Boris on Parks Police

Questions have been asked at the London Assembly….

Police officers patrolling parks (1)
Question No: 1219 / 2011
Jenny Jones
It has been reported that Wandsworth and Redbridge Councils will be using police officers to replace current civilian park patrols. Which local authorities are you talking to about using officers in this way?

Written response from the Mayor
No other Local Authority has suggested that they wish to use police officers to provide an additional policing service within their parks.

Police officers patrolling parks (2)
Question No: 1220 / 2011
Jenny Jones
In the buy one get one free offer made to boroughs, did the Mayor or Metropolitan Police suggest that police officers could be used to replace current park patrols?

Written response from the Mayor
Officers deployed under the Match Funding Scheme are being used to address local priorities as defined by the Local Authority.

Police officers patrolling parks (3)
Question No: 1221 / 2011
Jenny Jones
Do you think that providing the free police officers to patrol what have been described as some of London’s safest parks in Wandsworth and Redbridge represents good value for money for the Metropolitan Police?

Written response from the Mayor
Yes, the scheme is an excellent initiative. The Match Funded officers represent additional resources and are being deployed in partnership with those Local Authorities that wish to participate in the scheme, to address their local priorities.

Police officers patrolling parks (4)
Question No: 1222 / 2011
Jenny Jones
Has any guarantee been given to Wandsworth or Redbridge councils that officers allocated to park patrols will not be abstracted to other duties?

Written response from the Mayor
The Match Funded officers will be dedicated to their assigned duties as agreed with the Local Authority and only abstracted in the case of an emergency for example, an act of terrorism; a fire, flood or other natural catastrophe; an accident, riot or disturbance, or public order event of exceptional magnitude or severity.

Editor’s Notes:

Don’t you just love answer (3), +12 – 12 = 0 = “additional resources”. This is what passes for a good education in these modern times?

No organisation is beyond criticism and the Metropolitan Police is no different. Good as they are there is one thing that has infuriated me over the many years I have been “well known” to them. It is their rule that officers can spend no more than a couple of years in any one post. There may be good reasons for this, but if so they have escaped me. The problem is that they are piss poor at passing on local knowledge to their successors. Result is they fall into the same local traps every couple of years and then have to dig themselves out with the assistance of people like me - and sometimes people like me move away. No such problem of consistency and continuity for the Redbridge Parks Police, but then such qualities do not seem to be valued by those in charge.

On the Tip and Cardboard

This is a guest post by Tom Lawrence, the Redbridge Recycling Officer, who wishes to address some of the points made on an earlier post.

The reason for the changes in the procedures at the ELWA Reuse and Recycling Centres is to ensure it is only ELWA residents who can use the sites, and to stop traders tipping at the site. Due to ever increasing disposal costs, it is important that our residents are not paying to dispose of waste from people outside the ELWA region, or tradespeople. The arrangements are certainly not intended to make it difficult for Redbridge residents, and if anyone has a problem with providing the required ID, they can call Shanks on 0800 389 9918 and alternative arrangements will be made.

The public cardboard banks were funded by Shanks East London, who have also funded the blue boxes, which are currently being delivered. The funding of the blue boxes was conditional upon the cardboard banks being removed. As of the end of today, every property on the kerbside recycling scheme should have received a leaflet about now being able to recycle cardboard in their existing recycling boxes, and that a blue box will be delivered shortly.

Regarding the point about Tesco, as a waste collection authority (as opposed to a waste disposal authority) there is no disbenefit to Redbridge from any material not collected from these sites.

Tom Lawrence
Recycling Manager
London Borough of Redbridge

Editor: And whilst I have not, to my knowledge, received a leaflet I have received this [pictured below]. It arrived yesterday evening, on a damp bank holiday Monday. Update: Just found leaflet on doormat, 16:02 Tuesday.

And here's a handy resource page - Recycle for your community.

A Market Opportunity

From the Greening Newsletter.

Farmers Markets in Redbridge

1st Sunday of the month - High Street, Wanstead,
10.00am – 3.00pm - 5th June; 3rd July; 7th August; 4th September; 2nd October; 6th November; 4th December

3rd Sunday of the month - George Lane, South Woodford,
10.00am – 3.00pm - 19th June; 17th July; 21st August; 18th September; 16th October; 20th November; 18th December

4th Sunday of the month – Valentines Mansion, Ilford,
11.00am – 3.00pm - 26th June; 24th July; 28th August; 25th September; 23rd October; 27th November

Further details see http://www.essexfarmersmarkets.co.uk/

Now what do you notice. Yes that’s right, there is a gap in the market – the Second Sunday of the Month. And there is no market in Barkingside or Hainault. But don’t hold your breath. The business partnerships in both locations have folded, there is no council support and the one officer who was dealing with “Regeneration” of Barkingside Town Centre has been moved to pastures new without a replacement. But there is this also from the Greening newsletter.

Organic delivered to your door

Second Nature, the independent organic store in Wood Street, Walthamstow operates a delivery service of fruit and vegetables, wholefood and cleaning products. They currently have an offer for anyone who recommends a friend, relative or neighbour to sign up for their weekly delivery service for a minimum of four weeks. The new customer will receive a bottle of organic wine; the person who introduces them will receive a £10 shopping voucher.

Competition, the Market & Recycling

Being of a certain age, and remembering rationing and powdered eggs, I have always considered recycling to be a socially responsible thing to do – good for the environment and good for society as a whole. However, up until recently I, and I suspect many others, have been labouring under the illusion that it doesn’t matter where you recycle your stuff so long as it is recycled.

