Barkingside 21

No Lift for Newbury

2009-11-26T20:14:00.008Z

Here is another of those financial ripples I spoke about earlier warning us of the Tsunami about to hit us shortly.

Transport for London [TfL] has been upgrading Newbury Park Tube Station, including the provision of a lift, but work has suddenly stopped because – they have run out of money. Have you got that: TfL HAVE RUN OUT OF MONEY. Will they finish the work at Gants Hill? Who knows?

Local resident and non-car owner Ron Jeffries has got the hump. See his letter here in last week’s Ilford Recorder. See also his letters to the London Mayor and to Transport for London. Below is a photo of the devastation, which looks like the congealed mess of a half eaten meal that has not been cleared away by the waitress before you sit down to lunch.

More photos: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven.

And below is an email to the London Mayor form Margaret, who is disabled and gets herself to Hospital in central London by public transport.

I was amazed and angry to see that the program to install a lift and generally improve the facilities at Newbury Park underground station have groaned to a halt because the funds have run out.
It is incredible to realise that the running of the underground system is funded in such a precarious manner.
As a disabled traveller I had resigned myself to not being able to park near the station while the work is being carried out, the previously allocated places taken up by the contractors lorries.
In the last few months I have had to travel to Moorfields at Old Street station, Barts at St. Pauls and the Royal London Hospital at Whitechapel Station, it has been horrendous. I counted 64 steps when I came out of Whitechapel station last week, and I have to go again on Thursday of this week. You cannot imagine what it is like to look up at the steps in Newbury Park station at the end of a visit to the hospital when you are really exhausted and try to get to the top of them.
I did console myself with the thought that it wont be for much longer only last week to be faced with a poster stating the money has run out!
What is the situation; what is going on?
I have heard people saying glibly that this country is like a third rate one and it is very difficult to defend it now.
When will the work that has been started carry on and be completed I cannot believe that proper housekeeping has not been done.
I should like a reply and not to be fobbed off.

In other news it is rumoured that ~~our Financial Genius~~ the Prime Minister will be going to the Country next March. It is not clear which Country he is going to but let’s hope he is not going by Tube and we have enough funds left to buy him a one-way ticket. [Note: he is not eligible for a Freedom Pass until 20th Feb 2011]

Victoriana

2009-11-25T22:32:00.003Z

She would be amused!!

and so will you if you come to
“Christmas Capers”, presented by the renowned
“Cameo Players”.

It’s a magical evening of Victorian music, poetry, melodrama and prose. Be prepared to be entertained, amused and to be slightly afraid!!
Free light refreshments at the interval plus a raffle and other jollies.

Saturday 5th December 2009 at 7:30 p.m.

Barkingside Methodist Church, Freemantle Road,

Barkingside, IG6 2AZ

Tickets are £8, which includes light refreshments at the interval, and are available from 02085512202

Legion Lost

2009-11-25T22:04:00.003Z

This blog would like to wish a very Unpleasant Christmas and a Miserable New Year to the scroat or scroata who stole a Poppy collection tin from the Uplands Social club in Woodford Bridge. The same seasonal message of bad will goes out to whoever stole 22 Royal British Legion Collecting Tins from a property in Barkingside between the 9th and 12th of November, estimated to be in excess of £3000.

Whoever you are, you should be aware that there are certain local ex-military personnel who would really like to meet you and who have some rather novel ideas on corrective punishment and rehabilitation.

If anybody does happen to find Poppy Appeal Tins in Dustbins or Re-Cycle facilities or indeed anywhere where they should not be, please notify the local police.

Save King George Hospital Campaign

2009-11-23T14:54:00.007Z

The proposals by the local Health Authority to downgrade King George Hospital and close its Accident & Emergency facility are once again being challenged by local residents, local groups and local Councillors and MPs.

On Wednesday 18th there was a public meeting organised by Lee Scott MP at which over 100 people were in attendance. It would have been more but for the Area Committee 3 meeting on the same evening. On a show of hands Cllr Mrs Sladden got a 100% vote that the proposals are unacceptable. She has also written to all the GPs in the borough and they are 86% against the proposals. Which rather upstages the claim by the Health Authority that they are in favour as reported in the Recorder. We are grateful to our member Bill Howe who took minutes of the meeting, see here.

CORRECTION from Cllr Mrs Sladden: "It was 86% of the doctors I wrote to replied and 95% of these were not in favour of A & E closure and polyclinics and 5 % who were in favour of closure and polyclinics were GP 's that had been appointed as Directors of Polysystems."

On Thursday 19th our councillors debated the situation at Full Council. There’s nothing like an external threat to unite political parties in their resolve to fight these proposals. See report in WW Guardian here.

On Saturday 21st there was a protest outside King George Hospital organised by Wilson [megaphone] Chowdhry [far right]. It made it to the BBC News site.

On the Council Leaders blog there is a comment, reproduced in full below [these things have a habit of disappearing off that site].

