February 2009 Archives
I intend to update this blog with the details of the
discussions I've had with the UCKG regarding a public meeting. Below is the full transcript of my last email correspondence with them. You'll see I've declined the offer of a personal briefing
in favour of a public meeting because I believe everyone who is
interested in this issue needs the chance to ask questions - not just
me! To make sure that the UCKG understand the strength of feeling in
Walthamstow on this matter we need to show the strength of interest in
this matter. So far I've had over nearly 200 responses from people
wanting to come to any public meeting on this issue. Please help me to
show the UCKG that its not just me but hundreds of local people who
care about the fate of the EMD Cinema building by posting the link to this correspondence/Re-Tweeting it/Facebooking it/RSS feeding it to other local residents and asking them to sign up to attending a
public meeting on this matter by emailing me. I will update this blog as and when I hear more from the UCKG.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: stella creasy <stella@workingforwalthamstow.org.uk >
Date: Wed, Feb 18, 2009 at 12:43 PM
Subject: Re: 186 Hoe Street, Walthamstow, London E17
To: Pr Paul Hill <pph@uckg.org>
Cc: Neil Gerrard <gerrardn@parliament.uk>, Terry Wheeler <cllr.terry.wheeler@walthamforest.gov.uk >, Nick Rule <ruleco@dial.pipex.com>, Jennifer Walton <jenniferwalton@remarkablegroup.co.uk >, Matthew Turpin <Matthew.Turpin@remarkablegroup.co.uk >
Dear Paul,
Thank you for your email and for setting out your intention to engage with the community. I think it is important for me to be clear about my requests and my interest in this matter and to state that I would have to decline an offer of an an individual briefing on this matter. Given the interest in the future of the EMD cinema building, I believe it is vital any discussions are open to as many local residents so I would prefer to equally participate in a public meeting along with other local residents. Therefore if you are available to come to Walthamstow to give such a briefing I would urge you to use the time this would take to accept the offer as made by Neil Gerrard to chair a public discussion on your plans that could be open to all interested parties. Indeed, as I appreciate how much work goes into a planning application I believe you may find it useful to have such a discussion early on in your project planning so that you could gather feedback from local residents and ideas for how best to use this much loved local landmark. My experience of working with local residents in Walthamstow shows that they can often challenge and inspire in ways which bring fresh and valuable insight and ideas to any project!
I look forward to hearing from you as to whether you will accept the offer, even in only in principle, of such a public meeting as chaired by Neil Gerrard. I will as you request pass on your views to the local community and would of course be happy to help with identifying dates, venues and times for such a public meeting as and when appropriate in the planning process.
I look forward to hearing from you in due course,
kind regards
Stella
On Wed, Feb 18, 2009 at 12:15 PM, Pr Paul Hill <pph@uckg.org> wrote:
Dear Stella
It concerns me that you appear to be making assumptions about the content of our ongoing public engagement programme.
In acknowledging your email I wanted you to appreciate that you, Neil Gerrard MP and the constituents of Walthamstow are important to us.
As I said, it is our intention to offer you and Mr Gerrard an individual briefing at the first possible opportunity within a wide ranging consultation programme that started with the recent informal meeting with Waltham Forest Council members and officers.
For the interim, I would advise that we are fully committed to communicating widely with the community and stakeholders as soon as possible, and will provide opportunities for local people to understand our proposals, question our development team and receive individual answers.
As regards timing, I'm sure you will appreciate that there is a lot of work in preparing and drafting a planning application to the stage where it is ready for public consultation. We are working on proposals that will deliver a range of high quality facilities for the community including performance space as reported in the local media, within a fully restored Art Deco building. The UCKG HelpCentre is strong on community outreach and conservation as demonstrated by the Rainbow Theatre in Finsbury Park.
If you wish to update the people who have contacted you with the content of this email, please do so. For our part, we will contact you about a briefing date within the next few weeks.
Should you have any further questions in the mean time, please feel free to call me on the number below. Alternatively, you are always welcome to speak to Matthew Turpin, a member of the project team, on 07887 846 699.
Yours in Prayer
| Pastor Paul Hill United Kingdom | pph@uckg.org 
www.uckg.org
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: stella creasy <stella@workingforwalthamstow.
Date: Wed, Feb 18, 2009 at 12:43 PM
Subject: Re: 186 Hoe Street, Walthamstow, London E17
To: Pr Paul Hill <pph@uckg.org>
Cc: Neil Gerrard <gerrardn@parliament.uk>, Terry Wheeler <cllr.terry.wheeler@
Dear Paul,
Thank you for your email and for setting out your intention to engage with the community. I think it is important for me to be clear about my requests and my interest in this matter and to state that I would have to decline an offer of an an individual briefing on this matter. Given the interest in the future of the EMD cinema building, I believe it is vital any discussions are open to as many local residents so I would prefer to equally participate in a public meeting along with other local residents. Therefore if you are available to come to Walthamstow to give such a briefing I would urge you to use the time this would take to accept the offer as made by Neil Gerrard to chair a public discussion on your plans that could be open to all interested parties. Indeed, as I appreciate how much work goes into a planning application I believe you may find it useful to have such a discussion early on in your project planning so that you could gather feedback from local residents and ideas for how best to use this much loved local landmark. My experience of working with local residents in Walthamstow shows that they can often challenge and inspire in ways which bring fresh and valuable insight and ideas to any project!