For example, back in the days before kerbside collection I would take mine and my mother-in-law’s recycling with me on my way to visit my Dad on a Sunday and deposit the stuff in a Tescos car park on the way. On the way home I would have my Dad’s recycling and deposit it in the same place. I knew that I was depositing Newham, Redbridge and Islington waste in Haringey but I thought I was doing them a favour by improving their recycling figures.

Likewise, after my dad died, I would take my recycling over to the Luxborough Lane Dump [an Essex County Council facility just outside the Redbridge border] because at the time there were no recycling facilities at the Chigwell Road dump.

As an aside down that Lane on the left is the Spurs training ground and one would often see players practising bending free kicks around a cardboard defensive wall. I often wondered why they didn’t actually play those cardboard players as they seemed to be far better at defending set pieces than the real thing. But that was some time ago and I digress.

Then something strange happened. Essex CC put the barriers up and started charging non-Essex CC residents £3 per visit. This was about 2004-ish and fortunately not long before the Chigwell Road site was upgraded to a full Recycling and Reclamation Centre [RRC]. Nevertheless, I continued to use that site for a while using my son’s council tax bill [he lives in Brentwood]. At the time I recall the Redbridge Cabinet member [then Cllr Weinberg] being outraged and saying that there would be no retaliation.

But things have now moved on. And you now need ID to enter the Chigwell Road tip for free. The rules have recently been relaxed to one form of ID, but you still need some evidence that you are an ELWA resident or know someone who is a resident and willing to lend you their CT bill.

Waste is an expensive business, as highlighted earlier, and we seem to be entering a period of protectionism by Local Authorities. The swiftness that public cardboard recycling facilities have been withdrawn from eg Craven Gardens Car park and Sainsburys Chase Lane is evident, even when the new kerbside cardboard recycling facility has not yet been fully promoted.

But then I am thrown into total confusion. Tescos are kicking out council recycling facilities from their car parks and installing their own, as already done at Barkingside, (see the rather prescient conclusion to that post, even if I say so myself) with a reported potential gain of £25million. Councils are complaining that they are losing £50-80K per year which is re-invested in local infrastructure.

Er! If those councils are making a profit out of recycling and Tescos see a market opportunity why are we, along with Havering, Barking & Dagenham and Newham paying £98 per tonne to get rid of ours?

Safer Communities

Following on from the earlier post about how the local Police are facing up to a 20% cut over 4 years I should point out that the Borough Commander, Detective Superintendant Sue Williams, went on to say how important Neighbourhood Watch would become in the future by being the eyes and ears of the police and, by adopting crime prevention tactics, they could help lower crime rates. And well she might.

I would also expect a booming trade for private security companies and manufacturers and installers of burglar alarms, CCTV etc. Mind you there has been a spate of thefts from local schools lately, despite CCTV and alarms, where large quantities of equipment have been stolen. It is not clear if the stolen equipment included the CCTV and the alarms.

She also referred to NHW as the “Big Society” and that our views would count in the future of policing. She encouraged everyone to have their say and influence local policing by completing the survey on the MPS website.

And so to the other two speakers on the night.

Liana McNabb from the Redbridge Trading Standards Office focused on the Redbridge Bogus Callers Partnership (set up 4 years ago) which won an award from Redbridge Council this year. There are 3 types of bogus callers a) distraction burglary b) hard pressure sales and c) posing as workmen. The typical target for bogus callers is a councillor “white 81 year old lone female” and these incidents reduce life expectancy. Agencies that are involved in the project include: the Police, SNTs, crime prevention team, housing, council, victim support, age concern, fire brigade and others. They concentrate their efforts on; raising awareness, publicising an approved traders list, and an initiative called Operational Liberal Days (stopping traders to check their identity and circumstances are legitimate). The partnership has also enforced ‘No Cold Calling Zones’ and has reduced doorstep crime by over 50%. See the latest scams over on Redbridge Eye.

Steve Wills, Crime Prevention Officer also works alongside police, bogus partnership team, environment team at the council, housing, highways plus more. He again stressed the message for those residents with UPVC doors - it’s not enough to lift the handle, you must lock the door with a key too, otherwise burglars can still get in from the outside! Entering houses to obtain Car Keys is still an issue - beware. Those residents with side gates (on semi detached or detached houses) are advised to bring the gate as close to the front of the house as possible so it is flush with the house and not set back creating an alley way that cannot be seen by neighbours from the street. Gates are permitted to be 2 metres high.

Take care and Watch out - this could be a bumpy ride.

Up for the Cup

A belated report on the East London & Essex U17/18s Cup Final between Ilford Colts and FC Catalan played at the FC Hornchurch ground on 15th May. Going into the match FC Catalan had won every game they had played all season and had beaten Ilford Colts a few weeks earlier by 5 goals to Nil. In fact they had beaten the Colts in every previous game.

But the Colts coach, Ashley Gunstock (a Chelsea supporter and protégé of Jose Mourinho), was prepared this time. He had a full squad to choose from having some of his bigger lads back from clubbing injury and knew that if he could motivate his boys and employ the right tactics, they would be “up for it”.

Sure enough, they soaked up the early pressure frustrating their opponent’s attempts to break them down and reached half time at 0-0. A rousing team talk in the dressing room produced two second half goals and the Colts were leading 2-0 with the clock ticking down. A late goal for FC Catalan making it 2-1 produced some nervous moments, none more than a disputed penalty in the final minute for FC Catalan which was blasted over the bar.

Ilford Colts with the cup

Ashley and family with the cup

The Catalan coach conceded “They were good for the win”.

Ron Manager Ashley said “17 year old boys can be very unpredictable”.