Anyone even considering the downgrading or closure of King George Hospital and the removal of accident and emergency services in Redbridge is courting disaster on a major scale. Queens Hospital will not be able to cope – they can’t even cope now. Why don’t NHS London & Redbridge understand that there are far too many residents in Ilford alone and the removal of any medical services from the borough will put people’s lives at risk? We have noticed (reading the Ilford Recorder over the past 12 months) that every time an accident is reported upon, the ambulance crew have taken everyone to Queens even if the accident occurred in Ilford. Why?? Because someone in the Trust wants to manipulate statistics to suit their own end game, so any reports will show that A&E at King George’s isn’t being used but A&E at Queens is brimming over.
We are supposed to live in a Democracy (although the way Labour and Gordon Brown behave, we are fast becoming a country under dictatorship) the people of Redbridge have already campaigned and demonstrated against the closure of King George’s and/or reduction of A&E services. What doesn’t the Trust understand? How many times do we have to do this before they get the message? It is no different from the fiasco that was the Irish vote on the Lisbon Treaty. The People vote No, but then they are made to vote again until the politicians get the answer they want. What a complete joke. If only Queens remains, then I hope the decision-makers have to use the “facilities” themselves – but I suspect they either live in a different borough, or use private healthcare. Should services at King George’s be reduced/removed in spite of all the opposition past & present, whoever is responsible for this will ultimately have our blood on their hands. I just hope they will be able to live with that on their consciences.

Of course if Redbridge council had used the government grant obtained to “improve” its website for something useful, like an e-petition facility we could all sign that. But since we haven’t got that you could leave your view in the comments below and/or drop an email to your MP and ward councillors to say you support their position. Links to contact details in the side bar.

Free Beer!

2009-11-21T21:12:00.013Z

Two words guaranteed to get my attention. There is a parliamentary reception on Tuesday 8th December from 6-8pm in The Jubilee Room, Houses of Parliament hosted by David Drew MP with free beer donated by SIBA - the Society of Independent Brewers.

It is a Public event, it’s free and no booking is required. Expect a queue. It’s about:

A NEW FORM OF GOVERNMENT:

THE SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES ACT

The Sustainable Communities Act is an exciting new law that sets up a radical 'bottom up' process of governance. Come along and hear the latest developments:

* Hundreds of proposals for government action have already been put forward by Local Authorities under the Act,

* the government will be reporting to Parliament in December on the next set of Local Spending Reports (required under the Act), and

* the Sustainable Communities Act Amendment Bill that will further extend the Act's powers to Local Authorities is currently in Parliament.

Details for the reception are as follows:

Chair: Tom Levitt MP - Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on the Community and Voluntary Sector

Speakers:

John Denham MP - Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government - INVITED

Oliver Letwin MP - Chairman of the Conservative Party Policy Review

Julia Goldsworthy MP - Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government

David Drew MP - Sponsor of the Sustainable Communities Act

Ron Bailey - Local Works Organiser

Pavement Art

2009-11-21T17:34:00.002Z

Now I don’t want to upstage our local art blogger but I couldn’t resist this photo on the theme of ‘you think it’s bad here’.

Photo credit: Westfield Wanderer via Dorothea.

Barkingside Posada

2009-11-21T16:25:00.005Z

Posada is a Mexican tradition: an enactment of looking for lodging of St. Joseph and Virgin Mary, called The Pilgrims going to Bethlehem for the Census according to the Scriptures.

The Manna House (a Christian drop in centre at 33a Barkingside High Street) is again arranging for a Posada in Barkingside this year, 2009. Mary and Joseph plus other nativity figures will be seeking shelter in shops on Barkingside High Street and local churches.

Holy Trinity Church Mossford Green

3:00pm Sunday 29th November

After a short ecumenical service, attended by the Worshipful the Mayor of Redbridge and other Dignitaries, the posada figures will lead a 'Procession of Light' from Holy Trinity up the High Street to the “Inn” otherwise known as the New Fairlop Oak their first destination where there will be carols.

All are welcome to join in. Please bring a torch or lantern to light the path and symbolise our Lord as the light of the world. Or just bring a banner.

Full Panto

2009-11-15T16:01:00.002Z

Next Thursday 19th November at 7:15pm Redbridge Councillors will gather in the ~~woods~~ Council Chamber ~~for a picnic~~ to debate all matters important to us residents. Here are the minutes in advance:

Blah, blah, waffle, hot air, waffle, more hot air, party insults, mumble mumble, whinge, pointy fingers, wind, phhrrrp, blah, blah, waffle. Stand up, sit down, vote, oops the electronic voting system doesn’t work, blah, blah, oh no we didn’t, oh yes you did, more wind and hot air, more party in jokes and insults, call for a ~~fag break~~ recess …….discussions in secret……reassemble, several councillors forget they’ve changed sides and sit in wrong chair, this chair is too small says one, stand up, sit down, blah blah, Buttons sends out search party for missing councillors, the Ugly sisters arrive late having been stuck in car park when their Jags turned into pumpkins, ……..repeat…..

Then we get to the important bit:

Three motions: scroll down to item 12 for full text. [Note: This is a part of the council website that predates “Redbridge-i” and still works.]

1. This one is about the failure of Newham Council to consult with Redbridge Council and Redbridge residents on the expansion of London City Airport and to investigate launching Legal Action against Newham Council.

2. This one is about the proposals for a substantial downgrading of medical facilities at King George Hospital, which is the only remaining general hospital in the borough.

