FLY-TIPPING – KIRKDALE ROAD

Sofa dumped on the pavement

The FOCUS Team came across this sofa dumped on the pavement in Kirkdale Road, next to the recycling bins.

An assortment of stuff had also been dumped next to one of the bins.

The FOCUS Team has alerted the Council requesting removal.

Please do not dumped rubbish in the street, or public open spaces.

Residents are reminded that the Council operates a weekly collection of large unwanted items. Simply call Waltham Forest Direct on 020 8496 3000 for advice and to book a collection.

VOTE LIBERAL DEMOCRAT ON 7 MAY

Carl Quilliam outside Leyton Fire Station

Five reasons Liberal Democrats’ Carl Quilliam wants your vote in Leyton and Wanstead

Waltham Forest E-Guardian – Wednesday 15th April 2015

The Guardian Series has asked each parliamentary candidate to list five reasons why they should become an MP at the General Election on May 7.

Here the Liberal Democrat candidate for Leyton and Wanstead, Carl Quilliam, explains why you should vote for him.

  1. I’m a Liberal Democrat

Over the past 5 years Lib Dems have cut taxes by over £800 for 23 million people and taken over 3 million low paid workers out of tax all together. We’ve delivered the highest ever increase in the state pension and invested an extra £2.5 billion in education to close the attainment gap between the richest and poorest children.

Having more Lib Dems in parliament can make a difference and locally we have been the main opposition to the Labour party for decades. If you elect me in May I will be a strong voice in parliament for pensioners, the low paid, families and everyone in Leyton and Wanstead who needs someone to stand up for them.

  1. I want to ensure better NHS services for mental health

Mental health services have been seen as a Cinderella service for too long. Lib Dems have delivered the first waiting time standards for mental health services and enshrined in law the principle that mental and physical health should be treated equally.

Mental health services need more investment and proper integration between care services and the NHS. As a Lib Dem MP I’ll campaign for more investment in services locally and make sure the recent problems exposed at Whipps Cross are tackled and not swept under the carpet.

  1. I want to ensure we build enough homes for the next generation

For years not enough affordable homes have been built to meet what we need. In government the Lib Dems have allowed local councils to build council houses again for the first time in decades but there is much more to do.

I will push for more council housing to be built for local people to help tackle the long waiting lists. I’ll support more homes for sale and rent that are truly affordable. And I’ll fight for more rights for private renters, building on the local Lib Dems’ campaign for landlord licensing and ensuring renters get a fair deal.

  1. I want to tackle youth unemployment in our area

Youth unemployment has been too high for too long in Leyton and Wanstead. Locally Lib Dems have created 2,580 apprenticeships, given £459,212 in start-up loans, supported 7,000 new businesses and increased the number of women in work by 24,800.

But there is much more to do to ensure we keep building a stronger local economy and tackle youth employment. If I’m elected in May I will campaign for more apprenticeships and better training and jobs for young people locally.

  1. I will fight for more funding for local schools and more school places

Lib Dems have helped to deliver opportunity for all by investing £14 million in schools to make sure each and every disadvantaged child has a good start to their education. On top of that 3,800 local children have benefited from having a free school meal.

Lib Dems in government have also helped deliver millions more investment in our school buildings – and without Labour’s expensive PFI deals – to create much needed school places. But we still need more places for local kids and if I’m elected I’ll make more places and more investment a priority as your MP.

GENERAL ELECTION FOCUS SPECIAL

A constituency-wide General Election special edition of the FOCUS newsletter has just gone to press, and will be delivered by our team of volunteers.

Please contact Carl Quilliam, our Parliamentary candidate, if you would like to  help his campaign.

His email address is: [email protected].

You can also contact him via his agent, Clyde Kitson, on (010)  8534 2947 or Bob Sullivan on (020) 8556 8335.

You can access an advance copy here: General Election Special

LOCAL TUBE STATION TICKET OFFICE CLOSURES TO BEGIN

Leyton Station Ticket Office first for the chop!

Waltham Forest E-Guardian 8:01am Friday 27th March 2015

Ticket offices at Tube stations across Waltham Forest will begin to close in the coming weeks.

The office at Leyton Station, scheduled to close in April, will be the first to go, followed by Blackhorse Road, Leytonstone and Walthamstow Central.

Closure works take around a month, except Walthamstow Central which could take up to three.

