.
Local residents have been very concerned about what the Labour Council has in mind for the reinstatement of this historic playing field when it is returned in 2013.
Kinnear Landscape Architects were commissioned to develop improvements, and their plans will be subject to a public consultation event to be held at Drapers Field on Tuesday 14 June, between 3 and 7 pm. Council officers and the design team will be present.
Don’t miss this opportunity of seeing what the Council has in mind, and making your views known.
If you cannot attend this event you can see the proposals at Leyton Library from Friday 17 June until Monday 27 June.
Proposals for Marsh Lane will also be on display.
A representative of Kinnear Landscape Architects will be present at the following times:
Drapers Field – 4-6pm on Thursday 23 June
Marsh Lane – 4-6pm on Wednesday 22 June
The Liberal Democrats have been campaigning for years about the state of the polycarbonate
covers on these three footbridges.
Following the latest request for timescale for the remedial works to be completed we have just learnt that Transport for London (TfL) are now intending to include these structures in their preliminary works programme to commence in 2013.
As usual they include the note that this programme is subject to change and to funding being confirmed.
So much for the Council’s trumpeting that Waltham Forest is an Olympic Host Borough – the deplorable state of these bridges is in no way a welcoming advert for our area.
The Liberal Democrat FOCUS Team has contacted Liberal Democrat London Assembly member Caroline Pidgeon, Chair of the Transport Committee, asking her to intercede with TfL and impress on them that this work needs to be completed before the 2012 Olympic Games to avoid presenting a very poor impression of our borough.
The FOCUS Team will keep you informed about any developments.
Liberal Democrat councillor Mahmood Hussain on Wednnesday 18 May told Waltham Forest’s Planning Committee that the council should refuse the planning application submitted by UKCG to turn the EMD Cinema into a religious assembly hall.
Councillor Hussain, who represents High Street ward which includes the EMD Cinema site, said:
“The key questions can be summarised very simply. Does the proposed development respect the building’s heritage and listed building status? Is the impact on the area and particularly on nearby residents acceptable? Does the proposed development contribute satisfactorily to the regeneration of Walthamstow Town Centre? On all three counts I believe the answer is no.
“This view is shared by an enormous number of local residents. Our borough has hundreds of places of worship of all types and sizes. But it does not have a single cinema. We have clear evidence that the building is potentially viable as a cinema, arts and entertainment venue.
“This would bring new life to the area and stimulate the local economy – unlike the proposal before you. The proposed changes to the building would destroy much of what is special about this unique building, which is one of the oldest, largest and best preserved cinema buildings in the country.
“Residents would suffer from the absence of a proper noise management scheme and from parking problems generated by cars descending on the area from miles away.
“For the sake of Walthamstow please listen to local people, weigh up the planning merits of the case and refuse the application.”
Speaking after the decision to refuse the planning application Councillor Hussain said he was delighted that the Planning Committee had listened to the arguments put forward by objectors.
“This is good and important news for Walthamstow Town Centre but it is only one step forward. Following two planning refusals and endless discussion I hope UKCG will now abandon their plan. We must allow those who are able to bring the cinema back into use the chance to realise the cinema’s true potential.”
Liberal Democrat Leyton Ward Councillor Bob Sullivan reports that parking in Leyton has reached a point where residents’ are continually unable to park in their road or in some cases near their road.
Meanwhile the Labour Council continues to agree plans for multi flats that have little or no parking facilities and seem reluctant to consult with residents about a residents’ parking scheme.
Supposedly the Council has a policy of encouraging family housing, but the Council seems obsessed in agreeing to developers building more and more flats – what hypocrisy!
Residents of Leyton and Waltham Forest do not want more flats – they need family housing with adequate parking included in developments.
It is about time the Council listened to them!
The above link shows the revised proposals
Following concerns raised by Leytonstone FOCUS Team member John Howard and London Buses the Council has revised their proposals.
THE PLAZA – The road layout has reverted the existing design. It was agreed that the proposals did not allow sufficient space, and access to the public car park and the LT vehicle entrance has been reinstated.
CHURCH LANE – Church Lane now divides into two spurs. One terminates at the emergency barrier while the other leads directly into the car park.
A planning application was anticipated to be presented to the Council’s Planning Committee in January, regarding the Labour Cabinet’s desire to lease Drapers Field to the Olympic Delivery Authority for a period of 16 months.
During this time the all-weather pitch and the grass football pitches would be ripped out, hard standing installed to allow Drapers Field to be used as a storage centre and laundry for the Olympic Village.
So far, there is no sign of this application!
Liberal Democrat Group Leader Councillor Bob Sullivan has raised this question at the Town Hall, as the Lib Dems are anxious that residents’ views should not be ignored.
We will let you know about any developments.