A member of the campaign group for the library – closed without warning 3 and a half years ago – put in two separate bids for community council funding.

The funds will be allocated at a community council meeting on the 4th of October but the letter (see left) shows the council are only interested in community bids that fit its own agenda, not the wishes of residents.

The suggestion to carry out a study of community space in the area and the needs of local community groups was turned down on the basis that, in the view of the council, the area already runneth over with community buildings (and a study would therefore be pointless).  Residents and local MP Stella Creasy (who struggled to find any space in the area in which to hold election surgeries) will be amazed to discover that St James Street apparently has as many community spaces as Walthamstow has pound shops.

To give WF Council credit, their rejection of the 2nd funding application does at least show a gift for the comical. Whilst maintaining a straight face they state that community council funding cannot be awarded to improve the dilapidated buildings exterior as this is clearly the councils responsibility.  They go on “It would not be appropriate to fund repairs to the building as it will be sold or acquired by a third party“.  Quite why repairs or maintenance were not carried out over the 3 and a half years they’ve kept the building closed is not clear.

Of course the reason for the rejection of both is because the council closed the library and decided to sell the building (both in secret, and with no consultation or respect for the expressed views of the community), and now wishes it to disappear from the agenda.

In order to save the £70,000 a year running costs, the council were prepared to drag the entire area down by allowing a key building to sit dormant with only the drunks outside to decorate it. They’ve also paid out £20,000 a year to have the building “occupied” and out of the hands of the community.

In a later letter the councils community council manager states “the property at Coppermill Lane is surplus to the Councils requirements and its disposal has been approved. The property is most likely to be sold at auction and the council would as always consider any offer received prior to the auction date, once such a date has been set“.

This confirms what the council has long denied, that the building was added to a “disposals” list at a meeting back in July.  At that meeting Councillor Afzal Akram made the decision to sell the library, unless in his words “a serious fully costed business plan comes forward from the community“. The council have since ignored all business plans or requests for information from community groups, and in an email, Oliver Craxton
Senior Committee Manager declared that the Library “was not discussed at the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. I have attached the minutes of the meeting anyway, in case you wish to see them“.

The attached minutes show no record of the Library being discussed… because the “disposals” section of the meeting is marked “Confidential” and not disclosed.

Whats happening with St James Street Library, the half finished Coppermill Park, the latest on Willowfield School… etc

Click here to download the Agenda for the meeting.

15 June 2010, Walthamstow Academy, Billet Road, London, E17 5DP (MAP)

COMMUNITY FUNDING 2010

The meeting is also the place to make suggestions or bid for this years community funding money or the Scout hut renovation fund as its come to be known over the last few years.

There’s a list of who received money last year here, and below are the details from the council on how to apply or suggest ideas:

Each of the six Community Councils within Waltham Forest will receive £10,000 per ward and £5,000 for the whole area. The aim of the funding is to provide local solutions to local problems with residents helping to improve the quality of life for themselves and other residents in their area.

The funding aims to enable:

• Local people are able to identify and prioritise the issues that are most important to them locally
• Local solutions are developed in response to local problems
• The quality of life for residents in local areas is improved
• The promotion of cohesive neighbourhoods and celebration of diversity
• Volunteering and community involvement are encouraged

Suggested projects will be accepted from:

• Voluntary groups/organisations who are already undertaking activities which benefit their community
• A group of local residents who require funding in order to set up an organisation which will benefit their community
• Residents who have identified a need in their local area and want the Council to provide a solution*

Funding available

Ward funding, £10,000

• To fund projects or activities suggested by local residents which address a need or problem they have identified in their ward
• To fund voluntary groups/organisations undertaking projects of benefit to residents of the ward
• Voluntary groups/organisations can only apply for funding from one ward in the whole of the borough
• If an application is made for funding from a ward no further applications can be made for any Community Council funding

Community Council area funding, £5,000

• To fund projects or activities suggested by local residents which address a need or problem they have identified in their Community Council area
• To fund voluntary groups/organisations undertaking projects of benefit to residents of the whole Community Council area
• Applications can be made to one or more Community Council whole area budgets (£5,000 budget)

Projects

What sort of projects will be funded?