3. This one condemns the Government proposals to take some £29 million of funding which puts London's Freedom Pass at risk.

This is followed by “Any Urgent Business” ie the pub; you will need a drink by then.

Handy Vans

2009-11-15T13:23:00.004Z

… and while we are on the subject of local food, Riverford Home Delivery are a supplier of organic meat, fruit and vegetables who, as the name implies, deliver to your door. Except right now, for West Essex and Havering, they are one van short of a fleet. It got stolen in Hainault on Friday 13th November while the diver was out delivering.

The registration number is WG57 BKK and it has, or had, the Riverside name on the side of the door panel. If you spot it whilst out on your travels please do report it to the Police.

If you are a customer and missed your delivery on Friday, Nick and Alison apologise and confirm that next week’s deliveries will not be affected.

Get your Christmas Brussels here.

Now you would think that it is not beyond the ingenuity of manufacturers to design in a disabler whilst leaving the engine running for people who operate in this way.

The Shallow End

2009-11-15T13:03:00.004Z

In the previous post we conclude that Redbridge Council has no alternative but to sell land to finance it’s Capital Programme and that, no doubt, will set alarm bells ringing in certain quarters – with visions of yet more housing creating yet more demand for services and amenities that the Council and other Authorities like Health are already finding some difficulty in providing. It’s a vicious circle.

However, housing is not the only use for land and it is not the only factor which could increase its value - there is a rather important commodity that needs land to be produced – Food.

Over on the Earth Policy Institute, Lester R Brown argues that the upcoming Copenhagen Conference is not about Climate Change, but all about Food Security.

The world rice harvest is particularly vulnerable to rising sea level. A World Bank map of Bangladesh shows that even a 3-foot rise in sea level would cover half of the riceland in this country of 160 million people. It would also inundate one third or more of the Mekong delta, which produces half of the rice in Viet Nam, the world’s number two rice exporter. And it would submerge parts of the 20 or so other rice-growing river deltas in Asia.

He goes on:

It is the disappearing glaciers in the Himalayas and on the Tibetan Plateau that are of most concern, because their ice melt sustains the flow of the major rivers of India and China––the Indus, Ganges, Yangtze, and Yellow rivers—during the dry season. This ice melt thus also sustains the irrigation systems that depend on these rivers.

China is the world’s leading producer of wheat. India is number two. (The United States is third.) In contrast to the United States, most wheat grown in China and India is irrigated. With rice, these two countries totally dominate the world harvest. The projected melting of these mountain glaciers in Asia represents the most massive threat to food security the world has ever seen.

So, if the sh*t hits the fan another scenario could be that Land values here increase because it can be used to produce an increasingly scarce and vital commodity – Food. Whether you accept Anthropogenic Global Warming or Man-made Climate Change is irrelevant. The fact is that the Glaciers are disappearing and if they go completely, we humans are in global trouble. We need to have a contingency plan not just to keep ourselves from freezing but also from starving.

One local resident, Matthew Oliver, is researching into whether allotment sites can be a resource for entire communities, rather than just the plotholders who have an allotment. I think they might need to be a bit bigger but let’s wish him success. Take a mo to complete his survey too, it’s for those who DON’T have an allotment.

The Deep End

2009-11-13T14:39:00.004Z

Yesterday [Thursday] some 50 members of the Redbridge Swimmers Association met with the Council Leader and Cabinet Member for Leisure in the Town Hall Council Chamber. This was the meeting promised by the Leader shortly after he took that position in May. Here’s the report:

At the Cabinet meeting on 1st September [item 24] it was:

Resolved: That we (i) agree in principle, subject to resources being identified, to build a new Leisure and Library facility;
(ii) agree to identify the resources required to undertake a feasibility study to build a new leisure facility, which will include a 25m pool, learner pool, sports hall, fitness gym and library facilities; and
(iii) approve expenditure of £120,000 for professional fees for a feasibility study and outline designs and £50,000 ground and site investigation surveys.

The aim is for a facility similar to that recently built in Eltham. There are two potential locations: the existing site at Cricklefields and the Seven Kings Lorry Park. The feasibility study is underway and an option appraisal is expected a little way into 2010. The Cabinet are 100% committed to this project, but the practicalities have to be understood. £24million will be programmed into the Capital Programme for this project. This will show up in next year’s budget publication shortly.

That’s the good news. Now the bad news.
It’s gonna take a few years and the council don’t actually have a spare stash of Fivers to finance the Capital Programme, which will inevitably include much larger sums for the higher priority of new schools brought about by our burgeoning child population. What they have to do is to sell an asset [mostly land] in order to create a new asset, in this case a leisure centre or schools. In the short term we have a recession where land values have fallen so not a good time to sell. In the longer term what will happen when we run out of realisable assets?

That last question may need to be answered sooner than we might think. The credit card bill racked up by that nice Mr Darling and his predecessor is going to cause some unplanned financial ripples, well more like a Tsunami. You think Climate Change is scary, well Financial Change goes with it.

Last month the government announced that they were selling £16billion worth of assets to pay, get this, that months interest on the debt. But £11billion of that are assets owned by Local Councils. Redbridge Council may not have any assets left by the time they come to build anything! Somebody may have raided the larder.

