Focus has had a massive response to our petition to get all our elected councillors to have a CRB check (now called a Disclosure and Barring Service – DBS).
Councillors are Corporate Parents to all our children in care and DBS checks should be for all not just a few.
Bob Sullivan says: If you want to click here to sign the petition. You may also see the team in the High Street collecting more signatures.
Leytonstone’s Fire Station
The Fire Station in Leytonstone High Road has been closed, and the FOCUS Team understands that demolition is due to commence in December, with the new station scheduled for completion by the end of 2015.
The Fire Engine and crews are stationed temporarily at Leyton Fire Station.
Facade of the planned new building
Waltham Forest’s Labour run Council has voted to give the Chief Executive of the Council a whopping inflation busting pay rise of £15,000 – an 8% increase.
This makes his salary £195,000! Even the Prime Minister only gets £142,000. Labour councillors said it was reward for overseeing council cuts.
Given that the cuts were a loss of 1,000 jobs plus salary cuts to the rest of the council staff should this have been rewarded?
On top of that, Labour councillors voted to give the redundant deputy chief executive a massive £140,000 pay off.
You can be assured that the staff who lost their jobs did not receive any golden pay offs.
Can you believe the way this Labour Council spends your money. Last year they increased the Deputy leader’s pay by 25%.
Your money down the drain
Focus will keep on reporting the arrogant and wasteful ways that this Council spends your money.
Waltham Forest Councillors will no longer be the subject of checks to protect our vulnerable children and adults unless they meet them once a week or more than 3 days per month or between the hours of 2am and 6am.
All councillors are Corporate Parents to all of the children in Council care, so they should actively safeguard and protect those who are looked after. Abuse of children has now been shown to have taken place for many years in and out of Council homes across the country. It is important therefore that residents are confident that all of our all Councillors should have a criminal records check even if they never work with children or only do so rarely.
Councillors are people who can be trusted with our children.
Former Liberal Democrat Group Leader Bob Sullivan says, ‘All councillors therefore should be checked.’
620 High Road
In the face of strong opposition from local residents the Gambling Act Sub-Committee approved the gaming licence for the planning Paddy Power branch at 620 High Road Leytonstone.
As previously reported the Planning Officers, under new legislation, have already refused an planning application for change of use to a betting shop.
Residents have raised the strongest possible opposition to the continued, apparently, avaricious advance of betting offices across Waltham Forest.
The last ditch in this fight will be decided in Whitehall if Paddy Power, as suspected, appeals the decision of the Planning Officers.
620 High Road Leytonstone – site of planned Paddy Power betting shop
This week the council’s Planning Officers, under new regulations, refused the Paddy Power application for change oof use to class A2 (betting Office) for the premises at 620 High Road Leytonstone.
The reasons for refusal included:
- The proposal would result in the clustering of betting shop uses within a limited section of Leytonstone High Road, which would detract from the retail appeal of the area and fail to contribute to the Council’s regeneration objectives for the area thus adversely impacting upon the retail vitality and viability of this are contrary to Policy CS14 of the adopted Waltham Forest Local Plan Core Strategy (2012) and Policy DM25 of the adopted Waltham Forest Development Management Policies (2013).
- The proposed change of use would result in a cluster of betting shops which may lead to anti-social behaviour issues and increased incidents of street crime within the locality which could effect the health and well-being of local residents, contrary to Policies CS13 and CS16 of the Local Care Plan Core Strategy and Policy DM25 of the Development Management Policies.
The FOCUS Team queried the approval of the subsidiary applications for a new shop front, air conditioing and aerials. It appears that planning law does not allow officers to link applications, each has to be treated as individual requests, and there were no reassons for refusal.
It now remains to be seen whether Paddy Power decide to appeal this ruling.
The Liberal Democrats will keep you informed of any developments.
620 High Road Leytonstone – site of proposed Paddy Power Bookmakers
The application for yet another Paddy Power betting shop in the Leytonstone Shopping Centre is due to be discussed by the Council’s Licensing Committee on 6th October.
