Leyton Ward Residents’ Meeting – Minutes for 4 September 2013

Minutes of 4 September 2013 LEYTON WARD RESIDENTS FORUM MEETING

Score Centre, Leyton E10 at 7pm

Officers/Councillors in Attendance: Cllr Bob Sullivan, Cllr Naheed Qureshi, Cllr Winnie Smith, Leyton SNT and Library staff

AGENDA ITEM 1: WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS

The Chair, Cllr Bob Sullivan welcomed everybody to the meeting. Cllr Sullivan introduced the Councillors and Officers in attendance. Fire and Safety measures were explained.

AGENDA ITEM 2: MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING

  • The minutes of the last meeting were agreed.

AGENDA ITEM 3: LEYTON WARD SAFER NEIGHBOURHOOD TEAM

The SNT is now part of the newly constituted South Cluster, operating longer hours with more officers covering both Leyton and Grove Green wards.

Points raised:

  • Leyton Mills disabled bays being abused. This will be passed to the dedicated Leyton Mills SNT, who work with the parking enforcement contractor.
  • Church Road mosque – noise nuisance.
  • Adelaide Road, by steps to the old Town Hall – rough sleepers present both night and day. The SNT advised that a Section 27 Warning was issued and they are moved on.
  • St. Mary’s Church – 2 headstones were smashed – SNT are aware and have carried out searches and moved rough sleepers on.

Following restructuring of the local force, longer cover is available, and calls will be directed to SNT on their mobile numbers enabling them to deal with problems more quickly.

Cllr Sullivan thanked the representatives from the SNT for their attendance.

AGENDA ITEM 4: LEYTON LIBRARY

Staff from Residents First, which now includes the Library Service, gave a slide presentation and explained the works due to start on 9 September.

  • Improvements to the ICT provision, with Wi-Fi extended throughout the Library.
  • Children’s library on the ground floor, including study space.
  • Residents questioned the adult library moving to the first floor; of special concern was the tortuous access for disabled users, who use the ramp at the rear of the building before navigating through the ground floor to get to the lift.
  • Finalising software to be installed on PCs.

Temporary facilities at:

  • The County Ground – Monday-Friday:  9am – 7pm, Saturday: 9am – 6pm and Sunday: 12 noon – 4pm.
  • Sidmouth House – Monday-Friday: 4.30pm – 7pm, Saturday: 9am – 6pm, Sunday: 12 noon – 4pm.
  • Courses will be staged at the County Ground.
  • Both outlets will continue to have full supplies of books.
  • Lea Bridge Library has on-line resources.

Leyton Ward Councillor Surgeries

The Chair advised that the surgery will be held every Saturday at the County Ground until Leyton Library reopens, hopefully in mid-February.

AGENDA ITEM 5: LEYTON CRICKET GROUND

Pete Towler, Chair of the Management Committee, was unable to be present, and his written report was circulated

The main points of his report:

  • The southern part of the ground, including the Pavilion, has been surveyed. All the buildings, except for the modern arts block, were in either a poor or very poor condition.
  • The Council has finally made a successful application, under the Fields in Trust scheme, which offers an additional layer of safeguarding and protection for the site.
  • Essex CCC continues to work with the Committee. Their plan is to make the Ground the hub for cricket development in East London.
  • The National Cricket League has rented the pitch for most Saturdays and Sundays during the summer.
  • The former bowling club buildings were finally regained from the squatters, and the Committee believes the Council is arranging their demolition (The survey indicated that refurbishment was not viable). Currently the area is being patrolled by security staff.
  • The Council are contributing £30k towards capital works at the Ground, in return for hosting the temporary library.

The Chair reminded the meeting that the Charity Commission had blocked the Council’s move to build a new school on part of the ground. As a registered charity it is only available for sports and leisure use. It has suffered from a lack of funds for many years. A public consultation is planned for October.

AGENDA ITEM 6: STREET PARTY INITIATIVE 2013

Cllr Sullivan gave out the grant application forms and confirmed that he is going to be talking to the two primary schools that held a party last year.