There are all sorts of financial sleights of hand coming out of this government. All designed to place the increasing burden elsewhere and to shift the blame to someone else. Take this for example. The government have announced that they are to cut the funding for London’s Freedom Pass by £30million which will place the burden onto Local Councils and therefore the blame should they not be in a position to fund them.

These are just the beginnings of that Financial Tsunami. And a change of government is not going to stop it.

Barkingside Vision

2009-11-11T19:53:00.005Z

A Vision for

Barkingside…

Officers in the Council’s Planning and Regeneration Service have been working with consultants to develop an Improvement Plan for Barkingside Town Centre. The consultants will soon be in a position to report on the issues arising through the consultation, and to produce a draft action plan. This will be reported to the Council’s Cabinet for final agreement in the New Year.

However before then, the Planning and Regeneration Scrutiny Committee will consider the consultation process, the issues arising and proposals at its next meeting. This Scrutiny Committee meeting provides an opportunity for local people to hear about what is being proposed, and to question the consultants and officers.

A display highlighting some of the issues and proposals will be available for viewing from 5.45pm.

Come and see the proposals for your town centre!

at the next meeting of the Council’s Planning and Regeneration Scrutiny Committee

Thursday 10 December from 6.30pm

Ilford County High School, Fremantle Rd, Barkingside

For more information on this meeting – 020 8708 2554 or email.

Photo credit.

Fairlop Service

2009-11-11T19:47:00.004Z

Splendid turnout for the first Memorial Service to be held at Fairlop Waters. After the laying of wreaths, see the Ilford Recorder, a memorial tree was planted. Apologies for the poor quality photo. Will this now be an annual event? Our thanks to the Fairlop Heritage Group.
Elsewhere, we learn that Fairlop Waters gets a £95,000 grant from Natural England through Defra’s Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund, to create a fully accessible path around the main lake as well as a cycling and pedestrian path to open up new access opposite Fairlop underground station.

Redbridge Birds

2009-11-08T14:32:00.010Z

Guest post from Daniel Erickson-Hull, of Redbridge Birdwatching

October has certainly thrown up some real surprises..... But before we get onto October, there was an exciting late addition to September as a Black Eared Wheater was watched at lengh in Valentines Park on the 28th September by a fortunate observer, that took the years tally in the borough to 152 by the end of September! Not bad, considering that when I started this project in January, I hoped that we would find 150 by the end of the year!... Anyway, on with the October highlights.

Wildfowl:
Numbers of wintering Ducks are slowly building up with Teal, Gadwall, Shoveler and Pochard all being notably present now. Also up to 20 Little Grebe have been present in Wanstead Park, and up to 10 Little Grebe and 16 Great Crested Grebes have been at Fairlop, where 4 Black Necked Grebes put in a surpirse appearance on the 29th. The 2 Egyptian Geese at Valentines Park were spotted a few times throughout the month. Also over 100 Cormorants have been noted at Fairlop Waters, taking advantage of the fish stocks, this phenomenon I noted last October as well, and it continued into November, but by December the numbers had greatly reduced to the regular 'single figure' sightings.

Waders:
Lapwing - Up to 100 present in the flock at Fairlop, not nearly as many as usual by now, and less than last month! Green Sandpiper - Present throughout at Fairlop, with up to 8 being seen. Snipe - Present throughout at Fairlop, with up to 6 being seen. Jack Snipe - sighted at Fairlop on the 17th, 25th and 29th with 2 being seen on the 20th. Golden Plover - No sightings by the end of the month? Will they arrive during November? Little Egret - 2 @ Fairlop on the 30th, with none being reported on the Roding this month.

Birds of Prey:
Kestrel and Sparrowhawk numbers certainly seem to be up following a sucessfull breeding season. A Little Owl was seen on Wanstead Flats on the 4th, but no other raptors were reported during October.

Gulls:
Yes, you guessed it... Valentino the Mediterranean Gull reappeared for his 10th consecutive winter at Valentines Park, arriving on the 10th! On the same day, a Yellow Legged Gull was in the Gull flock on Wanstead Flats. And a Great Black Backed Gull was present at Fairlop Gravel Works on the 25th.

Migrating Passerines:
2 Rock Pipits passed through Fairlop Gravel Works on the 4th, which was rare enough for the borough, but not quite as impressive as the Red Throated Pipit that passed over Wanstead Flats on the 27th. The last Wheatears passed through Wanstead on the 13th, Fairlop on the 17th
A flock of over 50 Goldfinches were near Aldborough Farm on the 10th, when 92 Linnet were also present on the Gravel Works, and nearby fields, where over 100 were seen on the 17th too. Smaller numbers of Linnet passed through Wanstead Flats. Over 1000 Redwings passed over Wanstead Flats (120 on the 10th, 45 on the 11th, 530 on the 17th, 250 on the 28th and 60 on the 31st) with smaller numbers being present elsewhere in the borough. Large numbers of Wood Pigeons also passed through, particularly over Wanstead, along with smaller numbers of Fieldfare. 1 Lesser Redpoll flew over Wanstead Flats on the 11th, and 10 were feeding at Fairlop on the 27th. 10 Siskin was over Wanstead Flats on the 10th with single birds seen on the 18th and the 31st, also 3 were feeding at Fairlop on the 27th.

