Morrisons
The planning application has been submitted at last - was expected in the Spring - for housing and a Morrisons supermarket on the South Grove Car Park. I cannot find the plans on the council's web site so presumably they have not yet been registered and the local Guardian has jumped the gun!
WF Council
Here are the plans that were consulted on:
HOMEBASE
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Friday, 30 August 2013
Apple Day - volunteers needed
Apple Day
Apple Day 2013
The next Apple Day will be 11-4pm on Saturday 12th October 2013 in the garden of Vestry House Museum, Vestry Road, Walthamstow, London E17 9NH
Volunteering
Teresa and Paul are seeking volunteers to help out at Apple Day on 12th Oct 2013. Could you donate a cake, assist in the kitchen or help out on a stall to make this as successful as ever? The team are seeking volunteers for the following activities:
- Cooking & baking : donations of home-made cakes, apple pies, puddings, jams and chutneys. Teresa
- Kitchen support 10.30 am to 4.30pm Sat 13th : serving refreshments, taking payment: Teresa
- Event set up 2pm – 5pm Friday 12th, or 9.30am – 11am Saturday: unloading & unpacking crates, setting up stalls, helping with displays. Paul
- Event support 11 am to 4pm Sat 13th: front desk welcome/donations, litter picking, helping stall holders, assisting visitors, photography. Paul
- Event take down 4-5.30pm Sat 13th: packing & loading crates, stall storage, litter picking. Paul
Jubilee Park litter pick
Hi Adrian,You may remember our exchange of emails earlier in the summer.I thought I should let you know that we have scheduled our next litter pick for Saturday 07th September.I have posted a comment on your blog entry 17/07 for Litter Pick up Marsh Lane and copied it again below + attached a couple of pictures taken on the day by Emma Harrington, Project Coordinator for CleanupUK as well as a poster we are distributing locally.We will probably tackle the same area as last time as Jubilee Park will no doubt have seen lots of visitors over the summer months. Hopefully we will also be able to make a start on Dagenham Brook, which we could not access properly last time around.Thank you very much in advance for any help you can provide,Kind regards,Thierry BoissardE11 1EAAnd so it was.. 8 eager volunteers.. 2 hours later... 20 bags filled with litter that was caught in the bushes and the long grass of the meadow. Great morning's work.. finished off with planning another for Saturday September 7th.
We have now planned our next gathering at Jubilee Park in Leyton.
All volunteers welcome to join in!
Meet at 10 am. At the car park on Seymour Road, E10.
Equipment and refreshments will be provided.
Buses stop nearby on Lea Bridge Road: 48, 55 & 56.
Buses stop at the end of Marsh Lane on Church Road: 58 & 158
Car parking on East Marsh
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On
Hackney Marshes
Comments on Hackney Council's proposed car park on East Marsh close on 2 September and it goes to committee on 9 September. HMUG will ask the council planning sub-committee to reject the proposal, or to postpone discussion until it can be taken with the proposal for another car park on the north marsh which is in the pipeline.Please put in your comments.
- here under application 2013/1788:
- by 2 September or as soon as possible after that, up to 9 September
- copy to hmug@hmug.org.uk or let us know you've commented.
- Please also write to your councillors especially if you are in Kings Park ward.
