Ward Boundary Changes
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
Monday 27 July 2020
W19 Bus Route changes
Dear Stakeholder
Between 24 January and 8 March 2020, we consulted on a proposal to re-route the W19 direct from South Access Road into Argall Avenue avoiding the Council depot which closes at 20:00 requiring the W19 to terminate at South Grove in Walthamstow town centre in the evening. We also proposed extending the W19 to terminate at Argall Avenue at all times.
We have now published our consultation report which outlines how we sought views and ideas from the local community, our responses to key issues raised and the next steps. Please visit our website to see the full report: https://consultations.tfl.gov.
Following the analysis of consultation responses, we have decided to implement the proposals without making any changes to them. The implementation is dependent upon changes to the highway being made by the London Borough of Waltham Forest. They expect this work to be completed in Autumn 2020. Therefore, the service change we proposed is likely to occur soon after.
Please do get back to us if you have any further questions.
Yours faithfully
Muhammed Mashud
Local Communities & Partnerships
Transport for London
Save Lea Marshes Newsletter July 2020
This is the July Newsletter of Save Lea Marshes. It is a brief one, I'm afraid, as I have to deal with an unexpected family issue. Do keep an eye on our website https://www.saveleamarshes.
"ICE CENTRE" UPDATE
SLM understands that the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority's application for what they call an
Ice Centrebut is in reality a multi-purpose Leisure Centre will be going to the September meeting of the Waltham Forest Planning Committee. Since the original application was made in March, there have been some additional documents and photos added and the LVRPA has been redoubling its efforts to get its case out to the community with consultative meetings and calling for support on Twitter. SLM is therefore redoubling its own efforts to prevent the building from being built on Metropolitan Open Land at Leyton Marsh, by promoting its objections in a "Tweet of the Week", which will be augmented by fuller submissions on our website.
SLM's position has always been that, while we don't particularly like ice centre facilities for environmental reasons, we are not against a new ice rink per se . We are against it being put on Metropolitan Open Land, at a time when green space is even more necessary. Having Googled whether there is any other permanent ice centre in the world which is on similar green space, I have failed to find an example. All other similar centres are either on industrial estates or in city centres. The current Ice Centre is a completely different kettle of fish from what is being planned on our marsh land. The plan is for a huge industrial building, albeit with a more eco-friendly design, together with supposed environmental enhancements such as reed beds to process the ice water run-off into the Oxbow channel. What does this ice water contain, we ask?
RE-WILDING THE WATERWORKS
Those of you who follow us on Twitter will know that we have launched a Crowdfunding campaign to raise funds to carry out wildlife surveys on the Leyton Marsh area surrounding the Waterworks Centre. This was in response to the plan the LVRPA had to host the first of a three-year run of Dance Music Festivals on the site.
SLM had a productive meeting with staff members of the LVRPA earlier this month, to discuss the re-wilding of the area and to put forward ideas that could make the Waterworks Centre more of a welcoming environmental destination. A sticking point seemed to be that the LVRPA would still like to see large events taking place on the site adjacent to the Nature Reserve, whereas we want to see ideas that would enhance the area and its wildlife as well as being of use to local people. We have submitted income-generating ideas, which the LVRPA have said they will look at, and they have agreed to co-operate with the survey process that we have initiated in conjunction with their own work. We warmly welcome this progress.
There has been some misleading press in the Waltham Forest Guardian , which SLM is in the process of addressing, which suggested that there is duplication in what we are proposing with wildlife surveys already carried out by the LVRPA. The journalist failed to contact us to check, relying only on what the LVRPA had stated. This appears to have damaged our funding campaign, but we are pressing ahead and have achieved a favourable result so far. We still need to reach our target - so if you think you can help contribute please go to https://gofundme.com/f/
WATER ISSUES
If there was a theme for this month's newsletter it would be water and the great work water campaigners such as London Waterkeeper, Thames 21 and chalk-stream expert Ferghal Sharkey have been mounting on Twitter about Thames Water and its waste-water discharges into our rivers including the one through the Olympic Site. This has been at the same time as more people are seeking to swim wild. However, water does have to be safe to swim in and swimming should not have a detrimental effect on wildlife that depends on river habitat - hence our campaign for the East London Waterworks Park. See https://www.elwp.org.uk .
