Come and help making planters at The Mill garden. We have already created a woodland area and a linear mini orchard. The next task will be creating a vertical garden to maximise the space. On Saturday, 4th of Feb from 10am-1pm we will be making planters at the Mill with recycled scaffolding boards where we will be growing sun-loving vegetables. If you want to share your DIY skills or want to learn how to make planters for your own garden come to The Mill  on Saturday.

We are very grateful to the Mill for giving us a grant to be able to carry out this work.

It was bought by TFC Supermarkets, a Turkish supermarket chain and the site was boarded up in Mid January.

The retention of The Standard was a key part of the recently unveiled Master-plan for the Blackhorse Lane area and as such Council leader Cllr Chris Robbins’ is hopefully aware of the venue’s importance to the community.  In a note to his colleagues he had some surprising news regarding discussions with the venues new owners.

Cllr Chris Robbins on the “Royal Standard Pub” / Standard Music Venue:
“Many of you will know the Royal Standard Pub near Blackhorse Road Station in Walthamstow. This venue although not the prettiest in the borough, has long been a place used by local musicians.
A few months ago the pub and surrounding buildings was bought by a family run supermarket (TFC Supermarkets). Their initial plan was to knock the pub down. Being aware of its music history I contacted the new owners and asked them to meet with me with a view to alerting them to how important the Standard Pub is to us as a borough. I informed the new owners that we would expect the pub to be physically retained and that it should continue to be a venue providing local entertainment. I am pleased to tell you that there initial response was very positive and that we are now in discussions with this company with a view to restoring the building and its function“.

We’re not sure why the council waited until the venue was sold and closed before reaffirming its importance to this area, rather than communicating this to potential buyers during the year or two it was being openly touted for sale. It seems a hard puzzle to unravel that a supermarket chain would splash out well over a million pounds for a prime bit of real estate across the road from a tube and then after a chat with the council leader suddenly decide to reopen the very music venue forcibly closed by the sale. No doubt all will become clear over the next few months, let’s hope this surprising and very welcome turn of events is substance not spin.

The improvements are being made as part of the Department for Transport’s Access for All scheme which aims to improve access to railway stations.

980k will be spent on 2 lifts down to the London Overground railway platforms.

All work at the stations will be completed by March 2014.

PDF of all Funding awards
More details on the scheme

Edward Road

Autumn/Winter 2011           ERA Newsletter                Issue 4

At long last!

After years of waiting we finally have a short, easy-to-remember police non-emergency telephone number – 101. Police operators were overwhelmed by the volume of non-urgent calls being made to the 999 emergency number when   less than a quarter were actually emergencies. The old 11-digit non-emergency number was cumbersome and not easy to remember. For all non-emergency calls to the police just dial 101

Stop Hate UK

As we move towards the season of peace and goodwill to all people sadly there’s still a lot of hate about. Waltham Forest is now signed up to Stop Hate UK, a charitable campaign promoting hate-crime reporting. If you or anyone you know has been a victim of a hate-crime or you just want more information about the service, please visit: www.stophateuk.org or call 0800 138 1625.

Tricks of the trade

At least one elderly neighbour has been targeted by a bogus caller recently. All residents should be extremely cautious about uninvited callers but please keep an eye out for elderly neighbours who may be particularly vulnerable. Never let anyone into your home without first checking their proof of identity. Talk to callers through a closed door if necessary or with the door on a security chain. Tell callers that you won’t let them in until you’ve called their company to check them out. If still in doubt, call the police emergency number 999

Cabwise

Taking an unlicensed minicab can put you at risk – and you’re not insured. Simply text the word CAB to 60835 and have the numbers of one taxi and two local licensed minicab numbers that serve the area you’re texting from, sent directly to your mobile. See www.tfl.gov.uk/cabwise for further details. Minicabs booked this way will be licensed.

Bin it

After representations from ERA the council has installed a new litterbin outside Umit Wines on Blackhorse Road (junction with Lloyd Road) where littering (an enviro-crime) has been a problem for a long time. Now it’s in place, please use it – and if you have kids walking to local schools please encourage them to use it, and other bins in the area, too. Most kids are responsive to environmental issues once they’re aware of them so, adults, please set them a good example.