Some examples of the sorts of projects that may benefit a local area are:

• Developing community activities (e.g., producing a community newsletter, running a neighbourhood day/event)
• Running local community projects (e.g., setting up a toy library or youth centre)
• Improving local neighbourhoods (e.g. improved environments for community use)
• Supporting disadvantaged communities (e.g. self help groups for disabled people)
• Celebrating community history or culture (e.g. community arts or media events, inter–community sports days)

We will NOT award funding:

• To individuals
• To meet expenditure already incurred
• Where statutory or other funding is available
• To commercial or profit-making organisations or projects
• For activities that are primarily religious or political in nature
• Where the monrey is used to ensure compliance with statutory duties
• To contribute to major capital or ‘bricks and mortar’ projects
• Where existing activity will be duplicated

How to apply

Residents

If you are a resident who has identified a need in your local area and want the Council to provide a solution, attend the summer meeting of your Community Council. At the meeting:

• You will be given the opportunity to discuss your proposal with other residents and ward councillors.
• You will be asked to work with your ward councillors to complete a form which will be given to the Community Councils team.

Council officers will look into the feasibility of your idea*.

The proposal will be presented at the autumn meeting where residents of the area will be asked to indicate their preference/s for spending the available money.

*Please note:
Some ideas for projects that are suggested by residents may be most appropriate for a voluntary or community group to deliver.
We will be publicising these in July and August so that voluntary and community groups can submit proposals to deliver these projects.

Coppermill Primary School
Edward Road, London, E17 6PB

Head along to put your questions to councillors on the local issues close to your heart.
You can raise any subject you want and the council is obliged to respond (this is different to actually listening or acting but it’s all we’ve got).

Between 7.15 and 7.30 before the meeting starts “An officer from the Safe and Stronger Communities Team will be available to give advice on burglary and vehicle crime“.  What might that advice be… remove your tyres and take indoors for safety?

Here’s the rest of the Agenda – Download a PDF here

7.55 – School Place Planning

Moira Bishop, Assistant Director – Property and Major Projects and Sandra Mohamed, School Organisation, Consultation and Governance Manager to respond to the queries raised during the last Community Council meeting on this matter.

8.20 -  Involving Young People in decision making

A presentation from the Youth Engagement Officer for Waltham Forest, and participants of youth involvement groups on how young people are involved in decision making.

8.30 – Safer Neighbourhood Team

An update from the High Street Ward Safer Neighbourhood Team about what
is happening in the local area.

8.35 – Better Neighbourhoods

An update from an officer on crime and grime in the High Street ward.

8.40 – Enforcement Unit Update
An update on activities carried out by the Envirocrime, Planning Enforcement and Anti-social Behavioural Teams.

8.45 – Community Forum

The Community Chair leads a session of community discussion, which will include any matters arising from the minutes / blue sheets and any new issue of local concern.
All speakers are requested to use the microphones at all times to aid those with a disability who may require the use of the hearing loop.

9.25 – Formal Council business

Chapel End and Higham Hill Councillors will make any decisions required on the under spent funds from the 2009/10 Annual Funds and on any other formal council business that requires their approval.

The latest Walthamstow West Community Council meeting take’s place on Monday the 11th of January at Chapel End Junior School.  Refreshments are available from 7.15, and the meeting itself begins at 7.30pm.

Chapel End Junior School
Roberts Road, London, E17 4LS

Head along to put your questions to councillors on the local issues close to your heart.
You can raise any subject you want and the council is obliged to respond (this is different to actually listening or acting but it’s something).

SIGN UP TO THE BAG TWITTER FOR UPDATES FROM THE MEETING

To read a full agenda for the meeting click here:

7.45  News Report

A brief summary of the response sheet, News & Announcements.
Current issues and developments from Council departments and Partners.
Contributions from residents (in advance) are welcomed.

8.00  Safer Neighbourhood Team

Feedback from the Chapel End team about what is happening in the Chapel End ward.  (Other ward feedbacks will be featured in Item 5, under News & Announcements).

