MINI HOLLAND
Whipps Cross Roundabout
This project grows by the day so it is hard to focus on any particular area but I think one of the worst aspects is the ruination of the Whipps Cross roundabout. The plan is to wreck the rural aspect of this boundary between the urban area and the forest by replacing the roundabout (which works very well) with a T junction with no evidence this will improve anything.
Curiously the cabinet were asked to approve the plans which they did, but it turns out the plans have not been finalised. The 230 bus, which serves Upper Walthamstow, comes back along Wood Street turning left on to the roundabout and then down Lea Bridge Road to Wood Green. The new design removes the roundabout so how does the bus get into Lea Bridge Road? Well apparently there may be a right turn from Wood Street into Lea Bridge Road but this has not been settled!! How can it not have been settled - if the roundabout is scrapped the only way the bus can continue its journey is to turn right from Wood Street in to Lea Bridge Road. If the bus goes that way presumably all the other traffic will be able to turn right so that will mean traffic lights and further delays to the traffic flow in Lea Bridge Road. This could be another disaster waiting happen!
Only a couple of years ago the highway engineers decided this junction was not standard so they narrowed it and a huge tailback of traffic reached Wood Street station. They had to put back the second lane and traffic flow went back to normal. Messing around with any of Lea Bridge Road is a recipe for disaster.
White Van Man's new vehicle
Orford Road
Air Pollution
Blame Mini Holland
WALTHAM FOREST - ONE COMMUNITY This Blog provides information about our Community in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. Please send your contributions to wfoc10@gmail.com
Tuesday, 29 September 2015
Asbestos at the Town Hall saga
18 September 2015
Dear Mr. Esom,
We write to you about the letter dated 30 January 2014 that you submitted to the HSE and the courts prior to LBWF’s recent prosecution over Town Hall asbestos contamination.
We remind you that this letter was produced in lieu of an interview under PACE; and that you explicitly recognised it might ‘be used in the event of any enforcement proceedings’. We further remind you that in the
letter, you underline that you are intent upon ‘frankly’ dealing with the issues at hand.
All this being the case, we are very surprised at some of the points that you make, and three are especially troubling.
A. The availability of the 2002 Town Hall asbestos survey
One issue in the trial was how LBWF had treated the 2002 asbestos survey of the Town Hall, and whether it had made the survey available to those contractors who subsequently were employed there.
At point 14 of your letter you write: ‘LBWF wishes to emphasise that the 2002 survey was always available to contractors’.
However, witnesses who gave evidence at the trial told a different story.
Angela Ferdinand Sergeant, a senior LBWF employee, stated that: ‘“The policy for contractors working in any LB Waltham Forest building is to provide a permit of work and a copy of the asbestos register
or survey. However, in the Town Hall the asbestos survey was not readily available”’.
Ellen Beckerman, a technical and project manager with GBNS Ltd., stated that, having been asked to provide a quote ‘to do a refurbishment survey on the [Town Hall] ground floor’ in December 2011, her
company was not provided with copies of previous surveys or asbestos history prior to starting work.
Keith Stafford, an asbestos surveyor/analyst with GBNS Ltd., corroborated, observing: ‘When I first came to the town hall on the 19th [January 2012] I asked around andeventually found an asbestos survey
from 2002’ [emphasis added].
And a gas engineer who worked on the boilers in the Town Hall basement stated: ‘“I have never been given any information about the asbestos in the basement or any of the buildings I have worked in. I have
not been shown copies of any asbestos surveys or registers whilst working in buildings in Waltham Forest”’.
B. The extent of remedial work after the 2002 Town Hall asbestos survey
At point 19 of your letter, you write: ‘There is unfortunately, due to the passage of time, no documentary evidence confirming that the recommended remedial steps in respect of the Category B items [in the
2002 survey] were conducted. It is submitted by LBWF that any removal or encapsulation works would have been undertaken as part of the routine asbestos management regime…it is assumed that
the recommendations were remedied, as the same items are not identified in later surveys’.
However, this paragraph, and particularly its last sentence, is directly at odds with evidence provided by one of the most authoritative witnesses, the aforementioned Keith Stafford, who, writing of his
experiences in early 2012, stated to the court as follows: ‘The second time I saw the 2002 survey was during the meeting on 1st February [2012]. As I was flicking through the 2002 survey I noticed that the
picture shown on page 29 for Room 12 was exactly like the one I had taken the previous day…in the same room. The pictures shows 4 pipes which had been cut off, most likely with an oxy-acetylene torch,
with asbestos lagging on the pipes which has been highly damaged. The asbestos debris can be seen on the small shelf just below the pipes. The pictures in my report…show asbestos on the filing cabinet and
the floor below’.