Other Birds:
17 Stock Dove were on Wanstead Flats on the 17th, with over 60 being at Fairlop on the same day, where smaller numbers were regularly seen. Ring Necked Parakeets decended on the borough from the 23rd with 30 being seen at Wanstead Park, with more seen the following day. 3 were also at Eagle Pond on the 29th, with 2 at Woodford Bridge the following day, when 5 were also seen again at Wanstead Park. Kingfishers were seen on the Roding near Woodford Bridge on the 1st, 7th, 11th, 19th, 22nd, and 30th, with 2 seen on the 12th. Another was seen at Fairlop Gravel Works on the 17th. Grey Wagtails continue to be increasingly reported, with good records coming in from Valentines Park, Fairlop Waters, Fairlop Gravel Works, Wanstead Flats, Wanstead Park, Seven Kings Water near Loxford, Roding Valley Park and Ilford County High School Grounds. Up to 20 Skylark were seen on Wanstead Flats, and over 70 on the fields around Hainault Road in Fairlop. A male Dartford Warbler presented on Wanstead Flats on the 31st and remained into November. Coal Tit numbers are up too, with a pair being seen in a Woodford Green garden on the 7th, a single bird in a (different) Gants Hill garden on the 24th, with another 2 being seen in a Wanstead Garden every day from 26th-30th, and yet another in Valentines Park on the 31st. Goldcrest were present in Ilford County High School, Wanstead Flats and Fairlop Waters, and several sightings of Chiffchaff remaining till the end of the month. Reed Buntings remain present at Fairlop, and Wanstead Flats. A Lesser Spotted Woodpecker was seen in South Woodford on the 22nd, near St. Aubyns School. Stonechats were seen regularly on Wanstead Flats, near Centre Road, and were also recorded at Fairlop.

[Phew! I bet you didn't know we had such a diverse community of birds - makes my Big Garden Birdwatch report look rubbish]

Commonwealth Green

2009-11-08T14:05:00.003Z

Guest post from Caroline Mullen of Commonwealth Gardeners.

A lady called Kathy Taylor [pictured above] came for a short walk round the estate with me, and I'm very pleased to say she has agreed to come to our Commonwealth Gardeners meeting on Thursday 19th November. Kathy is a garden designer. She lives in Wanstead, is also an artist, and keeps an allotment. She will give an illustrated talk about front garden designs to suit the Commonwealth Estate, and will stay through the meeting to chat. Everybody's welcome. Please could you spread the word among your friends who may be interested. [Ed: Kathy has featured on this site before]. Kathy's website is here.

In other news, the Big Lunch people have confirmed that there will be another Big Lunch in July 2010, though they haven't organised themselves to sign people up yet. I'm keeping a watching brief, and I'll let you know when we can have more information. See the Big Lunch website to see what happened last year.

Just a reminder that the meeting is at The Fold Cafe, Cranbrook Baptist Church, Wellesley Road, and the meeting is 10:30am-12:30pm Thursday 19th November. Everyone is welcome. There is no fixed charge, but we will take our usual collection to fund ourselves, and on this occasion in addition will collect for donation to a Charity of Kathy's choice. Looking forward to seeing some of you there.

Ed: but not us because it clashes with our own coffee morning, but I feel an invite coming on for Kathy.

Local Warming

2009-11-07T14:06:00.004Z

I picked up that phrase from a Councillor friend of mine down in Lewisham. Their Sustainable Development Committee has recommended a Free Insulation Scheme for homes across that borough.

'Local Warming: Increasing Home Insulation in Lewisham: a scrutiny review' click.

Unfortunately this is not something we can expect in Redbridge any time soon, or even later. We are skint! And my local Cabinet member tells me that next year’s government grant will be drastically reduced whatever the result of the General Election. We are graded as an affluent outer London borough you know! But it’s a double whammy! At the same time that income is being reduced the call on the Council’s budget on its biggest budget line is rapidly increasing. We have a serious projected shortage of school places due to the baby boom that occurred before the economic bubble burst. PDF page 7. And that’s after the schools that have recently been built and are in progress. Just where these extra needed schools will be provided, now that the council have approved housing developments in every nook and cranny in the south of the borough, is anybody’s guess. But I will make a suggestion – SHIFT WORKING. Dear Gary, you could treble capacity in one swoop and disperse the Mum run too!

I digress, back to Insulation. Since there is no propsect of getting an insulation grant, unless you are over 70, it looks like its gonna have to be a DIY job. So, for those who are not too familiar with the various materials available, their U-values and the practicalities, or otherwise, of installing it here is a handy guide from another mate in Reading who runs the Green Construction UK blog.

Redbridge Green

2009-11-06T16:15:00.005Z

Last Wednesday at the Redbridge Sustainability Forum we had a report from Tom Lawrence, the borough’s Recycling Officer, and what a lovely report it was too. You all know that the government is obsessed with targets and local authorities have loads of them. There is a huge list of which one is N192.