8.10  Health for North East London (“Healthcare4NEL”)

A presentation by Daisy Camiwet, Head of Engagement and Michael Smeeth, Associate Director of Communications and Engagement NHS Waltham Forest explaining the current consultation on which health services could be improved over the next ten years and how this should be delivered

8.30  Community Forum – This agenda item will include:

• The Community Chair leads a session of community discussion.
• An opportunity for residents to raise any issues of local concern and discuss matters arising from the minutes / blue sheets.

9.10  Elections – Community Chair and Vice Chair

Residents will be asked to elect a Chair and Vice Chair for the next year.  An application form is attached. Nominated candidates will be introduced and any last minute nominations will be taken from the floor.  For more information about this post please contact the Community Council Manager listed at the top of the Agenda.

The minutes of and responses to questions raised at October’s Community Council in October are available on the council website: Mins / Responses

The last meeting featured a vote on how to spend the annual £10,000 “community” budget.  To read more about the bids read the document here.  The winning bids are listed below:

The Scouts were again awarded the largest slice of the money (5,000) despite complaints from some councillors that they hadnt provided any feedback on how the 10,000 they received last year had benefitted the community. In total 15,ooo out of the available 20,000 pounds has been awarded to the Scouts in the last two years without any evidence of increased access for community groups.

The vote itself was a total farce. Residents in each area were given 1 vote for the bid they wished to see approved.  If you picked a bid that only wanted a thousand pounds your vote was used up, and you couldn’t influence where the rest of the money went.  As a result the well organised Scouts won by default as the most highest scoring larger application.

Remarkably a bid for a noticeboard on Edward Road costing 2 and a half thousand pounds was approved despite only one resident voting for it.  Who suggested the bid, or the proposed site is unclear. It certainly wasnt BAG despite the threats of legal action we received last year for putting posters advertising an environmental event on local trees (Owners of lost pets were also threatened).

BAG tweets from the last meeting are below (although the time stamps may be a bit suspect):

Official high street result: scouts 5000, coppermill sch comm noticeboard 2500, disability taichi 2500, flower beds Nicholson court 1200
2:02 PM Oct 5th from TweetDeck Cllr macklin back in main room says he can’t comment on arcade site as it’s party political. Residents can read papers to see his views.
1:35 PM Oct 5th from TweetDeck Councilors vote to give 1200 to garden beds, 5000 to scouts and 2500 for community notice board on coppermill school (which only got 1 vote!
1:21 PM Oct 5th from TweetDeck Councilors vote to give scouts 5 thousand – meaning they’ve had 15000 of 20 thou total funds for area in last 2 years.
1:18 PM Oct 5th from TweetDeck Scout leaders brought in to ask if they’d accept less than 10 grand. They say it’s used by all community and they’d accept what they get
1:12 PM Oct 5th from TweetDeck Liaquat Ali points out scouts got full 10 thou last year and have provided no evidence of how it’s been spent and comm use.
1:05 PM Oct 5th from TweetDeck James orourke proposes giving scouts 5000 of 10,000 budget. Also suggests noticeboard get funding as council has stopped posters
1:03 PM Oct 5th from TweetDeck Councilors huddle to discuss proposals: move to give spare whole area money to cricket bid
12:57 PM Oct 5th from TweetDeck Insane voting system. Each resident given 1 vote for 10grand budget even if scheme they want costs only 1thousand. 9 thousand to roll over?
12:27 PM Oct 5th from TweetDeck #communitycouncil 18 votes for £1,200 raised flower beds at Nicholson Court. 9 votes for £10,000 for the scouts.
12:26 PM Oct 5th from Tweetie #communitycouncil scouts have applied for the full £10,000 High Street funding pot. They got the whole pot last year…
12:20 PM Oct 5th from Tweetie #communitycouncil apparently our votes are just advisory. Only the councillors present can decide. What’s with that?
12:10 PM Oct 5th from Tweetie #communitycouncil whole area funding of £2,400 voted for the Dyslexia Association to provide tuition and summer school.
12:06 PM Oct 5th from Tweetie #NLWP feedback sought 14 Oct – 24 Nov. See www.nlwp.net for options.
11:57 AM Oct 5th from Tweetie #communitycouncil North London Waste Authority has published its preferred options for waste facilities in the Borough #NLWP
11:55 AM Oct 5th from Tweetie A resident points out scout hut funding was not suggested by any residents but by James orourke. Residents wanted funding for comm centre
11:50 AM Oct 5th from TweetDeck Community Council meeting starting. Today we’re voting on the community funding proposals, apparently.

