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
Showing posts with label SLM. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SLM. Show all posts
Saturday, 8 July 2023
Tuesday, 9 November 2021
SLM News
Hello and welcome to the latest news from Save Lea Marshes! We hope you are keeping well.
This newsletter will be slightly different as it mainly consists of a request. We would like as many people as possible to object to the latest planning application for the building of 23 and 26 storey flats next to the marshes!
Lea Bridge Station Site Development
This application, for the 'Lea Bridge Station Sites Development', is clearly an inappropriate development on a flood plain that will adversely affect the openness of the marshes. It will also destroy a pocket park of 125 trees - 122 of which will be felled! https://builtenvironment.
To object, please write to: dmconsultations@walthamforest.
Here are a series of points you can make:
- The Lea Bridge Framework is still under consideration and no planning application for this area should be brought forward until it is complete, otherwise it is rendered useless. Similarly, the application cannot rely on the Emerging Site Allocation because it is part of the Draft Local Plan and is yet to be fully scrutinised.
- The Planning Statement states that the development will provide publicly accessibly green space yet it will destroy existing green space at Orient Way Pocket Park, home to 125 semi-mature and early-mature trees. If Waltham Forest Council is serious about its commitment to the climate emergency, then it should be safeguarding mature trees because of the important role they play in mitigating the effects of climate change. New trees are not a substitute for mature trees and new green space is not a substitute for existing green space.
- The fact that there is no social housing planned is unacceptable.
- The proposed development will have a detrimental impact on air quality during construction and, when complete, by increasing the number of people living in the area with cars and removing the mitigating effect of the trees in the Orient Way Pocket Park.
- The Planning Statement says that the site is not affected by tidal flooding. However, the site is situated on the flood plain of the Lee Valley, which will be increasingly subject to flooding. The Planning Statement acknowledges that parts of the site are indeed at risk of fluvial flooding. Our floodplain should not be developed; it should remain undeveloped and permeable.
- Building 23-storey and 26-storey tower blocks in this location constitutes significant over-development, especially as the location is not identified as a location for tall building development in the adopted Development Plan.
- Astonishingly, the Planning Statement claims that these tower blocks will have a ‘moderately beneficial impact’ on the Lee Valley Regional Park and other open spaces. This is clearly contrary to any reasonable understanding of openness.
- Waltham Forest Council has declared a Climate Emergency and this over-development on a flood plain runs contrary to combating climate change locally.
Community Planning Alliance
Because of inappropriate developments such as this one springing up with alarming frequency all over the country, a group called the Community Planning Alliance has been formed. The CPA is a very dynamic new community planning campaign which Save Lea Marshes joined soon after it was formed in April 2021. Some other groups local to the Marshes are also members. It now has over 500 affiliated groups
Affiliated groups can be found by clicking on the map: CPA Google Group
We have attended several online sessions and follow them on Twitter @CommunityPlann1 and on Facebook: https://bit.ly/3zLtJ4P
It has a temporary website https://grassrootscampaigns.
The campaign has recently been contacted by the Good Law Project and had discussion about how the two groups can work together. The CPA has just elected a management committee and officers and asked for volunteers to become regional representatives. Save Lea Marshes responded to the last request and Julian Cheyne is now the Regional Representative for an as yet undesignated region in East London. The precise role of Regional Reps has still to be defined so they are feeling their way and welcome any thoughts on how to proceed. In broad terms they will act as a channel between local groups and the national organisation, offering support and contact for local groups by linking them to this wider network and its resources and providing feedback from local groups to the national campaign to help it develop the campaign, its focus and its capacity to assist local groups.
If you are interested in finding out more or joining the alliance, feel free to contact Julian using our email: leamarshes@gmail.com or contact the CPA directly: communityplanningalliance@
Saturday, 13 March 2021
SLM News February
This is the February issue of the Save Lea Marshes newsletter. Our key stories this month concern land use and consultation.
Ice Centre update
SLM and other community representatives are attending regular meetings with representatives from the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority (LVRPA) to monitor work and make suggestions in order to try and minimise the damage to Leyton Marsh. The last meeting was on 5 February. One item raised was the lack of visible information for the general public on the site about the forthcoming Ice Centre plans. You would think that, if the LVRPA is so proud of its upcoming development, they would be making the most of this opportunity. Anyhow, a poster has now finally gone up in the old Ice Rink building.