In addition, we note, having examined the two surveys in detail, that it is very difficult to compare them, due both to their differing scope, and changes in the basement’s physical layout and nomenclature;
and we also underline the obvious point that anyway the 2012 surveyors made no systematic attempt to re-examine the finding of their 2002 predecessors, and indeed (as Mr. Stafford’s evidence shows)
until fairly late in the day were actually unclear as to their nature – all of which which casts further doubt on the veracity of your observations.
C. Use of the basement
Your letter contains two references to those who used the basement prior to 2012.
At point 12, you state: ‘The basement was used in the main by the legal, finance and electoral departments as an archive/filing area; therefore a small number of employees on these teams would have
deposited and retrieved files. Other teams would have used the basement to a lesser extent merely to deposit files for storage on an occasional basis. The reprographics team would have also used the basement’.
At point 52 (b) your concluding ‘submission’ is that ‘The basement was not used as a heavily occupied work place, but an infrequently accessed storage area’.
However, again the reality is not as you present it. For you first downplay and then ignore the very salient fact – substantiated to the court by no less than seven witnesses - that the basement was not just a
storage area but also housed the print room, which the reprographics team occupied, not intermittently, but on a permanent basis.
And if in 2014 you really were in any doubt on this matter, you could have also consulted the GBNS report of 2012 – which in earlier correspondence you admitted having in your possession – which
shows incontrovertibly on pp. 93 and 94 that the print room was (a) used by 4 to 10 staff on a daily basis for between three and six hours, and (b) contaminated.
As the chief executive of a council making a statement to a court of law, it goes without saying that you have a duty to ensure that your evidence is comprehensive, unambiguous, and truthful. Based on the examples
cited, we believe that you have fallen well below the required standard. Indeed, it appears to us that the statements we have highlighted are inexcusably inaccurate, and potentially misleading, certainly far
from ‘frank’ iterations of the facts.
Finally, we note that others more qualified than ourselves have come to similar conclusions. Mr. Tilley’s submission to the court on behalf of the HSE itemises and then demolishes your fallacies, case by case.
And it is notable, too, that when LBWF’s counsel at the Westminster hearing – no doubt having alighted upon your concluding ‘submission’ - made the point that the Town Hall basement was used only as a storage
area, he was slapped down by the judge on the basis of the witness statements, and had to correct himself.
Given the serious nature of these matters, we trust that you will respond in full and by return.
Yours sincerely,
Trevor Calver and Nick Tiratsoo
C/o 181 Odessa Rd. London E79DX
Success again for the Village
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Upper Walthamstow CPZ
Even by Waltham Forest's standards of incompetence this takes the
biscuit. Unknown to residents of Avon Road part of the Upper Walthamstow area
was consulted about a CPZ. Avon Road is in the centre of Upper Walthamstow and
has the 230 bus route running double decker buses through it every 12 minutes 22
hours a day. Avon Road has NOT been
included in the consultation area.
The CPZ war has been raging for 30 years in the Borough so you would have thought by now the council would have some idea of how to deal with this issue. They recently introduced a CPZ into Vallentin Road which has brought more traffic into the Upper Walthamstow Area. For totally inexplicable reasons Avon Road and parts of Fyfield Road were left out of the consultation.
Apparently the few roads that were consulted have deemed to be in
favour and the scheme is going ahead. The result of this will be chaos for the
230 bus route. Avon Road is two way and the bus goes one way up it and down
Bisterne Ave. Once the CPZ is operational drivers will use any space in Avon
Road to park their cars for free meaning there is no pull in space for vehicles
coming down the road to allow the bus up. This will lead to the bus being blocked
and severely delayed.
How can this incompetent decision have got as far as this without
the people affected having any idea of what is happening?
Watch this space for the pictures of buses stuck on the hill and
traffic grinding to a halt. So if you are waiting for a 230 and it does not come
the chances are it is gridlocked in Upper Walthamstow.
Friday, 4 September 2015
Mini Holland 4-9-15
Mini Holland
Selborne Road
Oops another accident waiting to happen!
Cycling Fair
Ban on left turning lorries
Selborne Road
Oops another accident waiting to happen!
Cycling Fair
Ban on left turning lorries
Ward Funding
Dear all,
Just a reminder that we are inviting applications from residents for ward forum funding for 2015-16. Residents can put forward any ideas which will improve the ward – small projects of up to £300 can be delivered by residents themselves (e.g. community notice boards, murals). Large projects will be scoped by the council to establish which orgs could deliver it or whether it can be delivered by the council itself. If you put forward an idea, you are not committing to delivering it yourselves, though you can suggest a voluntary or community organisation who could deliver it.
Our ward forum which is open to all ward residents is on 12th September from 10 am – 11.30 am (though the meeting may be jam packed and run over slightly this time) at the Aveling Park Centre. On the agenda are deciding what are ward priorities for the year are and suggestions for ward funding . There will also be time for discussion of any other issues raised by residents.
The attached gives guidance on the process and the form, which needs to be returned to Ellen Amorina in the ward forum team. However please get in touch with the three of us if you need some help.
Many thanks and we look forward to seeing you at the ward forum
Grace, Stuart and Nadeem
Forest Recycling Project
To whom it may concern
My name is Nilesh and I work for Forest Recycling Project. Forest Recycling Project (FRP) is a social enterprise and charity with environmental and social aims. We engage with organisations and communities in London through a range of practical initiatives to reduce, re-use and recycle waste, and help people live sustainably. Based in Walthamstow in East London, we have been in operation since 1989. All our work and activities are supported by volunteers.
FRP won a 50,000 grant last November to carry out a series of artistic activities across 3 London Boroughs. The activities include carrying out street art workshops within 6 schools, creating 9 murals, 3 in each borough and distributing 7000 litres of paint to community groups across the 3 boroughs. The three boroughs involved in the project are Waltham Forest, Hackney and Tower Hamlets. The project is in partnership with Global Street Art.
I was wondering if you could place the attached press release on your blog to highlight the free giveaway to community groups in Waltham Forest.
Look forward to hearing from you.
Best
Nilesh
Business Development Executive
Forest Recycling Project
02085399076
Refugee Crisis
The refugee crisis is an appalling tragedy but is now being taken seriously by the politicians and positive action will start to flow. Many people will want to get involved and here are some actions that are already being taken:
38 Degrees Campaign
Makeshift Library For Refugees at Calais: They Need More Books!
Monday is not the first day of school for everyone. Refugees at the Calais camp known as 'The Jungle' have no classrooms to go to. Luckily British teacher Mary Jones is doing what she can to help. She opened a makeshift library called Jungle Books that offers the 3,000 refugees recreational and educational books and even runs a school. Jungle Books is dependent on donations and is always looking for more books, especially dictionaries and educational books in the migrants native languages. The teacher says that ' Many people here are well-educated- they want to get on and they want books that will help them read and write English, apply for jobs, fill-in forms'. To support Jungle Books please get in touch with Mary Jones at maryjones@orange.fr. ... for more information
Emmaus: Calais Aid needed
Our member Emmaus, are always doing what they can to help fight homelessness. Their branch St Albans are now concentrating their efforts on making the life of refugees in the Calais camp dubbed 'The Jungle' a little bit easier. On September 27th they will be heading to Calais for their 7th visit and they need your help! They accept aid in the form of trainers (in good condition!), jackets and basic survival kits. If you think you can help contact them on 01727 817 297.
38 Degrees Campaign
Makeshift Library For Refugees at Calais: They Need More Books!
Monday is not the first day of school for everyone. Refugees at the Calais camp known as 'The Jungle' have no classrooms to go to. Luckily British teacher Mary Jones is doing what she can to help. She opened a makeshift library called Jungle Books that offers the 3,000 refugees recreational and educational books and even runs a school. Jungle Books is dependent on donations and is always looking for more books, especially dictionaries and educational books in the migrants native languages. The teacher says that ' Many people here are well-educated- they want to get on and they want books that will help them read and write English, apply for jobs, fill-in forms'. To support Jungle Books please get in touch with Mary Jones at maryjones@orange.fr. ... for more information
Emmaus: Calais Aid needed
Our member Emmaus, are always doing what they can to help fight homelessness. Their branch St Albans are now concentrating their efforts on making the life of refugees in the Calais camp dubbed 'The Jungle' a little bit easier. On September 27th they will be heading to Calais for their 7th visit and they need your help! They accept aid in the form of trainers (in good condition!), jackets and basic survival kits. If you think you can help contact them on 01727 817 297.