5 October 2009, Walthamstow Academy, Billet Road, London, E17 5DP (find directions)
(meeting starts at 7.30 pm. Refreshments served from 7.15pm.)

Head along to put your questions to councillors on any local issues close to your heart.
Labour councillors are still trying to push through the sale of the St James Street Library building and the council will also soon be voting on whether to approve the UCKG proposal to convert Walthamstow’s last cinema into a church.
Of course the whole point is you can raise any subject you want and the council is obliged to respond (this is different to actually listening or acting but its the best we have right now).

SIGN UP TO THE BAG TWITTER FOR UPDATES FROM THE MEETING

This meeting will also decide how to spend the annual “community” budget. To read more about the bids for the money see this document here, or for an overview visit the council website.
See below for the proposals for the area of interest to Blackhorse Road residents.

The Scouts were awarded 10,000 last year (08/09), and are seeking the full amount again this year.
Many applications by residents and local groups were rejected including one to aid the development of much needed community space in the St. James Street Library building. Read about the rejected bids here.

There’s a sort of stream of consciousness account of tonight’s Walthamstow West Community Council meeting on Twitter. Check out http://twitter.com/BlackhorseAG. Hopefully there’ll be a fuller write-up soon…

Ask whatever you like on the evening or if you’d prefer not to speak there’s a form to submit your questions (download here or request on the night).

2nd March 2009 @ 7.30PM - Coppermill Primary School, Edward Road (MAP)

Visit the unofficial Community Council site to view the Agenda and responses to the last meeting.

URGENT COUNCIL CONSULTATION

The council would like residents feedback on plans to site Willowfield school at the top of the Douglas Eyre playing fields.
Visit the Building Schools for the Future consultation here to give them your views.
As usual with council consultations they’ve waited until less than a week before the closing date to send details to residents!

The consultation closes on the 12th of January.

Here’s what this months BSF bullitin says on the subject:

Following the request from the Governing Body further to pursue the possibility of a site at the current Douglas Eyre Playing Field, discussions have been held with the owners (London Playing Fields Foundation), the adjoining housing developers and the Greater London Authority over the constraints within which use of part of the field might be acceptable. A Project Manager has been identified, and the next steps are to commission planning advisers and various other consultancies to support the development of a revised proposal.

LATEST ON THE TOWER BLOCKS
Thank you very much for all your support with the housing campaign Blackhorse Action Group Residents Association (BAG) started this year. We received emails and comments from over 150 residents unhappy with developers plans to build 10 blocks of flats up-to 23 storeys high on the site right behind Blackhorse Road tube station overlooking the Douglas Eyre playing fields.

In the last few months BAG members have raised the residents concerns and have met many councillors and the regeneration officer for Blackhorse Lane. BAG have also maintained correspondence with English Partnerships who own most of the land the tower blocks would be built on.

BAG distributed leaflets at the tube station and through residents doors spelling out the sheer height and density of the plan. English Partnerships developers went on to change their plans twice only to receive negative feedback from the Commission for Architecture and Built Environment each time.

In late October, we tried to organise a meeting with English Partnerships. The response from them was: “All plans are slowing at the moment given the market and local context. We’ll come back to you when it’s a bit clearer what our aspirations for the site are” (English Partnerships)

A few weeks ago in a meeting with Cllr Terry Wheeler (Cabinet Member for Investment and Enterprise) BAG members discovered plans for the blocks of flats were “no longer an option”. Cllr Wheeler stated on the record the 23 storey towers had been scrapped. He went on to say that the most likely option for the site would be a new home for an expanded Willowfield School.

BAG is still waiting for official confirmation on this. At the time of the meeting the council was still in negotiations to acquire the site.

We’ll never know whether it was BAG’s campaigning and the massive response from residents outraged at this inappropriate development that stopped our skyline being overshadowed by vast tower blocks or if it was simply a consequence of the collapse in the housing market. Either way we’d like to thank residents for all their help, and feedback to both us AND the council.