Roy Pundit said “The Catalans played some eye-pleasing one-touch triangles, but were undone by their insistence on always trying to walk the ball into the net. It’s good to see that traditional English footballing values, like putting a shift in, letting the keeper know you’re around at set-pieces, having a pop from outside the area, tucking in on the flanks, and lumping the ball up to the Big Fella to see what happens, can triumph against supposedly more sophisticated opposition.”

We now look forward to another Cup Final this coming Saturday again featuring a Catalan side playing another side who cannot be named due to a B21 super injunction.

Note1: this post is dedicated to @TheMotormen

Note2: Ashley is not available for the vacant managerial position at West Ham.

Shush! The not so Secret Garden

Or Mira’s Gardening Adventure.

When I heard that Ilford's most famous front garden was at its freshest and most luxuriant, I called up its owner, Shushila Patel, to arrange a visit, picked up my camera and got on the 150 bus via Gants Hill.

Shush began to garden in earnest when poor health forced her to downshift to flexible working hours. More time at home meant more time noticing the garden. An article in The Times titled 'East of Ilford' and reported on this blog last year describes how the paved over front was transformed, with help from friends and neighours, into “an exotic extravaganza ... an oasis of colour and scent in a grey-paved desert”.

Arriving in front of the house, the garden is a vivid and alluring scene you can smell before you see it. From the pavement your eye is drawn over the tiny wild strawberries, sempervivum, flowering onions, geraniums and sedum to a rose with masses of deep pink blooms, which climbs over the tomatoes, up the wrought iron pillars at the porch, and wanders along the balcony above. On the other side of the doorway is a tea tree plant, also in full rich pink bloom.

House front

The balcony is the best place to survey the main attraction, an ornamental garden on a wave theme laid out in bright scotch moss, alpines and cape daisies, framed with lighter and darker pebbles in precise curves and curliques, winding outwards from an enormous agave cactus at its base.

Wave garden

The recent restoration of Valentine's Park brings birds to the area and if they venture further afield, they find that Shush's garden has opportunities. On my visit, blue-tits were exploring possibilities in the jumble of roses at the top of the balcony. A pair of blackbirds named Pintu and Tinu seek out particular long papery leaves from the garden for their nests. Shush allows the bark and wood there to rot naturally, providing a home for many beneficial creepy crawlies. The flowers attract butterflies and bumble-bees.

We discuss unused space and the reservations which may prevent people from cultivating theirs. She laments the unused space next to her building - although there is a mostly empty garage at the side and more space at the back of the house, she has not managed to persuade the freeholder to rent them to her. On paving over front gardens she says, “I think we have to accept that times have changed. Almost every household has a car and there's a lack of parking. The other thing is that where people don't have time to maintain anything, they prefer something they consider tidy and clean, and that can mean having one or two small plant pots, or paving over the front. I think we have to accept it – I was just fortunate that I was able to pursue the vision I had for the front garden.”

That said, when it comes to other people's front yards, who wouldn't rather see a garden than a car? Local residents – often those with children - have told Shush that they make diversions to pass the garden and look at the flowers. She frequently notices people standing and admiring the roses or intrigued by the UN sculpture centrepiece of the wave garden. The pavement outside the garden is a place where neighbourly conversations are started – people encounter each other there and as they chat they begin to share local knowledge.

Shush is very down to earth about gardening, something that would reassure anybody with reservations or a tight budget. With the exception of the wave garden, which she designed in detail along the lines of rangoli, the decorative folk art of India (and Walsall where she grew up, and Ilford) she doesn't plan much. I ask how she gets her plants and she says “Well, I'm economical - I pick and choose bargains. Sometimes big stores like B&Q and Wilkinson do not have adequate staff to water the plants and look after them, and so they are reduced. I find that I often pick up good bedding plants from Mandys' store, which is outside the Exchange and opposite Ilford station.” Her seeds and cuttings are given or swapped with friends or the Commonwealth Gardeners – the group of enthusiasts with homes in the area of Valentine's Ward referred to as the Commonwealth - or impulse buys from the pound shop. When the fascinating tea tree pictured below suffered in the long freeze this winter, a fellow Commonwealth Gardener who had taken and cultivated a cutting was able to supply one back to Shush in turn.

Tea tree

In terms of tools, a basic fork and spade which fits your height and size will do, she says. Ceramic pots look lovely but they lose water and they crack so she favours plastic ones, though she plants fewer pots than she used to because the watering became a chore.

For people who haven't gardened before, the first thing to cultivate is a liking for plants and greenery. “You need to like it – once you like it, inspiration will come to you. It's quite magical – you plant something and within two weeks it's grown! I don't believe you need to go on a course to learn a great deal about different soils and plants – you experiment and you look – for example, if I see many daisies or geraniums around, I know they will grow well.” The other thing is to be flexible, and not dogmatic. “Everybody's front garden can have herbs next to roses, edible plants next to decorative plants. Even broad beans can look very beautiful with their orange flowers.”

Cape daisy

Like many before me, I left inspired. Our house has off-road parking but we don't have a car. In any case, why not get rid of the concrete, maybe reserving two wheel-width strips, and plant alpines instead? I had a little time off work. Today after Barkingside 21's last coffee morning (where I learnt from Ken Coe that you can buy compost, lime and some other necessaries from the Trading Hut at the Fullwell Avenue allotments on a Sunday morning 10-12 - please note the entrance is 31b Tomswood Hill, further down the path to the BodyShop auto repairs place) Matt and I went for the first time to the plant nursery just past Fairlop tube on Forest Road (Fairlop Nurseries, 020 8501 5535) to find something to grow on our front patch's heavy clay. We were quickly seduced by the colours and shapes, and decided to spend just a little bit more time improving the soil (some compost mixed with a bit of sharp sand) and go for plants to attract insects instead. We came away (not much lighter of pocket) with some flowers which look a bit like sea pinks, a big pot of scabious, some mini snap-dragon type flowers in red and yellow I'd seen a bee go to, two purple fennels, and some pots of the nearest thing to the beautiful scotch moss I could find.

