The Police have announced that Leyton Police Station in Francis Road will be shut down from next Monday 10th December.
The front counter services are being transferred to the Custody Centre, in Boreham Close, off Hainault Road.
The front counter will be manned from 7am until 3am daily. The same hours as currently offered at Francis Road.
Boreham Close is a cul-de-sac situated opposite Norlington Road.
Church Lane Car Park
The recent failures of Worknet highlighted by Nick Tiratsoo still leave questions to be answered.
We know that £2 million was allocated for the contractor Widows and Orphans but we still don’t know what the targets and outputs were in each case or how much money the council actually paid the contractor in total.
Councillor Sullivan has now asked the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny committee for a review into the failure of the programme and will be pressing the council for further answers over the coming weeks.
“In normal times this failure would be damning for Labour councillors but in these difficult economic times it is unforgivable.”
“It is unforgivable that they have let down our Borough’s unemployed, it is unforgivable that they have allowed this failure to go on unreported for nearly three years and it is unforgivable that most of this money will now not be spent on employment programmes for our Borough at all.
“The failure of this contract could even have implications across the council. We know we’ve had problems with our schools contractor and our waste contractor and taken together it starts to paint a worrying picture for council contracts as a whole.
“We clearly need a full enquiry to get to the bottom of how this happened before the council goes down this road yet again.”
When the Council and the ODA decided to implement the temporary Olympic Controlled Parking Zone, it was clearly stated that it would be withdrawn on the 9th September following the closure of the Paralympic Games.
The Council also stated that they would be undertaking a consultation with the residents to find out if, in the light of their experience during the Games, they wished to make the Controlled Parking Zone permanent.
The Lib Dems have now discovered that the Council has already published a Traffic Order allowing them to extend the temporary provision for 18 months. It also states that the Council will be considering ‘in due course’ whether the provisions of the experimental orders should be continued in force indefinitely by means of permanent Orders.
Liberal Democrats feel very strongly that there is no need for permanent parking restrictions in most of the roads in areas GO1 – GO10, as they do not have a history of parking problems.
All residents are urged to send in written objections to both the temporary 18 month extension and the permanent CPZ to the Council at:
Closing date for objections: 8th February 2013
Councillor Liz Phillips has raised concerns about Waltham Forest council’s contractor Babcock after it was revealed that almost 15% of the Borough’s schools are now in special measures following their two years as the council’s contractor.
In a written answer to Cllr Phillips, the Labour Cabinet member, Cllr Clare Coghill described the council’s risk analysis programme for schools as ‘a work in progress’ and said that the council’s priority had been ‘savings of £2m from the contract at an early opportunity’.
Councillor Liz Phillips, Waltham Forest Lib Dem spokesperson for Children and Member of the Council’s Corporate Parenting Board, said:
“Almost 15% of our schools are now in special measures and yet the council won’t be seeking any compensation from the contractor who presided over this mess.”
“Surely there should be something in our contract with this company that means at the very least they must pay for failing local kids and their parents?”
“In Waltham Forest we are now on our 4th Labour cabinet member for Children’s Services in just over two years. Perhaps if someone with a bit of experience would take responsibility for more than a few months then we wouldn’t be in this situation?”
Following the successful launch of the new councillor surgery/advice centre at the M&S/BP Service Station the Liberal Democrats are pleased to announce that it will be held on Friday every week.
As usual no appointments are necessary and all consultations are confidential.
Artist's impression of the new fire station
Following the public consultation, as reported in an earlier issue of the Focus Newsletter, a brand new fire station is planned to replace the current building in the High Road, but we will have to wait a while.
The Focus Team understands that planning approval is to be sought in August 2012. If successful, demolition and reconstruction work will start in August 2014, with completion scheduled for August 2015.
The council is looking to expand the number of street watchers that already exist in the borough.
These tend to be environmentally concerned residents who report report to the council so that our streets can be kept clean and tidy.
They also use their local knowledge to provide solutions to these problems.
If you are interested in helping visit: www.walthamforest.gov.uk/street-watchers for more details or phone 8496 3000.
Rupert gets sweeping
The Focus Team as started a rolling programme of street surveys to find out what issues are of most concern to the residents.
So far they have covered Huddlestone, Pevensey, Vansittart and Hesketh Roads. The survey has revealed that many local residents, including Lib Dem Focus Team member, Rupert Alexander, are sick and tired of walking down dirty streets in Cann Hall. As Ruper says:
“We rarely see a street sweeper. Our roads go for weeks without being swept.”
Rupert made enquiries and was very surprised to discover that these roads are scheduled to be swept every Tuesday and Friday. In fact Hesketh and Vansittart should be swept additionally on Thursday, and Odessa Road every day. Rupert says:
“This doesn’t happen!”
If your road sweeping does not happen contact the Council on 8496 3000 or on-line at: www.walthamforest.gov.uk where you can also check when your road is scheduled to be swept.
The Olympic parking zone covers all roads south of Lea Bridge Road. This includes all roads in Cann Hall.
The ward has been split into two zones GO1 and GO2 – residents living in GO1 will not be able to park in GO2and vice versa.
You need to register your vehicle either by phone 0300 111 2012 or on-line at: www.2012gamesparkingpermits.com
If you don’t have a vehicle but have visitors, you need to register your address and set up an ‘account’ to access parking vouchers for them.
Additional information can be found on the Leyton and Wanstead Lib Dem website.