Clearly this is not the end of the story, as the Arcade site at the top of the market enters its sixth year as a boarded up wasteland, its clear that even if the council acquires the site, they may not do the right thing by us as residents. We will renew our argument that any development on BHL2 should have mixed facilities for the local community. So far however we’ve got the strong impression the Council thinks this is very unlikely. So, one battle won but a big fight still looming.

TESCO EXPRESS
Opinion seems divided on plans for a Tesco Express store on the former site of the Essex Arms on Forest Road (2-3 minutes walk from Blackhorse Road tube).

The proposed store would have 9 car parking spaces, secure bays for 14 bikes and would be open between 7am and 11pm. Debate has raged over whether this will decimate local business’s and destroy diversity or whether it’s actually a good use of a derelict site.

LATEST NEWS: Tesco appear to have withdrawn their application for the site (link). Have they changed their mind about the store or are they reapplying? BAG will try and find out more.

EMD CINEMA UPDATE
Liberal Democrat Councillor, James O’Rourke contacted BAG to inform us the council are in talks with UKCG about a new planning application for the building. In 2003, in response to the demands of Walthamstow residents the government denied UCKG permission to convert the building into a church. In the 5 years that have followed nothing has changed at either the EMD or Arcade site. Will the church be given permission despite this clear ruling?

Cllr. O’Rourke, along with an English Heritage representative and the Council’s Conservation Officer visited the cinema recently and found it in a “sorry state”. Councillor O’Rourke commented that he was “encouraged plans are now being made to use the EMD”.

ST. JAMES STREET LIBRARY
A final open air library was held in December outside the former St James Street Library building. Despite being closed without warning or consultation the council has been steadfast in its refusal to reconsider.

Back in October a meeting of the Walthamstow West community council descended into chaos after councillors blocked plans for a feasibility study on reinstating the library, instead opting for a new plan for a scout hut.
Councillors refused to discuss the decision using a microphone so all could hear as requested, and in the end rejected the plan with Cllr James O’Rourke pointing out it was against council procedure. (Read the chair’s reflections on the meeting here.)

And so what was once a valued local library of vital use, in particular to the elderly and the young now has boarded up windows. Instead of educating the community the empty building now contributes to its decline with street drinkers and drug users replacing readers and families on the bench outside.

THE NORTH LONDON WASTE PLAN (NLWP)
Residents Against Pollution are tentatively reporting that plans for an Incinerator at Blackhorse Lane have been scrapped.

RAP’s website states “Though we only have verbal hints at this stage, it looks like Blackhorse Lane is now unlikely to be chosen as a new waste site. We are trying to get something in writing, and we won’t know for sure till the “preferred options” stage of the consultation process is reached in May, when it will be clear whether Blackhorse Lane is still an option.”

WALTHAMSTOW GOD STADIUM
Walthamstow Dog track sits empty as the housing collapse hits its developers (even though they claimed to be altruistically building “affordable homes”). While offers to buy or lease the track back for dog racing – even in the short term – have been blanked by developers, Kingsway International Christian Church were given permission to use the track for a huge New Year’s Eve service. 15,000 people were predicted to attend the event which was broadcast live to 217 countries on the God Channel.

Meanwhile the SaveOurStow campaign continues despite a letter from the new owners L&Q dismissing the views of all those that love the track along with all offers put forward to buy the stadium. No planning application for the site has yet been made. Rumours have emerged of an American consortium who already own dog tracks and have a successful record of developing multi-function commercial sites who intend to start talks with London and Quadrant to acquire the site in the very near future.
Perhaps the sights and sounds of race night may yet return? Although don’t hold your breath.

If you haven’t seen it already BAG found some old Walthamstow Dogs footage from 1937, 1968 and 1986 down the back of the sofa, so we put together a 30 minute video tribute to “The Stow” through the ages.

Watch “The Soul of Walthamstow: 75 years of ‘The Stow’” here.

KICK OUT KIER
Six months after getting the money saving contract to clean Walthamstow’s streets and complaints about the Kier group’s service continue. The Waltham Forest Guardian reports that the “Row continues over borough’s filthy streets” and our “dirty and “neglected” playgrounds”.