Background
Hackney Council parks department and transport planners want to have 3 car parks on the marshes. It is nearly 10 years since we had this many car parks. From 2004 to 2011 there were only 2 car parks and 2012-2013 there was just one. Somehow people have carried on! We'd like the council to build on this, not go back to business as usual.At some stage it occurred to the authorities that a cheap car park could be had by leaving some of the Olympic coach park in place. This has been done without ever getting planning permission! Now the officers need to bounce retrospective approval through the council committee and the Planning Inspectorate.Points to make
The council planning sub-committee is being presented with proposals for parking on the marshes piecemeal without a chance to discuss an alternative strategy.The crucial document is a Transport Statement (including a Travel Plan) for the marshes which is being submitted to justify the car parks but has not been discussed in its own right. East Marsh and North Marsh should be considered together. A cap on private car parking on the Marsh at the 2012 level should be on the council's agenda. Private car parking spaces on east and south marsh will be increased over pre-Olympic levels. Hackney Council policy is to reduce private car journeys to its facilities. The plan claims that total parking on the marshes will be reduced compared to pre-2004. The 'reduction' is calculated by counting in 150 pre-2004 spaces on north marsh which were generally under-used and are now under a cricket field. East Marsh users will have a choice of both the East Marsh and Marsh Centre car parks – an increase in spaces over pre-Olympic numbers, of 11% - 25%. Pressure to travel sustainably will vanish.In 2010-12 it's claimed there was a slight rise in car sharing by Marsh Centre users. The council credits this to information packs and notices. We think it's more likely to be due to the reduction in spaces. Put back the spaces, offer them free of charge, and what will the result be? The previous car park on East Marsh served a changing room building which has been demolished. So this is not a 'reinstatement' but a new car park on green space. It's only for booked users of the pitches.The proposals claim that the new car park will serve 'informal recreation for the community' but this is clearly untrue as it's also stated that a booking will be required. It's also claimed that it will serve courses at the Marsh Centre, and schools, but both these could obviously use the marsh centre car park. The site is on the borough's eastern boundary and Hackney residents can more easily reach the Marsh Centre car park. It looks as if they are making up uses to justify a fait accompli. Sustainable transport to East Marsh has improved but the Transport Statement isn't up to date on this. The 308 bus is being rerouted in December 2013, and its frequency increased, to give a quick connection to the many buses, tubes and trains at Stratford – not to Leyton tube as the documents say. At the Hackney end the 308 will link to the many bus routes at Lea Bridge roundabout. Walking and cycling routes were improved before the Olympics and will be even better when the Olympic land bridge and park are fully open. Hard surfaces on East Marsh are increased.It's claimed that the footprint is smaller than the old facility. This calculation includes the demolished changing rooms. We think the pre-Olympic car park was smaller than the new one. If you add new hard surfaces on the riverside path and land bridge, the loss of green area on East Marsh is larger still. The Olympic legacy Multi-Storey Car Park is close by, and has spare capacity. We urge the council to explore whether that can be used rather than green space.The proposal goes to planning sub-committee on 9 September. HMUG will ask to speak. Please come along.
Friday, 23 August 2013
Leyton Midland Road Station
BARKING -GOSPEL OAK RAIL USER GROUP PRESS RELEASE: LEYTON MIDLAND ROAD STATION
Members of the Barking - Gospel Oak Rail User Group (BGORUG) were at Leyton Midland Road station today warnimg passengers of Transport for London's intention to permanently close the Midland Road entrance to the station, causing them see attached poster/leaflet. BGORUG has already sent its comments to Waltham Forest Council which was consulted and will be providing comments to London TravelWatch before the 26 August deadline.
For more details/information Contact:
Glenn Wallis
Secretary
Barking - Gospel Oak Rail User Group
(020) 8529 2361
Additional Notes:
Since London Overground Rail Operations Limited (LOROL) had twice previously closed the Midland Road entrance which had caused several complaints by passengers to us and caused us to ask LOROL if they had gone through the statutory procedure, which they had not, and both times the entrance was reopened. It was because of this that we had advised both Transport for London (TfL) and LOROL that there would likely be passenger resistance to a closure proposal and why we are annoyed at being kept in the dark about this formal closure application.
This proposal has every appearance of being ill-thought out and rushed through. From the poor drawing supplied, it appears the ticket gates are to be located close to the foot of the staircase from Platform 1 (westbound), which may well be a cause of congestion at the foot of the stairs as passengers from both platforms converge on the gates. It is not uncommon for trains to arrive at both platforms simultaneously.
On the street side of the proposed gateline, a boundary wall juts out and reduces the width of the passenger thoroughfare causing another pinch-point. We have some doubt that it will be possible to install a gateline complying with Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) requirements in this very constrained location. According to station staff, two Ticket Vending Machines (TVMs) are to be located against this wall nearer the staff cabin.
The Midland Road entrance is in fact the ‘out of hours’ gate for when the 1981 Greater London Council funded booking office was closed. The booking office occupied the land in front of the arch now housing the window factory and entry was from the land in front of the next arch which was not then occupied by a motor repair workshop and car sales lot. The booking office was demolished by Railtrack in 1995 and the entrance from the High Road opened later in 1995 or 1996 as part of the improvements funded by grants obtained by the Gospel Oak – Barking Local Authority Group.