Other issues covered were
- firstly, the removal of shrubs and other planting from the front and car park side of the old rink. Much of this was planted during the Olympic year 2012, and
- secondly, how the new Ice Centre is going to produce both a Net Gain in Biodiversity and an increase in Urban Greening Factor (UGF). The LVRPA reckon that the former will increase by 35% and the latter by 0.6. What does all this mean? Well, Biodiversity is calculated according to a DEFRA metric, which uses data on habitats, taking into account habitat type, area and conditions, using current actual values and predicted future values (after the development). The UGF is a formula that evaluates and quantifies the amount of urban greening that a scheme provides to inform decisions about applying levels of greening in new developments. Each area of the site is assigned a Green Infrastructure Factor according to its type, between 0 (for built areas including concrete and tarmac) and 1 (for open land including water). Thus an overall score for the whole site can be calculated as the weighted average of the GIFs of all the individual areas. I hope I have explained that correctly but basically we are talking data versus what nature will actually do!
Waterworks Centre
SLM have been trying hard to hold a dialogue with the LVRPA to improve consultation with both it and the wider public. Last year we tried to suggest ways in which the Waterworks building could be used both more profitably and with community and wildlife provision at its heart, in such a way as to maintain and improve the surrounding green areas for wildlife. However, our hopes have been somewhat deflated by the LVRPA seemingly going back to "default position", with plans for the Centre at least in the near future being more or less the same as usual, with the building used as a base for the ranger staff and possibly an educational service for young people. The most worrying factor concerns the surrounding land, with the LVRPA doggedly sticking to their ideas of raising money through large events and even considering making physical changes to allow larger vehicles in. We ask how they can justify this, in the light of one of the biggest negative responses ever received by Waltham Forest Licensing Committee when it considered the application for the proposed music festival. Furthermore, we were under the impression that the LVRPA had given an undertaking to defer any decisions on the future of the site until the completion of the biodiversity surveys that SLM has commissioned in the area.
Landscape issues ...
Two issues -
- The LVRPA's Landscape Works Document, presented to its Executive Committee on Thursday 25 February, which lists and prioritises landscape works throughout the Lee Valley Park.
- Opening up the park by works which would enable a greater access and flow through the park.
SLM had speakers on both these issues at the meeting, raising concerns about the imbalance of projects between the north and south of the park. Arguably the north has areas of more scenic value but the south definitely has higher and increasingly higher footfall due to population density. The document favours works in the north of the park and has backtracked on one of the plans we have been campaigning for: restoring water to the Middlesex Filter Beds (the pumps previously installed kept on getting stolen). We had been told that delays had been caused by tendering difficulties and lack of staff available due to Covid 19. We wonder whether getting a new Ice Centre in the south was seen as "our lot", despite the fact that many people don't want it. The Executive Committee said that the document was not set in stone but was a work in progress - we shall see. One of our members gave a detailed presentation on areas of the park that could have obstacles removed and new paths laid out so as to enable pedestrians and cyclists to move about more easily. There were some positive noises about some of these proposals, notably the area between the Waterworks and Hackney Marshes.
East London Waterworks Park fundraiser ...
There has been a huge increase in interest in the park idea recently. We've had new people joining us to help move the project forward. We are now a Limited Company (with the aim of becoming a registered charity when the time is right). We have also launched a crowdfunding campaign through the Mayor of London's Spacehive scheme to allow us to get Phase 1 of the project underway: a valuation of the site, market research, a designer to create the ELWP "brand", and an engineer to carry out a technical evaluation. We will then be able to make our approach to the Education Department, who own the land; our bid needs to be as credible as possible for us to be able to buy it from them. There is more detailed information and a blog on the ELWP website https://www.elwp.org.uk
Rainy days and sewage days..
Our friends at London Waterkeeper are doing an amazing job raising the profile of the importance of our rivers and the need to keep them clean and sewage free. There is a very active campaign for people to report and complain to Thames Water about their sewage overflow but London Waterkeeper's latest communication raises concern about the Environmental Agency's plans to end its public notifications for the most serious river pollution events in London - north of the Thames and Hertfordshire. This service started after public pressure when there was a large oil slick in the River Lea in 2018. At the time, coordination between the EA and other authorities was poor, and the notification system has been an improvement that has now been extended from the Lea to the North London operating area of the EA, This latest change appears to be a money-saving measure, and the London Waterkeeper group will be working to see the service continue beyond the end of March. They have also launched their "Rainy days sewer overflow map". This is an interactive portal that will enable sewage spotters to pinpoint and report to Thames Water where sewage overflows are seen during rainy days and to keep informing them throughout the period of rain. https://www.londonwaterkeeper.