HOMEBASE UPDATE 5
Below are links to the planning policies which will decide the future of the Homebase development. It is a very complex world, not helped by the London Plan which is being evolved, and the new one is still in Draft form and the Government won't sign it off, so further changes can be expected.
Its these policies that the Planners should be scrutinising the Inland Homes planning application against.
Draft London Plan Chapter 3
Extract from P.67 of Chapter 3
D8Tall buildings have a role to play in helping London accommodate its expected growth as
well as supporting legibility across the city to enable people to navigate to key destinations.
To ensure tall buildings are sustainably developed in appropriate locations, and are of the
required design quality, Development Plans and development proposals must undertake the
following:
A Based on local context, Development Plans should define what is considered a tall
building for specific localities, the height of which will may vary between and
within different parts of London.
PHV.3.126 D8 B Tall building Locations
B 1) Boroughs should determine if there are locations where tall buildings may
be an appropriate form of development, subject to meeting the other
requirements of the Plan. This process should include engagement with neighbouring boroughs that may be affected by tall building developments in identified locations. 2) Any such locations and appropriate tall building heights should be identified on maps in Development Plans. 3) Tall buildings should only be developed in sustainable locations that are identified in Development Plans.
part of a plan-led approach to changing or
developing an area.
By following the processes required in parts A, B and C of Policy D2 Delivering good
design bBoroughs should determine if there are locations where tall buildings may
be an appropriate form of development, subject to meeting the other requirements of
the Plan
Waltham Forest Local Plan
Building on its village feel, Wood Street will become an increasingly attractive destination, serving its growing local population with a diverse range of independent shops and a varied food, beverage and cultural offer.
Wood Street Area Plan
Developed in 2013.
Its these policies that the Planners should be scrutinising the Inland Homes planning application against.
Draft London Plan Chapter 3
Extract from P.67 of Chapter 3
D8
A Based on local context, Development Plans should define what is considered a tall
building for specific localities, the height of which will may vary between and
within different parts of London.
PHV.3.126 D8 B Tall building Locations
B 1) Boroughs should determine if there are locations where tall buildings may
be an appropriate form of development, subject to meeting the other
requirements of the Plan. This process should include engagement with neighbouring boroughs that may be affected by tall building developments in identified locations. 2) Any such locations and appropriate tall building heights should be identified on maps in Development Plans. 3) Tall buildings should only be developed in sustainable locations that are identified in Development Plans.
Waltham Forest Local Plan
Building on its village feel, Wood Street will become an increasingly attractive destination, serving its growing local population with a diverse range of independent shops and a varied food, beverage and cultural offer.
Wood Street Area Plan
Developed in 2013.
Thursday 23 July 2020
Changing Street Scene of Waltham Forest
Follow the link to a Civic Society presentation about the changing street scene.
Changing Street Scene 2
Changing Street Scene 2
HOMEBASE UPDATE 4
Objection sent to JTP Community Planning
JTP
Community
Planning Process
20th
July 2020
2C Fulbourne Road (Homebase Site)
Having listened to your Vision Zoom meeting on
15th July we would like to make the following comments:
DETAILED OBJECTIONS
- PARKING - What solution is the developer offering
to remove the currently parked cars from the access road? The design of
the site only allows for 24 cars for 640 flats which is acceptable but
only if it is made clear the new owners can’t have cars and a solution is
found for the existing parked cars.
- DESIGN – The blocks are bland and uninteresting,
and the balconies make it look like a heap of match boxes with metal
grills attached. A more imaginative design is required allowing far more
open space for children to play in and adults to relax in. There should
not be a 20 storey block which overlooks Bremer school and surrounding properties.