The target this year [2009-10] for Redbridge is to recycle 27½% of household waste and next year [2010-11] 30%. As of now [today] we are currently running at 34%. This is largely due to the wonderful new Green Waste collection service introduced last April. The 34% breaks down to approximately 20% dry recycling [paper, glass and plastic bottles and tin cans] and 15% wet recycling [compost]. However, summer is now over and wet recycling will be a lot less during the winter. There will be a blip at Christmas with composting Christmas tress and dry recycling usually increases over this period too. So we are looking at a year end out-turn of about 30%. Jolly well done to all you recyclers out there. And there is more good news. The Green Waste sacks given out earlier this year only totaled 30,000. But they have just received another batch of 25,000 and are expecting another batch shortly. Every household [with a garden] will have one of these by next April.

There is a note of caution: Invasive weed species like Japanese Knotweed. The operatives are very careful not to introduce contamination into the compost cycle but it would be much easier if people didn’t put this stuff in the bags in the first place. Oh, and just in case you are wondering it all gets shredded before it goes to compost.

Which leads me to N195. In this target we want the percentages to go down and not up. The target for Litter is 16% and in periods 1 and 2 this year actuals were 18% and 17%. For Detritus [that’s the grime that accumulates in the kerbside] the target is 23% with out-turns for periods 1 and 2 being 29% and 23%. For Graffiti it’s 8% target and actuals of 11% and 10%. And lastly Fly-Posting the target is 2% with actuals at 1% and 2%. So, not so rosy here but getting there.

Save King George Hospital

2009-11-06T13:26:00.003Z

In the light of the suggested closure of key services (such as the Accident and Emergency department) at King George Hospital, Lee Scott MP is campaigning once again to save and improve the hospital.

Lee invites you to attend a community meeting to discuss the closure and our future action. The panel will include Redbridge Council Leader Councillor Keith Prince.

Venue: Holiday Inn, Eastern Avenue, Newbury Park
Date: Wednesday 18th November 2009
Time: 7pm – 8:30pm

Note 1: this meeting clashes with the Area Committee 3 meeting so B21 is looking for someone to feed back on any actions that need to be taken and a report for this blog.

Note 2: there is a protest being organised by Wilson Chowdhry on Saturday 21st November 2009 outside the hospital entrance in Barley Lane from 12noon to 2pm. Details.

November Begins

2009-11-01T18:02:00.031Z

With rain. So what else have we to look forward to?

The Council’s website is “down” for maintenance and the new look forums due to be launched on Halloween are still strangely absent. I wonder if they’ve broken it? But there is a new blog/forum open to residents called Redbridge Eye. Use it or lose it.

The wonderful Green waste collection service has been put to bed for the winter and will reappear on April 1st. In the meantime [link assuming the website is up and they haven't changed the URL] you can still have your green waste collected by appointment. You might like to telephone rather than email.

It’s Guy Fawkes night on Thursday 5th and the Wanstead Rugby Club will, as usual, be having their firework display. 7 pm gates open for 7:30 display £3 per head. If you are having a bonfire in your garden please be careful with the hedgehogs.

It’s Remembrance Day on Wednesday 11th, and for the first time there will be a service at Fairlop Waters in memory of the 1,000 service men & women plus civilians who served at the airfields on Fairlop Plain in the two world wars. All are invited to this the first ever memorial ceremony where they served. Service at 11am, assemble by the Mural from 10:30. For further details contact Fairlop Heirtage Group or telephone 020 8550 5543.

On Saturday 14th there is the annual Bizarre Green Bazaar. It’s in the United Reform Church off Wanstead High Street from 10am-3pm. I can recommend Chris’ Jams and marmalade. I’m afraid though that the caterers are Vegan, but if you fancy something a bit different there is a Pie and Mash shop just along the road where you can get Jellied Eels. Yum!

Moving onwards we have the next installment of the entertainment spectacular of Area Committee 3 on Wednesday 18th where the opposition seem to have a dodgy keyboard.

The following morning, Thursday 19th at 10am until 12noon, we have our own coffee morning featuring the leader of the Council, Keith Prince. It is unlikely that the Barkingside Queen will be there, having had a strop at the last one, but Mr & Mrs King may turn up. Douglass will definitely be there with a couple of boxes of DIY tools to give away so if you’re short of a posidrive or two it could be worth a visit.

Later that evening there is the launch of the London Low Carbon Communities Network from 6-9pm at City Hall. It’s a new network that offers all organisations working in their own way to tackle climate change and to cut carbon emissions, an opportunity to cooperate, share experiences and build skills. B21 has been invited and we are authorised to pass the invitation on to other groups with whom we have contact. Email me for a copy of the reply form.

And to round off, as she usually does, we look forward to Area 4 Committee on Tuesday 24th, where we can expect Madam Chairman, along with the other two Witches of Aldborough, to stir a lively cauldron of debate and cast a spell over those assembled. Although the suggestion for a ducking stool at Fairlop Waters may not go down too well.

And then it’s Christmas. Am I allowed to say Christmas? WTH, I get cards from Muslims, Jews and Hindus. It's Christmas FCS! Let's call it what it is.

Update: B21 apologies for any offence caused by the "witch" comment above. It was not meant as a derogatory remark. B21 recognises the hard work done by the Aldborough councillors and holds them in high regard.

