Following a petition from residents and intervention by Lib Dem ward councillors, the planning application for a 14.7m high telecommunications mast was turned down by planning officers on the grounds that it was detrimental to the visual amenity and outlook to the occupiers of residential dwellings in the surrounding streets, in particular premises in Wadham Avenue.
The applicants have the right of appeal.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
REFUSE COLLECTIONS
There is a lot of controversy in the press over councils moving to fortnightly collections of refuse.
Lib Dem Cabinet Member for Environment Cllr Bob Belam says, “ Waltham Forest are not thinking of moving to fortnightly collections. We are concentrating on working with our new contractors to move to a system where all collections of waste happen on the same day, each week. This together with the roll out of green waste collection bins later this year will give Waltham Forest residents one of the best collection systems in London”
Lib Dem Cabinet Member for Environment Cllr Bob Belam says, “ Waltham Forest are not thinking of moving to fortnightly collections. We are concentrating on working with our new contractors to move to a system where all collections of waste happen on the same day, each week. This together with the roll out of green waste collection bins later this year will give Waltham Forest residents one of the best collection systems in London”
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Community Toilet Scheme
The Community Toilet Scheme is an initiative being piloted by Waltham Forest Council to provide clean, safe and accessible public toilet residen and visitors in the borough.
Under the scheme businesses, within the pilot area of Leytonstone, are letting members of the public use their toilet facilities free of charge during normal opening hours. Several of the premises offer wheelchair access and baby changing facilities. Each business will receive an annual fee to help towards the cost of maintaining the toilets.
The scheme is expected to improve access to toilet facilities for the general public by increasing their number and having them located in more convenient locations.
How does the scheme work?
Local businesses are paid a small annual fee, of between £800-£1,000, to open up their toilets for public use. This fee is dependant on the size and number of conveniences offered by the organisation.
Members of the public can use the toilet facilities during the premise's opening hours and without any need to make a purchase.
Participating premises will display one of the following stickers in their window depending on the type of facilities offered:
Under the scheme businesses, within the pilot area of Leytonstone, are letting members of the public use their toilet facilities free of charge during normal opening hours. Several of the premises offer wheelchair access and baby changing facilities. Each business will receive an annual fee to help towards the cost of maintaining the toilets.
The scheme is expected to improve access to toilet facilities for the general public by increasing their number and having them located in more convenient locations.
How does the scheme work?
Local businesses are paid a small annual fee, of between £800-£1,000, to open up their toilets for public use. This fee is dependant on the size and number of conveniences offered by the organisation.
Members of the public can use the toilet facilities during the premise's opening hours and without any need to make a purchase.
Participating premises will display one of the following stickers in their window depending on the type of facilities offered:
What about wheelchair access and baby changing facilities?
Currently four out of five of our scheme members offer wheelchair accessible facilities and two out of the five provide baby changing facilities.
Currently four out of five of our scheme members offer wheelchair accessible facilities and two out of the five provide baby changing facilities.
McDonalds
865-873 High Road
Leytonstone
E11 1HR
Walnut Tree
857-861 High Road
Leytonstone
E11 1HH
L'Horizon Patisserie
809 Leytonstone High Road
Leytonstone
E11 1HQ
Waltham Forest Direct
819 Leytonstone High Road
Leytonstone
E11 1HQ
Langhorne Park
Birch Grove
Leytonstone
E11
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
POLICE CALLS UNANSWERED
Half of London’s police stations don’t answer their phone to non-emergency calls. This was the shock finding from a survey of all 141 police stations in London, which we carried out in March during normal opening hours over a three-week period. The findings appear to support claims made by the Audit Commission that many crimes are going unreported because victims cannot get through to police stations.
The situation was worst in Hammersmith & Fulham and Merton, where we were unable to contact any of the police stations listed on the Met’s website.
Only four boroughs scored top marks – Barking & Dagenham, Brent, Kingston and Waltham Forest.
This situation is a disgrace, particularly since ‘Citizen Focus’ is one of the Met’s top priorities.
I met with police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair last week, to discuss our research and he agreed that what we found is totally unacceptable. The Met are taking this very seriously and are conducting a review of all London boroughs to find out what has gone wrong and how to put it right.
Our research generated a lot of TV and press coverage, and I have been contacted by a number of people who work as civilians in police stations with their own stories. If you have a concern about the service you are receiving from the Met, please get in touch: dee.doocey@london.gov.uk
The situation was worst in Hammersmith & Fulham and Merton, where we were unable to contact any of the police stations listed on the Met’s website.
Only four boroughs scored top marks – Barking & Dagenham, Brent, Kingston and Waltham Forest.
This situation is a disgrace, particularly since ‘Citizen Focus’ is one of the Met’s top priorities.
I met with police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair last week, to discuss our research and he agreed that what we found is totally unacceptable. The Met are taking this very seriously and are conducting a review of all London boroughs to find out what has gone wrong and how to put it right.
