Spotlight on Drapers Field

Leyton Liberal Democrat councillor Bob Sullivan was interviewed by the BBC last Friday (7 January) about his campaign to save Drapers Field.

Waltham Forest Council intends to rent the playing fields to the Olympic Delivery Authority for nearly two years, to concrete it over and use it for a laundry and storage area. This is despite the fact that Drapers Field is used by over 100,000 people a year and nearby Norlington School uses the playing fields four times a week for sports activity.

The council is so embarrassed about the situation that it banned BBC cameras from filming in front of the Drapers Park sign. Bob Sullivan said:

This shows that Labour just wants to sweep this issue under the carpet and avoid scrutiny of their decision. In the run-up to the Olympics we should encourage young people to take part in sport – not take away one of the few playing fields and open spaces in the area.

Labour has still failed to come clean about their plans for Drapers Field after the Olympics, although plans exist which show housing on part of the grounds.

Labour hypocrisy in Waltham Forest over school sport

Waltham Forest’s Labour councillors have been condemned for outrageous hypocrisy for putting down a motion on school sports partnerships at tonight’s council meeting while simultaneously.

  • Slashing funding to the London Youth Games
  • Hiking charges for schools sports days and other sports activities
  • Seeking to concrete over the playing fields at Drapers Field for two years

Forest ward Liberal Democrat councillor Farooq Qureshi said:

Labour talks the talk but we see their true colours when it comes to the decisions for which they are responsible. Their withdrawal of funding for the London Youth Games, school sport fee increases and clsure of Drapers Field shows that Labour’s commitment is all words and no action.

Leyton and Liberal Democrat Group Leader councillor Bob Sullivan added:

Drapers Field will close for two years so the Olympic Delivery Authority can use the playing fields to do its laundry and catering. This will deprive local children and Norlington school of their current playing fields. Labour has consistently failed to set out any clear plans for the future of Drapers Field once the ODA leaves the site.

Labour councillors at London Councils (Waltham Forest representative Cllr Chris Robbins) earlier this week voted to cut funding for the London Youth Games by £130,000. This will lead to a loss of over half-a-million pounds [£650k] of match funding and raises questions about the future of the Games

Labour has proposed the following sports fee increases

  • A 12% increases in the cost of school football and school cricket
  • A 23% increase in the cost of casual Saturday pitch hire
  • A 25% increase in the cost of hiring Leyton County Cricket Ground
  • Increases of 33%  in school sports day fees

Ward Forums not fit for purpose says Lib Dem Leader

Ward Forums will not be fit substitutes for Community Councils unless changes are made to Labour’s proposals, say local Liberal Democrats.

It is clear that Labour is trying to muzzle the voice of the local community and avoid the challenge of having to justify their policies and proposals to residents in public.

said Liberal Democrat Leader Bob Sullivan.

A ward forum appears to be little more than a fancily titled ward surgery, which all good councillors do regularly anyway. Ward Forums ill not be subject to the same legal requirements at Community Councils so they will have no decision-making powers and can be more ecretive in how they work. Labour also proposes that they should meet less often and have very little support from council officers.

Cllr Sullivan also pointed out that most wards do not represent natural communities with some ward boundaries running arbitrarily through areas which share common interests.

One ward boundary runs straight through the middle of Lloyd Park. Issues relating to Walthamstow High Street are relevant to all Walthamstow residents, not ust those who live in High Street ward.

If the Labour Party is still interested in what the community want to talk about then why not reduce the current six community councils to hree that represent Chingford, Walthamstow and Leyton/Leytonstone. The majority of people do not relate to ward boundaries but they do elate to these areas.  This would not only make a financial saving ut continue to give a voice to the borough’s residents.

Council loses £100,000 grant funding for Drapers Field

Lib Dem Leader Bob Sullivan’s probing questions have uncovered the fact that the council has missed out on £100,000 granted by the London Marathon Trust towards a beach sports facility at Drapers Field in Leyton.

The plan was scuppered by Labour’s decision to hand over the playing fields to the Olympic Delivery Authority to be used for storage during the 2012 games.