There are a number of reasons to object to the closure of the Midland Road entrance:
1. The additional walk for passengers from the Hainault Road direction is over a narrow, uneven footway, passing two ‘environmentally unfriendly’ industrial units which often partially or fully block the footway. This presents additional hazards to the disabled and infirm. With a growing elderly population, the numbers of people who have difficulty walking but are not classified as disabled are growing.
BGORUG first raised concerns about these two industrial units at Waltham Forest Transport Liaison Committee back in 2009, expressing the view that these two businesses were totally inappropriate and detrimental to the public realm around the station area and should be relocated to somewhere less sensitive. The TfL representative present was asked to investigate the two Network Rail tenancies but it seems took no further action. In fact two railway arches are about to become available off Harrow Road which would be a much better location for these two businesses. In correspondence with us, London TravelWatch said, “We have however raised with Lorol, the issue of parked cars around the other entrance – which we feel if unchecked could cause congestion around the proposed ticket gates. We believe many of these vehicles are under the care or control of businesses located under the railway and that are subject to Network Rail tenancies. We have therefore asked Lorol to take this up with Network Rail as landlord.”
- The installation of ticket gates at the High Road entrance does not preclude the retention of the Midland Road entrance in its existing form. There is an Oyster reader by the entrance that could be retained. There is a similar arrangement at Leyton Central Line station, although that entrance is only open during morning and evening peak hours. The installation of a gate line will require an increase in station staffing. The ORR requires an operating ticket gate to be under staff supervision at all times so the gates can be opened in an emergency. If a member of staff is not present, the ticket gate(s) must be secured in the open position for passenger safety. The duties of the existing Station Assistant at Leyton Midland Road require regular patrols of the station including observing the arrival and departure of trains and assisting passengers with luggage and baby buggies etc. The importance of this duty will increase with the planned withdrawal of train conductor-guards. In order to avoid constantly locking the ticket gates in the open position while working out of sight on the platforms above, LOROL will have to provide another member of staff to supervise the lower station area. This additional staff member could also supervise the Midland Road entrance and challenge any passengers entering or leaving without using the Oyster reader.
- LOROL has never before identified ticketless travel as a problem at Leyton Midland Road . Previously, the company has stated that South Tottenham and Walthamstow Queen’s Road were the worst stations in this regard. In its application to close the Midland Road entrance, the company has provided no evidence of numbers of fare evaders found during Revenue Protection ‘blocks’ at the station. Neither has it provided any passenger usage figures for the Midland Road entrance. BGORUG is aware that usage of this entrance is high compared with the High Road entrance. In spite of the short notice, the Group hopes to carry out some passenger counts in the next day or two (155 passengers passed through the entrance between 08:15 and 09:45 on 23rd August.
4. Could the Midland Road entrance be modified to accommodate a wide two-way ticket gate? Yes.
(i) Part of the forecourt of the window company unit could be used to widen the entrance to accommodate a wide two-way ticket gate. As stated above BGORUG would prefer this tenant to be relocated elsewhere.
(ii) The existing staircase to Platform 2 (eastbound) is half its original width. The base of the abandoned half is still extant. The staircase could be moved onto the abandoned side next to the viaduct, thus freeing space to widen the entrance to accommodate a wide two-way ticket gate. This option would also require an electrical control cabinet to be relocated within the arch space.
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More pop up food!
Hello loyal Guffawers,
After a much needed month off we are back and in September we are having our annual benefit gig and this year it's for another excellent local cause:Eat or Heat the Walthamstow food bank run by Nat of Queenie's Kitchen. If you've not been to one of his supper clubs you're a fool to yourself!
After a much needed month off we are back and in September we are having our annual benefit gig and this year it's for another excellent local cause:Eat or Heat the Walthamstow food bank run by Nat of Queenie's Kitchen. If you've not been to one of his supper clubs you're a fool to yourself!
Doors 8.30pm, show 9pm £15
Rose and Crown Theatre Pub, 53 Hoe St, E17
Line up
Steve Gribben- brilliant Scouser with a guitar but don't let that put you off!
Brendan Dempsy- easy Oirish charm
Angie McEvoy- her sweet delivery masks acerbic brilliance
Rob Heeney- cheeky chappie, went down a storm last time he gigged for us
All held together by a very special guest MC NINIA BENJAMIN (4 Non Blondes) she's shockingly filthy and that's why we love her
All proceeds to Eat or Heat www.eatorheat.org
Tickets £15 directly to their Pay Pal account please or cash on the door
if you would like to unsubscribe from this mailing list please hit 'reply' with unsubscribe in the subject line
cheers
Susan
Save Lea Marshes digest
This is the weekly digest of Save Lea Marshes (SLM), highlighting the latest information about keeping, maintaining and improving the marshes and greens spaces of the Lea Valley area.