AGENDA ITEM 8: COMMUNITY DISCUSSION

  • Ive Farm Playing Field – proposal was to rebuild and Pavilion and refurbish the running track. The Chair agreed that the Council appears reluctant, and would try to find out what is planned.
  • Leyton Cricket Club – have played at the County Ground since 1975, until they were told to leave last year. The Chair said he would need more details from the club so that he could check it out.
  • Trees’ facing Brewster Road – The Chair has been advised that they are not due for attention until 2014/15.
  • Family Fun Day – was cancelled at the County Ground, when it was not otherwise in use? County Ground Pavilion – question about lights being left on late at night. The Chair believed it could be for security.
  • Ruckholt Road – rubbish collection not taking place on the correct day.
  • Brown bins – not collected for 5 weeks.
  • Maud Road – rubbish dumping regularly at the end of the road. The Chair urged residents to keep reporting all such problems to Waltham Forest Direct on 8496 3000.
  • Coopers Lane – Brown bins missed collection. Finally picked up by normal refuse lorry and black sacks dumped in with recycling, plus a bib lid fell into the lorry.
  • Betting Shops – The Chair confirmed that he has already lodged his objections.
  • Damaged Roads – The Chair requested that residents let him have photos and he will take them up.
  • Church Road – manhole cover loose outside 39, next to bus stop.
  • Church Road – tree at 19, rubbish needs clearing from front garden.
  • Ive Farm Close – complaint about dog mess in the area. The Chair advised that the owner needs to be identified. Contact Cllr Sullivan or the Dog Warden – possibly needs CCTV?
  • Coopers Lane flats – rubbish dumping, metal transfer station. Joint action needed. ACTION – Cllr Sullivan to follow up.
  • The Marshes – litter picks, need to publicise to get more volunteers.
  • Resurfacing Roads – The Chair confirmed that this is an on-going Lib Dem campaign to have roads resurfaced rather than constant patching.
  • Overcrowding in Schools
  • Oliver Road – call for cameras.

 Cllr Sullivan closed the meeting and thanked everyone for their attendance.

Leyton Ward Residents’ Forum – Wednesday 4 September

The next meeting of the Residents’ Forum will be on Wednesday 4th September at the Score Complex in Oliver Road.

It will start at 7pm and close at 9pm.

The agenda will include the regular update from the local police and discussions about local issues.

There will also be information about the temporary closure of Leyton Library, and details of alternative provision.

Your local councillors look forward to seeing you.

Minutes – Leyton Ward Forum – 28th May 2013

Minutes of 28 May 2013 LEYTON WARD RESIDENTS FORUM MEETING

Seddon Centre, Leyton E10 at 7pm

Officers/Councillors in Attendance: Cllr Bob Sullivan, Cllr Naheed Qureshi, Cllr Winnie Smith, Inspector Sue Rankin, Sam Beaumont and Jose Sanchez from Urbaser, and Phillip Pughe and Debbie Stokes from Environmental Services.

AGENDA ITEM 1: WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS

The Chair, Cllr Bob Sullivan welcomed everybody to the meeting. Cllr Sullivan introduced the Councillors and Officers in attendance. Fire and Safety measures were explained.

AGENDA ITEM 2: MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING

Page 1:

  • Leyton Arts Trail – Still pending
  • Coopers Lane – Cllr Sullivan explained that the Council is hoping to introduce a 20mph limit across the borough but will start with roads south of Lea Bridge Road
  • Temple Mills – The painted sign is remaining as there are still pending events in the Olympic Park
  • High Road improvements – Further work still pending
  • Buckingham Road – Cllr Sullivan that the blocked off section of the road has been leased by the Council. Investigations to find out what the lease contained, continues
  • Leyton Mills – A major retailer has shown interest in the empty properties. Talks on-going
  • Street Trees – No further news. Cllr Sullivan urged residents to give details of any missing trees to the councillors

Page 2:

Conservation Area Consultation – Broadly agreed, detailed proposals being drafted.

  • Railway Cottages in Dunedin Road are not included in the Conservation area.
  • New Street Lighting – residents are concerned that although it is eco-friendly, it is not as bright – ACTION: Chair will pursue

AGENDA ITEM 3: NEW STREET CLEANING CONTRACT

Keith Hanshaw, Assistant Director of Public Realm sent his apologies. The Chair introduced the representatives from the new contractor, Urbaser, Sam Beaumont and Jose Sanches and Phillip Pughe deputising for Keith Hanshaw.

It was explained that they are taking over street cleansing and grounds maintenance. They will be keeping on local staff, and have advertised additional posts. An apprenticeship scheme is being started.

The Street Watchers will feed in information on illicit dumping, and Urbaser say they welcome community spirit with local people drawing attention to problems. They should be reported through Waltham Forest Direct on 8496 3000 as usual.

New machinery is being used including suction machines to clear debris from heavily parked roads. The teams are already tackling fly posting removal. Specialised equipment will be used between 5am – 10pm.

