News: January 2010 Archives
"Hi
Stella, If I
may give you an overview of the UCKG HelpCentre's 2009 Christmas Carols appeal,
it should answer most of your questions. We are very happy for you to pass this
on in full. This
is the first time that UCKG has undertaken a large scale licensed street collection
in London, and
it has been both fruitful and a valuable learning experience. To
start with the necessary licences were sought through the Met Police and granted for London wide collections
during the period 1 - 24 December. This means having to guarantee that
you are able to collect in at least 20 of the 32 London boroughs. In addition some licences were obtained for mostly small scale collections in towns and
cities outside London
where UCKG has branches. Different rules apply in each location, and I suggest
that we do not need to go into these as the bulk of activity was in London. Nationwide,
UCKG fielded a total of 2,194 registered volunteer fundraisers, drawn from its
church members (obviously they were not all on the streets at once). A generous
public and help from various organisations that
allowed them to collect on private premises enabled them to raise just under
£404,000. I can advise you that funds collected are designated to help in
supporting community services at the 22 full time UCKG HelpCentre branches in
the UK
and for maintenance of the buildings. Two
projects that will be supported heavily are the 24 hour telephone Helpline [call:
0207 686 6000] and the completion of a new Youth Centre in Peckham, south London. There are notes
on both of these activities at the end of this email, which you may like to
share with people who ask you about the UCKG's work. As
regards the two young girls you encountered, we can only apologise most sincerely, if they - or any other UCKG collectors -
behaved badly. There were a lot of collections going on in London over the 2009 pre-Christmas period and
unfortunately UCKG is aware of instances where its collectors were also treated
to rudeness in what may at times have been overly competitive and stressful environments.
A full review of the collectors' feedback is under way so that UCKG may
learn from them and take appropriate action. Other post-collection work
currently in progress includes the calculation of expenses and preparation of
accounts. Supporting the UCKG Helpline UCKG
community services that will benefit from the fund raising include our 24 hour
Helpline, which dealt with over 7,400 enquiries in 2009. In December 797 calls
were mostly about depression, however the Helpline regularly responses to a
wide range of concerns about family and marriage problems, illnesses, financial,
career, faith and immigration difficulties. As appropriate we provide support
and advice, or refer callers to a range of specialist charities and organisations including some who help with homelessness. An ambitious development programme Funds
will also go towards upgrading UCKG HelpCentres so that they better serve their
local communities. A top priority is the HelpCentre in Rye Lane, Peckham and the immediate task
there is to complete the long awaited Youth Centre that will focus on training,
academic excellence, and life skills for young men and women aged 14 - 25. The
Peckham branch of the church's Victory Youth Group will operate from this
new Youth Centre. It has an excellent track record in helping young people, including
former offenders, and giving them a new outlook so they become law abiding
citizens, eager to contribute to the life of the community. Kind
regards, Jenny
Jenny Walton
Director (Public Relations)
D: +44 (0) 1962 893 907
T: +44 (0) 1962 893 893
http://www.remarkablegroup.co.
Please note that despite earlier indications from the local authority, there is no further news as to when the UCKG application to convert the EMD into a church will be heard at a planning meeting. This is despite the deadline for objections being over three months ago in September 2009. I will continue to update this site with any further information on this issue I receive.
Like
many local residents I'm increasingly frustrated at the continual roadworks we
have in the Waltham Forest area so I've been trying to find out what action is
being taken by Environmental Services to co-ordinate these activities.
Furthermore, many of you may have seen the problems caused last week in Walthamstow when a
water main burst in Tottenham causing the closure of Forest Road. I've now
received the following in-depth response back from Environmental Services that I wanted
to share in full:
"Thank
you for your email, the problems experienced on Sunday and Monday of this week
was, as you say, as the result of a burst water main resulting in the closure
of Forest Road. The burst itself was outside the borough in Broad Lane,
Haringay, and was notified to our call centre, Waltham Forest Direct, on Sunday
evening. Once we had received this notification our highways standby officer
was called out to assess the situation. He escalated the call to the LBWF
Traffic Manager who liaised with the Transport for London Traffic Control
Centre (LTCC) and the Police during Sunday evening until the reopening of Broad
Lane late on Monday afternoon. The traffic management of the incident was
controlled by the Police with the full co-operation with the borough.