It will also impinge on the view of Walthamstow when heading down Forest
Road from the Waterworks.
The flats need to be further apart and angled
so that overlooking is minimised.
- BALCONIES - If
the balconies are retained they must be set in to the outline of the building
as overhanging ones are unsightly i.e. people can drop things from them,
they get untidy as they are used as extra storage space and for example
get covered by decaying rattan screens and become very unsightly ruining the
street scene. In the long-term balconies degrade the look of a place.
With the impact of Covid balconies, as amenity
space, need to be reconsidered and adequate open space around the buildings should
be provided so people can leave their flats and not be imprisoned.
- NAMES - The pretentious names such as Patchwork
Walk, The Lane, the Glade Garden should be reconsidered, and more thought given
to associating the names with the history of the site which was Radbourne
Farm and Dairy. Alternatively, the names should relate to the industrial
area of the adjacent Hawker Siddeley site.
The name for the tower block Forest Gate must
be dropped as it will confuse people who live in Forest Gate a few miles away.
LAND USE (This is a matter for the Planning
Committee to consider)
NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR THIS DEVELOPMENT
BECAUSE -
- GRENFELL - No tall buildings should be built
until the Grenfell Tower Inquiry is completed. The 20 storey proposed
tower would be a nightmare to rail users and other residents on the site
if it caught fire and until the Inquiry is completed, and new building
regulations are put in place, a tower of this size would be a very
irresponsible and unnecessary development.
- CHANGING NEEDS - Due
to the pandemic many people are working from home and the press reports
indicate people are considering leaving London as they can work from
home. A second lockdown in
Leicester seems to be blamed on people living too densely with little open
space. Consideration must be given to people’s mental health and access to
open spaces – not just a pokey balcony.
- HOUSING TARGETS - The
building rate in Waltham Forest is unprecedented and there are many homes
just coming to market and it is important they are all occupied before
more precious land is used up for homes that will not be occupied. The
figures we have gleaned are at least 8,000 flats in Waltham Forest are
just being completed and a further 450 are proposed at the Town Hall
Campus and Willow House. At Tottenham Hale 2,500 are nearing completion.
There is talk of another 1,000 to be built on the Whipps Cross Hospital
site and Meridan Water, not far away, is planned for another 5,000. That
makes over 16,000 new homes to be assimilated by the existing communities.
This development may not be required.
- LONDON PLAN - The
Government is in dispute with the Mayor about the London Plan. The number
of Homes Waltham Forest is expected to provide has already been reduced
and a further migration from London makes Waltham Forest’s target wrong.
- LAND USE - COMMUNITY ASSET - The
current use of the site is an asset to the community and will be sorely
missed. The nearest DIY stores being a car drive away. There is a lot of
talk about saving the environment and part of the debate is reducing the
distance people have to go for work and shops. This site should be retained
for commercial use and not residential.
- HEALTH BENEFITS - When
Hawker Siddeley sold the site we argued this land should be used for
playing fields for Bremer school. This argument is even more important now
with environmental issues and quality public open space top of the
political agenda and the need to get children a healthier lifestyle. This
site is perfectly situated for playing fields for numerous schools within
walking distance of this site such as Bremer, Woodside, Holy Family, Whitefields
and Waltham Forest College. This would be a win win solution.
Thursday 16 July 2020
HOMEBASE UPDATE 3
View from railway bridge on Forest Road
HOMEBASE REDEVELOPMENT
2C Fulbourne Road E17 4EE
650 flats in 8 buildings ranging from 4 to 20 storeys.
HOMEBASE REDEVELOPMENT
2C Fulbourne Road E17 4EE
On the 15th July 2020 Inland Homes presented their vision for the Homebase site. Comments on the Vision can be sent in up until 22nd July.
650 flats in 8 buildings ranging from 4 to 20 storeys.