London Mayor senses a plot..
During the on-line Mayor of London's "People's Question Time" on 11 February, it dawned on Mayor Khan that he was getting an unusual number of questions from people based in Waltham Forest and made his suspicions clear by dubbing the borough the "People's Republic of Walthamstow" - a similar moniker used to be applied to neighbouring Hackney in years gone by. The Save Our Square campaign (SOS) organised a brilliant campaign to ask the Mayor a number of questions spread over different subject areas - such as fire risk, housing and environment - to make their views heard on the revised Walthamstow town centre plans, which had been recently given the go-ahead at the Waltham Forest Planning Committee. The plans involve extending the shopping centre, two large tower blocks, unaffordable housing for local people, and the loss of public open space.
SLM meetings ...
If you have ever thought about coming to an SLM meeting but not managed to get to our usual venues, now might be the time to join us on Zoom. We meet on alternate Mondays from 7.30 and the next meeting is on 8 March. We always put dates of SLM meetings on our website. Once the Covid 19 emergencies are over, we will probably continue to have meetings online with occasional physical meet-ups, to make meetings as accessible as possible.
Monday, 8 February 2021
Save Lea Marshes Newsletter
Save Lea Marshes Newsletter
This is the first Save Lea Marshes (SLM) newsletter of the year. We can only hope that 2021, will be at least a little better than 2020. For the January newsletter I thought that rather than do the usual round-up of what's going on it would be useful to reflect back on 2020, and outline what SLM's priorities are for the time ahead.
THE LEE VALLEY ICE CENTRE
A lot of SLM's time in 2020, was devoted to trying to prevent the proposed twin-pad ice and leisure centre from being built on Metropolitan Open Land. Despite extensive research, lobbying and hours of work, we were unable to convince the Waltham Forest Planning Committee that the ice centre was being built in the wrong place.(/p)
After, the London Mayor's office "waived through" the development following the Waltham Forest Planning Committee, we felt our best option was to try and minimize the amount of damage to the Lee Valley Park area and managed to agree with the Lee Valley Park Authority (LVRPA), that when works were commenced, there would be ecologists on site to supervise clearing and steps would be taken to protect wildlife.
Works began to happen sooner than we thought. Little more than a week after SLM made the request at an LVRPA committee meeting to have ecologists involved and for regular meetings to monitor the work, we were informed that the LVRPA wanted to do some clearing on the site. This, they told us, was partly to try and ensure that any hibernating hedgehogs could be re-homed, partly to carry out some regular maintenance workand partly to clear the space ready for building scheduled for Spring 2021. However, as it turned out it was also very convenient for a booking that the LVRPA had made to have a winter funfair on site.Which was set up ready for the Christmas and New Year Holiday period only to have to be taken down again due to Covid restrictions.
So far in 2021, there has been a fairly positive on-line "site" meeting, with representatives of the LVRPA, SLM and other local wildlife community representatives. Our position remains that the decision to build was a wrong one but faced with what seems the inevitable, we want to try and ensure that the claimed sustainability of the ice centre building plans are adhered to and that there is as little damage to the land as possible. Should this not be the case then we will act accordingly.
WATERWORKS/ LEYTON MARSH AREA
Having been horrified by plans to run a music festival on the land near the Waterworks Centre, SLM and other local activists, swung into action to (a) try to stop the festival taking place due not only to Covid-19 dangers but also damage to the land and disturbance to local wildlife and local people (b) draw attention to the bio-diversity of the land and help enhance its future and (c) to stop the further misuse of this land purely for profit and not for local people or wildlife's interests.
Our campaign included raising the issue through social and other media; contributing to a team of people who wished to speak at the Licensing Committee meeting; organizing a crowd-funding platform to raise funding for independent ecologists to monitor the area for wildlife and plants (this included working collaboratively with the LVRPA's ecologist to add to their work).
This time we were successful in defeating the festival proposal at the Licencing Committee. SLM has no desire to take all the credit - this was also due to many people who supported the campaign and contributed to our crowd-funder. Indeed, we would judge it more as a success for the mobilization of the public and other interest groups.
