The Police have announced that Leyton Police Station in Francis Road will be shut down from next Monday 10th December.
The front counter services are being transferred to the Custody Centre, in Boreham Close, off Hainault Road.
The front counter will be manned from 7am until 3am daily. The same hours as currently offered at Francis Road.
Boreham Close is a cul-de-sac situated opposite Norlington Road.
The Planning Committee has approved London Fire Brigade’s application to demolish and rebuild the old fire station in Leytonstone High Road.
The new building will provide room for modern fire fighting appliances and training facilities, plus a visiting space for the public.
The fire engines will be temporarily transferred to other stations, and the Brigade says that there would be no reduction in cover as a result.
The Birkbeck Tavern - saved by local campaigners
The organiser of the campaign top save the Birkbeck Tavern has reported the good news that it has been sold to a publican.
More news to follow.
At the recent full council meeting, councillors voted in favour of a Liberal Democrat motion to introduce Selective Licensing in the Borough.
Selective licensing has recently been introduced across the whole of the neighbouring borough of Newham. Once in place the law requires that all landlords in the area are licensed and that license can then be revoked if certain conditions aren’t met.
Lib Dems want to use it to tackle rogue landlords and in particular the growth of anti-social behaviour in private rented properties, which now make up 32% of the Borough’s housing stock.
The motion called for a full consultation on proposals to introduce selective licensing in the Borough to tackle rogue landlords, although this was diluted by a Labour amendment, which instead simply referred to ‘an evaluation’.
Lib Dem Housing spokesperson Councillor Winnie Smith, who moved the motion said:
“We’re pleased that the council are now seriously looking into selective licensing. And we hope that the Labour group will now stick to the spirit of the motion and push forward with selective licensing.
“There is a clear need to tackle the growing problem of rogue landlords in the Borough. As we heard from Leyton resident Sharon Crossland in the council meeting, there are landlords in our borough that just aren’t playing by the rules and there is only so much that can be done at the moment without this new licensing power.”
“Many residents are suffering in properties that just aren’t up to standard and paying too much for poor housing that’s blighted by anti-social behaviour.”
The current FOCUS Parking Survey is getting a massive response across the south of Waltham Forest which faced draconian parking restrictions during the Olympic Games.
You can download it here: Cathall – Controlled Parking Special
Completed copies of the survey should be returned to:
The FOCUS Team, 61 Matcham Road, E11 3LA
It is also vital that every household completes, and returns, the Council’s consultation document, so that they receive a comprehensive view from of all residents. A recent article in the Waltham Forest Guardian suggests the Council would be happy with a 15-20% response rate.
Lets make sure they hear from everybody!
If you have not received a copy of the consultation, please ring the Town Hall on 8496 3000 today.
The Birkbeck Tavern, Langthorne Road
Local residents have laumched a petition to save this public house being turned into more flats.
The Focus Team understands that the Birkbeck Tavern, in Langthorne Road, is on sale for £575,000 following the owners going into administration last June.
The Birkbeck Tavern has become more popular recently following its reinvention as a music venue. Opposition to the sell-off is growing with over 1400 signatures already on the petition.
The local residents have plans to showcase it as a community pub.
A public meeting is being held on Tuesday 25th September from at 8pm. This will be followed by a one day music festival, called Birk Fest, which i9s to take place on 28th October.
To view and sign the petition click below:
The Council has decided to issue a Consultation Document asking residents in the temporary Olympic Parking Zone (G01-G10) for their views on the proposal to introduce an indefinite Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) in their roads.
The consultation document is due to be issued on 24 September and has to be returned by 19 October.
The Council’s policy on the introduction of a CPZ is based on the views of the majority of residents, who return the questionnaire.
Whatever your views the Lib Dems stress that it is vital that the Council receives a response from every household regarding this important consultation.
When you receive the consultation document, please complete and return it without delay.
It will be open to the public from 10.30 am until 4.30 pm on Saturday 22nd September as part of the national Open House event.
There will be a display of vintage buses as well as displays of the history of bus travel.
In addition there will be vintage bus tours to Stagecoach London’s newest bus station in West Ham, which will depart every 15 minutes.
As the Paralympics has drawn to a close, local people will be thinking about what is going to happen to the venues and the Olympic Park as a whole. The following update has been received from Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat Leader on the London Assembly:Earlier this year the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) was established to deliver the physical, social, economic and environmental regeneration in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and surrounding area after the 2012 Games. This new mayoral body takes over from a number of organisations and will have planning powers from October 2012.
Much work has been carried out to ensure that there is a permanent future for each permanent venue in the park.
The Stadium has received four bids: from West Ham United, Intelligent Transport Services in association with Formula One, UCFB College of Football Business and Leyton Orient. They are now being evaluated ahead of negotiations. These bids would add to the legacy uses already secured for the Stadium such as host to the IAAF 2017 World Athletics Championships.
The Aquatics Centre will be operated by Greenwich Leisure Limited and will cater for all levels of swimming ability and aquatic disciplines for the community and training athletes. Similarly the Handball Arena LINK will be transformed into a multi-use arena used for a wide range of indoor sports training and competitions as well as cultural and business events.
The Velodrome will be owned and managed by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority and will be known as the Lee Valley VeloPark. The velodrome will need very little transformation and will become the hub of the VeloPark. The BMX track will remain, but be reconfigured, and a road cycle circuit and mountain bike courses will be added.
The Press and Broadcast Centre now has a preferred bidder iCITY to become the long term tenant. iCITY aims to create a leading centre for technology, design and research with the potential to generate more than 4,000 jobs. The digital hub would harness innovation and creativity in east London. The iCity vision also has a community focus including a conference centre and a pedestrian square for broadcasting major sporting events, along with cafes, restaurants and bars.
After the 2012 Games, the park will be closed and works will start to take down temporary venues and to adapt some of the existing venues for future use, as well as building more housing. The park will be re-opening in phases starting in 2013.
During this period the following temporary buildings are scheduled to be removed: