Lib Dem pressure pays off over former library plans

Pressure from local Liberal Democrat councillors has forced a delay to controversial proposals to convert the former St James St library building in High St into a drug treatment centre.

Lib Dem councillors have now been informed that the report containing the proposal — due to go before the Council’s Cabinet at the end of June — has now been withdrawn from the agenda.  It is unclear at this stage when, and in what form, the report will return to Cabinet.

The Liberal Democrats opposition to the location of the DAT (Drug Action Team) centre mirrors protests from local residents, who have expressed their concerns about the planned conversion of the building.  Local Lib Dem leader Cllr John Macklin recently reaffirmed his group’s opposition to the plans, noting that whilst a drug treatment centre was needed in the local area, the planned conversion of the former library building was “inappropriate”.

As we reported earlier, High St Liberal Democrats have called on local Labour councillor Liaquat Ali to reaffirm his opposition to the proposal after he spoke out against it in a recent Community Council meeting.  In an open letter to the Labour High St member, local Lib Dem councillors James O’Rourke and Johar Khan called on Cllr Ali to “honour his commitment to the residents of High St ward by voting against the proposal”. Cllr Ali has since been appointed by Labour as a member of the Council Cabinet, and his continued opposition — coupled with ‘no’ votes from the Liberal Democrats — would see Cabinet split 50/50 on the proposal.

Cllr James O’Rourke said:

“I hope that the delaying of this report will enable those behind the proposal to go away and reconsider plans for the location of the Drug Action Team centre.

“Local residents have made their views on these plans very clear, and I am pleased that our pressure on this issue appears to have forced a rethink.  A drug treatment centre is an important and necessary service for our area, but it must be in a location appropriate for both service users and local residents.”

“This delay will hopefully give Liaquat Ali an opportunity to confirm his opposition to his colleagues plans and encourage those behind them to find a solution that better suits local needs”.

High St Lib Dems keep up pressure over St James St Plan

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg joins the High St Lib Dem teamLib Dem High St councillors James O’Rourke and Johar Khan have written to local Labour councillor and Cabinet member Liaquat Ali to ask him to oppose plans to build a Drug Action team centre on the site of the old St James St library.

The Liberal Democrat group on the Council have consitently opposed the plans, suggesting that whilst there is a need for a treatment centre, the site is inapporpriate and the plans for the location unpopular with local residents. 

Cllr Ali stated his opposition to the plans at a recent Community Council meeting, and has since been appointed to the Cabinet by Labour leader Cllr Chris Robbins.  The letter (below) asks Cllr Ali to “honour his commitment to the residents of High St ward by voting against the proposal”.

Liaquat Ali_DAT Proposal – 09.06.09

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Head over now to Cllr James O’Rourke’s excellent blog to read more about the Lib Dems opposition to the plans for the site.

Hale and Higham Lib Dems now online

Nick Bason introduces the first online Focus update from Hale and Higham.As a companion to the regular Focus leaflets delivered to residents, the Hale End and Highams Park Liberal Democrat council team of Sheila Smith-Pryor, Nick Bason and Jane Morgan have launched the first of their online video updates to keep you up to date with the work they are doing on your behalf.

You can head over now to www.youtube.com/nickbason to see how the Lib Dem team have succeeded in getting Council officers to remove a fence, which residents had complained was becoming an eyesore.

Make sure you drop the team a line to let them know if you want more online Focus updates…

Remember, you can still head to our Focus file to see the latest news from our team in your area of Waltham Forest.

Lib Dem Pressure Pays Off Over Temporary Arcade Use

Nick Clegg talks to stallholders on his recent visit to Walthamstow Market.Part of the former Arcade site in Walthamstow is to be prepared for temporary use after pressure from local Liberal Democrat councillors and party leader Nick Clegg.

The announcement was made in an email to High Street Lib Dem councillors from the new Leader of the Council, Chris Robbins, and will add to confusion over the future of Labour portfolio holder Terry Wheeler’s controversial plans to use £35 million of taxpayers money to fund the long-awaited regeneration of the area.  The Liberal Democrats voted against the proposals in a recent Cabinet meeting.

The email from Cllr Robbins claims that an area of the disused site will be cleared and levelled in preparation for the change of usage, with work beginning on 1st June.  However the next report to Cabinet on the public funding of the Arcade regeneration is not expected until later in June.
It is not known how much involvement Cllr Terry Wheeler, who criticised Clegg’s comments on the Arcade site, has had in the Council Leader’s decision to now accept the Liberal Democrat proposals over temporary usage of the site.

Lib Dem leader Cllr John Macklin said:

“Although this change of heart over temporary usage of the Arcade site obviously comes a little late, it is certainly to be welcomed. It is unclear how much input the portfolio holder has had in this decision, so it remains to be seen how it will impact on Cllr Wheeler’s plans for the funding of the Arcade site regeneration project.”