One thing during the lock-down summer that we observed, was that many more people were coming to the area, partly attracted by the river and "Hackney Beach". We felt that this was partly due to the coverage of the prospect of the festival written about by the Evening Standard, Time Out and other media, attracting people from outside the area to walk, run, cycle, picnic and party.
The dilemma between wanting more people to enjoy the local area and to protect the land, continued through further lock-downs. Currently, one of the pressures is maintaining the grass during the wet weather. Many people don't seem to appreciate the damage they are doing by walking, and cycling over the grass areas at this time and not sticking to the paths. It also has to be said that the tyres marks of maintenance vehicles across and by the edges of paths, particularly on Hackney Marshes, is also a problem.
This newsletter reaches people who already care about the Lea Valley area and its future, a task ahead is to try and get across in a friendly way to make others more aware as they get much needed relief from lockdown life. As more people are familiar with the term "mindfulness", perhaps we can encourage the concept of "mindful walking", that doesn't involve taking short-cuts off paths, when the surfaces are wet or not disposing or taking home their litter. I live in hope...
Allied to the green spaces in this area is the future of the Waterwork's Centre. SLM has been in on-line discussions with LVRPA staff responsible for this facility in a bid to suggest a viable future for this building - which was originally supposed to be a centre for serving and stimulating interest in local wildlife.
SLM presented some proposals and we also set up a dialogue with a local brewery who were interested in improving the food and drink offer at the centre. The initial meetings were encouraging but more recent communications, less so.
SLM does not want to see the building or its surrounding site sold off, rented out for a use that does not serve local needs or protect wildlife. We believe that the use of the building should be for promoting and sustaining wild life interests and activities as well as being a social point for people living nearby. The Lee Valley Park Authority has recently spent a lot of money on a re-building wildlife centre in the north of the district, which is good news. However, we would argue that the south of the area is less well served and should be better supported, particularly due to the larger numbers of people who use the park in this area. We have already seen the local forum meetings and LVRPA committee meetings, which used to be held in the south, fall by the wayside. We do not want to see the Waterworks Centre and surrounding green space being used purely as a "Cash Cow", with inappropriate large, fenced off events taking place there. Watch this space for 2021.
LONDON WATERPARK
Our "sister" organisation East London Waterpark established just over a year ago, is going from strength to strength. Members have been meeting fortnightly on-line and has just become a company limited by guarantee, with the longer term aim of becoming a charity.
Other notable achievements include the setting up and development of the elwp.org website; drawing up architectural and other site plans, contributing to a comprehensive economic and social briefing ready to present to Waltham Forest Council; and (fingers crossed), ELWP will shortly be up on the Spacehive platform for a crowdfunding initiative.
ELWP has been gathering expertise and support along the way. This has included student participation through East London College, University of Westminster Architectural school and others. Although a number of SLM members are involved, we have always sought from the outset that this should be a separate operation involving the wider community and one of the project's aims is to be part of the local employment and social economy as well as being an important environment and leisure facility.
ELWP sees the establishment of safe, wild swimming and other associated environment projects opening up the site into the wider Lea Valley. The site's current occupiers Thames Water and other associated companies have "industrialized" much of the site and it has been shut off from local people. The project aims to work with some of the existing infrastructure (particularly keeping the heritage buildings), and gradually allowing nature to take over.
It is an ambitious project, but ELWP feels that it is a terrific fit for an area between two nature reserves and will help to meet the demand that local people have been demonstrating over the last few summers, of a safe, wild, place to swim in - unlike the current state of the River Lea. The park will need the support of local people and we will keep you informed of progress, through the SLM media outlets and the developing ELWP ones. Watch this space!
FUTURE PLANS..
Some members of the SLM group have been working on mapping traditionally established pathways, "twitterns" and rights of way and getting the London Borough of Waltham Forest to officially protect them. SLM has recently begun to start looking at the Lea Valley area with a view to trying to open up some of the route ways which have been closed off, where it would help with the flow of people, whilst still seeking to keep the land protected. We feel it is all about balance. Yes, there is significant growing demand that can be seen by the numbers of people now using the park but there is also a need to have protected areas that people do not visit on a regular basis to protect wildlife and habitats, particularly as the surrounding areas are being so heavily developed. This is an area of work that should feature a lot in 2021.
OTHER LOCAL CAMPAIGNS
SLM takes very seriously, supporting other campaigns with a connection, relevance or impact on the marshes and other open spaces. One such campaign is the Save Our Square campaign in Walthamstow. Last Wednesday night, the Waltham Forest Planning Committee voted through the revised proposals for the town centre which were agreed about three years ago.
