Hylands redevelopment
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
Saturday, 27 November 2021
Eco Show Home
LBWF is setting up an Eco Home to enourage us to insulate our homes and to use more eco friendly heating. Our solar panels now earn us about £1,000 per year even after 10 years of service.
Friday, 26 November 2021
The Cosmic House
A new tourist attraction in Holland Park at 19 Lansdowne Walk, not far from the Grenfell Tower disaster, opened in Spetember this year.
6 years after the Grenfell Tower was built in 1972 , Charles Jencks, decided to refurbish the end of terrce house that was built in the1840s. With the help of architect Terry Farrell he developed his ideas of post modernism architecture and refurbished the building with amazing architectural ideas. It has to be seen to be believed!! You need to book a place in a tour as it is very compact and only a few people can visit at a time. Afterwards take a 5 minute stroll to the Grenfell Tower and compare the two!
Whipps Cross Hospital
On the 24th November 2021 LBWF's Planning Committee gave planning permission for the new hospital to be built where the old Nurse's home is being demolished. The Planning Officer's report was feeble as it just accpeted all the points Barts Health had made. At least 10 public speaker's were allowed their 3 minute speeches, most of them makiong the point that more land should be kept for future Health needs. But the Councillors (4 Labour and 1 Tory) ignored this and 3 didn't even speak so it was a pure rubber stamp on what Barts had submitted.
The GLA Stage 1 was more critical and whether the Officer's report has dealt with the GLA's concerns about not losing any of the existing services will be dealt with by their Stage 2 report and the Section 106 agreement.
Concern has been expressed about the lose of services as follows:
The massive disposal of NHS land that is predicated in the Planning Application will leave the NHS with no space for the replacement, on the Whipps site, of these existing centres provided by Barts NHS Trust and North East London Foundation Trust:
1. Woodlands Day
Centre – cares for patients with all varieties of haematological disorders.
2. Connaught Day Hospital - comprehensive care for
elderly patients – covering their medical, social and emotional needs.
3. The Margaret Centre – a fully functioning Hospice
4. NELFT's Woodbury Unit (which provides a
service complementary to the acute medical services provided by Whipps Cross
Hospital, mainly for frail, elderly people, but including others where
appropriate), and
5. NELFT's Pine Lodge Unit (which provides the acute psychiatric liaison service to the hospital and is especially important to the Accident & Emergency Department and Urgent Care services).
The services currently provided by the Woodbury Unit and Pine Lodge Unit are not identified in the published design plans, planning applications and health and care strategy documents of the Barts Health NHS Trust.
All five services are integral to and/or supportive of the clinical functioning of the present hospital. If there is no space for their inclusion, then the new hospital will not be a replacement hospital; it will provide a lesser breadth and depth of service, and will represent a reduction in service levels offered to the people of Waltham Forest, Redbridge, Newham and Epping contrary to the GLA policy S1.
In
addition the Ambulance Depot is on its own site, but is in the curtilage of the
NHS site, and if it wanted to expand it would make sense to use land adjacent
to the current depot.
Selling
off too much land would damage the chances of providing a good NHS service in
the future by not allowing any wriggle room for future expansion. You need to put
a restriction on this application that states “more land should be kept for Health
Services use until the new hospital is up and running and the NHS and Community
services have a better idea of how much land they really do need”.
Wednesday, 10 November 2021
17&CENTRAL (formerly the Mall)
The Town Centre 10 year old development plan rumbles on and we are still waiting for the final version of the Section 106 Agreement. This is likely to be held up because TfL has run out of money and can't afford to build the new station entrance. So what compromise will be agreed?
The plan is to build two tower blocks of 32 and 27 storeys on the backyard of the Mall, expand the shopping at the front so that 32% of the open space is built on. Keep the avenue of trees which means the usable open space for just sitting in is reduced by 50%. In addition, a new entrance adjacent to the existing Mall entrance, will be constructed by TfL down to the tube lines to create a second entrance to the Victoria line. All this will take over 5 years meaning the Mall will be a building site for many years.
We are still waiting for Capital and Regional (C&R) to finish the redevelopment after the fire in July 2019.