I look forward to hearing from you as to whether you will accept the offer, even in only in principle, of such a public meeting as chaired by Neil Gerrard. I will as you request pass on your views to the local community and would of course be happy to help with identifying dates, venues and times for such a public meeting as and when appropriate in the planning process.
I look forward to hearing from you in due course,
kind regards
Stella
On Wed, Feb 18, 2009 at 12:15 PM, Pr Paul Hill <pph@uckg.org> wrote:
Dear Stella
It concerns me that you appear to be making assumptions about the content of our ongoing public engagement programme.
In acknowledging your email I wanted you to appreciate that you, Neil Gerrard MP and the constituents of Walthamstow are important to us.
As I said, it is our intention to offer you and Mr Gerrard an individual briefing at the first possible opportunity within a wide ranging consultation programme that started with the recent informal meeting with Waltham Forest Council members and officers.
For the interim, I would advise that we are fully committed to communicating widely with the community and stakeholders as soon as possible, and will provide opportunities for local people to understand our proposals, question our development team and receive individual answers.
As regards timing, I'm sure you will appreciate that there is a lot of work in preparing and drafting a planning application to the stage where it is ready for public consultation. We are working on proposals that will deliver a range of high quality facilities for the community including performance space as reported in the local media, within a fully restored Art Deco building. The UCKG HelpCentre is strong on community outreach and conservation as demonstrated by the Rainbow Theatre in Finsbury Park.
If you wish to update the people who have contacted you with the content of this email, please do so. For our part, we will contact you about a briefing date within the next few weeks.
Should you have any further questions in the mean time, please feel free to call me on the number below. Alternatively, you are always welcome to speak to Matthew Turpin, a member of the project team, on 07887 846 699.
Yours in Prayer
Property Acquisitions Manager
d +44 20 7686 6006 ext 6108 | f +44 20 7686 6035 | m +44 7595 511 291
a UCKG Office Suites 24 Coleridge Road Finsbury Park London N4 3NP
As an active participant in the campaign to save the EMD cinema back in 2003, you might expect me to have strong views on its future. It's also why I'm hoping Cllr James O'Rourke has done his homework before giving his support to plans put forward by the UCKG to reapply for planning permission to turn the building into a church. On his blog he outlines their intention to resubmit plans for how they want to use this building - which judging by his description alone sound little different to the original proposals they submitted.
Like many local people I'm keen to see cinema brought back
to Walthamstow - and also to see this important Walthamstow landmark
building really is
open for the use of all the local community. The ownership of the
building by the United Church of the Kingdom of God means we are at
their mercy in finding a way forward. However, my investigations into
quite what community involvement meant
in practice in Catford and Finsbury Park as well as the details that
came out during the original
planning application show we as local residents have grounds to be concerned about this turn of events. If
the UCKG are serious about
contributing to Walthamstow's social fabric we need to see explicit
guarantees built into the planning agreement that will ensure the
theatre
and film screen they propose are open for hire on a regular basis to people of all
faiths
and for all forms of entertainment without threat of censure.
In 2012 the Kyoto
Protocol to prevent climate changes and global warming runs out. On 7th December 2009 the UN Climate Conference will open in
Copenhagen and the world community will try to agree a solution to the
gravest threat it has ever faced; global warming.Up to 15,000
officials, advisers, diplomats, campaigners and media personnel from
nearly 200 countries, joined by limousine-loads of heads of state and
government from America's President Barack Obama down, are expected to
meet in the Danish capital in one of the most significant gatherings in
history.
This summit isn't just a matter for those who are concerned about the environment. The world's poorest communities suffer the most from climate change, and unless we act as a world community our capacity not only to tackle climate change but also world poverty is at risk.
As citizens we need action in Copenhagen to agree tough new targets on cutting CO2 emissions. And as consumers we also need to act ourselves. Over the course of the next year in the run up to Copenhagen 2009 let us work together not only to lobby Government for change but also ask how we can support each other to make choices in our everyday lives about how we use resources. Government cannot act alone to address these challenges. We must act together to all contribute to securing a safer, more sustainable and more socially just society for every human being.
This process of making choices doesn't have to happen overseas. We can start it here too in Walthamstow for the sake of our families, our friends, our community, our fellow citizens across the world and our climate. If you would like to be part of activities to support this work over the course of the year ahead please get in touch.
This summit isn't just a matter for those who are concerned about the environment. The world's poorest communities suffer the most from climate change, and unless we act as a world community our capacity not only to tackle climate change but also world poverty is at risk.
As citizens we need action in Copenhagen to agree tough new targets on cutting CO2 emissions. And as consumers we also need to act ourselves. Over the course of the next year in the run up to Copenhagen 2009 let us work together not only to lobby Government for change but also ask how we can support each other to make choices in our everyday lives about how we use resources. Government cannot act alone to address these challenges. We must act together to all contribute to securing a safer, more sustainable and more socially just society for every human being.
This process of making choices doesn't have to happen overseas. We can start it here too in Walthamstow for the sake of our families, our friends, our community, our fellow citizens across the world and our climate. If you would like to be part of activities to support this work over the course of the year ahead please get in touch.