Visitors

2009-11-01T16:18:00.003Z

Occasionally I will look through the site statistics to see what sort of google searches end up here. We get the usual search criteria of “Barkingside escort agencies” and the like, [that’s just ensured we will get some more], but the one that really caught my eye was from someone in Bronxville, New York in the United States of America - “how to avoid Agenda 21” . Well, that didn’t work did it. So, just for him/her I thought I’d post up this video.

We also learn that the top 10 Tory bloggers are Climate Change sceptics. But I doubt they visit here, although we do have “Judith”.

Do Tories Get It? Here’s what Greenpeace think.

Parks, Parking and Charges

2009-11-01T14:38:00.004Z

Last Thursday evening the Cabinet Member for Leisure and the Head of the Parks Police turned up at the Leisure Scrutiny Committee to be interrogated.

Prior to that there was the Public Participation bit. The Chairman of B21 rose to his feet and proclaimed how disgusted he was at the plan to introduce parking charges in our Parks and Libraries. Locally this includes Barkingside Rec, Clayhall Park, Valentines Mansion and Valentines Park as well as Fairlop Waters. Claybury Park doesn’t have a car park, .....yet!

Shortly after, having not booked in to speak, the Secretary of B21 was allowed by the committee chairman to have his say. He commended the Council and the Cabinet Member for a brave and courageous decision and pointed out that he, and many others, had put precisely that proposal on the form when they completed the Big Conversation in order to balance the budget. There was though a proviso. That the new regime did not include clamping and that being the case that the regime at Hainault Forest is reviewed to bring it into line with rest of the borough. If you are parked somewhere where you should not be, that’s fine, you only have yourself to blame. But if you are parked in a place specifically for car parking and you are delayed, for any number of reasons, then clamping and/or towing is completely unreasonable and draconian.

In the ensuing debate we had an assurance from both the Cabinet Member and the Head of Parks Police that clamping is not an option and that the regime at Hainault Forest will be reviewed. We also learnt that this was not a Cabinet Decision but a unanimous Council decision when they passed the budget.

Now you can’t really complain when the council don’t listen if you also complain when they do listen!

Elsewhere in the meeting Cllr Mrs Ryan raised the problem of declining room lettings, and therefore revenue, due to the recent price increases. The law of diminishing returns. It was suggested that concessions be allowed for local non-profit groups. Hooray, someone is seeing sense. If you price them out of the market they’ll only turn up at an Area Committee meeting and ask for a grant!

Public Forums

2009-10-28T22:54:00.004Z

At most official council meetings, and specifically Area Committee meetings, there is an agenda item – public forum. Anyone can put their name down to speak on any subject they choose and those present, officers and councillors, have no way to control what is said. They might try but it is only after the event that they will realise. They have no way to predict or control what anyone is going to say. Hence there is no censorship at council meetings.

Compare this with the public forum on the Redbridge-i website. You can’t have a look at it at the moment, so no link, because it is off line as of 6pm this evening while it is being upgraded for a re-launch on Saturday. Over the 2-3 years of its operation there has been considerable disquiet among some [most?] of the main users over:

the time lag taken to publish posts
that posts have to be moderated at all given that all users have to be registered, unlike a blog
the inconsistent nature of moderation
heavy handed censorship

This has culminated with a post submitted by “Weggis” replying to the Redimanagers post in notification of the proposed changes and which had the following paragraph removed before it was published.

Oh and what Redimanager’s post didn’t say:
All topics and threads will be set by the council and will be strictly managed within the following categories:
· Corporate consultation (including large planning applications where appropriate)
· Scrutiny Panel work programme topics (where wider public engagement is desired)
· Local News (provides a facility for users to comment on council news stories)
· Online services feedback channel (as exists currently for online services such as e-admissions)
· About Redbridgei – a channel for information about the site and user comments and suggestions as to how it could be further improved.
· Hot topics – high profile/ popular subjects for which there may be considerable demand locally.
Extract from leaked letter written by Roger Hampson, Chief Executive, LB Redbridge

The full letter is here.

The other heralded development – Neighbourhood Forums – is as “Weggis” points out in that part of his post that was published a return to the former make-up which didn’t work. But of course this is a government [taxpayer] funded initiative and we can’t argue with them can we?

Discuss

PolyClinics

2009-10-27T14:22:00.007Z

click on Map to enlarge.

Redbridge is to have 5 ~~Polycynics~~ Polyclinics each serving a distinct area. The areas are not all the same size, either geographically or population and the “name” given to each area by the Primary Care Trust may not be recognised by you as where you live. So, click on the map above to see which one you are in, it’s over 1Mbits so be patient [sic!], [sick?]. One Polyclinic has already been provided in “Loxford” and it does seem to be welcome and has had some good reviews. On the other hand Cllr Mrs Sladden is not impressed as can be seen from her letter in the Ilford Recorder last week [page10]. Only one of the other 4 Polyclinics has a known location, that being the same site as King George Hospital.

