Drapers Field – planning application received!

Drapers Field - leased to the ODA for 16 Months

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 LORD CLYDE PUB – PLANNING APPLICATION

Liberal Democrat Councillor Bob Sullivan reports:

It looks like another pub will be closed down in our area. A planning application has been received by the Council to turn The Lord Clyde Pub in Capworth Street into flats. There will be a ground and first floor extension and construction of second floor with mansard roof.

The plans are to convert the Public House into 9 self-contained flats (4×1 bed, 5×2 bed) a bin and cycle store will be at the rear. No parking provision – I notice!!                                                      

The plight of our Public Houses is dire. Many have closed and many are looking to develop into accommodation. We have lost many local pubs. The list is long – The Hollybush, Wakefield Arms, The Four Finches, Oliver Twist, Lion and Keys, The Three Blackbirds, Beaumont Arms and the Bakers Arms. These are all in a stones throw of each other. Have I missed some off?

I noticed that the Coach and Horse in Leyton High Road is asking for community involvement to manage the pub. I am not sure what that means but will try and find out.

LABOUR COUNCIL’S DECEPTION!

The local Guardian newspaper has highlighted the amount of taxpayers’ money that the Labour Council is spending on campaign propaganda. Is this a smoke screen to hide their cuts to services?

In a poll by one national newspaper Waltham Forest was judged the highest spender on propaganda in the country.

The budget Councillor Bob Sullivan put forward on behalf of the Liberal Democrat Group in opposition to the Labour budget showed many areas of savings including the saving of £250,000 by getting rid of the political campaigning and putting that money into respite care for children and families.

The reduction in respite care will cause much anxiety to the families who desperatly need respite care for them and their children.

The LIberal Democrats were the only party to oppose the Labour budget – the Conservatives did not put forward any alternative budget, but spent time praising the Labour leader of the Council! So much for Tory opposition.

EMD Planning Application Refused

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.”

Parking nightmare for Waltham Forest residents

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!

Leyton Mills Safer Business Panel meeting

Recently the Leyton Ward Liberal Democrat councillors, Naheed Qureshi, Winnie Smith and Bob Sullivan attended the Leyton Mills Safer Business Panel. It was held at ASDA in Leyton Mills, and was chaired by Police Sergeant Sarah Brewer of the Safer Neighbourhood Team, along with representatives of the shops and businesses in Leyton Mills.

It was noted that the problems with the DVD sellers and the gambling had virtually disappeared now that the Police are there every day. There were presentations about preventing crime in the area and discussion about the effects that the Olympic Park would make on the shopping area. It was agreed that it was important that all the shops and police shared information.

Bob Sullivanasked about why the boarded up shops that were next to ASDA and opposite TKMaxx had not been let or opened up. Apparently when they were built there was no space planned for air conditioning in the units and a total lack of a delivery area for the shops. Unless someone can come up with an innovative plan, then they will remain boarded up. What a waste!

Anyone who currently visits Leyton Mills shopping area now will notice that they will not be harassed by illegal DVD sellers. Although they occasionally are seen popping back to check if the police are still there. The Eastern European card trick people have also gone away. Hopefully never to return.

There is another meeting scheduled for the autumn. If there are any issues that you would like to bring to our attention about the Leyton Mills shopping area – don’t wait for the autumn, please get in touch with Councillor Bob Sullivan or Councillor Naheed Qureshi or Councillor Winnie Smith.

The Plaza/Church Lane – revised plans

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.

Do we really need 7 betting offices at Bakers Arms?

The Council has recently received a planning application for a betting office at 857 Leyton High Road (formally part of Woolworths).

If this is granted there would be at least seven betting offices around the Bakers Arms area. Residents were angry that a betting office was recently allowed on the Bakers Arms pub site.

Under new regulations, councillors are now allowed to make objections to planning applications. So Liberal Democrat Councillor Bob Sullivan has made an official objection to this new betting office application.

His objections are:-

  • There are already too many betting offices in the area. Leyton is not an affluent area and betting offices are there to make money.
  • Gambling can be an addiction and more betting offices can only encourage this. This could increase crime in the area, as those who lose out may resort to crime to feed their addiction.
  • Children and vulnerable adults will also be affected if one or both parents use family funds to pay for betting, so depriving them of a proper income from which to live.

Bob will keep you informed of the outcome.

Deja Vu!

Funny old world!

 Our last Labour MP, Harry Cohen, was always one of the top expense spending MPs in the country. Well – here we go again!

Our local paper the Waltham Forest Guardian has highlighted that our current Labour MP, John Cryer, is also one of those MPs claiming the most in expenses.

Leyton must be a very expensive area to live in!

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!