Here are my initial thoughts:
1. Loss of Homebase is a major loss to the area as the nearest DIY shops are on the N. Circular or at Tottenham Hale which is already heavily congested. This will either increase car journeys or home deliveries for basic maintenance materials. The Walthamstow branch was not one that was listed for closure but a £28m offer to buy the site clearly changed Homebase’s mind and they will close in early 2021.
2. Access Road - The council gave up its rights to the access road in January so who will control the parking on the access road? The road is heavily parked by those living in the existing flats so presumably they will have to find alternative parking – where?
3. Design - The design of the flats is bland and with awful looking balconies hanging on the outside make the buildings look like match boxes on end with bits of metal grill attached on the side. The balconies are only there because the site does not have sufficient amenity space to provide adequate space for the 650 flats. It is a too dense development which is forced on the developer by the London Plan.
4. Height - A block adjacent to the railway will be 20 storeys and will loom over the railway bridge and the surrounding houses and interrupt the pleasant view towards the Town Hall and College. An important question that will need to be resolved is whether Woodside School and Bremer school’s playground are overlooked. In this day and age that is not acceptable for the safety of the children.
5. Services - Locally services such as Health, Schools, water supplies and sewerage will need to cope with an additional 1200+ people on a site that has had minimal impact on local services. Once Willow House is developed that number will rise.
6. The Environmental Impact Study (EIA) needs to be published before the planning application is submitted so we can see what impact this development has on our patch.
Thursday 9 July 2020
Sixty Bricks Business Plan
Sixty Bricks is the council's development company and this is their 5 year Business Plan
Sixty Bricks Business Plan
Sixty Bricks Business Plan
Save Lea Marshes Newsletter
This is the "flaming" June Save Lea Marshes Newsletter. Flaming because it's been an unusually hot Spring and because of the wretched portable BBQs that are despoiling the grass, possibly leading to fire incidents. No amount of notices around our local areas seem to put off people determined to flambe some poor unfortunate piece of animal..
This could be our "theme" of the month but I had in mind another, drawing on a range of stories in the press and on-line - the roles and relationships of our larger wildlife organisations and local authorities managing our green spaces in these particularly trying Covid-19 times, as well as the challenges - financial and environmental. See these examples below:
EXAMPLE 1: WILDLIFE GREEN COALITION CALLS FOR NATIONAL NATURE BODY TO AID REBOUND
Viewers of BBC1 TV's "Countryfile" last Sunday and Guardian readers of the Monday 22 June edition will be appraised of a new coalition of some of the country's biggest green organisations with the aim of getting the Government to create and fund a new national nature service to restore wildlife habitats in England, tackling neglect caused by lockdown, combat the climate change crisis and create thousands of jobs. The Coalition has drawn up a list of 330 projects that are "ready to go", including flower meadows, "tiny forests" in cities and hillside schemes to cut flooding.
Whilst there is a lot of merit in bringing the collective clout of green organisations together (there does need to be more joined-up thinking), going "big" does not necessarily mean better (see the story below). More Government control and funding by corporate bodies often leads to "croneyism" and a lack of political activism. It seems to be a knee-jerk reaction for governments to come up with schemes that involve a large infrastructure, a new body to tackle something, without considering what already exists without reinvention. For example youth provision: setting up a large body with lots of big targets and funding, whilst grass-roots youth services who know their local areas are cut. Anyone who has worked with young people knows that locality plays a big factor in feelings of belonging amongst young people, and local knowledge is key to both providing support and preventing crime.
Considering that the call has come from a coalition, with some admirable aims to help "kick start the green economy", some reflection is needed upon the effect on all the smaller local community groups who contribute voluntary time and effort. There is a delicate balance between the positives of being able to offer "real paid jobs" in a sector which is sadly lacking in them, and the care, commitment and knowledge relating to certain areas that volunteers have.
EXAMPLE 2: HOW WILDLIFE CAMPAIGNERS ARE SUBVERTED
George Monbiot writes in the Guardian, Wednesday 24 June, concerning the involvement of some of the larger wildlife groups in a newly re-branded large housing project of over 1 million homes - twice the size of Birmingham - between Oxford and Cambridge. Monbiot explains that after a furious backlash against the original plans for an expressway, which were criticised by the wildlife organizations, these same organizations are now lending their support to something described as "Natures Arc" without having consulted local protest groups.