As I sat in on the on-line meeting, I had a strange feeling of "de ja vu". Several local representatives made some hard-felt, well-researched, strong arguments on why the scheme (which includes two extremely tall tower blocks and an extension of the indoor shopping centre), should not go ahead. There was one speaker against. Despite the strong opposition, the Councillors voted 4 to 1 (the one being the Conservative member Alan Siggars, who also did not vote for the first version), to approve the scheme. Whilst Councillors did ask some pertinent questions and show some concern about the need for good quality lower cost housing, this scheme doesn't really address the problems of the majority of people on the housing list and is yet another example of helping developers get what they want.
There has to be a better way of ensuring that people can afford to live in their local areas, without going down the privatized tower block option. Investing in council-funded schemes, with integrated training systems and seriously assessing the numbers of vacant properties that could be rehabilitated. Are just two suggestions. Post Covid 19, we are likely to have less retail and office space needed. Personally, I think there is much more scope to go down the route of live/work units that keep both housing and economics in the town centres. The Save Our Square campaigners have not given up.
Wednesday, 26 August 2020
Save Lea Marshes Newsletter
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: SLM newsletter <Newsletter@saveleamarshes.
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 2020 at 11:51
Subject: SLM NEWS AUGUST 2020
>
From: SLM newsletter <Newsletter@saveleamarshes.
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 2020 at 11:51
Subject: SLM NEWS AUGUST 2020
>
THIS IS THE SAVE LEA MARSHES AUGUST 2020 NEWSLETTER. A MONTH, TRADITIONALLY SHORT OF NEWS IN THE MEDIA BUT NOT THIS YEAR...
SLIPPERY PRESENTATION..
Our lead story this month is the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority's (LVRPA) Ice Centre plans. SLM and others have been anxiously waiting for news of when the LVRPA's application will be going to the Waltham Forest Planning Committee since it was postponed in March. We have seen some increased activity by the Authority via further consultation meetings and new information being put on Waltham Forest Council's planning application portal. The likelihood of the Ice Centre proposal's going to Planning Committee soon was heightened in the last few days, with an email from the Council announcing that there would be an on-line pre-application briefing on Thursday 20 August.
Pre-application meetings are held for large applications either before the application is submitted or before it is determined by the planning committee. Such briefings are normally open to the general public and will be used by the applicant to provide information. Only Planning Committee members can ask questions.
The meeting has been put on Youtube and can be accessed by going to https://www.youtube.com/watch?
As you will note if you view the video, the LVRPA's presentation is heavily overlaid with arguments as to why the Ice Centre is deemed by them to be important, rather than whether such a large industrial building should be build on Metropolitan Open Land (which is in legislation the same as Green Belt). This is despite the fact that the International Olympic Committee itself says in its own guidelines that "industrial and brownfield sites should be sought in the first instance for ice centres".
Members did ask some very good questions, e.g. about the size of the car park and how could this be justified. The response to this was that the new Ice Centre as a regional facility needed to be able to accommodate users and visitors from Essex and Hertfordshire, whilst also being a local centre for local people. (This being the case, we wondered, why not go for a more connected Olympic site in Eton Manor or on another LVRPA-owned site in Enfield?)
Other wobbly comments on this cutting edge of an Ice Centre included a response to a member's question about the need for a gym inside the building when there are lots of other gyms locally. The answer was that it was an important part of the LVRPA's Business Plan...
Another member's question was on young people and the location of the Ice Centre on the borders of Hackney and Waltham Forest and how this might exacerbate postcode gang conflict. The reply was along the lines of it 'not having been an issue in the past'. Young people's provision has been put forward as a strong argument for the Ice Centre by the LVRPA and no-one would deny that provision for young people in our boroughs is or should be a priority, but whether a £30m-plus ice centre, rather than a properly supported youth service, is the answer is open to question.
GASWORKS..
Those following the Berkeley Homes & Partners development on the edge of Jubilee Park can also view a pre-planning briefing on the same Youtube link above.
Again, members of the Waltham Forest Planning asked some good questions, including whether the low amount of so-called affordable housing was all in one block or "pepper-potted" around the development. The answer came that they would be in the part of the site first to be completed and would be nearest the park (so having to put up with the noise and disruption of the rest of the construction work). There are two large towers 17 storeys high near the entrance of Jubilee Park that are supposed to act as a gateway to the project but I wonder whether they have given any thought to the views from the surrounding areas? Last year SLM featured the Motion Buildings on Lea Bridge Road as part of our "Blots on the Landscape" competition. I think it is rather fitting that the buildings have been given that name, because wherever you look on the Marshes, the buidings seem to move with you...