The problem is that the Trust are to “encourage” General Practioners to move their practice to the new polyclinics. So, whilst some services may become more localised others will become less localised. This becomes a transport problem, especially for those with mobility difficulties, plus the location of a Polyclinic in some of the larger areas may not have adequate public transport for all potential patients to reach it, nor judging by other developments will there be much scope for parking provision. Not so in “Fairlop”. We have the ideal site in Oakfield playing fields once Frenford Sports club moves out.

So, the PCT “would like to establish community panels of local residents, to help ensure we include the views and listen to the concerns of the people most likely to use the services.” Interested? Here’s an expression of interest form. And here’s some notes from Bill to get you started.

The introduction of Polyclinics in Redbridge are causing concerns. We are not particularly against PCs, but I have asked Lee Scott/The Recorder to raise a non-political campaign so that residents throughout the Borough can be united against the following.

Any reductions in overall health facilities, and that this is not just another ploy to close King Georges A+E Department.

Any Polyclinic should be sited in a place where suitable bus services run too, for the sake of OAPs and people with dis-abilities.

Any Polyclinic should have suitable car parking facilities for the numbers of people who will be using the site, including staff.

Any Polyclinic should not effect our local Health Centre in Perrymans Farm road, including the doctors and staff we have in place today.

The PCT team should double check the numbers of people who will be using the centre, including those with no passports. Provision should be made so that people from outside areas do not flood the centre, as happened with the day centre which opened in Cranbrook Road before its closure.

Obviously there are many more questions that need answering, and many of us that fought against KG A+E closures are mis-trusting of the PCT team, and others in authority who consider cost saving to be their major priority.For all those people who agree with these thoughts you should write to your MP and Councillors, and get involved with any local campaigns.

The Griffin Wakes

2009-10-25T16:42:00.003Z

Last week I did something unusual. I watched two Television programmes that were not football. On Tuesday I watched “The end of the Line” and on Thursday I watched BBCs Question Time. They are related. I will explain.

The End of the Line is about what industrial fishing methods have done to fish populations in our oceans. Traditional fishing fields like the North West Atlantic and the North Sea are getting desperately low on stock. So, the industrial nations are going elsewhere for the fish that end up on our dinner plates. The film crew went to a stretch of coast in East Africa where for generations the local population has relied on fishing for their livelihood. Not any more. The big European trawlers parked off the coast and clearly visible, given dispensation by the host government, are taking away the local people’s living. They are going to migrate, and where do they want to go? Yes, Europe. Said one local “They want our fish, but they don’t want us”.

Which brings me to BBCs QT and the appearance of the leader of the British National Party, Nick Griffin. Much has been written and debated about whether or not the BBC should have invited him onto the programme. And in the last few days still further debate about the programme itself. There are far too many links to supply here, but from my perspective it’s a score draw. On the one hand we have those who feel that the BNP should be excluded from the political arena [a form of fascism in its own right] and on the other we have those who wish put them in the spotlight and expose them for “what they are” whatever that may be.

One thing is clear to me, well, possibly two or three. It is no good sweeping these things under the carpet, we have to face up to the issues and deal with them. Immigration and population are problems that have to be dealt with. If too many people get into the lifeboat it sinks and everybody drowns. If too many people visit an unspoilt place of natural beauty it soon loses its charm. Such dilemmas are the spice of life and hard decisions are not exactly best left to politicians.

The thing is that immigration and population are not “race” issues. They are number issues. There are many people here in the UK, who some may regard as foreigners, who are also concerned about mass immigration.

It was to be expected that BBCs QT would turn into a farce. It was a first and we’ve now got it out of the way. Next time, and there will be a next time, the initial conflict will recede and the issues will be addressed, whether or not the mainstream parties want to or are comfortable with it.

The fact is that the root cause of modern day immigration is the actions of governments who support multi-national corporations who in turn exploit the populations of third world countries. And we, yes that’s you too, play our part when we buy things without checking where they came from, what the provenance is, who made it etc.

As ye sow, so shall ye reap. We are all guilty. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

Take me to the Leader

2009-10-24T23:32:00.004+01:00

The leader of Redbridge Council, Cllr Keith Prince [pictured right, note the Gary Cooper pose] is going to be very busy over the next couple of months. I just hope that he finds time to do his Christmas shopping otherwise the earache he is going to get from what I am about to describe will pale [pail?] into insignificance.

He is about to embark on a meet the people tour, talking to residents all over the borough about what they see as priorities for improvement. Be it potholes or graffiti, anti-social behaviour, exorbitant council tax, lack of swimming facilities or libraries, I would expect everyone has got something to have a whinge about. A brave man. Good luck to him. A man’s gotta do……

He kicks off at the Ilford Mall on Monday 26th October at High Noon to 2pm. Watch his blog for further dates and venues.

Not only that, he is also hosting a meeting specifically on the Swimming pool situation at the Town Hall on Thursday 12th November again at High Noon. ~~The Clayton gang~~ Barkingside 21 and Johnny Ringo may well show up. If you wish to attend then please let his secretary know so she can book you in.

The following week on Thursday 19th November Cllr Prince comes to the ~~OK Corral~~ Barkingside High Street as guest speaker at the B21 coffee morning in the Hainault room Fullwell X library, 10am to High Noon. These coffee mornings are public meetings and open to anybody to attend and there is no charge.

If you’ve got something to say then seek him here or seek him there and say it.