EXAMPLE 3: HACKNEY COUNCIL SLAMS AN INJUNCTION ON "HAPPY MAN" TREE PROTESTERS
Protesters have presented the Mayor of Hackney with a 22,000 signature petition to save the estimated 150-year-old plane tree from being cut down. The tree is in the way of the Berkeley Homes redevelopment scheme at the Woodberry Down Estate. Promises to create green space with new trees, with funding from the developer, are challenged by local people who love that tree and can't see why plans cannot be amended to keep it.
GREEN SPACE UNDER LOCKDOWN
Life-long Hackney resident and writer, Tamsin Ssembajjo Quigley, has written a thought-provoking piece on how lockdown is affecting her experience of local green space. This is another story provided by the now totally on-line Hackney Citizen - a fine example of independent journalism that is in dire need of funding. So if you can help support the continuation of this local newspaper, go to its webpage and use Paypal.
LIFE'S NOT ALWAYS A BEACH..
The seaside is not the only place to experience the lockdown hysteria of human gatherings which leave huge amounts of litter and damage. The area that has become known as "Hackney Beach" has seen further swimming and gathering in large groups. One popular activity has been swinging on a rope tied to a branch that overhangs the river, which resulted in one person getting seriously injured and having to go to hospital. So now the LVRPA has felled the whole tree. Clearly the people who congregate in this area are not concerned about the destruction of trees and disturbance to nesting kingfishers, any more than they are concerned about the foolishness of swimming in heavily polluted water. SLM hopes that people will support the campaign to get a proper wild swimming venue at the old Thames Waterworks site - see the new webpage at https://www.elwp.org.uk.
PREPARING FOR A GREEN RECOVERY
The Mayor of London and the Centre for London are organising an on-line event on Monday 29 June from 14.00 to 15.30 p.m. entitled "Coronavirus: Crisis and Recovery, Transport and Environment". Booking is via Eventbrite or go to https://centreforlondon.org/
TOWERS OF BABYLON..
SLM has an excellent new blog on our website - https://saveleamarshes.org.uk - concerning our objections to building on the old Gasworks in the Lea Bridge area, where more tower blocks are planned. The blog has illustrations of the recently built blocks that you can see sticking up all around Leyton, Walthamstow and Hackney Marshes, some of which featured as contenders for our "Blots on the Landscape" competition last year. SLM is most concerned about the loss of "openess" on the Metropolitan Open Space of the Lee Valley Park area, Hackney Marshes and Tottenham Marshes. Of the latter, we can inform you of a bit of positive news from the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority's Regeneration Committee meeting a few days ago, which was addressed by one of our members, concerning the LVRPA's attitude towards a development proposed for Tottenham, which will affect the openness of the park. LVRPA members decided to make an objection and go against the officer's recommendation.
The Waltham Forest Echo (another excellent local newspaper that is worth supporting) this week features coverage by James Cracknell of the Gasworks development site and of a similar proposal for the current Homebase site in Fulborne Road where, again, tower blocks of 17 and 18 storeys are planned. See https://www.walthamforestecho.
WALKING UNDER LOCKDOWN
Based near Epping Forest, Heather Wearing, walking/mindfulness coach and author, recently launched the "1 Million Women Walking" campaign to help women make walking central to their daily exercise and well-being. She is also asking for help to complete a four-minute on-line survey on how the lockdown has affected walking practices, so if you think you can help her campaign reach a million women take a look at https://bit.ly/
WHAT'S ON THE GREEN BOOK BENCH..
If you are wanting a good read:
- How Walking Saved My Life, by Heather Waring (see above), a personal account on how walking helped Heather regain health and well-being after burn-out. Available on Kindle and paperback through Amazon and soon to be available on Audio. See Heather's website https://www.