Planting them that afternoon, I saw what Shush meant. Everybody coming and going said hello, people admired the garden, a newcomer I hadn't met before introduced herself, and I had a nice long and unusually wide-ranging conversation with my neighbour arriving home from school. If you have a garden and you want to meet your neighbours, give them something beautiful to look at.

Scotch moss

Balcony portrait

Climate Squad

PUMP IT UP with Climate Squad! Climate Squad is recruiting 16-25 year old volunteers [that let’s me out] for new carbon saving events. Join Climate Squad to help drivers save money, fuel and CO2. Teams of Climate Squad volunteers will be pumping up drivers tyres to the recommended level, helping them make fuel, cash and carbon savings (5-8% for each car with all its tyres pumped up).

This event is particularly special as we are running it in conjunction with Fullwell Safer Neighbourhood Policing Team, who will be distributing and affixing anti numberplate theft screws, as well as providing crime prevention advice and flyers.

Volunteers will receive the United Nations endorsed Environment Action Certificate along with reasonable travel and food expenses. You can also receive a free gig ticket courtesy of Orange Rock Corps [whoever they are] by volunteering with us. Sign up to the latest Pump it Up events by emailing us at climate.squad@globalactionplan.org.uk to confirm your place. Volunteers can’t just turn up – you have to register first.

Take no notice of the map on the website – this event is taking place in Tescos Car park on Southend Road IG8 and has been organised by PC Adrian Towler.

Sunday 12th June 2011, 12noon til 4pm

Spitfire Over Fairlop

click on image to enlarge

Fairlop Heritage Group wish to extend a cordial invitation to you to attend our event at Fairlop Waters Country Park on 11 June 2011 from 12noon to 3pm.

Fairlop Heritage Group have been successful in getting Battle of Britain Memorial Flight to send a Spitfire on 11 June at Fairlop Waters Country Park.

We are commemorating 100 years flying on Fairlop Plain. 70 years since RAF Station Fairlop was operational. Harold Bennett, now nearly 90, first to fly from Fairlop with 603 Squadron will be attending.

The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (Lancaster, Hurricane, Spitfire) will be circling prior to going to Buckingham Palace from approx 1245*

Our Spitfire Flypast is due around 1305*

There will be exhibition (s) of Fairlop over the past 100 years etc and hopefully a few veterans.
Click for Flyer.

David Martin

*subject to weather and operational requirements

Cotton Real

Competition, the Market, Free Trade, Globalisation. The mantra of all UK governments since 1979 with eyes firmly fixed across the Atlantic and holding up the United States of America as a model of enterprise, initiative and entrenpreneurs to which we Brits should aspire.

Meanwhile the USA has spent $21 billion subsidising it's cotton industry in the past 9 years, a position the World Trade Organisation has twice ruled as illegally contravening world trade rules, and means farmers like Moussa [pictured] earn under $2 a day.

#Capitalism.

The Redbridge Bill

Yesterday evening [May 19th] Redbridge Full Council confirmed the Cabinet’s earlier decision to take up the London Mayor’s “two for one” Police offer and dispense with the Parks Police. Unfortunately, some councillors do not appear to be aware of bogus salesman offering dodgy deals on the doorstep. Perhaps they should take more interest in Neighbourhood Watch?

On May 3rd 2011 while the Redbridge Cabinet were deciding to dispense with the Redbridge Parks Police, I was at a Neighbourhood Watch meeting in the Wanstead Rugby Club listening to Detective Superintendent Sue Williams, the Redbridge Borough Commander, telling us about how the cuts will affect Redbridge Policing.

According to DS Williams we face a 20% cut over 4 years, but 82% of her budget is accounted for by salaries. Some rationalisation can take place on non-salaried items like ensuring that police vehicles are fully used via a booking system [sic!] - like bank robbers book their activities in advance. So Police roles are going to be cut, including PCSOs [Police Community Support Officers] but not apparently Safer Neighbourhood Teams. So, what are the numbers?

The Redbridge force service consists of about 500 Police Constables and 100 PCSOs. So, assuming that the 18% non-salary part of the budget can bear more than its share of the cuts we are facing the loss of something like say, 90 PCs [that’s Constables not computers] and 18 PCSOs.

So, the addition of 12 Constables, at the expense of the loss of 12 Parks Police, [which according to my schoolboy arithmetic is a zero net gain] warrants this comment from Cllr Patel, Cabinet Member for Community Safety: “This is excellent news for Redbridge - we have increased the number of police without spending any extra money. It will guarantee that there is always a police officer in each park and they will have more powers to tackle crime than the parks police have.”

Oh Right. DS Williams went on to talk about her other responsibilities like providing officers for the Boris vs Ken elections in May 2012, the Olympics 2012 and the Queens Diamond Jubilee 2012. Plus the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Wimbledon and also potential demonstrations that may take place in central London due to public sector job cuts like we’ve just been talking about above!

Meanwhile, we understand that someone from Redbridge was up at City Hall recently collecting no less than 4 Safer Parks awards from the Mayor.

DS Williams also reported that a recent satisfaction survey indicated that 90% of residents feel safe during the day time, the figure for the evening was lower. We will be keeping an eye on that figure, assuming they have the staff to measure it.

Community Wildlife Nursery

Letter for publication

With refererence to the article “Houses could go on green belt land” in the Ilford Recorder May 5th 2011 and on this blog under the heading “Down the Hatch”.