A vote of thanks

At the High Street Ward SNT Police Panel meeting held on 31 August in the Mall shopping centre a vote of thanks to the Borough Commander and the Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNTs) in Waltham Forest for their actions during the disturbances in Walthamstow on Sunday 7 August was passed unanimously. 15 retail premises on the High Street were broken into and looted but no residential properties were affected, no fires were set and there was no rioting. Sgt Lee McKean of High Street SNT was Acting Inspector during the disturbances and it was his team which cleared BHS and The Mall of intruders and looters. Sgt McKean told the meeting that, compared to other areas of London of which he had had direct experience during the disturbances, Walthamstow’s events were by far the least violent. Sgt McKean also spoke highly of the work of the Respite Centre which was set up by volunteers at St Mary’s Welcome Centre in Walthamstow Village to provide officers, some of whom worked a 100-hour shift over the disturbances, a welcome break, a cup of tea and something to eat. Sgt McKean said that as far as he was aware this facility was unique in London and he and his officers were very grateful to the organisers for it. He added that Waltham Forest was doing remarkably well in terms of crime reduction. Despite the disturbances total Notifiable Offences (TNOs) in the borough were down 7% and the High Street Team had continued to tackle major crime which, even after all the recent events, was still down by half a percentage point.

ERA Neighbourhood Watch Meeting

The next ERA meeting will be held on Tuesday 6 December, 6-8pm at The Mill, 7-11 Coppermill Lane, Walthamstow. All residents of Edward, Hawarden, Lloyd, Cornwallis, Courtenay Roads and west side of Blackhorse Road are welcome.

Meet the Team

High Street Ward Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) polices our local community. Their contact details are listed in the next column and these are the current members of the Team:

Sgt Lee McKean 5 JC
PC Andy Boxer 765 JC
PC Saheed Khan 168 JC
PC Maria McGowan 207 JC
PC Wendy Rankin 961 JC
PC Charlie Shyngle 753 JC
PCSO Jaz Alangh 7206 JC
PCSO Aynur Badreldin 7129 JC
PCSO Paul Doe 7104 JC
PCSO Dennis Morgan 7101 JC
PCSO Joy Wacha 7113 JC

On yer bike (but not on pavements please)

We’ve been asked about cycling on pavements (technically footways). Put simply, it is against the law (dating back to 1835) and our advice would always be ‘don’t do it’, but application of this law is not as straightforward as it might appear. If you want more information visit the Bikehub website: www.bikehub.co.uk and see ‘Cycling and the law’.

Christmas is a-coming

Don’t risk losing your Christmas presents to burglars. Leaving empty boxes from all your wonderful new electrical appliances on show in your front garden is a gift to thieves and advertises to the world exactly what you’ve got to nick. Also, don’t leave presents piled up under the tree by a window for all to see. Christmas is a time for sharing – but not with burglars!

One for the road?

Many of us enjoy a drink at Christmas but if you’re driving, please don’t. We love to see our relatives over the festive season but not in a hospital bed – or worse! See Drinkaware: www.drinkaware.co.uk

Squatters or trespassers?

There has been some concern about homes in Walthamstow being broken into and occupied while their owners are away. It is a criminal offence under section 7 of the Criminal Law Act 1977 for any person who is on residential premises as a trespasser after having entered as such to fail to leave those premises on being required to do so by or on behalf of “a displaced residential occupier” or “a protected intending occupier” of the premises. If you fall victim to this illegal activity, call 999.

Free tamper-proof number plate screws

A Motor Vehicle Crime Event will be held in Sainsbury’s car park, Walthamstow Avenue E4 on Friday 9 December, 12noon-4pm.

And finally…

This is the last ERA Newsletter but, fear not, ERA Neighbourhood Watch continues and will remain in touch with its 800+ homes through regular leafletting, meetings at The Mill community centre and via the Blackhorse Action Group website: www.blackhorseactiongroup.org.uk  The quarterly newsletter was made possible for one year only with a grant from the last Walthamstow West Community Council. Many thanks to all our readers for their support over the past year.

Useful telephone numbers & email addresses

Emergency services (police, fire, ambulance): 999

Non-emergency police: 101

Crimestoppers (call anonymously with information about a crime) 0800 555 111

High Street SNT: 020 8721 2035 / 07843 291 115

HighStreet.snt@met.police.uk

Safer Transport Team: 07825 386 775.

STT.WalthamForest@met.police.uk

Hate Crime Reporting:

Police Community Safety Unit 101

Stop Hate UK 0800 138 1625

Council Hate Crime Reduction Co-ordinator – Dianne Andrews 020 8496 6839

Dianne.Andrews@walthamforest.gov.uk

Council / W F Direct: 020 8496 3000

wfdirect@walthamforest.gov.uk

Council Dog Wardens (lost and found dogs):

020 8496 2225

High Street Ward Councillors

Cllr Liaquat Ali (Labour): 020 8496 4841  cllr.liaquat.ali@walthamforest.gov.uk

Cllr Clare Coghill (Labour): 020 8496 4718 / 07725 528 625 cllr.clare.coghill@walthamforest.gov.uk

Cllr Mahmood Hussain (Lib Dem): 07956 400 834

cllr.mahmood.hussain@walthamforest.gov.uk

Member of Parliament

Dr Stella Creasy MP (Labour)

House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
020 7219 3000 stella.creasy.mp@parliament.uk

Walthamstow Labour Party, 23 Orford Road, Walthamstow, London E17 9NL 020 8520 6586
stella@workingforwalthamstow.org.uk

London Assembly Member

Jennette Arnold OBE AM (Labour)

City Hall, The Queen’s Walk, London SE1 2AA

020 7983 4349 jennette.arnold@london.gov.uk

Neighbourhood Link – community messaging service

www.neighbourhoodlink.met.police.uk/registration/

Blackhorse Action Group (BAG)

www.blackhorseactiongroup.org.uk

Edward Road Area (ERA) Neighbourhood Watch: Co-ordinator – Tim 07979 263 854

Everybody is welcome to join and help with the planting!

As part of the vision of creating an edible and wildlife garden we are planting a redcurrant bush and an apple and plum espaliers. These are trained fruit trees that will grow along the fence.

And if you don’t want to be outdoors you can take part in the “Wish making” activity at The Mill. This involves making Christmas wishes for The Mill on cards to be displayed. Bring your fancy pens, glitter or any other material you want to decorate with your Christmas wish for The Mill.

Look forward to seeing you at the planting day:)

The Garden Squad

pressing the juice of the apples

Early that day we collected the apples from the beer garden of the Ferry Boat Inn Pub on Ferry Lane, who have kindly given us the permission for picking their apples for the second year running. We also scrumped the pears from a neighbour’s garden in Edward Road. Mainly it was everything apples – apple cakes, apple poems, apple games and apple juice and a small bit of juice mix of pears and apples.

Even the hairdresser from next door to the Mill couldn’t help himself being fascinated with the juicing process. There weren’t many haircuts that day…

There were drumming classes, poetry readings, hair garlanding and dozens of people stopped to get involved as they walked past. One couple were house hunting in the area and said they couldn’t believe what a friendly community this was and they decided this was the place they wanted to live.

Garden squads at work

BAG Garden squad held their annual bulb planting event on the 5th of November.

Thirteen keen gardens gathered together to plant 650 bulbs, of which 300 were donated by Waltham Forest council.

In previous years we have planted bulbs in Coppermill Lane, Edward Road, the playground in Coppermill Lane and in front of Stoneydown park. This year we concentrated in the garden of The Mill, as well as Blackhorse Road, Tenby Court, the bottom of Northcoate Road, and added more bulbs to the land in front of Stoneydown Park.

The bulb planting activity is part of the garden programme taking place on the first Saturday of every month.
Until April 2012 the main activity for the garden squad is to develop the garden at The Mill to create a welcoming outdoor space at our new community venue.

Thank you to everyone who took part on the day and with organisation as well as OrganicLea for getting the bulbs to us supper fast.

To get involved in the garden squads, email sustainability@blackhorseactiongroup.org.uk or pop in to The Mill and sign up for gardening activities. Check the Whats On Calendar on The Mill website for uptodate times.

There were helpers of every age

Renewing the Mill planters with bulbs

Since the summer the rumour has been that the much loved Standard Music Venue had been bought by a Turkish Supermarket chain, but BAG can now confirm this. Waltham Forest’s only dedicated live music venue – serving the area for over 25 years – is destined to become a TFC supermarket.

Where this leaves the council’s 10 year plan for the regeneration of Blackhorse Lane (now into year 6) with its open plaza on the Standard site, and stated intention to “replace or re-provide The Standard Music Venue” is unclear. The Tesco Express on the site of the former Essex Arms is also due to open in December 2011. Consultation on a new 20 year plan closed a couple of months ago.

TFC (Blackhorse) Limited are the purchasing company, with the wider TFC brand operating around 14 supermarkets in or around London. Their website describes them thus:

“Our first supermarket was established in 1980 at Dalston, under the name of Herbtree Ltd, in response to demand for Turkish foods. In 1995 first TFC branded supermarket has been opened in Edmonton.

Our supermarkets sell products from Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Italy, France, Spain, Holland, Denmark, other Mediterranean countries and Africa. We bake traditional Turkish and Cypriot bread, Turkish pastries, savouries and sweets all day seven days a week“.

The axe has hovered over The Standard for many years now, as far back as 2005 the council planned to demolish the venue. Amanda and Paul who run it only discovered what was happening when a regular came in to show them the glossy booklet with a big pink splodge where the Standard is. 1000′s of the plans had been delivered to the area but not a single official had bothered to consult the Standard or show them what was in store.