1MillionWomenWalking.com - Three books by Paul Wood on London's trees:
- London's Street Trees, A field
- London is a Forest
- Great Trees of London
Please note that The Guardian references might not come up through links. The items are there if you go to The Guardian wepage and search.
Friday 3 July 2020
The Collective Blackhorse Lane - The Standard Music Venue
The Royal Standard
Bell Phillips Plan
Bell Phillips Architects plan in June 2016
The revamped building a few years ago
The Blackhorse Lane Collective - consultation
Good afternoon,
Good afternoon,
I wanted to provide you with an update on The Collective Blackhorse Lane. Since the last time we contacted you, we have been progressing our development proposals. Our proposals for a new mixed-use development at 1 Blackhorse Lane (formerly The Standard Music Venue), opposite Blackhorse Road Station, will include:
- A c.500 sq m cultural venue with a capacity of c.350 people
- 2 publicly accessible café/bars
- 300 privately rented and single occupancy co-living rooms
- 208 secure cycle parking spaces
- 45 new job opportunities (supported by the building operation)
- 175 construction jobs
- Ground + 9 floors with the music venue located on the basement level
To provide more details of the scheme and to gather local residents’ views on the proposals, we have recently launched a dedicated website (https://
In addition, we are currently speaking to different local groups and organisations and drafting a dedicated Community Investment Programme for The Collective Blackhorse Lane. This programme will include a range of initiatives and partnership ideas with local stakeholders.
As always, we are particularly keen to speak with you to understand how our proposals could best align with local priorities. We would also very much welcome the opportunity for further discussions to help shape the detailed Community Investment Programme.
If you would like to discuss the proposals or the Community Investment Programme in more detail through a video conference or phone call, please do not hesitate to contact us at thecollectiveblackhorse@
Kind regards,
Timothy Chan
The Collective Blackhorse Lane
T | 0203 900 3676
Another quick consultation and then Planning Application. Comments up to 21st July then the Planning App will be submitted. Its surprising how many shovel ready schemes are coming to the surface now the Government wants to get everyone back to work!
This site has had a checkered history but it looks as if now it will happen. 300 more flats just beside the already at capacity Victoria Line - it can only end in tears!
Bell Phillips Architects plan in June 2016
The revamped building a few years ago
The original pub
727 Lea Bridge Road Walthamstow London E17 9DZ
727 Lea Bridge Road Walthamstow London E17 9DZ
183443 - Valid From 20/11/2018
Demolition of existing building and construction of a part three, partfour storey residential building with basement to provide 9 self- contained flats (2 x 3 bedroom, 3 x 2 bedroom and 4 x 1 bedroom) with associated cycle and refuse storage, landscaping and green roofs.
489 to 495 Grove Green Road E11 AA
489 to 495 Grove Green Road, Leytonstone, E11 AA
200856 - Valid From 10/06/2020
Redevelopment of the site for a mixed use scheme comprising the construction of a part four/part-six storey building to form a ground floor commercial space and 30 residential apartments at ground and upper floors, including a communal roof garden, private amenity space with associated landscaping, cycle park and refuse storage.
Thursday 2 July 2020
Chingford Library Redevelopment
Scrutiny Decision - no change
Growth Scrutiny Committee Meeting - Utube
Chingford Hub - LBWF
40 new homes by Sixty Bricks
Petition
Cabinet Meeting 11th June - Page 17 Chingford Hub
The Chingford Hub will consist of a new library that meets the community’s needs, including affordable multiuse assembly space, a café and learning space, including space for use by the Adult Learning Service. It also offers the potential to provide enhanced facilities for older people by providing a focus for these services in this part of the Borough. The Hub will play host to a range of events and will include a double height ceiling to allow for larger assemblies, re-providing the facilities that are currently available in the Assembly Hall. The Hub will be funded via an enabling residential development of around 40 much needed new homes (subject to planning), with a target of 50 percent affordable homes for local people.
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