The Report from the Fairlop Plain Scrutiny Working Group omitted the fact that most of Fairlop plain is also designated as a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) and any development on or directly surrounding the declared site has to take Nature Conservation into account.

The proposed housing development site is in part an abandoned tree nursery that has in itself some nature conservation value. However it bounds on three sides by the SINC and the effects of the housing development are likely to be extremely detrimental to the wildlife of the SINC. We will oppose any development that damages wildlife.

Does it have to be like this? It is possible to have sustainable development that compliments the SINC, increases the wildlife value of the old tree nursery and gives community well being. I am suggesting that a Community Wildlife Nursery is developed on the site similar to the London Wildlife Trusts Centre for Wildlife Gardening in south London. (This was developed in a redundant council yard scheduled for infill housing) The Redbridge Council has allowed development of a similar nature in the past; the Chadwell Millennium Green was born out of Percival Gardens residents not wanting infill housing on a redundant allotment site.

You may ask how this can be funded? If a charitable trust is set up funding can be applied for from various trusts and organisations including Lottery funding and landfill tax.

Therefore I would urge members of the Council to consider sustainable development for the site and members of the community to unite behind a focused development that benefits both the community, wildlife and the environment.

Chris Gannaway
on behalf of the Redbridge Group of London Wildlife Trust

An Informal Affair

As reported in Summer Time Blues we were promised a resurrection of the Fairlop Fair this year on the first Friday in July – 1st July 2011 – to celebrate the completion of the restoration works at Fairlop Waters. To be honest I didn’t think it would happen what with all the cuts - and true to form the Project Manager reports she has no budget for the event. But that’s not the end of it.

Nobody “organised” the Fairlop Fair back in the 18th and 19th centuries – it just happened. It was on the calendar, people heard about it through the grapevine, and they just turned up from miles around for a feast of bacon and beans under the mighty Fairlop Oak tree. Sometimes as many as 100,000 people would be there. It was the 18th century equivalent of a “flash mob”.

So, what we want is for people to turn up at Fairlop Waters on the day, bring a picnic, and if you have one a talent to entertain – juggling, busking or any low key entertainment. Dress up if you like.

And if you are a local group, why not organise an afternoon out? There are plenty of you around. Commonwealth Gardeners, Horticultural Society, AHDA, the Tuesday Painting Class at FX……. Come on, let’s show Mr Cameron what “Big Society” really means. And Mr New Mayor, if you really are up for it, why not pop along yourself?

There’s plenty there to do. New childrens play area and of course the Boulders. Or just sit and watch the birds or the boats on the lake. It’s a wonderful place to relax and chill out. And don’tcha know, those who live in places surrounded by greenery are also more generous, sociable, calm and trusting – no matter how impoverished the area might be.

And while we are on the subject jawal1 lets us know about this – a consultation on a poncy art design for a new entrance sign for Fairlop Waters. Only one of the entries [shown above] gives a cost - £8,390.

In these days of austere cuts to social services, which also affects the “Big Society” volunteers, when will those in charge realise that spending our [albeit ring fenced] taxes on such extravagances is seen as taking the piss?

A Couple of Swells

Chris Cummins

As is customary on this blog at this time of year, we welcome the new Redbridge Mayor and Deputy Mayor. This year we have the pleasure of Chris Cummins, councillor for Snaresbrook ward and as Deputy we have Felicity Banks councillor for Roding ward.

As you will note they are representative of our Coalition Council, Chris is a Conservative and Felicity a Liberal Democrat, but we are still waiting for this new fashionable combination of blue and yellow to produce some deep green.


Felicity Banks

The Mayor’s charities this year are:

• The Multiple Sclerosis Society Redbridge which has a dedicated centre in Chadwell Heath and
• a new minibus for Newbridge School which has sites in Goodmayes and Ilford and caters for children with special educational needs.

Chris seems particulalrly keen on the “Big Society” and the role played in this by voluntary groups and volunteers. We wish him well in promoting that in these difficult times.

Felicity, if I recall correctly, is very keen on sport for young people and has been heavily involved over the years with little public recognition.

We look forward to reading about their exploits throughout the year on the Mayor's blog.

Meals per Gallon

Or how biofuels put poor people's food into rich people's cars.

The great biofuels land grab has left families destitute, torn from the lands they have farmed for generations, so that we can grow fuel for our cars. These are the real lives driven into hunger and poverty by governments' biofuels targets.

Right now, the UK government is deciding whether to increase the amount of biofuels in your petrol and diesel. We have until 2 June to stop them from trebling our biofuel use. You can write to the Department of Transport here via ActionAid or to your MP but don’t send one of those pro-forma emails. They suck!

The Dakatcha Woodlands in Kenya are set to be destroyed to make way for a 50,000 hectare biofuel plantation. Taking into account the emissions produced throughout the production and consumption process, the study found that jatropha would emit between 2.5 and 6 times more greenhouse gases compared to the fossil fuels it would be replacing, depending on how the land was used before the jatropha was planted.
The Dakatcha Woodlands is one of the last remaining coastal forests in Kenya and is also home to thousands of indigenous tribes people who will be made homeless if the plans go ahead, as well as a range of threatened wildlife.
Tribe Elder, Joshua Kahindi Pekeshe, who lives in the forest says: “My people have lived here for generations. If the jatropha plantation goes ahead, we will become squatters on our own land. We will lose our homes, farms and the only school our children have.

For the full report click here.

You will not be surprised to learn that this is being driven [no pun intended] by the same people who gave us North Sea fish discards…. The European Union.

Meanwhile: One third of all food produced for human consumption goes to waste.