No such thing as a sleepy August for news. This week:
MEDIA STORIES - The Hackney Gazette today (22.8.2013 has a story headed "Council has already build car park in planning application". Super sleuth journalist Emma Bartholomew writes about a car park that has already been completed on East Marsh, ahead of a 60 place car park that Hackney Council has only just lodged a planning application to build. When asked by The Gazette why they are applying for a car park that is already there, a Hackney Council spokesman said "the construction is temporary" and that planning permission is required for it to be kept there permanently". SLM and Olympic Games Monitor representatives are on the case.
Also in today's Hackney Gazette letters page, a letter from Cllr. Jonathan McShane, Cabinet Member for Health, Social Care and Culture headed "Trying to balance various demands" explaining why they are so keen on more car parking space and that by throwing in bicycle spaces into the mix they are balancing needs and contributing to sustainable travel. Also, that easier access is needed by emergency vehicles, to tend injured sports folk. If he is so concerned about the latter, he should walk around Hackney and see how many times cars are parked across the barriers of emergency entrances blocking cycle access and in some cases three abreast. Perhaps he could introduce a fine and put the monies into supporting the cost of the Marshes. But I digress. Yes, there does have to be a balance of various demands, everyone accepts that but equally the Council promotes less use of the car to its leisure facilities and surely it is even more important on our precious green spaces. Sustainability should mean cutting car use and not being obsessed by car parks.
This week's "Private Eye", also has three stories of interest. Two on the Waterways and the Canal and River Trust and its battles over self-funding and the effects on other canal related charities and businesses and also on its "guidance for boaters without a home mooring" - those live-aboard boaters who must move on every 14 days, known as "continuous cruisers" (love that expression!) but not so funny for those without licences - some several thousand - who have to exist like this, particularly if they have children of school age.
The third story (duh, de dah!) features our old grass destroyers, the Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI). Anyone else worked out that STRI is the first few letters of Strimmer? Well, let's cut to the chase, a year after the Olympics (2013 OD - Olympic Disaster), comes the report from fellow STRI sufferers in Greenwich. Not only was the turf mashed up by horse eventing but to add insult to injury, LOCOG's contractor had also applied a "surfactant", containing chemicals, that killed every living thing in the soil of the track to a depth of one metre and in the end, there were enough traces of it left in the soil to linger for up to 50 years. Do read more of the story. I think we need to revive the Mark Sorrell Community Award for this one.
DEAD FISH - firstly, apologies for not including the letter from our esteemed local councillor Ian Rathbone about the Dead Fish last week. I had intended to include, but as my feline co-editor insists of sitting on my notes this one, slipped under the tail... Anyhow, Cllr. Ian has received a very thorough reply from the Chief Executive of Hackney Council, which has been circulated. However, a couple of points of interest are:
(a) mention of LBH employing a Flood Engineer, who will be working to ensure the Council's compliance with the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. This includes water quality issues which are being incorporated into the Planning Process, whereby there is a requirement for developers to consider the impact of development on water quality and if necessary take action and to develop Sustainable Drainage Systems in the borough. (b) Linear Park - that as part of the post-Games development of the Olympic site, the Council is working with the London Legacy Development Corporation on the design and creation of a linear canal park with will run along the eastern bank of the Lea Navigational canal. The park will link Hackney Marshes with the Greenway, widening out the existing towpath to create areas of green space and habitat, incorporating swales and native planting in collaboration with relevant agencies and local environmental groups. Now, my internal alarm bells are already ringing. This week's plain English awards go to Tim Shields, LBH Chief Executive. I had to look up swales in a dictionary: "same as Sweals, (Anglo. Saxon) to burn slowly, from, to burn slowly. To blaze away; to gutter as a candle. To singe". One, hopes there is another meaning otherwise us simple folk will be lifting up our pitch forks (a fork used in lifting or throwing hay or sheaves of grain and different from pitch (Anglo Saxon) for a thick, tenacious oily substance ...
