August 2009 Archives

I am supporting a new campaign to increase the numbers of police in Walthamstow. This has been triggered by a Met Police report that shows we have one officer for every 24.76 serious crimes against an average in London of one officer for every 20.12 serious crimes; to bring us up to the London average for the number of officers per serious crime we would need at least an additional 120 officers. As a consequence our borough police work hard to cover a range of difficult issues with limited resources; whether addressing gang crime in Walthamstow, drugs and firearm issues in Chingford or anti-social behaviour in Leytonstone our police force needs our support to get the officers it needs. That's why I'm joining with others including local councillors and Neil Gerrard in calling on the Met to give Walthamstow its fair share of police. If you want to support this campaign directly you can sign our petition here.

I am supporting a new campaign to increase the numbers of police in Walthamstow. This has been triggered by a Met Police report that shows we have one officer for every 24.76 serious crimes against an average in London of one officer for every 20.12 serious crimes; to bring us up to the London average for the number of officers per serious crime we would need at least an additional 120 officers. As a consequence our borough police work hard to cover a range of difficult issues with limited resources; whether addressing gang crime in Walthamstow, drugs and firearm issues in Chingford or anti-social behaviour in Leytonstone our police force needs our support to get the officers it needs. That's why I'm joining with others including local councillors and Neil Gerrard in calling on the Met to give Walthamstow its fair share of police. If you want to support this campaign directly you can sign our petition here.

Today I have been told the planning application to turn the EMD cinema into a church is being submitted this week. Now that the application is formally happening, The McGuffins are proposing to do a weekly email update on the issue and how you can participate in the planning process.

As part of a proposal requiring the removal of approximately 127 trees and the demolition of a former theatre and café building at Lloyd Park, a survey has been conducted regarding the presence of Bats in the area. All UK bats and their roosts are protected by law and have been since 1981. Before the redevelopment of Lloyd Park can take place the local authority has to identify if any of the buildings or trees that are being removed are being used as bat habitats. The survey was done in June 2009. Whilst no evidence was found that the trees or buildings scheduled for demolition are suitable for bats or indeed used by them, the survey did produce some fascinating insights into bat activity in the park. This includes confirmation of the presence of common pipistrelle and Leislers bats in the park area. Readers wishing to see the full report should get in touch with me.

Many local residents have shared their concerns with me about the weekend closures of the Victoria Line underground service during August. I recently asked London Underground for an update and this was their response:

"New trains and signalling in particular require extensive testing - it would not be possible to complete the programme in any sensible timeframe without closures. Already more than 90% of the Victoria line track has been renewed, 550km of cabling has been installed and 90% of the new signaling equipment has been installed. This means we will be able to run more trains closer together - undoubtedly vital during busy periods. At present, we are using a signaling system that was built in the late 1960s and early 1970s. During these closures, we also test the new rolling stock. The new trains have been tested over a distance of 4,700 km on the line. The first new train went into passenger service last week. The new train will run, initially, towards the very end of the day, several nights per week. It will then gradually operate for more hours of the day over the coming weeks and months. By 2012 when the Victoria line upgrade is complete, 47 new trains will be in service, featuring in-carriage CCTV, improved wheelchair access, wider aisles and doors, better ventilation, and improved visual and audio customer information systems. The project made optimum use of the late evening closures last year, and there hasn't been the need for more of those this year. LU does however have weekend closures to enable the upgrade. "

If you want to receive updates from me as to any further disruption to the service please get in touch.