Now the marketing department have used a spare bit of wall near the "Guest Amenities" on the 1st floor to outline the history of the Mall. Bringing it up to date they say the redevelopment, which will go on for at least 5 years, will start in 2022. Hopefully the Finance Director will decide it is too risky with shortages of labour, materials and retail moving on-line, that he won't sign it off. We can but live in hope!!
At a Save Our Square meeting Professor Steadman, from UCL, explained that from his research he believes high rise buildings are less heat efficient than low rise. He also expounded his theory that it is possible, by good design, to get as many flats into the same land area using low rise buildings instead of high rise ones.
C&R's scheme is well out of date and the Council should stop it and go back to the Town Centre redevelopment that the Prince's Trust put forward some years ago, which was for a low rise development more suited to the Victorian setting of the High Street.
We don't deserve this and the time it will take to develop will impact heavily on
Walthamstow Town Centre's economy and everyone's day to day lives.
Local Plan - next stage
The next phase of the Local Plan consultation has started and goes on until 14th January 2022.
Use this as an opportunity to reduce the height of developments and the sites where developments are scheduled. Covid has dramatically changed the outlook for the Borough and some sites will no longer be needed to meet the Government's Housing targets. Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Housing, is already questioning the logic behind the Housing Targets.
Tuesday, 9 November 2021
Juniper House Update
Juniper House has now reached 17 storeys - shame the 34 storey Town centre development will be twice the height and will block the views for the residents of Juniper House expecting wonderful views of Walthamstow Wetlands!
Eco Home - COP26
The council has redeveloped a house to show what can be done to get all our houses more eco-friendly.
Lea Bridge Massive Redevelopment
Clare Coghill Joins Square roots
Some points of interest leading up to the announcement that Clare Coghill (formerly leader of LBWF) has become a Vice Chair of Square Roots, a subsidiary of London Square, the developers of land around Lea Bridge Station.
• 15 May 2020 Recommendation to LBWF Cabinet 2.1: Executive Decision by Portfolio Lead Member for Economic Growth and Housing Cllr Simon Miller “to approve the appointment of London Square Developments Limited and One Housing Group Limited (as a joint venture Limited Liability Partnership established by both parties, the name of the LLP is likely to be Lea Bridge Partnership LLB)) to be the Delivery Partner for the Lea Bridge Station Sites”.
• 11 November 2020 Square Roots incorporated. It has connections including directorships with 36 other companies with registered offices at 1 York Road, Uxbridge UB8 1RN many of which have names including ‘London Square’. Nature of Square Roots business: Development of building projects; Renting and operating of Housing Association Real Estate; Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate; Management of real estate on fee or contract basis. Going Concern assurance: parent company London Square Ltd has given ‘unconditional letter of support’ that ‘it will provide financial support to the company during the Going Concern period.’
• March 2021 London Square Development Ltd signs Development Agreement with LBWF re Lea Bridge Station Sites. No further mention of One Housing Group.
• 10 April 2021 WF (Former Leader) Cllr Chris Robbins dies.
• 22 April 2021 Cabinet decision on Chingford Library & Assembly Hall.
• 23 April 2021 Cllr Yemi Osho, Lea Bridge Ward Councillor and resident of Chingford, resigns from Council.
• 16 May 2021 – 10 June 2021 By-election in Lea Bridge Ward.
• 18 June 2021 WF Leader Clare Coghill decides to step aside as Leader, remaining as Councillor, citing death of friend and death of Cllr Robbins as making her think about what she wants in life.
- 17 August 2021 London Square & LBFW submit planning application 212685 for Lea Bridge Station Sites. No mention of One Housing.
• 10 September 2021 Cllr Clare Coghill expresses ‘Fond Farewells’ on Facebook to Waltham Forest, has moved to North Devon in campervan with Leader of Blackpool Council.
• 13 September 2021 entry on Companies House (gov.uk) Clare Coghill appointed as Director of Square Roots Registered Provider Ltd.
• 21 September 2021 report in Housing Today: Clare Coghill appointed as Director of Square Roots Registered Provider Ltd, owned by London Square.
• 14 October 2021 Cllr Clare Coghill entry recorded on Waltham Forest Register of Interests: employment by Square Roots One York Road Uxbridge UB8 1RN as Vice Chair.