Also on the subject of fish, one of Waltham Forest's finest has also written a letter to the leadership of LBWF to ask similar questions with the aim of joined up thinking and responsibility for the waterways in mind. We await their response.
DAGENHAM BROOK - lest you think we dwell too much in Hackney this week, there be dark doings going on in Waltham Forest - destructive works to the west bank of this river have been reported; spilling of rubble into the water and ruthless cutting back of trees and Hawthorne Hedges.
"MURAIL" WHITEWASH - secret works in a public place see an LVRPA staff member whitewashing walls prepping for the nice, non-messy mural that we are all so eager to see...
BATS - sorry to miss the Friends of Belair Park event unless some of you can get down there quickly today to enjoy their social but also want to flag up their Bat Walk on Sunday 25th August at 20.00 on the dot at Dog Kennel Hill Open Space. For more details go to www.friendsoffdkhwood.org/ batwalk2013
WALK ON THE WILD SIDE - don't forget - tell your friends, email others and come to the 1st September walk from Leyton Marsh to the Waterworks starting at 1.30. Dress up in SLM T shirts or wear nature fancy dress.
NEXT SLM meeting Tuesday 27 September at the Hare & Hounds, Lea Bridge Road, Leyton at 7.30. All welcome.
Motto of the week: "Lets keep the Lea the LEA and not use Lee-speak ...
This week's weekly digest of the Save Lea Marshes (SLM) group - dedicated to ensuring that the marshes and other green spaces in the Lea Valley area are kept open and green for all - see's no let up in the number of things to report. Issues of interest this week are:
OLYMPIC LEGACY - BBC London TV (Monday 12 August - on IPlayer) gave coverage to the damage done to Leyton Marsh and the Hackney football pitches including East Marsh and the lack of promises unfulfilled and obfuscated as part of an "one year on" feature.
OTHER MEDIA COVERAGE - This week's Hackney Gazette has a great exclusive (see http:/www.Hackneygazette.co. uk80/news/campaigns about the fury of local campaigners who have found out that a "council officer" sent an a member around to staff for further distribution to others encouraging them to comment favourably on a planning application to create a 60 space car park on East Marsh citing "We are expecting a number of individuals and organisations to oppose the development - so would welcome your support. This is not only a blatant attempt at stitching up local democracy but also should be viewed as entirely unbecoming conduct for an officer, whose salary is paid by members of the public. (More on East Marsh later). Another story "Council accused of 'poaching youth teams' for new league discusses a current "kick about" on the Marshes, with local teams from Hackney and Leyton being approached to join a new Saturday youth league. This will enable them to benefit from cheaper rates of hire than from the more established County Saturday Youth Football League. Hackney Council says it has received £60,000 from the Football Foundation "for the development of football across the borough - with a proportion being used to develop youth football on the marshes.
EAST MARSH - this week's Joni Mitchell award goes to Hackney Council for its attempts to "pave paradise and put up a parking lot..." The planning application is now on the Hackney website. And yes, as described above SLM and HMUG do want people to respond on these plans and exercise their democratic rights to make their views known. Responses are needed by the end of August.
SSHUSH! SSSI - Reed Warblers have been spotted nesting on the Inner Marsh of the Walthamstow Marsh. We need to stop the LVRPA fro mowing so that the nests are not damaged. SLM will be contacting LVRPA officers about this issue specifically but we would like to invite you (democratically), to write to the official LVRPA email address and ask them not to mow during the summer months and definitely not this field because of the nesting birds.
DEAD FISH - further information on the plight of the River Lea fish and responses from authorities e.g. Hackney's Mayor Jules Pipe and Thames Water, via a response from Waltham Forest MP Stella Creasy, seem to point the finger of blame on extreme heat followed by a flow of toxic run off rushed in from the rainstorm. The Mayor's reply also mentions sewage but the Thames Water reply puts it firmly in the lack of oxygen and run off camp. The River Lea (or Lee as the Thames Water official refers to it as, like the Lee Regional Park Authority - is there a bureaucracy preference here?), was not the only river in England affected. Someone needs to look into the affected areas and see if there is any common connection e.g. are the sites very near large roads; developments or sewage hot spots...
WATERWORKS PONIES & CAMPING - the "economic miracle" to add to the funds of the LVRPA coffers of a campsite, has been wound up for now but the clip clop of horses continues and there are new building activities that seem to be housing the horses on site, rather than them being returned to the more established encampment. SLM is concerned that building flouts the planning agreement ( or pushes it to its limits) and is another example of the encroachment of open spaces by stealth that has been witnessed across the road.