And There’s More…..

When Boris got elected 3 years ago one of his pledges was to plant 10,000 new street trees in the Capital and he is well on target to deliver this pledge. However, due to the cutbacks in Local Authority budgets they are finding that they don’t have the funds for maintenance of these new trees, so are resorting to the one-off cost of chopping them down - #BrokenBritain.

A reader reminds me that the signalisation of Charlie Brown’s roundabout was deferred while the Gants Hill works were ongoing. The Gants Hill works were completed some time ago, except for the Egg Whisk which has nothing to do with TfL He has written to TfL asking for an update but he may wish to note the new TfL response targets – get a letter published in the Ilford Recorder and you get a response the same day.

We are asked by the Local Safeguarding Children Board to publicise their leaflet explaining that Private Fostering arrangements must be notified to the Local Council. They will make arrangements for a social worker to visit - assuming they have not been made redundant.

Meanwhile, having grown up and got a University degree it is reported that graduates are increasingly “underemployed” in lower-skilled jobs, up now to 40% from 30% four years ago. This means that they are probably not reaching the earnings threshold where they have to repay their loans to er… the government who we understand are desperately short of cash. Not personally you understand – most of them are loaded.

Then we come to the new regime for tuition fees [but not in Scotland] brought in by the present government, and surprise surpise, nearly all Universities are charging the maximun £9,000. Er, this is not paid by the students, it is paid by the government in the form of loans and did I mention that the government are desperately short of cash. Did they not see this coming? #ShootInFoot. Hat-tip Molly. She has a more detailed post here.

Returning to TfL we learn today [Thursday] that Redbridge is to receive £385,500 from TfL for “cycling improvements”. However, as Freewheeler points out we have lost out to our neighbours Waltham Forest on having the shortest cycle path in London. He, or indeed she, also has some rather interesting comments for the residents of Wanstead and Snaresbrook.

And finally, for the time being, someone who shall not be named used the Redbridge-i Report It section today [Thursday] to report that “this” had been stolen from the Craven Gardens Car Park. And he got a reply saying it had been “actioned”.

An finally, finally here is an example of a Professionally erected sign which can viewed at Fullwell Cross roundabout.

Here’s Steeleye Span with Hard Times of Old England

Just Testing..

..to see if I can post.
Blogger has been Kapput for almost 24 hours and two of my posts and several comments have disappeared. Has Mrs Blue ePencil got a new job?

If they don't reappear shortly I will have to manually re-insert them.

Fortunately I do keep back-ups.......

I need Bees

…. to pollinate my pyracantha, so the birds can feed later this year.

Making Ends Meet

This post was to be titled “Planners have Crystal Balls” in honour of the Redbridge Planning Department. Although the new title might indicate a budgeting angle it is not wholly about that although that subject is also pertinent here. It’s about the practicalities involved in putting together a plan, or a design. It’s about making things fit, about measuring the correct dimensions and cutting to size accurately, and making sure you can get it through the door after you’ve assembled whatever it is you are building. It’s about prediction and foresight. Doing things in the right order so you don’t have to undo and redo what you’ve already done. Carpenters do it. Builders do it. Engineers do it. Seamstresses do it. We all do it, in one way or another.

So, we come to a rather optimistic document published by the Town and Country Planning Association telling us how we can get involved in the planning of our local communities to make sure the right things go into the right places at the right time. [pause while you get up off the floor after falling off your chair]

Except it doesn’t happen like that, at least not around here. We do have a Local Development Framework but it seems that the council don’t take much notice of it. As we noted earlier there are major plans to build housing on the green belt and on Fairlop Plain. If you fill up all the space with housing and don’t leave any space for amenities like schools they are not gonna be built, if at all, in the right place or at the right time. But what’s more in that council document I linked to in that post is this little gem: Para 29.

"Alongside this, the Government has reportedly shelved plans to give residents the right to appeal against major planning developments that threaten the green belt, sparking criticism from rural campaigners. The Government's proposed overhaul of the planning system, intended to promote the Coalition's "localism" agenda, will not include a third party right of appeal against successful planning applications."

Then we read that our allotments are under threat once again. The Independent.

And so we come to leaked reports suggesting ministers have decided the "wholesale outsourcing" of public services to the private sector would be politically "unpalatable". Ministers instead want to use more charities, social enterprises and employee-owned "mutual" organisations. The BBC. The Guardian.

Well, that’s fine, except it isn’t. For these organisations to work they need funding and somewhere to operate. If you cut council’s budgets so they can’t afford to fully fund Barnabas Workshops and other social enterprises their very existence is threatened. If you change the rules on building and providing schools so that our council has no choice but to sell the Downshall Centre to E-Act then the charities operating there will have nowhere else to go.

I’m sorry Mr Cleggeron, but I don’t see any “plan” in the sense that I understand the word. All I see is a hotch-potch of whacky ideas that do not link into each other, no overall objective and no vision of what is being aimed at. You and your government do not have Crystal Balls.

Meanwhile today Disabled people will be “marching” in London against cuts to benefits and services - Organisers of the “Hardest Hit” march expect between 5,000 and 10,000 people to attend largest event of its kind for decades.

And locally we hear of a resident whose husband has Alzheimers (the charity of choice of the last two Redbridge Mayors) and who gets one day a week respite when he attends a day care centre. Last year the cost was £4.64 per week. This year it is £34 per day.

#BigSociety

Parking Police

We are informed that some councillors consider the 26 [yes 26, some councillors are not good at arithmetic] Parks Police Officers do not provide “value for money”.

But apparently Parking Police do.

Here’s Morris Hickey on the subject.