The decision to commit to temporary use of the site comes after pressure from Liberal Democrat councillors. 


Last December Cllrs James O’Rourke and Johar Khan succeeded in amending a Council motion to include a commitment to examine useful ways in which the Arcade site land could be utilised in the short-term before the period of redevelopment begins.  On a recent visit to Walthamstow Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg gave his support to these proposals, telling the Waltham Forest Guardian that “the best thing would be to find some communal use for that space on a temporary basis so that a proper sustainable solution can be reached.”

Local ward councillor James O’Rourke said:

“The motion we successfully amended and the pressure we have kept up on this issue has clearly been the catalyst for this decision.

“Myself and Cllr Khan have been informed that decisions have not yet been taken on temporary usage, so this gives local residents plenty of opportunity to make sure they tell us what you think the land could be used for.”

All-Party Proposals for Local Income Tax Welcomed

Lib Dem local government leader Cllr Richard Kemp presents councillors Bob Belam and Bob Sullivan with the Council Group of the year awards certificate.All-Party proposals from the DCLG Select Committee to create a Local Income Tax have been warmly welcomed by the Leader of the Liberal Democrats in Local Government. 

Cllr Richard Kemp said:

“Local government finance is badly in need of reform.  Yet, up to now both Conservative and Labour Parties have run scared of making the fundamental changes so badly needed.

“Now the Select Committee has bravely, and with all party support, put their head above the parapet and urged a local income tax which is the only fair and transparent way of raising the money needed to fund local services from local residents.

“It is particularly important that this proposal has been published at a time when Westminster politics is held in such disrepute.  One of the major ways of cleaning up Westminster is to transfer a lot of its powers and responsibilities to a local level where people can influence decisions more and create their own priorities for service delivery. That can only be done if councils have a much more open hand in setting their own budgets and have their sources of income separate from the grant giving handouts of the Whitehall machinery.

“I wouldn’t just add another tax to the public burden, but the consensus for local income tax is good starter for 10!”

Earlier this year Waltham Forest Lib Dem leader John Macklin used his speech at the Council’s budget setting meeting to criticise the Government’s funding of local councils as “completely outdated, both for thre role local authorities are expected to play and the service we want to provide at a local level”.

The Lib Dems kept their promise of restricting the local Council tax rise to under 2.5%, a figure that has never been exceeded since the Lib Dems became involved in the Council administration.

To read more of Cllr Macklin’s budget speech click here.

Lib Dems Reaffirm Opposition to Taxpayer Arcade Gamble

Photo used by kind permission of the Yellow AdvertiserLiberal Democrat councillors in Waltham Forest have moved to defend their decision to oppose plans by Labour members to use millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money to fund the redevelopment of the Arcade site in Walthamstow.

The Lib Dems have hit back after Cllr Terry Wheeler, as Portfolio Holder for Enterprise and investment, criticised the Lib Dems position — and the comments of national Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg — in a letter to last week’s local Waltham Forest Guardian.

Nick Clegg warned that the Council should not rush into an unsuitable development of the site and backed local Lib Dems call for the derelict site to be given a temporary usage before any final development begins.

Now local Lib Dem leader Cllr John Macklin has backed Clegg’s comments and defended his group’s opposition to the plans:

Cllr Macklin said:

“Large scale projects cannot be simply be hurriedly imposed onto people.  They depend on openness and accountability at all stages.  Repeatedly lecturing those who have expressed their concern at the plans and claiming to act for the ‘silent majority’ probably isn’t the way to go about achieving this.

“If Cllr Wheeler isn’t careful these proposals will be seen as yet another attempt to suddenly rush into regeneration commitments in Walthamstow in the run-up to a local election. 

“We won’t be bullied into making poorly thought out decisions just so he can have cranes on the Arcade site for next May.

“We have taken a fair amount of flak from Cllr Wheeler and his supporters over our opposition to his Arcade plan, and he has not been slow to dismiss the concerns of anyone who has warned that his proposals need much greater consideration, including the Council’s own Scrutiny Panel.
 
“The Lib Dems took the decision to vote against Cllr Wheeler and Labour in Cabinet for the simple reason that the plans were poorly set out, have huge knock-on effects for other areas of Walthamstow and do not as yet provide anywhere near enough justification for risking so much public money.  We continue to stand by our decision.”

Local Lib Dems in Meeting Over Cinema Viability

Local Liberal Democrat councillors have met with one of the UK’s largest cinema regeneration operators to discuss possibilities for the historic former EMD cinema in Walthamstow.

High St councillor James O’Rourke met with representatives of City Screen at the Town Hall this week after the company expressed an ongoing interest in the building on Hoe Street.  City Screen, which was formed in 1989 to “challenge the multiplex cinema model and provide cinemas in city centre locations”, have been responsible for a series of cinema regenerations and new build facilities across the country, including the Clapham Picturehouse and The Ritzy in Brixton.

