We hope you will be able to join other residents of the BAG area at our 2011 AGM:

on: 28 March 2011
at: 7.30pm
venue: Frederic Street Community Centre, E17 7LF (Frederic Street opposite St James’ Street station) – see link for map below**

Now that we’ve got a real chance of securing the old St James Street library building for use as a community centre, the AGM will be an opportunity for you to hear about how things are progressing and – more importantly – contribute ideas for what activities and resources you would like.

There will also be updates on the situation with Willowfield School, the proposed development of the Blackhorse Lane Area, and many other local matters. Oh, and it’s your chance to come and talk to the committee and even get onto it!

We look forward to welcoming you to the AGM!

** Here’s the link for finding the venue: http://bit.ly/gm0X10

The Blackhorse Action Group’s AGM is the place  to get things aired and have your say. What do you want action on?  Litter?  Car tyre slashing in Edward Rd? The library?

All these questions and more will be addressed at the Blackhorse Action Group (BAG) Residents Association AGM.
Tuesday 1st December 2009 at 7.30pm
Douglas Eyre Playing Fields Pavilion Centre (MAP)

The agenda will include:
The constitution and invitation to stand for election as a member of the BAG Organising Committee.

What have we been doing?
Reports on what BAG has been doing in the past year, including making a start on setting up a community garden.

What next?
Plans for future activities and your chance to say what you would like BAG to do.

Local issues :
We’ve invited speakers to report on, and answer questions about, what is happening including:
Re-location of Willowfield School
The St James Street library campaign. If the building is not to be a drug rehab centre, what should it be? Re-instated as a local library or what?

There’ll also be:
An opportunity for you to ask questions or raise concerns about other matters affecting our community.

And finally …
It’s an opportunity to meet your neighbours to make friends and join together in making our area of Waltham Forest the place we would like it to be.

A residents group is only strong with support and input from the residents themselves, so please come along and take part even if you can’t stay for the full meeting.

Click here to view the draft agenda. We’ll do our best to stick to timings but these things are never exact.

2009 Agenda

Thanks to everyone who showed up for our community garden/harvest celebration on the Douglas Eyre playing fields.
The apple press was a particular hit with the look on some of the kids faces when the juice poured forth worth putting the event on for alone. The BBQ didn’t kill anyone, and the apple bobbing was as ever a reliable bit of fun.

Many residents discussed options for the community garden, including taking part in a PASE exercise.  PASE stands for plant, animal, structure, event – with people writing their choice for each on a post it note (i.e. what events could be held, what animals could be kept, what structure built).

The prize for the most outlandish animal suggestion goes to whoever said we should keep an elephant!

Those not chatting, quaffing juice, or manning the bbq were busy building a compost heap (below).
Made from used palettes – kindly donated from a company down by Tottenham Hale – its a first step towards a working community garden.

By the end of the day, limbs were aching and hands unused to a hard days work blistered but hopefully its the first of many events.

If youre interested in anyway in helping with the community garden whether that’s planning, or the digging when its set up, please email foodgardeningandenvironment@blackhorseactiongroup.org.uk.

Thanks must go to the Hornbeam Centre’s fruitpicking project for the use of their wonderful Apple and Pear press.  For details on how to help out with their project visit the website.

With leaflets winging their way around the area, the first part of BAG’s campaign against the 23 storey (230ft high) tower block at Blackhorse Road is also well under way and we have to say a big thank you to all the appalled and mostly unaware residents who have submitted comments. PLEASE KEEP THEM COMING (see a selection below the form)!

TO STOP A 23 STOREY TOWER BLOCK BEING BUILT AT BLACKHORSE ROAD WE NEED LOCAL PEOPLE TO SUBMIT THEIR VIEWS, ALONG WITH THEIR NAME AND EITHER AN EMAIL OR HOUSE ADDRESS. WE CAN THEN PROVE TO COUNCIL PLANNERS THAT THE LOCAL COMMUNITY WANTS MORE THAN JUST HUGE TOWER BLOCKS.
WE WILL NOT CLOG UP YOUR EMAIL OR DOOR MAT WITH JUNK! ALTERNATIVELY BECOME A MEMBER OF BAG HERE.

Here’s a taster of the comments you’ve been sending us (we’ve shortened some to fit. Please let us know if we’ve altered the meaning in any way!):

“I know housing is short,but this is the most stupid thing I have heard for a while…its hideous.”

“I’m especially concerned that there seems to be nothing socially useful to the wider community being planned. we need facilities for the young people, shops, green spaces. somewhere to eat would be nice!”

“It seems to answer a brief that called for the design of a sink estate. It needs to be stopped in its present form and redesigned to reflect the nature of the surrounding houses and neighbourhood.”

“Will be out of keeping with the areas renowned Warner style of two-storey terraced dwellings“

“I will do all that I can to help stop these ludicrous plans.”

“Offers nothing to the existing community. It will put further strain on transport to have thousands more people living in the tower blocks”.

“We simply don’t want to see these monstrosities… huge ugly buildings that will look out of place in this community. We are worried about the additional traffic, both foot and mechanised that will be part of this”

“This is not an acceptable development for the area. Tower blocks are an awful addition… but also have been the cause of much social living discontent, that is why most of them have been knocked down. No logic to this.“

“If this is really what is planned… then this is appalling, and will cause serious problems for the area. How can the plans have gotten this far without addressing the issues of capacity, services etc?”

“I agree with developing the area but only with low rise accommodation (4 stories max)“

“Too many blocks built in a small area and will add to overcrowded transport.”

Please keep them coming! Here’s the Fight the Height Demo on BBC News, for more pics visit our flickr site.

OTHER POSTS ON THIS SUBJECT (CLICK BELOW)
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There was so much going on, it was amazing. We had jugglers, a Kids’ corner knee deep in paints, paper and scissors, stalls giving away goodies -even bikes!- right left and centre, face painting (THANKS Carol!) and everyone had a really great time. We’ll post a fuller report and some of the fantastic pictures taken once we’ve finished the washing up!

But right now, a great big THANK YOU to Colin, Keeper at the Douglas Eyre Playing Fields, who made the pavilion available to us for free. We promise, Colin, that we’ll organise that quiz/karaoke/barn dance soon!

And a whopper of a THANK YOU to Irina (and Caroline, Nuria and others from BAG) for organizing it – I’ve not seen smiles that wide on so many kids’ faces in a long time! And there was so much community spirit that we had heaps of people sign up to our initiatives, such as timebanking.

(Oh, and THANKS to the Singh family who brought a vast and delicious chickpea curry with accompaniments at just the right time at the end of the evening, and then helped us carry all the day’s debris home!)

Signing off now, but we’ll get more about Super Saturday out soon!

Don’t forget that BAG is having a right old shindig on 17 May at the Douglas Eyre Playing Fields pavilion.

Doors open at 3pm, and there’s so much to do:

• Fun activities for kids
• Give and Take: bring clothes and books to swap
• Film: The Power of Community
• Discover what’s happening in your area!
• Guided BAT walk at sunset
• Bar
• Musical Entertainment
• Quiz
• Raffle

If you can, bring your favourite dish to share!

Download the flyer! Stick it on a tree near you!