ON YOUR BIKES - a story in Thursday's "Evening Standturd" announces the opening of the Lee Valley Velo Park" in March 2014, which Shaun Dawson Chief Executive of the LVRPA expects to be "chock-a-block" from dawn to dusk. On the plus side for punters, the fees for hire will be low on the negative side, for bats, the outdoor tracks will be floodlit for use at night... which brings us to...
LIGHT POLLUTION - wildlife needs sleep, the amount of unnecessary light on the marshes (i.e. not needed for human health and safety) is increasing not diminishing, with the Essex Wharf building site; local factories and the floodlights from the Riding Stables - Please! There are other forms of less polluting light that can be used, timers and intruder systems.
"WALK ON THE WILDSIDE" - we now have new leaflets going out advertising the walk we are organising on SUNDAY 1 SEPTEMBER AT 1.30 Leaving from Leyton Marsh and ending at the Waterworks café. There will be a fancy dress competition for children (and any adults wishing to participate) with prizes for the best wildlife costume. Others can wear an SLM T-shirt. All welcome, this will be fun and informative.
FUNDRAISING - we are looking into having another general knowledge quiz in the Autumn - more news soon!
NEXT MEETING - as it is a Bank Holiday, we will next be meeting on Tuesday 27 August at the Hare & Hounds.
If you love the Lea Valley but cannot do not want to come to meetings, please let us know if there are any issues that come up when you are walking, running, wheeling or cycling around that concern, upset you or you are pleased to see e.g. any rare species spotted.
No such thing as a sleepy August for news. This week:
MEDIA STORIES - The Hackney Gazette today (22.8.2013 has a story headed "Council has already build car park in planning application". Super sleuth journalist Emma Bartholomew writes about a car park that has already been completed on East Marsh, ahead of a 60 place car park that Hackney Council has only just lodged a planning application to build. When asked by The Gazette why they are applying for a car park that is already there, a Hackney Council spokesman said "the construction is temporary" and that planning permission is required for it to be kept there permanently". SLM and Olympic Games Monitor representatives are on the case.
Also in today's Hackney Gazette letters page, a letter from Cllr. Jonathan McShane, Cabinet Member for Health, Social Care and Culture headed "Trying to balance various demands" explaining why they are so keen on more car parking space and that by throwing in bicycle spaces into the mix they are balancing needs and contributing to sustainable travel. Also, that easier access is needed by emergency vehicles, to tend injured sports folk. If he is so concerned about the latter, he should walk around Hackney and see how many times cars are parked across the barriers of emergency entrances blocking cycle access and in some cases three abreast. Perhaps he could introduce a fine and put the monies into supporting the cost of the Marshes. But I digress. Yes, there does have to be a balance of various demands, everyone accepts that but equally the Council promotes less use of the car to its leisure facilities and surely it is even more important on our precious green spaces. Sustainability should mean cutting car use and not being obsessed by car parks.
This week's "Private Eye", also has three stories of interest. Two on the Waterways and the Canal and River Trust and its battles over self-funding and the effects on other canal related charities and businesses and also on its "guidance for boaters without a home mooring" - those live-aboard boaters who must move on every 14 days, known as "continuous cruisers" (love that expression!) but not so funny for those without licences - some several thousand - who have to exist like this, particularly if they have children of school age.
The third story (duh, de dah!) features our old grass destroyers, the Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI). Anyone else worked out that STRI is the first few letters of Strimmer? Well, let's cut to the chase, a year after the Olympics (2013 OD - Olympic Disaster), comes the report from fellow STRI sufferers in Greenwich. Not only was the turf mashed up by horse eventing but to add insult to injury, LOCOG's contractor had also applied a "surfactant", containing chemicals, that killed every living thing in the soil of the track to a depth of one metre and in the end, there were enough traces of it left in the soil to linger for up to 50 years. Do read more of the story. I think we need to revive the Mark Sorrell Community Award for this one.