RIGHT TO ROAM...
A new campaign to extend the Countryside and Rights of Way (CRoW) Act in England has been launched, so that millions of people can have easy access to open space, and the physical, mental and spiritual health benefits that it brings. See https://www.righttoroam.org.uk
RACE, CLASS AND ECO SYSTEMS..
"How racism and classism affect natural eco-systems" is a research paper by Jake M. Robinson, University of Sheffield, on how inequality between humans also harms the birds, the bees, the microbes and the trees. See https://theconversation.com/
AND FINALLY ..
There's been a strong showing of concern about the cleanliness (or lack of it) of our rivers recently. On Twitter, London Waterkeeper, Thames 21 and Feargal Sharkey have been among the organisations and individuals who have been long campaigning for cleaner water and stopping water companies such as Thames Water from offloading sewage into our rivers. Please support them. SLM is trying to do its own bit by questioning the plans of the LVRPA Ice Centre proposal to use reedbeds to filter discarded ice water from the building into the Oxbow on Leyton Marsh. Given the chemicals and the flakes from paint markings used in Ice Hockey, which would be regularly skimmed off the surface of the ice, it doesn't exactly sound safe for our wildlife, particularly if something goes wrong.
Monday, 27 July 2020
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 .
Thursday, 9 July 2020
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.
Tuesday, 9 June 2020
Save Lea Marshes Newsletter
Welcome to the May edition of the Save Lea Marshes Newsletter. What a month it has been. On the positive side: the swifts are back - there're more than a dozen flying over my immediate neighbourhood and I've seen them back in the sites of previous nests; we've been treated to more birdsong and wildlife sightings - deer have been spotted on Walthamstow Marsh; and SLM and a whole host of other local groups and individuals have worked together to prevent a licence being granted for three years for a dance music festival near the Waterworks wildlife reserve. Please see https://www.saveleamarshes.
On the negative side: the sunny and warm weather has drawn more people to misuse our precious open spaces - using the Lea for swimming by the Friends Bridge between Hackney and Leyton Marshes (not a good idea for health reasons and because it disturbs a nesting kingfisher) and lighting barbeques and leaving litter in the Waterworks area.
On the negative side: the sunny and warm weather has drawn more people to misuse our precious open spaces - using the Lea for swimming by the Friends Bridge between Hackney and Leyton Marshes (not a good idea for health reasons and because it disturbs a nesting kingfisher) and lighting barbeques and leaving litter in the Waterworks area.
"HAPPY MAN" TREE
This is a plane tree estimated to be over 150 years old with at least another 50 years of lifespan, sited opposite the "Happy Man" public house on the Woodberry Down Estate in Hackney. After a long debate at the L.B.H. Planning Sub-Committee, last month, councillors finally agreed that it could be sacrificed in order for the next phase of the re-construction of the estate to take place. The developers, Berkeley Homes, argued that they had listened to the ideas of local residents to avoid cutting down the tree, but there seemed to be a disagreement about this, with local residents saying they were in the dark about the final position before it went to committee. The developers argue that the area will get more green space and more trees but didn't seem able to accommodate a little space for this tree in their plans claiming that it affected the numbers of dwellings that could be provided. Now there is an encampment that has been set up. See https://www.hackneycitizen.co.
Another casualty of 'lockdown' the Hackney Citizen is no longer able to print copies and is appealing for donations to keep going - so any generous supporters of the free press out there...
WOODLAND..
Continuing the tree theme, one of my SLM colleagues has flagged up a TV programme on how to re-forest, allowing woodland to regenerate naturally and not on a mass scale which often leads to diseases. See https://www.bbc.co.uk/
ONE MORE THING ABOUT TREES ..
Who are these people that think it is OK to tie exercise bands around trees to do their workouts? Brains over torsos, please, people!
"LEA MARSH TO GLEAMING TOWERS" ..
A forty-minute talk, with slides by Claire Weiss to the Leyton & Leytonstone Historical Society, was presented on Zoom last week, replacing a scheduled live event. For those who missed it, you can catch it on https://www.youtube.com/watch?
DISTANCE WALKING..
