Leyton Police Station shutting down

Councillors Bob Sullivan, Naheed Qureshi and Farooq Qureshi outside the Francis Road Police Station

Following on from the news that Walthamstow Police Station was to be sold off, the Police have now 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.

Local Police Stations not open 24 Hours

The only Police station open 24 hours in Waltham Forest is Chingford. The others are closed most of the early hours.

The following are the opening times of Waltham Forest Police stations Monday to Sunday:

Chingford – 24 hours
Leyton – 0700 – 0300
Walthamstow – 0700 – 0300
Town Centre office – Tuesday – Saturday 1000-1800
Waltham House (Leytonstone) – 0700 – 1900

Remember – In an emergency you need to phone 999

POSTAL SCAM – do not telephone 0906 6611911

The Trading Standards Office is making people aware of the following scam:

A card is posted through your door from a company called PDS (Parcel Delivery Service) suggesting that they were unable to deliver a parcel and that you need to contact them on 0906 6611911 (a Premium rate number).
DO NOT call this number, as this is a mail scam originating from Belize .
If you call the number and you start to hear a recorded message you will already have been billed £315 for the phone call.
If you do receive a card with these details, then please contact Royal Mail Fraud on 020 7239 6655.

For more information, see the Crime Stoppers website:

http://www.crimestoppers-uk.org/crime-prevention/helping-prevent-crime/scams/postal-delivery-scam

 

Police stations – not open for business!

A couple of Thursdays ago a resident got mugged in the street. His friend went to Leyton Police station but found the station closed.

He went to Walthamstow and then to Chingford. They were also closed. This was between 9.00am and 10.30am!

He was told that Wanstead was closed and that the nearest Police station open was in Ilford.

The resident was astounded that he could not contact the police about the serious matter of a mugging.

Councillor Bob Sullivan contacted the Police and was told that the opening hours of some police stations in the borough have been temporarily altered in order to deploy as many police officers as possible onto the streets. However, it seems that it is not ‘some’ but all of the police stations in Waltham Forest have had their opening hours reduced and temporarily closed.

 Councillor Sullivan hopes that this is temporary measure and that the closures do not become the norm.

Lib Dem councillors reaction to violence following Town Hall briefing

Liberal Democrat councillors this afternoon attended a briefing by the police and council officers at Waltham Forest Town Hall about the recent disturbances.

Speaking after the briefing at Waltham Forest Town Hall

 Liberal Democrat councillor for High Street ward Mahmood Hussain said:

“I have spent much of the last two days talking to local shopkeepers and residents affected by the violence. Over 50 businesses have been affected in central Walthamstow. It is shocking to see so many people’s hard work destroyed. I have been impressed with how people are working together to put things right.”

Cllr Winnie Smith (Leyton ward) has also been talking to and visiting businesses and residents in Leyton.

Cllr Farooq Qureshi (Forest ward) added:

“These people don’t have a political message. Looting a Lidl and smashing restaurant windows is not going to sort out any of the problems that residents face. At the end of the day it is local people who will lose jobs and income as a result of this criminal behaviour.”

Cllr Liz Phillips (Cann Hall) said:

“The police have assured us that there will be more officers on duty tonight. The council has been working to remove debris and potential weapons from the street. It is important that parents know where their children are and that everyone take responsibility for calming the situation.”

Leyton Mills Safer Business Panel meeting

Recently the Leyton Ward Liberal Democrat Councillors Naheed Qureshi, Winnie Smith and Bob Sullivan attended the Leyton Mills Safer Business Panel. It was held at ASDA in Leyton Mills, and was chaired by Police Sergeant Sarah Brewer of the Safer Neighbourhood Team, along with representatives of the shops and businesses in Leyton Mills.

It was noted that the problems with the DVD sellers and the gambling had virtually disappeared now that the Police are there every day. There were presentations about preventing crime in the area and discussion about the effects that the Olympic Park would make on the shopping area. It was agreed that it was important that all the shops and police shared information.

Bob Sullivan asked about why the boarded up shops that were next to ASDA and opposite TKMaxx had not been let or opened up. Apparently when they were built there was no space planned for air conditioning in the units and a total lack of a delivery area for the shops. Unless someone can come up with an innovative plan, then they will remain boarded up. What a waste!

Anyone who currently visits Leyton Mills shopping area now will notice that they will not be harassed by illegal DVD sellers. Although they occasionally are seen popping back to check if the police are still there. The Eastern European card trick people have also gone away. Hopefully never to return.

There is another meeting scheduled for the autumn. If there are any issues that you would like to bring to our attention about the Leyton Mills shopping area – don’t wait for the autumn, please get in touch with Councillor Bob Sullivan or Councillor Naheed Qureshi or Councillor Winnie Smith.

LIB DEM COUNCILLORS SOUND ALARM ON PRIMARY SCHOOL PLACES

ClassroomWalthamstow faces a massive shortfall in school places which will get much worse by 2013 if urgent action is not taken, according to answers obtained by local Liberal Democrat councillors at a meeting of the Walthamstow West Community Council on Monday (1 March).