The money was intended to fund the creation of an urban beach sports venue for use by the local community. The best known beach sport isbeach volleyball (an Olympic sport which will take place atHorseguards Parade in central London in 2012). However many othersports have beach variants including rugby, football and cricket.

“Labour’s plan to hand over Drapers Field for use as a storage depot during the Olympics could scupper the vision of Drapers Field as a centre for high-quality sport. As an Olympic host borough the council should encourage people to take part in sport instead of turfing them off playing fields for financial reasons,” said Leyton councillor and Lib Dem group leader Bob Sullivan.

Drapers Field playing fields are used by Norlington School and by thousands of local residents. Cllr Sullivan has raised his concerns with Sport England, who he met two weeks ago.

Details of the grants awarded to Waltham Forest by the London Marathon Charitable Trust can be found at www.virginlondonmarathon.com/marathon-centre/london-marathon-charitable-trust/waltham-forest/. The grant for the creation of an urban beach sports venue in Drapers Field was the largest grant ever awarded by the charity to the borough.

Lib Dems welcome High Street ward recount result

Four months after the residents of Walthamstow went to the polls, the courts today declared the correct election result. Liberal Democrat candidate Mahmood Hussain is the new councillor for High Street ward.

The court confirmed that the council made a serious mistake at the election count on 7th May and 1,000 votes were wrongly added to the Labour’ candidates’ total.

Liberal Democrat Group Leader, Bob Sullivan, said:

“I am delighted to welcome Mahmood Hussain to the Liberal Democrat Group on the council. At last the people of High Street ward have the councillors that they voted for. The council’s mistake at the count should never have happened. It cost local taxpayers thousands of pounds in legal fees and deprived local residents of the representatives they voted for.”

Mahmood Hussain said:

“It is an honour to be elected to serve the residents of High Street ward. I will do all I can to stand up for the interests of local people and make sure that their needs are not ignored by the Labour council.

There are lots of issues to take up, including the future of the EMD cinema, looking after Walthamstow market and local services and pressing Labour to come clean on its plans for the Arcade site. I will work with residents to improve safety and security in the area and to protect and improve the local environment.”

Mahmood Hussain has lived in Walthamstow for the past 27 years and has always taken a keen interest in the local community. He works locally and is a trustee of a Walthamstow based charity.

EMD Cinema report: a positive step forward

EMD Cinema, WalthamstowLocal Liberal Democrats have welcomed the publication of Locum Consulting’s report about the EMD Cinema in Walthamstow.

Mahmood Hussain, who was Liberal Democrat candidate for High Street ward in May’s council election, said:

“The publication of this report definitely moves the debate forward. Locum Consulting has set out a realistic vision of a cinema orientated multi-use venue which would help regenerate Walthamstow Town Centre and improve the cultural life of the area. It is extremely disappointing that the comments made by the Labour leader of the council are so dismissive.”

Liberal Democrat Group Leader Bob Sullivan added:

“Of course there are many obstacles ahead and much depends on the attitude of the UCKG which owns the cinema. We urge the church to respond positively. The council does not have the money to fund the project on its own. But it should be prepared to work closely in partnership with any Trust or Community Interest Company that emerges, and provide practical support to kick-start the process.

“Waltham Forest council must also take full account of the EMD cinema’s potential when it makes decisions about the neighbouring Arcade site. The Lib Dems will be pressing hard for the council to adopt a more constructive attitude.”

You can download a copy of the report from the McGuffin Film Society website [PDF].

Save Drapers Field campaign hits headlines

Evening Standard: Sports field to be tarmaced and turned into Olympic depot
Leyton Liberal Democrats’ campaign to save Drapers Field from being tarmaced over has hit the headlines. The Evening Standard reports:

Park users, including the Norlington School for Boys and 23 clubs and teams, face upheaval as the council searches for alternative sites.

The chairman of governors at Norlington, whose previous pupils include former England cricket captain Graham Gooch and TV star Jonathan Ross, said the plans were “absolutely horrendous”. Stephen Pierpoint said: “It’s an amazing contradiction that in trying to promote sports they are preventing our pupils from playing sports.”

Leyton councillor Bob Sullivan, who leads the Lib-Dem group on Waltham Forest council, said he doubted the compensation would be satisfactory. He said: “It’s a disgrace. We’re supposed to be an Olympic borough. Norlington School for Boys uses the field four days a week and they are going to find it difficult to find somewhere else to go that is affordable.”

You can sign the petition to keep Drapers Field available for use as a sports field at http://ourcampaign.org.uk/DrapersField.

Lib Dems demand council apology for residents

Liberal Democrat councillors have demanded that Waltham Forest Council apologises to local residents for wasting money on Andrew Kilburn’s departure as Chief Executive.

Speaking after last week’s council meeting, Liberal Democrat councillor Naheed Qureshi said:

“At a time when money is tight and every penny counts, it is a scandal that Labour councillors are prepared to splash the cash simply to get rid of someone. There are many important local services that badly need that money. Local taxpayers deserve an administration which spends their money responsibly.”

The Liberal Democrats also demanded answers about which services will suffer from the cuts Labour plans to make to Children and Young People’s services. The Labour Cabinet has failed to spell out exactly where their cuts will bite.

”Councillors have not been given the information we need to know about where the axe will fall. When I attended the cabinet meeting I was astounded at the silence of Cabinet members, who failed to ask any questions,” said Liberal Democrat Group Leader Bob Sullivan.

Lib Dem Leyton councillors call on Cabinet to listen to local people about Olympic improvements

Leyton’s Liberal Democrat councillors have urged the council to learn the lessons of previous improvement schemes when implementing the Leyton Links project [PDF report] which was discussed by Waltham Forest Council’s Cabinet last week.

Councillor Bob Sullivan, Councillor Naheed Qureshi and Councillor Winnie Smith have welcomed the investment in Leyton – which was agreed when the Liberal Democrats were part of the council’s administration – but are raising concerns about how effectively the money will be spent.

“We need a scheme that delivers permanent improvements for Leyton, and does not just temporarily tart-up the High Street for a few weeks during the Olympics,” said Leyton councillor Naheed Qureshi. “I am particularly concerned that the council is not providing any specific funding for maintenance.”

She urged the council to consult local people on the detailed proposals soon.

“The published timetable does not allow much time for local councillors, businesses and members of the public to have their say. It is essential that the money is spent on improvements that will make a difference to local people,” she said.

Councillor Bob Sullivan is pressing for improvement plans to include action on street clutter, such as illegal letting boards and neon signs which have been installed without proper consent. He said:

“We need sustained action to deal with illegal letting boards and other street clutter. I hope the Cabinet will not get so carried away with spending money on public art and feature lighting that they forget about the basics.”

The council has £4m (£2.25m from the London Development Agency and £1.75m from the Department of Communities and Local Government) to spend on High Road, Leyton and pedestrian and cycling links to the Olympic Park.

The proposed scheme involves improvements to materials, lighting, and street furniture in key locations along the southern part of High Road, Leyton. It focuses on the areas outside the Old Town Hall, outside Coronation Gardens and outside the Cricket Ground. The report says “Other aspects such as feature lighting, landscaping, wayfinding and public art are also being considered.”

The scheme also includes improvements to footway and cycling links into the Olympic Park. On-going maintenance costs “will be absorbed within the existing highway maintenance budget” according to the council.

Waltham Forest Labour off to bad start spending thousands to get rid of Chief Executive

Lib Dem Leader Bob Sullivan has responded to the need to find savings at Waltham Forest council and Labour councillors’ decision to get rid of the council’s Chief Executive. He said:

Gordon Brown’s economic legacy means that all levels of government have to make tough choices. Labour in Waltham Forest has got off to a bad start by seeking to get rid of the serving Chief Executive at enormous cost to the local taxpayer.

The Liberal Democrats will campaign to protect crucial services that affect people’s lives. We will support measures to improve efficiency and cut out waste, bureaucracy and unnecessary spending.

The council spends hundreds of thousands of pounds each year on marketing and communications and could save more if it employed fewer interim staff and consultants. It must make progress on the Arcade site and other projects where every delay costs local taxpayers money.

It is vital that the measures announced by the council are considered properly by councillors and I will ask for full details to be submitted to the relevant scrutiny committee.