Questions from residents:

  • Language problems have been evident – It was confirmed that all supervisors speak the operative’s language.
  • Wages – The level set of the London Living Wage will be the minimum for all staff.
  • Mobile Phones – Crews have mobile phones and they can be alerted to fresh problems
  • Etloe House – Now has two business parks nearby – juggernauts are going through local streets – ACTION: Phil Pughe to investigate
  • Hot Spots – Urbaser have been alerted to known hot spots. Mobile Hot Spot Teams will patrol
  • Refuse/Recycling Collections – Phil Pughe confirmed that this contract remains with Kier until 2019

Cllr Sullivan thanked the representatives from Urbaser and Phillip Pughe for their attendance.

AGENDA ITEM 4: SAFER NEIGHBOURHOOD TEAM

Southern Cluster Inspector Sue Rankin offered apologies on behalf of the SNT who provided a written report:

Current Ward Priorities

  • Antisocial Behaviour by groups of youths – SNT officers have been conducting patrols of ASB hotspots to deter youths from loitering and causing a nuisance, any youths stopped at locations have their details taken and an intelligence report is completed as a record. SNT has also been working with housing associations so that any suspects regularly causing ASB are also dealt with by their housing provider.
  •  Burglary – SNT are conducting stops on door to door ales/workers as there have been recent distraction burglaries in the area. When a burglary is committed the SNT follow up with door to door enquiries to make neighbours aware that a burglary has occurred. Leaflets will then be distributed to other surrounding houses to make them aware and also give some crime prevention advice. In April a burglar was caught and detained by the SNT approximately ten minutes after he had committed a burglary.
  • Motor Vehicle Crime – Leaflet booklets are given to residents re motor vehicle crime. Door to door also conducted if vehicles are seen with valuables left on display or windows left open.

Leyton SNT has been conducting regular weapon sweeps on the BEAUMONT ESTATE and LEYTON GRANGE ESTATE due to recent gang tensions.

Leyton SNT has been assisting other officers with ANPR operations to seize vehicle being driven by people with no insurance or no driving licence.

Inspector Rankin also highlighted the following points:

  • Targets have been set to reduce crime by 20%; cut costs by 20%; increase service delivery by 20%
  • Waltham Forest complement to be increased by 119 constables by 2015
  • Southern Cluster of 7/8 wards will be covered by 5 teams operating from 7am-midnight (Monday – Thursday) and 7am until 2am, next day (Friday – Sunday)
  • Current 15 PCs will be increased to 40. 9 of whom will be on the patch by September this year
  • Hot spots are identified – and local SNT can get additional backup if needed
  • Ring 101 to arrange an appointment – an officer will visit
  • Also ring 101 for any non-urgent calls
  • In an emergency call 999
  • Changes are being made to opening hours of public counters – revised details will be on the Met Police website
  • The public counter at the Custody Suite is to be closed

Cllr Sullivan thanked Inspector Rankin for her attendance.

AGENDA ITEM 5: CORONATION GARDENS ANNEXE

Alex Forrester of Groundwork London sent his apologies and his written report on the Consultation was circulated. Debbie Stokes, from the council, responded to questions:

  • Develop a wildlife area
  • Some raised beds with tenancy agreements
  • Allotments – first year free, then chargeable
  • Play area
  • Seating for the beach volleyball area
  • Consultation did not include produce – it is understood that there is some contamination

Debbie Stokes advised that ideas are still being developed, and funding options are being researched. She confirmed that there is currently a waiting list for allotments in the borough.

Cllr Sullivan thanked Debbie Stokes for her attendance.

AGENDA ITEM 6: LEYTON CRICKET GROUND

Pete Towler, Chair of the Management Committee, updated the meeting on the following points:

  • At a mid-March meeting with the Council Leader he presented Cllr Robbins with a list of suggestions and a briefing  paper
  • Southern buildings – survey started in April, not yet in – preliminary indication suggests that they are in a poor condition
  • North end – feasibility study of the tennis courts, bowls club etc. pending. First indications – they have been neglected for a long time. The Committee feels a wider consultation with residents may be desirable. Costs estimated at £1 million.
  • North end squatters – they were evicted in early May, and then re-occupied – legal query pending
  • Various sporting events on the calendar – full details will be in WFN.