Whipps Cross Hospital Redevelopment
The Planning Committee may be deciding the future of the Whipps Cross site on the 24th November, but the date and venue are still to be confirmed. Make sure you register to speak.
Whipps Cross Redevelopment: Action4Whipps Statement Please share.
Recent news reports are saying that, in reaction to public
concern, Barts Healthcare Trust have committed to zero reduction in bed numbers
at the new Whipps Cross Hospital, and to keeping the Margaret Centre for
palliative and end-of-life care. While it's welcome that Barts are responding
to public concern, there are still many questions to be answered, both about
bed numbers and the Margaret Centre.
Concerning the beds, the Redevelopment Director for Barts'
qualifies the commitment to maintaining the current "bed base" with
"should that prove necessary."
His statement is not clear about the actual future of the Margaret
Centre.
Bed numbers:
Barts refers to "flexibility" in
planning, design, and bed numbers, and that this will enable them to maintain,
rather than cut bed numbers, if this is needed.
·
They say there will be an annual
report based on a continuous review of bed numbers needed. How will the review be
done?
·
We consider that bed numbers
need to be planned and projected well into the future, especially as Whipps
Cross is to specialise in the care of older people.
·
The number of over 65s in the catchment area is projected to grow by 25% within three years of
the new hospital opening. We
believe this warrants planning now for an actual increase in bed
numbers.
The issue of flexibility:
·
The size of the rebuild is not flexible; it's
already outlined in the current planning application, before Waltham Forest
Council. If this planning application goes ahead, the space for the new
hospital is fixed, and cannot be expanded. The footprint for the new hospital
is also fixed by the budget allowed by Central Government.
·
So what
important services, or spaces for staff learning, and for team and office
space, would have to be cut, or moved off site, to make room for more beds? The Barts Summer 2021 newsletter,
mentions the flexibility to convert office space into additional wards. Staff
need office space, just as patients need beds.
The Margaret Centre: specialist palliative and end of life
care
Barts say that, in response to local concerns, they are
now working with St Joseph’s Hospice in Hackney and the North East London
Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to “establish what an end-of-life care
offer” “could look like in a way that could be delivered from the Margaret
Centre.”Of course we welcome this in principle, but there is little detail in
Barts’ statements and there are important questions still to be answered:
·
Barts say they will look at whether
the Margaret Centre will remain on the hospital site, or be re-provided
elsewhere in Waltham Forest. When and how will this be decided?
·
Are these plans intended to be
permanent arrangements or interim until the new hospital is built?
·
It appears that the North East London
CCG will lead on the planning. Does this mean decision making about the future
of the Margaret Centre now rests, ultimately, with the CCG?
· The CCG covers a vast area from Havering and Barking &
Dagenham to Hackney. Health services across North East London have been
underfunded for years, so will the reprovision have to compete for funding with
other badly needed services across the area?
·
Will people from across the Whipps
Cross catchment – Redbridge, West Essex and Newham as well as Waltham Forest –
all have the same right of access to the new service?
·
What is the timing of these changes?
Barts say they aim to begin implementation in 2022. How will staff at the
Margaret Centre be involved?
We will urgently seek clarity from Barts on these issues.
We believe it is vital to retain the Margaret Centre in its entirety as a local
specialist NHS end of life and palliative care service. It must be free to all
who need care, and accessible to everyone living in the Whipps Cross catchment
area.
Other services:
·
There
is no mention by Barts of other services currently provided at Whipps Cross
that are not in the design plans of the new hospital. In particular the Outpatient Dialysis Service and the Connaught
Day Hospital, providing rehabilitation
for older people.
All of this, notwithstanding Barts' assurances, give us cause for
concern about what actually will be provided at the new Whipps Cross Hospital.
Our campaigning, and the representations to Barts made by our MPs,
Redbridge Council and members of the public have clearly made a difference. But
if we're to get the hospital we need there is still lots to do.
You can email us at whipps.cross.campaign@gmail.com
Fellowship Square (Formerly Town Hall)
Phase 2 of the development of the Town Hall Campus
Town Hall
