PRESS RELEASE – Waltham Forest Labour are letting our schools down

Councillor Liz Phillips has raised concerns about Waltham Forest council’s contractor Babcock after it was revealed that almost 15% of the Borough’s schools are now in special measures following their two years as the council’s contractor.

In a written answer to Cllr Phillips, the Labour Cabinet member, Cllr Clare Coghill described the council’s risk analysis programme for schools as ‘a work in progress’ and said that the council’s priority had been ‘savings of £2m from the contract at an early opportunity’.

Councillor Liz Phillips, Waltham Forest Lib Dem spokesperson for Children and Member of the Council’s Corporate Parenting Board, said:

“Almost 15% of our schools are now in special measures and yet the council won’t be seeking any compensation from the contractor who presided over this mess.”

“Surely there should be something in our contract with this company that means at the very least they must pay for failing local kids and their parents?”

“In Waltham Forest we are now on our 4th Labour cabinet member for Children’s Services in just over two years. Perhaps if someone with a bit of experience would take responsibility for more than a few months then we wouldn’t be in this situation?”

Drapers Playing Field – What the Council plans!

Drapers Playing Field - before the Olympics took over!

Planning Application no. 2012/0482/LA

The planning application is due to be heard by the Planning Committee on 2nd. August.

PROPOSAL:

  • Post Olympic reinstatement as a ‘public park’

  • Provision of a junior-sized grass football pitch

  • Relocation of the synthetic turf pitch

  • Formation of play areas

  • Refurbishment of the Sport England pavilion

  • New pathways and landscaping

  • Provision of an Urban Beach

The adult grass football pitch is not to be restored, despite the Council’s own Playing Pitch Strategy accepting that there is a lack of such provision in the south of the borough and stating that all current facilities should be protected. The report to the Planning Committee states that ‘on consideration’ there are insufficient grounds to withhold consent.

Full details can be found on the Council’s website:

http://www1.walthamforest.gov.uk/moderngov/mgA.aspx?M=2809

Any comments should be sent to:

The Development Manager, London Borough of Waltham Forest, Sycamore House, Waltham Forest Town Hall, Forest Road, E17 4JF

New Surgery – now weekly!

The Service Station near Leyton Midland Road Overground Station

 

Following the successful launch of the new councillor surgery/advice centre at the M&S/BP Service Station the Liberal Democrats are pleased to announce that it will be held on Friday every week.

M&S/BP Service Station, Leyton High Road

junction of Fletcher Lane

Open every Friday for 1 hour from 7pm until 8pm.

As usual no appointments are necessary and all consultations are confidential.

Olympic Parking Zone starts 16 July

The Olympic Parking Zone comes into effect on 16 July.

Parking restrictions will operate in Waltham Forest in all streets south of Lea Bridge Road.

Period covered: from 16 July until 9 September 2012

Days of operation: Monday – Sunday

Hours: 8am – 1pm and 3pm – 9pm

This includes both existing controlled parking zones (CPZs) and streets with no existing parking controls

All parking arrangements return to normal after 9 September 2012.

Existing controlled parking zones (CPZs):

If you live in an existing CPZ (south of Lea Bridge Road) your current parking permit will allow you to park on-street in your zone during the Games. You will not be able to park in the temporary event zones.

New temporary event zones:

All vehicles which use on-street parking will need a 2012 Games parking permit to park during the Games. Parking permits in this area will be free of charge and ‘virtual’. This means that you will not be issued with a paper parking permit.

VISITOR PERMITS:

Every household will be able to register for free visitor permits during the Games. The allocation per household includes:

  • one regular visitor who will be able to visit at any time

  • four half-day visitor permits per week

  • eight half-day visitor permits per week between 13-26 August

The permit week runs from Monday – Sunday, with your new allocation available every Monday.

Unused permits cannot be carried over into the following week

A half-day permit can be used to cover either the morning restrictions (8am-1pm) or the afternoon restrictions (3pm-9pm)

Visitors will also be able to park without restriction outside the hours of control

IMPORTANT – the usual CPZ visitor permits will not be valid during the Games

REGISTERING FOR PERMITS:

Vehicle owners – will need to check that your vehicle has been automatically registered through the website at:

www.2012gamesparkingpermits.com

or by calling:

0300 111 2012

VISITOR PARKING PERMITS

Vehicle owners can apply for permits at the same time as they check their registration

Non vehicle owners need to register their address and set up an account before applying for permits. This can be done on-line or by phone as detailed above.