Residents’ questions:

  •  New gates on the corner of Crawley Road – why are they not being used?
  • Pete Towler confirmed that all the options being considered by the Management Committee are sports related. It is understood that the covenants say the area must continue to be dedicated to sports
  • Essex County Cricket Club is still involved with the ground, which was the Club’s home for many years. A representative from the Club sits on the Management Committee
  • The next Management Meeting will be in  July

AGENDA ITEM 7: STREET PARTY INITIATIVE 2013

Cllr Sullivan gave out the grant application forms and confirmed that he is going to be talking to the two primary schools that held a street party last year.

AGENDA ITEM 8: COMMUNITY DISCUSSION

Temple Mills Lane – a resident queried when it is scheduled to be open to traffic – Cllr Sullivan responded that he did not have an update on this question. It may be affected by the council’s plans for the Marsh Lane Bridge which was recently constructed at a cost of £250,000.00. It seems that the intention is to rebuild it with an even bigger bridge. Cllr Sullivan agreed it seems to be wasting a lot of money, without a good reason. He is pursuing this question.

Cllr Sullivan closed the meeting and thanked everyone for their attendance.

PRESS RELEASE: NEW COMMITTEES SHOULD NOT MEAN ANOTHER £12,000 IN COUNCILLOR ALLOWANCES

New committees should not mean another £12,000 in allowances for councillors – Cllr Bob Sullivan

 

On Thursday the Liberal Democrat group voted against proposals that would mean more special responsibility allowances for councillors.

Lib Dems criticised the Labour group for using scrutiny politically to avoid any real scrutiny of council policies, whilst at the same time awarding  themselves more money.

The Labour council are splitting the health and adults committee into two new committees that will focus separately on public health and adults services.

They are creating two additional paid positions for their members who will take the Chair and Vice Chair of the Committee, who will get an extra £8,000 and £4,000 respectively on top of the £10,000 a year they earn as councillors.

Lib Dem Group Leader Cllr Bob Sullivan said:

 

“Labour are just creating more paid positions to reward their members. The current proposal could mean £12,000 in extra costs to Waltham Forest council tax payers.”

“There are a lot of ways Labour could ensure this doesn’t cost more money: Either by cutting these allowances across the council or by sharing the existing allowances for the old committee across the two new ones.

“Labour councillors should stop trying to hide their failures by stuffing committees full of their own members.

“They should be taking responsibility over their failures over jobs in this Borough and cutting their ‘special responsibility allowances’ rather than giving themselves more allowances.”

A MILLION JOBS …. AND COUNTING!

LDjobsgraph

Since 2010, more than one million jobs have been created in the private sector. We are proud of the role that the Liberal Democrats have played in directing government investment into job creation and training.

We are now focusing our efforts on improving this record and delivering a million more new jobs as we continue to build a stronger economy for the future.

Jobs for Young People

The coalition government has already delivered 1.2 million apprenticeships for young people since 2010. The Liberal Democrats are now campaigning to double the number of apprenticeships being offered.

Jobs in Manufacturing

Manufacturing is the key to a sustainable economic recovery in Britain. Under Vince Cable at the Dept for Business, Innovation and Skills, we have directed an extra investment of over £5.5 billion into high-tech manufacturing, science and renewable energy.

Jobs across the UK

Liberal Democrats have long argued that we need to rebalance the economy away from our reliance on London and South East England. That is why we have also set up the £2.6 billion Regional Growth Fund initiative, to help create businesses, jobs and economic recovery in every part of the country.

Jobs Building Britain

The coalition is using £15.3 billion of investment into our infrastructure to build a stronger economy for the future and to create thousands of jobs in construction right now.
For more information on the Liberal Democrats’ record in creating one million new jobs, and to find out how many new jobs are being created near you, visit the Million Jobs website: http://www.amillionjobs.org

PRESS RELEASE: COUNCIL PHONE BILLS SOAR UNDER LABOUR

COUNCIL PHONE BILLS SOAR UNDER LABOUR

Over the last few years council phone bills have soared. According to figures released by the council mobile phone costs soared by over £110,000 last year costing taxpayers a total of £314,000 in one year alone, whilst landline costs also rose by £80,000.

Council tax payers are now forking out £860,000 every year for phone bills alone.

Cllr Bob Sullivan said:

“Labour need to get a grip on these soaring phone bills. Other council services are being cut whilst phone bills are going up and up.

“The council are putting more and more services online but clearly aren’t making any savings by doing it.

“This £190,000 could be helping us build a fairer society by investing in social services, it could help build a stronger local economy by investing in jobs or it could even protect local services like keeping open a library.

“Instead, Labour is proving time and time again that they can’t be trusted with our money.”