The Council has received a planning application for the Lion & Key public house on the corner of Leyton High Road and Church Road – ref 2010/1344.   The Lion and Key has been closed for some time.  It has had various owners who have tried to make a go of it but obviously failed.   

The planning application is to turn the pub into a ‘Support and Living Centre’.  This will include 9 self-contained flats ( 7x 1 bed, 2×2 bed ) together with the erection of part first and part second floor extensions, and installation of a dormer window and 4 rooflights. 

More information on what a Support and Living Centre entails will be given when we get that information.

Local pubs are closing fast.  Apart from the Lion and Key many other local pubs in the area have closed.  The Oliver Twist, the Three Blackbirds, The Four Finches, The Hollybush and the one in Park Road that was opposite Riverley School, the name has failed me at present.

What with mobile phones, facebook and other social communications, people prefer to communicate and socialise by telephone and internet other than face to face in public houses.  The access of cheap beer at supermarkets has not helped.  Pubs are closing at a fast rate and our area is no exception.

Please note Planning applications received by the Council can be viewed at the councils reception at Development Management, Sycamore House at the back of the Town Hall Complex, Forest Road, Walthamstow E17 4JF between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday.  A duty Planning Officer will be available between 10am and 4.00pm to explain the plans and answer any quries.  Any objections need to be made before 14th of November to the above address.

As always we have a Focus Newsletter full of important local information ready for you to read.   Apart from delivering this to all households in Leyton Ward, you can access it by clicking on Focus 322 below.  

DOWNLOAD A COPY HERE:- FOCUS NEWSLETTER NO 322

Due to the continuing anti social behaviour in the Coronation Gardens area, the police and the council have brought in a ‘Dispersal Order’. 

This means that two or more people hanging around can be ordered away from the area and if they return within 24 hours can be arrested.  Dispersal Orders in the past have been successful in discouraging large groups of youths hanging around in the area.                             

The refurbished Leyton Library, which should have been fully opened early this year, is still not complete.  Cllr. Bob Sullivan and the Lib Dems have been informed that the lift works have now started and they expect to have all the areas of the Library ready by mid December.  The 17th to be exact.

Residents to the north of Leyton Underground are fed up with the lack of parking in their area.  The Leyton Focus Team has continually pressed the Council for action.  They have been informed that the area is on a list to be considered for consultation for a controlled parking zone (CPZ) this year. 

If something is not done soon Leyton’s streets will become a giant car park for the Olympics.

John Laing Partnership, the building contractors for London & Quadrant housing association (L&Q), have gone bust. 

Building works half finished and planned for the Beaumont Estate, Claude Road, Murchison Road and Whitehouse Estate have been put on hold awaiting new contractors.

L&Q say that they are confident that there will not be any material affect to their building programme overall.

Cllr. Bob Sullivan says:  This is a big set back to our local housing needs, we hope that it won’t take too long for L&Q to get started again as we need new housing.

Last month the Council put on a so called ‘Big Weekend’ Leyton Festival at the cricket ground for two days and forgot to tell residents that it was on.  No local groups or nearby residents were told, so it was not surprising that not many turned up.   The cost of this fiasco was £100,000.The Labour Council has been going on about the cuts it has to make to get its budget under control, but can still mismanage and waste thousands of pounds.

Councillor Bob Sullivan was surprised, when trying to organise a local ‘Funday’ in June at Brooks Farm and Skeltons Lane Park, to be told that the Council had no money or people to help with the Funday.

They also failed to mention any festival or the £100,000 it was planning to spend on the ‘Big Weekend’ in September.Before making cuts to front line services the Council needs to get a grip on wasting tax payers’ money.

 Following the local elections in May, a member of the public who works for the Office of National Statistics, noticed an error while checking the results of the poll online back in May.

He realised that the total number of votes was higher than was actually possible, considering the number of eligible voters in the ward.

Four months later after the Liberal Democrats had petitioned the court for a recount of the High Street Ward, the courts on the 8th September declared the correct election result. Liberal Democrat candidate Mahmood Hussain is now the new Liberal Democrat councillor for High Street ward.

The court confirmed that the Council had made a serious mistake at the election count on 7th May by adding 1,000 votes to the Labour candidates’ total.

Liberal Democrat Group Leader, Bob Sullivan, said:

“I am delighted to welcome Mahmood Hussain to the Liberal Democrat Group on the council. At last the people of High Street ward have the councillors that they voted for. The council’s mistake at the count should never have happened. It cost local taxpayers thousands of pounds in legal fees and deprived local residents of the representatives they voted for.”

New Councillor Mahmood Hussain said:

“It is an honour to be elected to serve the residents of High Street ward. I will do all I can to stand up for the interests of local people and make sure that their needs are not ignored by the Labour council.

There are lots of issues to take up, including the future of the EMD cinema, looking after Walthamstow market and local services and pressing Labour to come clean on its plans for the Arcade site. I will work with residents to improve safety and security in the area and to protect and improve the local environment.”

Mahmood Hussain has lived in Walthamstow for the past 27 years and has always taken a keen interest in the local community. He works locally and is a trustee of a Walthamstow based charity.

It makes you wonder, but for an eagle eyed resident this error would have gone unnoticed.  What other errors could there have been?

Last year the Council was awarded £100,000 from the Virgin London Marathon Charitable Trust for the creation of an urban beach sports venue in Drapers Field.  In January this year the Council issued its Waltham Forest Core Strategy document http://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/ldf-preferred-options-summary-document.pdf see page 8.

This document outlined the Council’s vision for the future – see this extract: 

Preferred Options Core Strategy January 2010

3.11 Our residents have convenient access to some of the best sporting and leisure facilities in the world, thanks to the legacy of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. People are fit, healthy and enjoy life. As a result of the success of the 2012 Olympics, Waltham Forest now forms part of a centre for national sporting excellence. The Drapers Field Urban Beach now acts as the UK’s main centre for beach volleyball–having hosted the hugely successful 2025 Beach Volleyball World Cup.

What has happened to the £100,000 and what has happened to the planned visionary beach volley ball area on Drapers Field?  A niche sport that could put Leyton on the map. The Council having agreed last year to defend its sports pitches and leisure areas is in fact going to give it over to the Olympic Authority to tarmac over and use it to store provisions or, if the rumour is correct, turn it into a car park. 

So much for the ethos of the Olympics in encouraging youngsters to participate in sports. If you would like to help in our campaign to keep Drapers Field, then please sign our on-line petition at:   http://ourcampaign.org.uk/DrapersField

The Olympic Authority and the Council are going to hold a drop in meeting at Drapers Field on Monday 13th September 6.00pm to 8.00pm.  It will be held in the Sport England pavillion next to the astro turf pitch. 

Apparently the Olympic Authority/Council will explain what they intend to do with Drapers Field when they close it down from September 2011 to December 2012.

Secret meeting –  This initial meeting has only been notified to the residents around Drapers Field.  They obviously believe that only local residents are concerned about the loss of the only sports and leisure facility in the area.  We have only found out by local residents telephoning us.

MAKE YOUR VIEWS KNOWN – If you are concerned about what is being planned for Drapers Field then please go to the meeting and make your views known.