DEAD FISH - firstly, apologies for not including the letter from our esteemed local councillor Ian Rathbone about the Dead Fish last week. I had intended to include, but as my feline co-editor insists of sitting on my notes this one, slipped under the tail... Anyhow, Cllr. Ian has received a very thorough reply from the Chief Executive of Hackney Council, which has been circulated. However, a couple of points of interest are:
(a) mention of LBH employing a Flood Engineer, who will be working to ensure the Council's compliance with the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. This includes water quality issues which are being incorporated into the Planning Process, whereby there is a requirement for developers to consider the impact of development on water quality and if necessary take action and to develop Sustainable Drainage Systems in the borough. (b) Linear Park - that as part of the post-Games development of the Olympic site, the Council is working with the London Legacy Development Corporation on the design and creation of a linear canal park with will run along the eastern bank of the Lea Navigational canal. The park will link Hackney Marshes with the Greenway, widening out the existing towpath to create areas of green space and habitat, incorporating swales and native planting in collaboration with relevant agencies and local environmental groups. Now, my internal alarm bells are already ringing. This week's plain English awards go to Tim Shields, LBH Chief Executive. I had to look up swales in a dictionary: "same as Sweals, (Anglo. Saxon) to burn slowly, from, to burn slowly. To blaze away; to gutter as a candle. To singe". One, hopes there is another meaning otherwise us simple folk will be lifting up our pitch forks (a fork used in lifting or throwing hay or sheaves of grain and different from pitch (Anglo Saxon) for a thick, tenacious oily substance ...
Also on the subject of fish, one of Waltham Forest's finest has also written a letter to the leadership of LBWF to ask similar questions with the aim of joined up thinking and responsibility for the waterways in mind. We await their response.
DAGENHAM BROOK - lest you think we dwell too much in Hackney this week, there be dark doings going on in Waltham Forest - destructive works to the west bank of this river have been reported; spilling of rubble into the water and ruthless cutting back of trees and Hawthorne Hedges.
"MURAIL" WHITEWASH - secret works in a public place see an LVRPA staff member whitewashing walls prepping for the nice, non-messy mural that we are all so eager to see...
BATS - sorry to miss the Friends of Belair Park event unless some of you can get down there quickly today to enjoy their social but also want to flag up their Bat Walk on Sunday 25th August at 20.00 on the dot at Dog Kennel Hill Open Space. For more details go to www.friendsoffdkhwood.org/
WALK ON THE WILD SIDE - don't forget - tell your friends, email others and come to the 1st September walk from Leyton Marsh to the Waterworks starting at 1.30. Dress up in SLM T shirts or wear nature fancy dress.
NEXT SLM meeting Tuesday 27 September at the Hare & Hounds, Lea Bridge Road, Leyton at 7.30. All welcome.
Motto of the week: "Lets keep the Lea the LEA and not use Lee-speak ...
This week's weekly digest of the Save Lea Marshes (SLM) group - dedicated to ensuring that the marshes and other green spaces in the Lea Valley area are kept open and green for all - see's no let up in the number of things to report. Issues of interest this week are:
OLYMPIC LEGACY - BBC London TV (Monday 12 August - on IPlayer) gave coverage to the damage done to Leyton Marsh and the Hackney football pitches including East Marsh and the lack of promises unfulfilled and obfuscated as part of an "one year on" feature.
OTHER MEDIA COVERAGE - This week's Hackney Gazette has a great exclusive (see http:/www.Hackneygazette.co.
EAST MARSH - this week's Joni Mitchell award goes to Hackney Council for its attempts to "pave paradise and put up a parking lot..." The planning application is now on the Hackney website. And yes, as described above SLM and HMUG do want people to respond on these plans and exercise their democratic rights to make their views known. Responses are needed by the end of August.
SSHUSH! SSSI - Reed Warblers have been spotted nesting on the Inner Marsh of the Walthamstow Marsh. We need to stop the LVRPA fro mowing so that the nests are not damaged. SLM will be contacting LVRPA officers about this issue specifically but we would like to invite you (democratically), to write to the official LVRPA email address and ask them not to mow during the summer months and definitely not this field because of the nesting birds.
DEAD FISH - further information on the plight of the River Lea fish and responses from authorities e.g. Hackney's Mayor Jules Pipe and Thames Water, via a response from Waltham Forest MP Stella Creasy, seem to point the finger of blame on extreme heat followed by a flow of toxic run off rushed in from the rainstorm. The Mayor's reply also mentions sewage but the Thames Water reply puts it firmly in the lack of oxygen and run off camp. The River Lea (or Lee as the Thames Water official refers to it as, like the Lee Regional Park Authority - is there a bureaucracy preference here?), was not the only river in England affected. Someone needs to look into the affected areas and see if there is any common connection e.g. are the sites very near large roads; developments or sewage hot spots...
