Stella Creasy: June 2008 Archives
Whatever the weather there will be plenty of activities for local children of all ages including facepainting and adventure play as well as free refreshments for all ages! The afternoon is an informal opportunity for local families and those who work with them to come together, have fun and have their say about what help and support children, parents and grandparents need to succeed in Walthamstow. There are many changes taking place locally and nationally that will affect families- from the new parental leave rights, to changes in tax credits and benefits as well as the new surestart and childrens centre services - and I want those in power to hear first hand from people in Walthamstow what they think of these changes and what our priorities for our locality are. I'm keen too that those who work with families participate so that they can bring their experience to our discussion and also get to know each other too.I hope you'll be able to join me, Neil and James for some lovely cake and a great opportunity to make sure those in Westminster hear the voices of those in Walthamstow. This event is sponsored by UNISON and has been organised by Walthamstow Labour Party.
Anyone who would like to hold a stall on the day or know more about the event is welcome to get in touch.
Post Office Ltd revealed last month that it would be rethinking its decision to close the branches in Forest Road, Chingford Road and Orford Road, in the light of local opposition. However, we've learned this week that they still intend to close the Chingford Road and Orford Road branches. The Forest Road post office will remain. Neil Gerrard and I have been working closely with local residents on these issues and we've put out a press statement that I've reproduced here in full for information.
Neil Gerrard, MP for Walthamstow, and Stella Creasy, local community campaigner, today welcomed the news that the Forest Road Post Office is to be kept open but expressed their anger and dismay at the decision that two Post Office branches in Walthamstow are to close. "We are pleased that the Forest Road Branch has been reprieved and that the Post office listened to the concerns we and others raised" said Neil and Stella "but we cannot understand the logic of the decisions on the other two branches. The arguments that appear to have been accepted as justifying keeping this branch open, such as the needs of elderly people living nearby, apply with equal force to the other branches. The result of these decisions will be that many local people will find it much more difficult to access Post Office services. The High Street Post Office is already inadequate to handle the number of people using it, and these closures will make that situation worse. When the review of the original closure proposals was announced Postwatch specifically asked that action should be taken to improve the queuing times at the High Street main Post Office. This was in recognition of the fact that more people will go there if other Branches are closed. This has been totally ignored by the Post Office. For many people who now use the Orford Road and Chingford Road branches it will be very inconvenient to have to travel to the High Street or other branches. We are particularly disappointed that the Post Office have ignored the strongly held views of local people and have simply failed to answer the clear and strong case that was put forward for keeping all three branches open. We want to thank those local residents who supported the campaign to keep the Post Offices open. We will now be seeking an urgent meeting with the Post Office about these decisions and will be asking what plans they have to improve the services provided at the High Street Crown Post Office.
highway or in other public places to which a Dog Control Order applies and carries a £75 fine. You can find out more about which areas are subject to a Dog Control Order (including our local parks) here. One of the difficulties in dealing with this is enforcement; put simply catching irresponsible dog owners in the act of failing to clean up after their animals. If this is something that concerns you, you can help by reporting back to police and council officers if you do see someone behaving in this way so they can monitor the situation. If you wish to know the
direct contact details for your local ward police team for non-emergency issues please get in touch.
Neil Gerrard recently met with London Underground which has taken over the upgrading of the Victoria Line. He wanted me to share with readers of this site the outcomes of his meeting and the details of the ongoing engineering works. LU stated that, originally, the whole project was scheduled to be completed by 2013, but they are now aiming for a late 2011 finish. The upgrade will include 47 new trains, new signalling, renewed track, and a new control centre. This will result in an increase in capacity, and improved journey times.
The current early closures have allowed the work to be speeded up and LU are aiming to have the bulk of the engineering finished by the middle of next year. Closures should become fewer over time, and probably the current period of early evening closures will not be repeated. There are still some uncertainties, arising from the fact that LU have taken over this project from Metronet, and so still have to satisfy themselves that everything is going to keep to schedule. The key point however seems to be that although the whole project still has 3 years or more to run, the latter part of that is the bringing in of the new trains rather than continued major engineering works. I hope this is of interest and I'll keep updating this site if I get any further information on these works.