Labour London Assembly Member Jennette Arnold has condemned the move, claiming the move will leave passengers with less staff support.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson’s plan to close all the capital’s tube ticket offices will cost taxpayers almost £134million, Ms Arnold said.

She described the cost as “staggering”.

The £134million will fund additional ticket machines in 27 London stations, four new customer receptions and the conversion of 181 ticket offices for other uses.

Jennette Arnold said:

This argument isn’t about whether staff are based in ticket offices or not.

It is about whether there are enough staff in stations to provide the good service people in Waltham Forest have come to expect, particularly the elderly and disabled who often rely more on station staff for assistance.

The closures in Waltham Forest are expected to be completed by the end of the year.

PLANNING NEWS – LEYTONSTONE UNDERGROUND STATION

A second mini cab office

An application has been lodged at the Town Hall to use the small kiosk, inside the station concourse as a minicab office.

Local traders in Church Lane are already concerned about the number of Gold Line cars waiting for passengers, and feel strongly that there is no justication in increasing the problem by granting permission for a second mini cab operator.

If you wish to express your view you may write to:

Building Control

Environment & Regeneration

Waltham Forest Council

Sycamore House

Forest Road

Walthamstow, London, E17 4SU

Telephone: 020 8496 3000

Email: [email protected]

quoting planning application number: 150598

DAVIES LANE PRIMARY – EXTENSION OPENED

The entrance to the south site of Davies Laner Primary

The extension to Davies Lane Primary School came into use earlier in March, when Reception and Year One pupils moved from the main building. This will allow further works to be carried out on the main site.

The new building is situated on the south side of Davies Lane adjoining the Children Centre.

The main block on the south site

LIBERAL DEMOCRAT SELECT CANDIDATES TO CONTEST THE GENERAL ELECTION

Liberal Democrats are taking the fight to the Tories and Labour across Waltham Forest.  The Liberal Democrat candidates in the General Election are below.  If you would like to help the Lib Dems in the General Election then please contact any of the candidates.

CHINGFORD AND WOODFORD GREEN

Anne Crook

mobile: 079847 771 487 – email: [email protected]

LEYTON AND WANSTEAD

Carl Quilliam

email: [email protected]

WALTHAMSTOW

Steven Cheung

mobile: 07872 427 778 – email: [email protected]

web: www.stevencheung.co.uk – twitter: twitter@stevencheung

£150M INVESTMENT TO TRANSFORM TREATMENT FOR EATING DISORDERS

Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg has announced a £150m investment to transform the treatment of children and young people with eating disorders.

Nick has secured the fund in this year’s Autumn Statement and forms part of the Liberal Democrats ongoing campaign to bring mental health services on a par with physical health care.

PLEASE CLICK TO SIGN OUR PETITION:

The Liberal Democrats are determined to change this and to end the stigma around mental health. We want mental health issues to be treated just as seriously as physical health issues.

The fund will be rolled-out over the next five years and paves the way for the introduction of new waiting standards.

Research shows an increasing number of young people, some as young as five are being admitted to hospital for treatment of eating disorders at a cost to the NHS of around £200m a year.

The new funding will focus on channelling money from expensive institutional care to local provision through:

– pilot schemes to get young people with eating disorders early access to services in their communities, with properly trained teams, making hospital admission a last resort.

– extending access to talking therapies so that children and young people have choice of evidence based therapies.

Nick said:

“Too often children with mental health problems are being completely let down by the current system, with many suffering from eating disorders going unreported and untreated.

“We know that if an eating disorder goes untreated for more than 3 to 5 years the chances of recovery are greatly reduced, while incidents of self harm increase.

“That’s why we need to act now to transform the current system, intervening earlier with dedicated and targeted community-based services to ensure that we don’t fail this generation or the ones that follow.”

HAINAULT ROAD – HIGHWAY REPAIRS

Damaged section of Hainaulot Road near the junction with Leigh Road

On 24 December the FOCUS Team reported this doubtful stretch of the higway in Hainault Road near the junction with Leigh Road.

The Team has stressed the volume of heavy traffic using this stretch of Hainault Road and certain of the residential roads in contravention of the road signs.

They have continued to monitor progress and have finally been informed that it should be repaired within the next four weeks.

So far, some tarmac had been laid, but FOCUS is continuing to urge a full repair, and will continuer to watch for any further action.