Our research generated a lot of TV and press coverage, and I have been contacted by a number of people who work as civilians in police stations with their own stories. If you have a concern about the service you are receiving from the Met, please get in touch: dee.doocey@london.gov.uk
OLYMPIC COSTS – THE FACTS
Recent news about the budget for the 2012 Olympic Games must have left many of you wondering what is going on. If it is any consolation, it has often felt way on the London Assembly, since those responsible would not disclose the full figures.
After twenty months of lobbying, these figures have at last been disclosed, I thought it would be useful for you at this stage to have a brief guide to where we stand.
Ever since London won the bid in 2005, the Mayor has insisted that the cost of the Games was under control.
Tessa Jowell’s statement on 15th March finally confirmed what we have always suspected – the cost of the Games has rocketed. The most welcome part of Jowell’s announcement is that, in future, all the Olympic figures will be independently reviewed by the National Audit Office to restore public confidence in the financial management of the Games.
Two organisations will spend the money:
· The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) will ‘build the theatre’ – infrastructure, venues, land remediation, etc. The public sector, London taxpayers and the lottery will fund this expenditure.
· The London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG), will ‘put on the show’ – everything from the opening ceremony to the closing ceremony. This expenditure will be funded by the private sector from ticket and merchandising sales, TV rights and sponsorship.
The key elements of the Olympic budget are:
Expenditure on: Original budget New budget Increase
Olympic Park and Venues £2.03 billion £3.1 billion + £1.07billion
Infrastructure & regeneration £1.04 billion £1.7 billion + £656 million
ODA contingency NIL £500 million + £500 million
Elite sport and Paralympics £345 million £390 million + £45 million
VAT NIL £840 million + £840 million
Wider security NIL £600 million + £600 million
Additional contingency NIL £2.2 billion + £2.2 billion
TOTAL £3.4 billion £9.3 billion + £5.9 billion
Tessa Jowell’s statement added that this budget would be funded as follows:
· Government: 64% ·
Lottery: 23% ·
London: 13%
The London Assembly has summoned Sir Roy McNulty and David Higgins (Chair and Chief Executive of the ODA) to our Olympic Plenary meeting, which will take place on 25th April. This will be the first opportunity we have had to question the Olympic Delivery Authority about its budget. We will make sure we scrutinise every aspect thoroughly.
After twenty months of lobbying, these figures have at last been disclosed, I thought it would be useful for you at this stage to have a brief guide to where we stand.
Ever since London won the bid in 2005, the Mayor has insisted that the cost of the Games was under control.
Tessa Jowell’s statement on 15th March finally confirmed what we have always suspected – the cost of the Games has rocketed. The most welcome part of Jowell’s announcement is that, in future, all the Olympic figures will be independently reviewed by the National Audit Office to restore public confidence in the financial management of the Games.
Two organisations will spend the money:
· The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) will ‘build the theatre’ – infrastructure, venues, land remediation, etc. The public sector, London taxpayers and the lottery will fund this expenditure.
· The London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG), will ‘put on the show’ – everything from the opening ceremony to the closing ceremony. This expenditure will be funded by the private sector from ticket and merchandising sales, TV rights and sponsorship.
The key elements of the Olympic budget are:
Expenditure on: Original budget New budget Increase
Olympic Park and Venues £2.03 billion £3.1 billion + £1.07billion
Infrastructure & regeneration £1.04 billion £1.7 billion + £656 million
ODA contingency NIL £500 million + £500 million
Elite sport and Paralympics £345 million £390 million + £45 million
VAT NIL £840 million + £840 million
Wider security NIL £600 million + £600 million
Additional contingency NIL £2.2 billion + £2.2 billion
TOTAL £3.4 billion £9.3 billion + £5.9 billion
Tessa Jowell’s statement added that this budget would be funded as follows:
· Government: 64% ·
Lottery: 23% ·
London: 13%
The London Assembly has summoned Sir Roy McNulty and David Higgins (Chair and Chief Executive of the ODA) to our Olympic Plenary meeting, which will take place on 25th April. This will be the first opportunity we have had to question the Olympic Delivery Authority about its budget. We will make sure we scrutinise every aspect thoroughly.
Monday, April 02, 2007
Increased Parking Permit Charges
The Council has increased the annual charge for the first vehicle from £30 to £45, second vehicle from £65 to £80 and third or subsequent vehicles from £75 to £105.The increase in these charges were carefully considered by Cabinet and Council as part of the Council's annual budget setting process.Residents parking permits were last increased two years ago and even now at £45 equates to less than £1 per week, which puts Waltham Forest below the London average for such charges. Furthermore the Council has given a commitment not to increase the charge for the first vehicle any further in the life of the current administration, which effectively means that the first vehicle charge will increase by £15 over a 6 year period. By law Controlled Parking Zones (CPZs) have to be self-financing, that is to say the implementation and running costs cannot be funded from Council Tax or any other revenue streams. This is because they cannot be supported from non-car owners or those that live outside CPZs. The cost of enforcing our CPZs is not cheap but any surplus income generated must be used to improve public transport or the highway network. It cannot be used to support other services.
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