WATERWORKS PONIES & CAMPING - the "economic miracle" to add to the funds of the LVRPA coffers of a campsite, has been wound up for now but the clip clop of horses continues and there are new building activities that seem to be housing the horses on site, rather than them being returned to the more established encampment. SLM is concerned that building flouts the planning agreement ( or pushes it to its limits) and is another example of the encroachment of open spaces by stealth that has been witnessed across the road.
ON YOUR BIKES - a story in Thursday's "Evening Standturd" announces the opening of the Lee Valley Velo Park" in March 2014, which Shaun Dawson Chief Executive of the LVRPA expects to be "chock-a-block" from dawn to dusk. On the plus side for punters, the fees for hire will be low on the negative side, for bats, the outdoor tracks will be floodlit for use at night... which brings us to...
LIGHT POLLUTION - wildlife needs sleep, the amount of unnecessary light on the marshes (i.e. not needed for human health and safety) is increasing not diminishing, with the Essex Wharf building site; local factories and the floodlights from the Riding Stables - Please! There are other forms of less polluting light that can be used, timers and intruder systems.
"WALK ON THE WILDSIDE" - we now have new leaflets going out advertising the walk we are organising on SUNDAY 1 SEPTEMBER AT 1.30 Leaving from Leyton Marsh and ending at the Waterworks café. There will be a fancy dress competition for children (and any adults wishing to participate) with prizes for the best wildlife costume. Others can wear an SLM T-shirt. All welcome, this will be fun and informative.
FUNDRAISING - we are looking into having another general knowledge quiz in the Autumn - more news soon!
NEXT MEETING - as it is a Bank Holiday, we will next be meeting on Tuesday 27 August at the Hare & Hounds.
If you love the Lea Valley but cannot do not want to come to meetings, please let us know if there are any issues that come up when you are walking, running, wheeling or cycling around that concern, upset you or you are pleased to see e.g. any rare species spotted.
Civic Society photo display
Dear All,
Photo Exhibition of Locally Listed Buildings in Waltham Forest
Leytonstone Library in early September, Hale End library in late September and Walthamstow Central library in early October
Waltham Forest has a rich and often under-valued architectural heritage. As well as many well known nationally listed buildings (such as the William Morris Gallery and Walnut Tree House) there are also 171 buildings on the borough’s local heritage list which help to give the borough its distinctive character. The Civic Society is organising this photo exhibition of raise awareness of and celebrate these buildings, which range from private houses to churches, pubs, fire stations, community buildings and water fountains.
The display will spend two weeks in each of Waltham Forest’s main libraries:
Leytonstone library: Saturday 31st August to Saturday 14th September
Hale End library: Saturday 14th September to Saturday 28th September
Walthamstow Central library: Saturday 28th September to Saturday 12th October
We hope you will be able to visit the exhibition when it comes to a library near you!
Please note we will also be having a display about the Civic Society in Vestry House Museum for the month of September – do come along and have a look.
Best wishes,
Jane
Jane Sterland
Chair, Waltham Forest Civic Society
07900 498440
Walnut Tree , Leyton
Saturday, 17 August 2013
Leytonstone Police Station
The Planning Committee rejected the plans to turn the Police Station in Leytonstone High Road into a girls school. The Azhar
Academy has submitted an Appeal to the Planning Inspector which will be dealt with by written representation. All comments to the Inspector by 23rd September.
Mr. Jonathon Alden
The Planning Inspectorate
Room 3/09 Wing
Temple Quay House
2 The Square
Bristol BS1 6PN
The school's case rambles on over 4 pages and they don't appear to have a strong case. The council are opposing them on 3 main grounds
1. Over-development of the site
2. Increase traffic generation
3. No disabled access.
Appeal Process
Mr. Jonathon Alden
The Planning Inspectorate
Room 3/09 Wing
Temple Quay House
2 The Square
Bristol BS1 6PN
The school's case rambles on over 4 pages and they don't appear to have a strong case. The council are opposing them on 3 main grounds
1. Over-development of the site
2. Increase traffic generation
3. No disabled access.
Appeal Process