Council officers told the meeting that if nothing is done 162 reception-age children due to start school in the Walthamstow area will have no school place in September; equivalent to five-and-a-half classes. Currently local schools have capacity for 3090 reception-aged pupils but the projected intake is 3252 pupils.

By 2013 over 500 pupils will not have a school place to go to.

Reasons for the shortfall include increasing birth rates and the number of families with young children moving into the borough. This means many children face being educated in temporary classrooms.

Worryingly the portfolio holder in charge of schools, Cllr Liaquat Ali (Labour, High Street) was at the meeting but was unable to provide any details about how he proposed to deal with the problem.

Liberal Democrat councillors are demanding that the council gets a grip on the situation and produces a credible long-term plan to deliver the school places that local families need.

Liberal Democrat councillor James O Rourke, who chairs the Children and Young Peoples Overview and Scrutiny Committee, said:

“Cllr Ali couldn’t point to a single action he or his predecessor, the Council leader, had taken to ensure local people have somewhere to send their children. It’s time someone got a grip on the situation.”

Cllr Patrick Smith, Liberal Democrat councillor chair of the community council, said:

“The Liberal Democrats have been worried for some time about the increasing strain placed on local primary schools by the growing population. More and more children are being crammed into temporary classrooms. We know that teachers will do their best to deliver high quality teaching but it isn’t fair that children should be expected to learn in these conditions.

“Pressure for school places comes from numerous new developments in the Walthamstow area including an expected 1,000 new families in the Blackhorse Lane regeneration area.”

Meeting the real needs of London – Lib Dems set out their alternatives to the Boris budget

Help for Londoners facing tough economic times and long term action to improve London’s environment are the key proposals put forward by the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group in their alternative budget proposals, which would lead to no extra increases in Boris Johnson’s council tax bill.

Mike Tuffrey, the leader of the Liberal Democrat Assembly Group said:

“Many families have already faced redundancies and many more face the daunting prospect of unemployment in 2009. The Mayor cannot stop people losing their jobs but the least he must do is provide help to stop people losing their homes.

“We believe that the Mayor’s draft budget contains too much short term thinking and not enough real vision for London.  If Boris has real ambitions for London we hope he will listen carefully to these bold proposals to tackle London’s immense challenges.”

Measures included in the Liberal Democrat Assembly Group’s alternative London budget include funding for:

· A youth worker with every Safer Neighbourhood Team, to work with those at most risk and so preventing youth crime at source
· Good value fares, such as a one hour bus ticket. 

· Further investment in walking and cycling, including completion of the London Cycle Network Plus, providing cycle maintenance points and a London walking map

· Moving ahead with the East London Line phase 2 extension

· Making more homes affordable to heat by meeting up-to-date  environmental standards

· Tackling fare evasion on London’s transport

· Reducing the amount spent on holding and publicising the Mayor’s additional public meetings

NEWS FROM CITY HALL – Does the Mayor’s Budget add up?

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson has published his draft consolidated budget and put it out for consultation.

Mike Tuffrey Leader of the Liberal Democrat group on the London Assembly said:

“A zero rise in the GLA’s precept from next April will be welcomed by many Londoners, but let us not forget that from January all of us who use public transport in the capital will be paying fares that rise by twice the rate of inflation.

“The budget Boris Johnson is proposing makes several large assumptions, including that the Met Police will be able to make large savings in their budget, a number of which have yet to be revealed, when they haven’t been able to meet all the savings targets for this financial year yet.

 “On the transport network passenger numbers are expected to rise when all the indications are that in previous times of economic difficulty passenger levels have decreased rapidly.

“The actions of Boris Johnson’s and his advisors over the last six months haven’t exactly installed confidence that he has produced a budget that adds up, is sustainable and is not storing up major problems for our public services in London in future years.

“We will be watching closely to see if the Mayor can actually produce what he promises.”

Local Lib Dems join Walthamstow march

John Macklin with Walthamstow Safer Streets' Roger Carter - the landlord of the Nags Head pub.Local Liberal Democrats councillors and campaigners joined Walthamstow residents and business owners in a march on Saturday to draw awareness to crime in the area.

The march, which was organised by the Walthamstow Safer Streets Association, was called as a way of showing support for the deployment of extra Police and targetted CCTV cameras in the area area after a spate of violent attacks.

Amongst those in attendance were the new Lib Dem councillor for Hale End and Highams Park Nick Bason and local Lib Dem leader John Macklin.  Clr Macklin was presented with a petition from residents calling for local streets to be made safer.

High St councillor James O’Rourke was also in attendance, and he provides an excellent report on the march over at his blog.

If you agree we need more police please register your support for the Local Government Association Safe and Secure campaign by signing the e-petition on the 10 Downing Street website by clicking here.