There’s even a flickr group for people to send pictures of any rubbish strewn streets.
Kier also hold the contract for a mixed use redevelopment of Walthamstow Tube Station.

OTHER NEWS
Radio 5 Live visited Walthamstow market – Listen to their broadcast here
Hate all the “To-Let” Signs left long after properties have been rented out – Get rid of them here.

BAG WEBSITE
Last but not least for all the latest news and to discuss local issues keep visiting the BAG Blog.

Once again thank you very much to all residents for their support.

Happy New Year!!!

BAG.

Read the Walthamstow Guardian’s report here

Visit the Chair Phil Herlihy’s site for his view of what went wrong on the night

45 GRAND TO SPEND

If you had a few thousand pounds to improve your area, what would you spend it on? That was the question put to residents at the Walthamstow West Community Council this month. Each of the four wards in Walthamstow West have £10,000 to spend this year, along with an extra £5,000 to spend on projects that cover the whole ward (Total: £45,000).
Residents have until June the 23rd to submit their ideas (see here for details). In previous years the money’s gone on projects as diverse as Basketball hoops for kids to a charity providing motorised scooters for the elderly. So what would you spend up to £10,000 on? You can suggest smaller ideas, i.e., ten £1,000 ideas might get chosen.
A youth project? Benches for the town centre? Its up to you.

My own unnecessarily flippant suggestion was a fish tank for St James Street Library – the one in the main library was a snip at £7,263 – there’d even be a few thousand left over for … oh what’s that other thing libraries are meant to have…?

Groups can apply for funding for projects which will benefit residents, with a deadline of August 4th.

BLACKHORSE ROAD NEWSLETTER

One resident brandished a copy of the June “Blackhorse Lane Newsletter” (Read here) and questioned why the council were forcing “super-high density” tower blocks into the cramped space by Blackhorse Road tube (with no community space or gardens) when redevelopment’s at Sutherland Road & Paper Mill boasted community gardens, and much lower heights.

WILLOWFIELD SCHOOL

At a previous community meeting BAG asked why the council preferred building the new Willowfield School on a greenbelt flood plane (Douglas Eyre Playing fields) rather than at sites opposite its present location or on the same site as the George Monoux College?
Simon Newland, Head of Capital Strategy & Planning has this reply:

The Council has undertaken an extensive search for sites, which meet requirements for a school site for a 900 pupil school. This search is continuing. One criteria is that the site is reasonably close to the current school site. Monoux College is not. All the land adjoining the current Willowfield School site is heavily developed and owned by a range of different parties. The Douglas Eyre Playing Filed has a number of disadvantages, but in terms of location and access to open space and playing fields, would be very suitable for a school.
We have provided thousands of pages of information to various local residents under Freedom of Information Act, linked to the Blackhorse Lane Action Group.

BIG SCREEN / BIG NOISE?

Not content with chairing the community council, Philip Herlihy also knocked up an “artists impression” of the big screen planned for the grass by the children’s play area in Walthamstow Town Square. Despite 39 letters of objection, the screen was conditionally approved this week although planning permission is only until the Olympics.
The 7am to 11pm operating hours were rejected, and new times will now have to be resubmitted (I imagine the operators submitted such ridiculously long operating times in a bid to look as if they are being flexible by cutting them down).

BLACKHORSE ROAD CYCLE RACKS

At Januarys Community Council meeting Stella Creasy asked if Tfl could both install more and fix the existing cycle racks at Blackhorse Road tube station. A resident expressed his shock at the council’s response that a secure shed would cost a quarter of a million pounds!!

Here’s the response in full:

Gina Harkell, Principle Transport Officer:
We could replace the existing stands with Sheffield stands but we have been bidding for funding from TfL every year for the past four years for a secure bike shed here. One of our arguments is the poor condition of existing bike stands so we are loathe to put in new ones as this will reduce the strength of our argument. We think our best chance is to build the new shed with Section 106 funds as part of Blackhorse Lane regeneration. A secure shed would cost about £250,000 as it would need to be built on the embankment.

Visit the excellent unofficial Walthamstow West Community Council website for details of the next meeting, and minutes for previous community councils.