HOW TO USE VISITOR PERMITS

Login to your account at the web address or call the telephone number – you will need to quote:

  • your permit number given when you registered

  • your visitor’s vehicle registration number

The permit will be activated instantly

Copies of the Parking During the Games booklet can be found in the publications section of london2012.com

It is also available in other languages and formats by quoting ref LOC2012/TRA2180 –

Email: info@e4nquiries.london2012.com

Phone: 0845 267 2012

New Councillor Surgery – M&S/BP Service Station – Leyton High Road

The M&S/BP Service Station near Leyton Midland Road Overground Station

 

The Liberal Democrat councillors are planning a new Councillor Surgery/Advice Centre based at the:

M&S Shop at the BP Service Station in Leyton High Road, at the junction with Fletcher Lane.

The first session will be on:

Friday 13th July

from 7.00pm to 8.30pm

Further sessions will be notified on the websites and in FOCUS Newsletters.

Night-time road closures along the A12 East Cross Route (Hackney – M11 Link Road) for resurfacing works

TfL News Release

Transport for London (TfL) has appointed Amey to carry out carriageway resurfacing works along A12 ‘Hackney to M11 link Road’, between Green Man Interchange and the Lea Interchange.

The works will bring benefits to all road users by renewing the existing road surface to help eliminate cracks and potholes. Once completed, these works will also reduce the need for future large scale maintenance of this carriageway.

The works are scheduled to start on Sunday 20 May 2012 through to Sunday 26 May 2012 or when works are completed.

Work will start at 21:30 through to 05:00 for the duration of the work, working only Sunday to Thursday’s only.

As with all works on the Transport for London Road Network, we must balance possible disruption to residents with disruption to traffic.

Working at night provides us with the best chance to complete these works as quickly as possible with as little disruption as possible.

The resurfacing works will be completed in four phases:

Phase one, starting on Sunday 20 May 2012

  • A full closure of the A12 southbound (on-slip road at the A12 Green Man interchange only) for carriageway resurfacing works. There will also be lane one and two closure of the A12 southbound carriageway between the Green Man interchange to Lea interchange for carriageway resurfacing works.

Phase two, starting on Monday 21 May and to Tuesday 22 May 2012

  • Lane one and two closure of the A12 southbound carriageway between the west side of the Green Man interchange to the Lea interchange for carriageway resurfacing works.

Phase three, starting on Wednesday 23 May

  • Lane two and three closure of the A12 southbound carriageway between the east side of the Green Man interchange underpass to Lea interchange for carriageway resurfacing works. The A12 southbound underpass will be closed, and will be carried out in conjunction with a scheduled TfL Structures Team closure, and require traffic to use the off-slip road to the Green Man roundabout, the south-eastern part of the Green Man Roundabout, and then the on-slip back onto the main A12.

Phase four, starting on Thursday 24 May and Sunday 27 May 2012

  • Lane two and three closure of the A12 southbound carriageway, between the west side of the Green Man interchange to Lea interchange for carriageway resurfacing works.

There are no residential premises with accesses on the section of the A12. Any noisy operations will be completed before Midnight to help minimise any inconvenience caused to local residents. However, operational requirements may require some noisy operations to continue beyond this time.

There are no bus routes that use this section of the A12. Coach services will not be affected as the main A12 remains open with a single lane.

Please note:If required diversion route information signs will be provided and placed along the traffic diversion routes during the works. When the A12 westbound on-slip is closed, traffic wishing to access the southbound A12 will be diverted to the A406 / A12 Redbridge Roundabout, and return on the southbound carriageway A12 thorough to the Green Man underpass.

TfL’s London Streets Traffic Control Centre (LSTCC) monitor London’s roads 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with the responsibility of keeping London moving. The operators in the LSTCC will monitor this location during the works and if necessary remotely change the timing of our traffic signals to help ease congestion. TfL has worked closely with the London Borough of Waltham Forest of in order to reduce the impact of these works on road users, local people and businesses as far as possible.

I apologise in advance for any inconvenience that these essential works may cause. Should you require further information or an update during the delivery of these works, please contact our Streets Customer Services department on 0845 305 1234 or via our website at www.tfl.gov.uk/contact.

Cllr Bob Sullivan joins residents’ protests over Ive Farm Playing Field

Councillor Bob Sullivan (foreground left) with concerned residents

The Council is negotiating turning Ive Farm Playing Field, which they have left derelict, into a campsite for the Olympics.

Oliver Close, Villiers Close and Ive Farm Close residents whose homes back onto the site have objections and organised a protest on the field.Leyton Ward Councillor Bob Sullivan said: “The council is becoming like a secret society. Council officers can’t even tell me what the plans are – the Guardian is the only way of finding out what’s happening.”

Leyton Ward Councillor Bob Sullivan said:

“The Council is becoming like a secret society. Council officers can’t even tell me what the plans are – the local Guardian is the only way of finding out what’s happening.”

Ive Farm Playing Field

Ive Farm Sports Ground - left derelict by the Council

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?

Church Lane Car Park - only two vacant disabled=

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!

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.”