Hackney and Walthamstow boroughs have both put together walks for people getting their daily exercise. For Waltham Forest Wards see https://www.walthamforest.gov.
MOWN AWAY ..
As I type this newsletter, the green space around the block of flats opposite my home has been mown for the third time since lockdown and now looks like a desert! Meanwhile, Plantlife are currently (from 23 to 31st May), running their "Every Flower Counts" programme to encourage counting how many bees you can see on your lawn.. see https://plantlife.org.uk.
GRASS SNAKES AND MORE..
No, not talking about Dominic Cummings, but the other slithery kind of creature, that has been spotted in the River Lea. For the full story on the subject of the healing effects of nature go to https://www.hackneycitizen.co.
LESS PLASTIC..
Our friends at Plastic Free Hackney are doing an on-line workshop on the top ten tips for reducing.. its free, but you have to book. It happens on Thursday 4 June from 2.00 p.m. to 4.00 p.m. go to www.plasticfreehackney.com.
and finally, am I the only miserable person who truly hates barbeques? Not only are they causing a problem in our parks and open spaces, with fire risks and litter, I find the smoke and smell of them in my neighbourhood really horrible and invasive. I can't understand why people don't cook inside and bring it out to enjoy. Sufficient evidence exists to support food being cooked to death on barbeques as being bad for our health, including cancers - for example see Medicalnewstoday.com/articles/
Monday, 11 May 2020
Waterworks Licence Hearing - virtual hearing
COMMITTEE's DECISION
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Marc Witham <Marc.Witham@walthamforest.
Date: Mon, 4 May 2020 at 08:35
Subject: FW: Licensing Act 2003 - Waterworks, Lammas Road, E10
To:
Dear Sir/Madam,
The agenda for Licensing Act 2003 Sub-Committee, Tuesday, 12th May, 2020, 2.00 pm has just been published.
To see the publicly available information, follow the link: Agenda details on public web site
Meeting venue: Virtual Meeting
The following items are included in the agenda:
The agenda for Licensing Act 2003 Sub-Committee, Tuesday, 12th May, 2020, 2.00 pm has just been published.
To see the publicly available information, follow the link: Agenda details on public web site
Meeting venue: Virtual Meeting
The following items are included in the agenda:
| No. | Item |
| 1 | APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND SUBSTITUTE MEMBERS |
| 2 | DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST |
| 3 | PROCEDURE OF LICENSING SUB-COMMITTEE |
| 4 | APPLICATION FOR THE GRANT OF A PREMISES LICENCE - THE WATERWORKS, LAMMAS ROAD, LEYTON, E10 4QB |
Kind regards,
Marc Witham
Team Manager - Licensing | Regulatory Services | Resident Services
London Borough of Waltham Forest
3 The Square, Leyton, E10 5NR
Tel: 020 8496 3000 | Ext: 2247
Our ambition is that everybody in Waltham Forest enjoys a quality life.
From: Marc Witham
Sent: 30 April 2020 15:42
Subject: Licensing Act 2003 - Waterworks, Lammas Road, E10
Sent: 30 April 2020 15:42
Subject: Licensing Act 2003 - Waterworks, Lammas Road, E10
Dear Sir/madam,
Further to your representation in respect of the application for the grant of a premises licence at The Waterworks, Lammas Road, E10.
A hearing to determine the application has been arranged and will take place on Tuesday 12th May 2020 at 14:00. Due to coronavirus social distancing requirements the hearing will take place using Microsoft Teams. A link to allow access to the hearing and joining instructions will be sent in the days leading up to the hearing.
Attached is the Notice of Hearing, acknowledgement notice and other documents relating to the hearing. Should you wish to address the sub-committee or nominate somebody to speak on your behalf, then please indicate so in the acknowledgement notice, which should be returned to licensing@walthamforest.gov.uk
If there are a large number of requests to speak the Chair may limit the number of speakers, place a time limit on speakers, or both. Therefore, where possible, it may be advisable for connected parties to nominate a speaker to amplify the points raised in their representations, particularly where representations address substantially similar concerns.
If you have any questions, please email licensing@walthamforest.gov.uk and we will endeavor to respond to you as soon as possible.
Kind regards,
Marc Witham
Team Manager - Licensing | Regulatory Services | Resident Services
London Borough of Waltham Forest
3 The Square, Leyton, E10 5NR
Tel: 020 8496 3000 | Ext: 2247
Our ambition is that everybody in Waltham Forest enjoys a quality life.
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