Information of the likely impacts and duration of the emergency was
disseminated on TfL traffic control website, to the general media, and through
our own call centre. Calls were made on Sunday night to the Thames Water
project manager for the works sites in Blackhorse Road and Blackhorse Lane to
see if the existing traffic signals could be removed or the impact minimized.
Unfortunately this was not possible and the signals remained in operation during
the incident. While the repairs to the water main and the damage carriageway
are continuing the re-opening of Broad Lane on Monday evening has relieved the
severity of the impact on borough roads.
With regards to your query concerning the general works in the High Street
area, I think it is probably worth detailing the types of works that we
currently have. The bulk of major works are being undertaken by the gas and
water utility companies who have differing operating policies.
The gas have been directed by the HSE to replace all metallic mains within 30
metres of a property within a 30 year period. These works are prioritised on a
worst first basis, with the prioritisation varying as more bursts occur on a
length of main. With this process if there are more than one main in a street
it maybe that only one main meets the criteria in this financial year resulting
in the need to revisit site again. We have pushed strongly for this policy to
be flexible and have achieved success however we are unable to dictate the long
term programme of utility companies and repeat visits cannot be eliminated.
The bulk of the water main replacement works are being undertaken under the
project name of Victorian Mains Renewal. Under this project a discrete zone is
identified for renewal and all pipes within that zone are replaced. With this
approach the presence of the utility company within an area can appear
extensive but the up side being that as all pipes have been replaced future
problems should be minimal.
In the High Street area we currently have both of the above work types in
progress.
Not only in the High Street area but for works throughout the borough we hold a
number of regular co-ordination meetings. These range from quarterly meetings
attended by all the utility companies operating in the borough and other
interested parties such a the Buses, Police and Railtrack where each party
shares their plans for works and opportunities for joint working explored. We
also hold monthly meetings with individual companies or combined meetings where
companies are working in close proximity to each other.
All works applications are recorded on our computerised Streetworks management
system, an extract of which we make available to the public on our website
displaying current and future works. Access to the full register is be
available via our Highways office.
Road closures are managed by our Traffic Team in conjunction with the Works
Co-ordination team. All closures apart from emergency closures are published in
Waltham Forest News prior to implementation giving details of roads effected,
diversion routes and timings. Buses, Police and other emergency services are
notified of closures and any recommendations made would be incorporated.
On certain roads and footways we have introduced specific working measures and
restrictions. For example on the High Street we have a complete works embargo
for the month of December and all routine works that can be completed within
two days are scheduled for Sunday or Mondays, being the non or quite days for
the market. Market management are also notified and involved on all significant
works in this area.
"
It may also be of interest to know that the Government is proposing to give
local authorities the powers to increase the charges to make to utility
companies for road works to ensure that they finish on time to try to cut the
disruption planned roadworks cause. If you have views on these issues and how
the council should use these powers in the future that you want to pass onto
the local authority Environmental Services department please do get in touch.
Walthamstow is a haven of creative and talented people. If you would like to join in this activity then there are two local community groups currently looking for singers to join in their activities:
Chapel End Savoy Players have been performing the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas in the Walthamstow area for 35 years. Their next production is Iolanthe, which they're performing this May at the Deaton Theatre, Forest School, Snaresbrook. The Group is currently trying to recruit new singers for this production. They rehearse on Tuesday nights at St. John's Church, on the corner of Chingford Road and Brookscroft Road, Walthamstow, E17 5AL. All voices and levels of expertise are welcome, with membership subject to a short audition. If you would like to know more please contact Jackie on 0785 2928287 or email Ian.
I'm concerned to read internet reports mistakenly suggesting that there is a connection between one of our local mosques on Lea Bridge Road here in Walthamstow and Islam4UK. A spokesperson for the Mosque Tariq Mahmood has issued the following statement which I'm reprinting below for public information:
"We want to do everything possible to bring communities together here in Waltham Forest and the UK. We oppose those who want to divide us. I want to confirm that Lea Bridge Road Mosque committee does not have links with Mr Choudrey or Islam4UK, we don't speak for him or Islam4UK and his views are not shared by us".