As part of Redbridge council’s approved budget for 2011/12 motorists resident in, and visiting, the borough are about to have a substantial stealth tax imposed upon them.

Parking restrictions that have traditionally, and for very many years, applied during the hours of 8.30 am to 6.30 pm Monday to Saturday will in future apply from 7.00 am to 7.00 pm throughout the seven days of the week. In addition to increased charges, many areas not yet subject to parking charges will have them introduced – again throughout the seven days of the week. The usual test of rationing space because demand exceeds supply will be ignored, and charges made even where no problem currently exists.

The consequences of this policy are horrifying. With the exception of blue badge holders, and those with season tickets for car parks, nobody will be able to shop in Redbridge without either paying a charge, or parking their cars in an adjacent residential street to the inconvenience of the residents. Where yellow lines operate in residential roads throughout the week, residents without off-street parking will not be able to have their own cars outside their homes before 7.00 pm EVERY DAY, and will not be able to have visitors with cars even on Sundays.

In the case of parking in commercial areas, the current free parking outside Ilford Town Centre on Sundays will no longer apply, and charges will be made. In a report to the council’s cabinet in January 2011 there was an officer statement to the effect that this will relieve the current congestion on Sundays in Barkingside High Street!! Clearly a comment from somebody who has never been within 10 miles of Barkingside on a Sunday, and who is oblivious to the disastrous effects such a policy will have on business in difficult times.

So, at one fell swoop Redbridge council is imposing a financial burden on its residents and would-be visitors, and a potential death threat on struggling businesses.

WELCOME TO RIPOFF REDBRIDGE 2011. Roll on 1 May 2014.

Yours faithfully

MORRIS HICKEY


Meanwhile we are informed that the notices in Barkingside High Street display the ‘new’ rates but the machines are issuing tickets at the ‘old’ rates…….

Schools Out for Summer

It has just been announced that the Schools Adjudicator has selected the I-Foundation to open a new primary school on the Ilford Jewish Primary School site in Carlton Drive, Barkingside. This will be much larger than the existing school at 840 places with 75% going to any local children and the remaining 25% for local Hindu children. It is intended that the new school will open in September 2012 but is dependent on the Council [that’s the Council] acquiring the site and upgrading the buildings with a £2.75million expansion.

Meanwhile, a well-known retired local Headmistress is not impressed. Below is the part of her letter to the Ilford Recorder last week that was not deemed suitable for publication.

At present, more than the voting system, I am concerned with the ever increasing grasp of central government from local hands. The Referendum did nothing about it and even distracts attention from it.

Our councillors, freely elected by those of us who bother to turn out and vote, have to spend too much time in coping with government demands that hinder efforts to serve local needs as well as most of them wish to do. The latest is that the government is weakening their hold on education with dubious statements about more democracy and promises that parents will get their choice of schools free of local authority control.

They say that education will improve in spite of the fact that free schools can open in unsuitable premises, in unsuitable places, even with unsuitable staffing and with freedom to ignore the National Curriculum.

They will be inspected by OFSTED and some may be good, but there does not seem to be much of a guarantee. They will be academically unselective. There is no mention of other ways of being selective, so that leaves quite a loop-hole and there has obviously been a massive shifting of goal-posts perhaps to make it worth the while of private finance to foot the bill.

I am told that local authorities may not be allowed to open council schools in future because the government wants all to be free schools or academies. On the whole, Redbridge council schools have a proud record and there are many people working in them with dedication and vision that go far beyond mere league tables. I see no valid reason for undermining them or our council and it seems that the government is out of touch with us, the people, however the electoral system is organised.

Margaret Evans

Down the Hatch

St. Peter: the parish church of Aldborough Hatch
This small ragstone church, designed by Ashpitel, was built in 1862.
© Copyright Robert Edwards and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

Ron Jeffries reports on last Tuesday’s Cabinet Meeting.

Aldborough Hatch Defence Association

Note following Cabinet Meeting on 3rd May 2011

The Report of the Fairlop Plain Scrutiny Working Group was presented to Redbridge Cabinet by Councillor Mrs Vanessa Cole.

I was then invited by the Council Leader to address the Cabinet – who introduced me as: “Our good friend Ron Jeffries” - which very nearly threw me off balance, but did not! It is always slightly worrying when politicians refer to you as their friend, but I guess he meant it kindly.

I made my speech as per the News Release. The public gallery had been packed at the commencement of the meeting, but by the time our agenda item was reached, the folk who were concerned about Goodmayes Park and Park Police has all disappeared (some with their A4 paper banners!).

And so my speech was heard in the public gallery by Tim from the Ilford Recorder, and AHDA Members Jim and Jean Sibbald, and Keith Tranmer. In the Council Chamber the Cabinet Members were joined by an Officer or two and a splattering of Councillors who had come along to listen. I did not detect any groaning as I ploughed my way through my piece.

The response from the Cabinet Member was that I had been referring to but a small area of the Green Belt which was already partly built on with the Adolescent Resource Centre. He dismissed my suggestion that this was the thin end of the wedge - and that further housing would be built later on Green Belt land towards Oaks Lane and St. Peter's Church. Any suggestion that Fairlop Plain would become a massive housing estate was ruled out. He also dismissed almost out of hand my suggestion that the existing buildings should be demolished and replaced with something fit for purpose.

The news item in the Ilford Recorder for 5th May sums it up well.

The AHDA will monitor this as the Cabinet considers the issue further over coming months. We will resist housing at all costs - and believe the the Mayor of London would also be against this.

I fear that most Council Officers and many – but not all – Councillors do not have the vision that is needed to make Fairlop Waters and Fairlop Plain what it could be. But we will fight to reject any plans for housing – low level or not!