At a later meeting a representative of the company appointed to oversee redevelopment of the area told residents upset at the loss of the gig venue that their research showed “the majority of people going to the Standard Music Venue come from outside the borough“.

The Standard’s stage is set to fall silent for the final time on Saturday, December the 3rd 2011, after entertaining thousands of music lovers each year and providing a platform for countless local bands (along with a covers band or two).

Here’s a video of The Melting Ice Caps playing The Standard at last months “Oxjam Walthamstow” charity gig which raised over £600 for Oxfam.

The planning department have granted us an extension till then.

This was agreed at the meeting we had on Wednesday (5th October) with Sean Walsh (planning), Jimie Jamal (regeneration) and Cllr Clare Coghill.

Do not try to respond via the councils website as the link is not active anymore.

The document under consultation is called Blackhorse Lane AAP Preferred Options  and to find more details please click here

To respond just email Sean Walsh on planning.policy@walthamforest.gov.uk with your views.

At the meeting we talked about various things and communicated residents concerns and wishes.

Key points for the officers to take into account were these:

•    To incorporate environmental sustainability in the vision for the Area Action Pan.

•    To retain the Standard Music Venue as a performing music venue and community music venue and not just as a pub.

•    To re-design the network of streets in the neighbourhood centre (BHL1) to incorporate outdoor and indoor spaces other than shops and bars for people to interact and better promote community spirit and create a sense of place.

•    To attract and encourage quality of shops, cafes, restaurants and drinking establishment. To encourage and support local and independent business and shops instead of chains of businesses.

•    To strictly limit the height of buildings to 3 to 6 stories in all areas including BHL2 (North and South), BHL1 and BHL8.

•    To incorporate mixed size and tenure dwellings in BHL1, BHL2 (North) and BHL8 to prevent creating unsustainable transit communities.

BAG is meeting on Wednesday the 12th at 7pm at the Mill to write the response to the council. If you want to contribute please join us.

DOCUMENTS

Timetable for the coming stage of the Plan: http://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/lds-2011-2013-summary-timetable.pdf

Download the Blackhorse Lane Area Action Plan – Preferred Options Document below (it is also on display at The Mill):

• Blackhorse Lane Area Action Plan Preferred Options (4.4MB PDF file)
• Blackhorse Lane questionnaire/response form (1MB PDF file)

Supporting documents

• Blackhorse Lane – Sustainability Appraisal (494KB PDF file)
• Blackhorse Lane – Habitats Regulation Assessment (385KB PDF file)
• Blackhorse Lane – Equality Impact Assessment (132KB PDF file)
• Blackhorse Lane Urban Design Framework (including Planning Briefs for the Station Hub and Sutherland Road)
  • Part 1 – pages 1-12 (11.5MB PDF file)
  • Part 2 – pages 13-27 4.5MB PDF file)
  • Part 3 – pages 28-37 7.7MB PDF file)
  • Part 4 – pages 38-47 (6.2MB PDF file)
  • Part 5 – pages 48-52 (5.1MB PDF file)
  • Part 6 – pages 53-57 (13.7MB PDF file)
  • Part 7 – pages 58-62 (6.6MB PDF file)
  • Part 8 – pages 63-67 (11.1MB PDF file)
  • Part 9 – pages 68-77 (12.9MB PDF file)
  • Part 10 – pages 78-87 (11.2MB PDF file)
  • Part 11 – pages 88-102 (9.1MB PDF file)
  • Part 12 – pages 103-117 (10MB PDF file)
  • Part 13 – pages 118-119 (2.7MB PDF file)

BLACKHORSE LANE AREA ACTION PLAN MEETING – WEDNESDAY 5TH OCT

BAG has organised a meeting for residents to meet with Cllr Clare Coghill, Sean Walsh (Manager of the Blackhorse Lane Area Action Plan) and his colleague Jimy Jamal from Regeneration to discuss the plan and register residents views.

Meeting venue: The Mill (7-11 Coppermill Lane, E17)
Wednesday, 5th of Oct – from 6:30pm

There’s also a meeting about the proposed extension of CPZ parking in Edward Road: (Consultation Document .doc)

The Mill, 7-11 Coppermill Lane – Saturday, 8 October  - 1pm

“Hello,

I thought you may be interested to be made aware of the below application to extend the opening hours for sale of alcohol at Umit Supermarket.

If you have any thoughts on this, please let me know.

Licensing Act 2003: Premises licence variation app
Umit Supermarket
155 Blackhorse Road
E17

02.08.11        Extend hours for sale of alcohol consumed off the premises.

Proposed Hours: Mon-Sat 07:00-02:00, Sun 10:00-01:30
Existing Hours: Mon-Sat 08:00-23:00, Sun 10:00-22:30″

If you have views, pro or anti let the councillor know via email