DEMOLITION NOTICE SERVED ON LANDMARK TOWERS

Fred Wigg & John Walsh Towers

Fred Wigg & John Walsh Towers – Montague Road

Waltham Forest E-Guardian – Thursday 2nd April 2015

A demolition notice has been served on two landmark Leytonstone towers.

Amid anger over the number of social housing units being axed from the re-build Ascham Homes has served initial notice on Fred Wigg and John Walsh Towers.

The multi-storey towers which house hundreds of families in Montague Road are set to be stripped back to the bare structure and rebuilt around the outside in a regeneration bid, but they will not be torn down completely.

However, the number of social housing units will be stripped back from 234 to 160.

The notice, given by the council, outlines the plans to replace all flats from numbers one to 117.

It states the deadline is seven years from now: “The regeneration will replace existing Council homes with new, improved accommodation and the construction of a low rise infill block to provide up to 46 additional newly built flats.

“The Council intends to demolish the Relevant Properties before 8 the March 2022.”

Tens of millions of pounds will be spent on the project which will span six years.

Also, designs have revealed another building to be erected in the middle of the new towers.

Some of these new flats would be sold on the open market to raise £30million towards the project.

The public meeting heard from the former assistant director of housing for Hackney council, Peter O’Kane, who lives in Ferndale Road, Leytonstone.

Campaigners and objectors have called the plans ‘risky’ and have been heavily critical of the number of council houses being cut.

LOCAL TUBE STATION TICKET OFFICE CLOSURES TO BEGIN

Leyton Station Ticket Office first for the chop!

Waltham Forest E-Guardian 8:01am Friday 27th March 2015

Ticket offices at Tube stations across Waltham Forest will begin to close in the coming weeks.

The office at Leyton Station, scheduled to close in April, will be the first to go, followed by Blackhorse Road, Leytonstone and Walthamstow Central.

Closure works take around a month, except Walthamstow Central which could take up to three.

Labour London Assembly Member Jennette Arnold has condemned the move, claiming the move will leave passengers with less staff support.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson’s plan to close all the capital’s tube ticket offices will cost taxpayers almost £134million, Ms Arnold said.

She described the cost as “staggering”.

The £134million will fund additional ticket machines in 27 London stations, four new customer receptions and the conversion of 181 ticket offices for other uses.

Jennette Arnold said:

This argument isn’t about whether staff are based in ticket offices or not.

It is about whether there are enough staff in stations to provide the good service people in Waltham Forest have come to expect, particularly the elderly and disabled who often rely more on station staff for assistance.

The closures in Waltham Forest are expected to be completed by the end of the year.

POLICE CONTACT POINTS

The recently closed Police Station in Kirkdale Road

With the closure of Leytonstone Police Station there is now no police station in the south of the borough.

Following the closure the Police are providing a contact point at Tescos in Gainsborough Road. Officers are present every Wednesday and Thursday from 6 – 8pm. and on Saturday from 2 – 4pm.

The only other local contact point is The Police Base, 593 Lea Bridge Road, E10 6AF. It is open every Wednesday and Thursday from 7 – 8pm, and on Saturday from 2 – 3pm.

The Cann Hall Neighbourhood Policing Team telephone number is (020) 8721 2036.

For non-emergency calls the Police ask you to dial 101. However, for emergencies call 999.

INFLATION BUSTING PAY RISE!!

Waltham Forest’s Labour run Council has voted to give the Chief Executive of the Council  a whopping inflation busting pay rise of £15,000 – an 8% increase. 

This makes his salary £195,000! Even the Prime Minister only gets £142,000.  Labour councillors said it was reward for overseeing council cuts.

Given that the cuts were a loss of 1,000 jobs plus salary cuts to the rest of the council staff should this have been rewarded?

On top of that, Labour councillors voted to give the redundant deputy chief executive a massive £140,000 pay off.

You can be assured that the staff who lost their jobs did not receive any golden pay offs.
Can you believe the way this Labour Council spends your money. Last year they increased the Deputy leader’s pay by 25%.

Your money down the drain

Focus will keep on reporting the arrogant and wasteful ways that this Council spends your money.

PEVENSEY ROAD/WINCHELSEA ROAD – FLY TIPPING REPORTED

Fly-tipping reported on the corner of Winchelsea Road and Pevensey Road

FOCUS Team member and Neighbourhood Watch Coordinatoe Rupert Alexander has advised the council that Pevensey Road, at the junction with Winchelsea Road is becoming a hot spot for fly-tipping again.

 

Local residents are calling for re-deployable CCTV camera to be installed in the area. The council has advised that all the cameras are currently deployed, and the next review will be in October 2014, when Rupert will learn if his request has been successful.

 

Meanwhile, watch this space.

 

You can contact the Cann Hall FOCUS Team via this website if you want to report something that needs attention.

 

LEYTONSTONE FIRE STATION – update

Leytonstone Fire Station

The London Fire Brigade has advised that there are no plans to permanently close Leytonstone Fire Station.

It is one  of nine fire stations to be rebuilt as part of a PFI project. The work of demolition and rebuild of the existing station will start in late 2014.

During the rebuild process the fire engines will be relocated to Woodford and Walthamstow fire stations.

Local residents will be informed before any works commence.

Cann Hall Ward FOCUS Newsletter 260

The latest edition of the popular Cann Hall FOCUS Newsletter has just come from the printers, and will be delivered across the ward, free of charge. by our team of volunteers.

FOCUS is published every 6 weeks, and a round usually takes about 45 minutes.

If you would like to help deliver FOCUS near your home, please contact Clyde Kitson on 8534 2947.

You can access a copy here: Cann Hall 260

BARKING – GOSPEL OAK LINE: ELECTRIFICATION UPDATE

Caroline Pigeon, the Liberal Democrat Chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee, is continuing to lead the campaign for electrification of the Barking – Gospel Oak Line which has seen passenger numbers increase dramatically since the introduction of the new diesel units.

Caroline Pigeon says:

“We were disappointed when confirmation of funding for the Gospel Oak-Barking line electrification failed to materialise in the Budget, but are hopeful that the Government will choose to sanction these line improvements as a priority when it reviews the plans in June.  Electrification will deliver huge benefits to both the local area and London as a whole, including improvements to the rail network connectivity, and a reduced environmental impact.

“Full funding must be confirmed this year or, due to the impact of Crossrail’s construction, costs will rise far beyond the current estimates. Confirmation this year will mean this significant milestone for Britain’s rail infrastructure can go ahead without further delay or spiralling costs.”