Residents were amazed that the betting shop in Church Lane, which was refused by the Council was approved on appeal by the Secretary of State.
It is hoped that recent changes in legislation will enable more notice to be taken of local objections.
620 High Road Leytonstone – site of proposed Paddy Power Bookmakers
After the successful protests against the betting shop in Church Lane, the Liberal Democrats are concerned that yet another planning application has been lodged for a branch of Paddy Power in High Road Leytonstone. The Shopping Centre is already inundated with betting shops – surely there is no demand for another.
Paddy Power Bookmakers have lodged an application to open a branch at 620 High Road Leytonstone.
Residents can find details of the application from the Council website by quoting planning application 2014/0996, which covers change of use from category A1 (retail) to A2 (betting office). in the Planning Explorer.
Other application cover:
Comments on this application should be sent to:
The number of people in the country is expected to soar from 53 million to more than 57 million between 2012 and 2022, according to the Office for National Statistics. This amounts to an extra 384,410 people a year – or a city the size of Nottingham.
But the population boom is expected to add to the growing housing crisis – as fresh figures emerged this morning showing a boom in renting and overcrowding.
England’s population is booming – with every region set to grow between 2012 and 2022
Almost one in five homes in England are now rented – a 50 per cent increase in just 10 years. The number of owner occupied homes meanwhile dropped from 69% to 64% over the same period.
Homes with six or more people also spiked – rising by a quarter in just 10 years, including one in 25 homes in London.
But at the same time 1.1 million homes lay empty in 2011 – a 21 per cent spike in a decade.
England’s population is expected to boom in the next decade – with London, the South East and parts of the East Midlands (coloured in dark purple) set to grow more quickly than elsewhere
Despite a booming population and growing demand for homes the number of people living in each household has plummeted over the last 100 years
The housing crisis is being made more acute by the growing number of homes being left empty. The Office for National Statistics revealed today that more than a million homes are now unoccupied
Dan Wilson Craw, of Generation Rent, said:
‘Today’s statistics confirm that our broken housing market is creating deep divisions in society – wealthy property owners can afford to leave houses to stand empty, while more people who can’t buy are forced to squeeze into overcrowded private renting.
‘The government has no hope of reversing this trend with a scheme like Help to Buy – the nation’s renters need better rights in the rental market if they want to live somewhere they can genuinely call home.’
While an increasing number of homes sit unoccupied, the pressure to get on the housing ladder is expected to soar as the population booms over the next eight years.
London, the South East and East Anglia are expected to take most of the new population.
The capital itself will be home to 9.4million by mid 2022 up from 8.3million in 2012 – an increase of 13 per cent.
South East England will grow by 7.8 per cent and the East of England by 8.6 per cent. The North East will experience the slowest population growth – adding just 2.9 per cent over 10 years.
Soaring house prices have pushed more and more people into rented accommodation, the Office for National Statistics has found. Almost one in five homes is now rented out
As more than a million homes lie empty, people are squeezing themselves into properties. The number of homes with six or more people in them has soared by 25 per cent in 10 years
Of the 13 per cent projected growth in London, almost 90 per cent is because of a boom in the number of babies being born. Just 10 per cent is due to immigration.
Although London is a destination for many people migrating to live and work, both from other regions and internationally, there are also large numbers of people who leave the capital.
One reason for the ‘natural’ population boom is because London has only a little over 11 per cent of its population aged 65 and over – compared with most other regions where 17 per cent of the population are pensioners.
The number of people aged 65 and over is projected to increase in all regions by an average of 22 per cent between mid-2012 and mid-2022. The fastest growth in those aged 65 and over is seen in the East Midlands where the number is projected to increase by 25 per cent from 8.1 million to 10.1 million over the 10 year period.
John Howard – Pam Bartram – Clyde Kitson
The Cathall Ward FOCUS Team will be contesting the local council election on Thursday 22 May.
Please remember you have 3 votes for the Liberal Democrat FOCUS Team.
Polling Stations are open from 7am until 10 pm.
Please don’t forget to vote.