At the meeting Lyn Goleby, the Managing Director of City Screen, suggested that with the right funding package the site was still viable as a cinema, highlighting earlier reports paid for by the Council that made the business case for a 5-screen cinema on the EMD site.

Lyn Goleby said:

“Our previous work has shown clearly that the redevelopment of historic cinema buildings, such as the former EMD in Walthamstow, can act as an organic catalyst for wider generation.

“These projects attract other businesses to the area and really stimulate the night time economy.”

Noting recent conjecture over the usage of the building, Lyn Goleby highlighted City Screen’s investment in cinema regeneration projects such as the former EMD, suggesting that such private operator funding, complimented by other investment or grant opportunities, remained the best way to proceed financially in these instances.

After the meeting, Cllr James O’Rourke said:

“I welcome the fact that UCKG representatives met with ward councillors and made some effort to display their plans to local residents.  They will obviously have heard the many concerns expressed regarding the usage of the building.

“I am always keen to hear people’s thoughts about the site and was pleased to meet with City Screen.  It was intriguing to see some of the plans for the building that were drawn up in 2002 at around the same time the EMD cinema originally closed.  These appear to confirm that the site could remain a viable proposition as a cinema.
 
“The use of the building is an issue people are rightly very passionate about, and I was interested to note recent comments from the UCKG which seemed to suggest that they would consider moving if an offer was made. 

“If this is the case and as City Screen suggested financial investment could see the site renovated as a 5-screen cinema, I would hope any interested
parties would be willing to sit down and talk about it.”

What the Papers Say…

Nick Clegg speaks to stallholders on his recent visit to Walthamstow Market.This week’s local Yellow Advertiser features a report on the Waltham Forest Liberal Democrats attempts to support local residents groups and businesses plans to reopen local Post Office branch closed under Labour’s national closure programme.  Local people, along with those Waltham Forest businesses hit by the knock-on effects of the closures, want to know what the Council can do to back their efforts to see the Post Offices saved.

Read more about our plans to help here.

The paper also photos and reports of Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg’s recent visit to Walthamstow Market, where he spoke to stallholders and local businesses about how they the UK’s economic crisis has affected them.

Click here to see what Nick had to say.

Nick Clegg Launches Euro Election Campaign

Nick Clegg meets local European parliament candidate Jonathan Fryer (right) and members of the High St ward Lib Dem team on his recent visit to Walthamstow.Today Nick Clegg launched the Liberal Democrat Europen election campaign. In his speech he warned that Brtiain must lead within the EU to protect families from crime, climate change and the recession.

Nick (pictured meeting local European Parliament candidate Jonathan Fryer (right) and members of the High St ward Lib Dem team on his recent visit to Walthamstow) published the Party’s European manifesto ‘Stronger Together, Poorer Apart’ in central London, and said:
 
“We can only protect British families from crime, the recession and climate change if our country works with other EU countries.
 
“Criminals, business, climate change – these things cross borders. So the police, regulators, and environmental action have to cross borders too. It’s the EU that makes this essential cooperation possible
“Liberal Democrats backed EU plans for the fast track extradition of thousands of criminals suspects across Europe – including 21/7 bomber Hussein Osman who was extradited in just three weeks from Rome. It would have taken months if UKIP and the Conservatives had succeeded in blocking these new rules.
   
“Liberal Democrats support EU police and judicial cooperation, which have achieved a huge amount in particular in relation to people trafficking and internet crime.
 
“One investigation known as Operation Koala managed to close down a website which contained 150 sexually explicit videos of underage girls and prosecute the people who ran it and its customers.
 
“Because the operators and users of this site were in a total of 28 different countries, it was only because of EU cooperation that the prosecution was swift and successful.”
 
Click here to download a copy of our European manifesto.

Lib Dem Success as Council Agrees to Help Axed Post Offices

Local Liberal Democrat councillors have achieved the first step in assisting residents with the reopening of axed local Post Office branches, after opposition councillors agreed to a Lib Dem motion promising to look at plans to reopen those facilities recently hit by the Labour Government’s closure programme.

Hale End and Highams Park councillor Jane Morgan (pictured above with fellow Hale and Higham councillor Sheila Smith-Pryor) spoke at the Council meeting, in which the Lib Dems agreed to accept Labour amendments to the motion in order to ensure it passed. 

However Cllr John Macklin, the local Lib Dem leader warned that he would not allow the Labour amendments (which removed the responsibility of meeting with those local businesses who plan to invest in local Post Offices from the Portfolio Holder for Enterprise and Investment) to enable the Council to ‘bury’ any proposals for the reopening of local branches.

The Liberal Democrats have vowed to help after being contacted by local resident groups who presented pland for the reopening of local branches through a combination of private enterprise and outside funding.

Head to our Speeches page to see what Cllr Morgan had to say about the Lib Dems support for the plans: