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.

Labour councillors vote to avoid scrutiny of their policies

Labour councillors last night voted to duck close examination of their policies by excluding Liberal Democrat councillors from six key council committees.

In a cynical move the Labour Party voted to reduce the size of each scrutiny sub-committee to just five members, each consisting of three Labour councillors and two Conservative councillors but no Liberal Democrats.

“Labour is running scared of proper scrutiny,” said Liberal Democrat Group Leader Bob Sullivan, who also used the meeting to raise questions about primary school places, the EMD cinema and the Arcade site.

“It is a bad sign that the first act of the Labour administration is to close down debate and discussion. They don’t seem to realise that residents expect councillors to work together on the many difficult challenges facing our area. Despite the problems caused by Labour’s actions the Lib Dem group will continue to speak up for local residents and fight for their interests.”

Until last night’s Annual Council Meeting seven councillors served on each scrutiny sub-committee. This would have given the Liberal Democrats one seat on each committee. A Liberal Democrat attempt to halt the change was defeated by the Labour majority.

The six scrutiny sub-committees deal with:

  • Children and Young People
  • Health, Adults and Older People
  • Performance Improvement
  • Community Safety and Housing
  • Environment
  • Finance

Waltham Forest Liberal Democrats pledge immediate steps to sort out schools place crisis

Waltham Forest Liberal Democrats have pledged to take immediate steps to sort out the schools places crisis if the party takes control of the council following the elections in May.

Labour has held the schools portfolio on Waltham Forest Council for over ten years. When Labour’s schools minister Ed Balls visited Walthamstow last Thursday (25 March) he blamed the council for the shortage of primary school places and refused to guarantee local schools the money they need to cope with extra pupils.

“The Secretary of State and the council’s Labour portfolio holder appear to be sniping at each other instead of taking the positive steps necessary to resolve the issue,” said local Liberal Democrat Leader Cllr John Macklin.

John Macklin today announced that a Liberal Democrat administration will:

  1. Be honest about the scale of the problem and publish full details of the school place forecasts, broken down by area.
  2. Examine what extra capacity is available in existing schools and how quickly it can be brought into use.
  3. Ensure developers contribute their fair share to the cost of providing new school places by negotiating effective S106 planning agreements when planning permission is granted – this recognises that pressure for new school places comes from partly from new housing developments.
  4. Identify what funding is required and lobby government to help meet any shortfall, so Waltham Forest is treated on a fair basis with Newham and other boroughs which have received much more funding from government.
  5. End uncertainty by publishing a clear plan of action which allows local residents and parents to understand what is being done to deal with the growth in the school pupil population and organise their lives accordingly.

John Macklin added:

“If it wasn’t for the questions asked by Liberal Democrat councillors, Labour would have swept this issue under the carpet until it was too late to take action. The shortage of school places is not an easy problem to solve because new schools cannot be built overnight and are expensive to build. But instead of the hand-wringing that Labour is indulging in we need clear leadership that is honest about the challenges we face.

“The actions I have set out today are just the first steps needed to get a grip on the situation.”

The scale of the problem was brought to light when Liberal Democrat councillors including James O’Rourke and Patrick Smith asked for a presentation to the Walthamstow West Community Council in February following an informal survey of headteachers in Higham Hill carried out by Lb Dem councillor Peter Woollcott.