Posts

LBWF spends millions of public money on cycling, but cannot say whether residents as a whole are getting on bikes, or just the better off

June 27, 2023 LBWF spin, Mini Holland

In the past few years, LBWF has spent upwards of c. £30m. on cycling infrastructure, while preaching the virtues of cycling at every opportunity.  Indeed, cycling has become an integral part of the borough’s assiduously promoted self-image, alongside artisan coffee, craft beer, independent shops, and ‘the arts’. Accordingly, it’s reasonable to ask: is this policy working? Are more people cycling? Have all residents, regardless of background, been equally enthused? And is LBWF collecting enough data to make an accurate reckoning, and thus justify the planned further interventions, for instance, the roll out of new Lower Traffic Neighbourhoods?  These are big questions, and ones whic... »

,

Local faith in the police plummets to levels lower than elsewhere in London. Why? Probably because too few criminals are being caught!

June 19, 2023 Policing/crime

It is a striking, though often overlooked fact, that Waltham Forest residents’ trust and confidence in the police has not only declined markedly over recent years, but is also comparatively less favourable than in most other London boroughs. What follows looks at the dimensions of this unsatisfactory situation, and then turns to  discuss its possible causes. Local trust and confidence in the police: the facts Each year, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) runs large-scale surveys to measure six metrics about how samples of the public assess the police, borough by borough. Looking at the data specifically for Waltham Forest, the following emerges. 1.Do you have ‘confid... »

Town Hall asbestos: now LBWF can’t produce the mandatory health and safety permits issued to the contractors doing vital remedial and removal work

June 6, 2023 Town Hall asbestos

In the period 2015-20, LBWF ostensibly managed Town Hall asbestos on the basis of a 101-page manual, ‘Asbestos Management Procedure For Main Building Walthamstow Town Hall Complex’, jointly produced with the NPS Group. Amongst other things, this contained a chapter headed ‘Audit Records – Permit to Work’, which explained that ‘The Permit To Work…procedure provides a formal control system aimed at the prevention of accidents and damage to property where foreseeable hazardous work is carried out’.  The key to the ‘procedure’ was a ‘Permit To Work’ form, reproduced here:  Construction work where asbestos was likely to be present, it was underlined, could only proceed if ‘an authorized... »

NPS London Ltd. (now re-named Evolve Norse Ltd.) has advised LBWF on managing asbestos since 2007, but does that inspire much confidence?

May 24, 2023 Asbestos at St. Mary's School, Town Hall asbestos

One organisation that sometimes pops up on the margins of public discussion about how LBWF has managed asbestos in the past few years is NPS London Ltd., recently renamed Evolve Norse Ltd. (so hereafter NPSL/EN) which is a joint venture between – and this gets complicated – LBWF and (via a subsidiary, NPS Property Consultants Ltd.) the national holding company Norse Group Ltd., itself, rather surprisingly, the child of Norfolk County Council. NPSL/EN was formed in 2007, taking over what was previously LBWF’s in-house architecture and building consultancy service, with the staff transferred over. Subsequently, it is said to have been involved in some 650 LBWF projects, including bi... »

LBWF’s ‘traffic calming’ measures again in the dock: an expert paramedic argues they worsen ambulance response times and so may increase fatalities in health emergencies

May 18, 2023 LBWF spin, Mini Holland

In a previous guest post (see links, below), a local resident examined the ‘traffic calming’ measures which LBWF is installing across the borough, and pointed out that they have a severe impact of those living nearby, producing amongst other things noise pollution and household damage. What follows casts light on another aspect of the problem, the way that the measures slow London Ambulance Service (LAS) call outs to serious cases like cardiac arrest and severe allergic reaction. The author has worked as a LAS paramedic, and deserves to be taken very seriously indeed. Waltham Forest Matters is grateful for such a detailed and comprehensive contribution. ‘1. I attended meetings with local aut... »

,
Page 14 of 89«‹1213141516›»