Ron Jeffries
Chairman
6th May 2011

Kerbside Cardboard Collection

Guest post from Cllr Michelle Dunn, Cabinet Member for Highways

I am really pleased to announce, that as from Monday 9th May 2011, Redbridge will be able to collect cardboard as part of the weekly kerbside recycling collection at no additional cost to the Authority.

Since becoming Cabinet Member, one of my key aims was to introduce cardboard recycling and following the successful trial that took place last year, which saw a 22% increase in paper and cardboard recycling rates in the relevant areas, ELWA and Shanks have now agreed to the full rollout of the scheme to the whole of the Borough.

By the end of July, residents on the kerbside recycling scheme will receive a new blue recycling box (funded by Shanks East London) for recycling cardboard and mixed paper and an information leaflet on the new service. Until residents receive their new blue box they should place cardboard in their existing recycling box.

If residents have more cardboard than can be fitted into their blue box they can place it an untied bag alongside their current box until their new one arrives.

Residents who were issued with a light blue box as part of last year’s trial will not receive a new box but will be able to use their existing light blue box.

Residents will be able to place cardboard packaging, cereal boxes, egg boxes, mixed paper and magazines, greeting cards and corrugated card inside the blue box. Light card and cardboard items must be flattened and it will be necessary to cut larger items up to ensure that they fit inside the box. Collections will be made on the same day as normal recycling collections, residents just need to present their new blue box at the same time.

The Council already collects a range of recycling items such as cans, glass, paper, plastic bottles and also green garden waste on a weekly basis from homes across the Borough. Recycling cardboard means less waste has to be buried in landfill sites which, in turn, will mean a reduction in the levy payments to ELWA for waste disposal.

Furthermore, I anticipate that with the introduction of the cardboard scheme our recycling performance will improve by an additional 3%, i.e. the collection of an additional 3000 tonnes of recyclable material.

In the next week or so residents will be receiving a leaflet through their letter boxes informing them of the introduction of the cardboard recycling scheme. Redbridge i has been updated with details of the scheme and there will be an article in the June edition of Redbridge Life.

Obviously the existing cardboard recycling banks located at Fullwell Cross car park and the two Tesco sites at Goodmayes and South Woodford will no longer be required and will be removed shortly.

Best Regards
Cllr Michelle Dunn
Cabinet Member for Highways

Editor's note: Please also remove any heavy duty metal staples, plastic handles and sticky tape. This scheme obviously does not include waxed cardboard, eg Tetrapaks and cardboard contaminated with eg, food or oil.

UPDATE: We are asked to point out that residents living in flats with communal recycling facilities can recycle their cardboard in their existing 'paper' bins. Cardboard needs to be presented inside the bins rather than around them.

Summer Time Blues

Those of you expecting the biennial Redbridge Green Fair this summer will be disappointed. It’s been cancelled but the organisers are hoping to do one in 2012. This year, instead, they are running the first "Big Green Lunch" on Sunday 5th June in Valentines Park, but they will not be having stalls other than a few food related ones.

The annual Valentines Mansion May Fair has had its licence application withdrawn so we assume that’s off too. However, Fun in the Park appears to be going ahead on Saturday June 11th from 11am to 5pm. This is in Barkingside Recreation ground and is organised by the local churches.

For those of you who like patting friendly dogs, Guide Dogs for the Blind up in Woodford Bridge have their annual fair on Saturday 4th June from 11am until 4pm.

As usual the Ranger Team have a full programme of events for all ages including Bat Walks, Park Walks and children’s fun events. For full details please contact the Nature Conservation Ranger Team on 020 8559 2316, visit the James Leal Centre in Ray Park or since you are logged on to interwebby click here.

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that we were also promised the ressurection of Fairlop Fair on the first Friday of July in 2011, which just happens to be on the 1st. But that was before the cuts. Mind you it doesn't stop you turning up at Fairlop Waters on the day and having a ball, a picknick or even a beer at the New Fairlop Oak just down the road.

Summer Coffee Mornings

Over the next week or so our May 2011 hard copy Newsletter will be popping through letterboxes in these here parts of Barkingside. So I thought I had better tell our blog readers what new goodies it contains.

Thursday 19th May 2011
Bob Littlewood
Leader of the Opposition on Redbridge Council speaking on:
The Co-operative Council

Thursday 23rd June 2011
Tajinder Lachhar
Redbridge Ranger, Eco Warrior and Ethics Girl talking about:
Wildlife Gardening

Thursday 21st July 2011
Keith Newton
From the Redbridge Vision Trust

These are all held in the Hainault Room, Fullwell Cross Library 10:00am – 12:00noon
We do Tea and biscuits too, and it's all Fairtrade.

There is no charge for these events and they are open to all.

Passing the Buck?

I don’t quite know what to make of this. I shall reserve judgement until the Leader of the Opposition on Redbridge Council, Bob Littlewood, comes to our next coffee morning [see next post above] and tells us about his ideas for a “Co-operative Council”.

Click on graphic to enlarge

On the one hand it could be seen as a positive move to involve the community in local authority decision making. On the other, a formalisation of what happens already. That’s what community groups like B21 do, we sit on the Sustainability Panel – and we know of others who are involved on a voluntary basis in the Health and other arenas.

However, at worst it could be seen as asking the public to do for free what we are already paying Officers and Councillors to do for us out of our taxes. And from what social grouping do they expect these volunteers to come from?

As one correspondent writes:

My more immediate concern is the ever-increasing weakening of local authority powers. Councillors are paid more and more for less and less power. They are spending time on coping with government fiats and telling us what they can’t do instead of getting on with doing their best for us here.

#BigSociety