Nick Tiratsoo's Posts

LBWF, the Freedom of Information Act and the Data Protection Act: the obstruction and harassment of residents asking lawful questions continues

November 23, 2023 Freedom of Information Act, LBWF spin, Mark Hynes 0

In the past few years, this blog has repeatedly revealed that LBWF obstructs local residents using the Freedom of Information Act (FIA) and the Data Protection Act when they are judged to be broaching issues that the Labour leadership considers controversial or likely to damage its reputation. A new case confirms that this disreputable trend continues, and is suggestive, too, about whether LBWF’s ... »

Cllr. Williams’ statement about Remembrance Sunday: embarrassing and crass

November 10, 2023 Cllr. Grace Williams 0

In her weekly e-mail to residents sent out yesterday, the 9th November, LBWF Leader Cllr. Grace Williams tells us, next to a graphic of two red poppies, that ‘This weekend I, like many of you, will be remembering and honouring people who have lost their lives as a result of war’. But Remembrance Sunday isn’t about ‘those who have lost their lives as a result of war’, in other words the dead in eve... »

Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee scrutinises ‘active travel schemes’ like Mini-Holland and finds them grossly wanting

November 8, 2023 LBWF spin, Mini Holland 0

A Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report published on 3 November 2023 is highly critical of the kind of active travel schemes (ATSs) that have been so enthusiastically implemented by LBWF. The Department of Transport defines active travel as ‘everyday journeys made by walking, wheeling [i.e., using wheelchairs, mobility scooters, prams or pushchairs], or cycling’. So ATSs ‘can range from creating ... »

LBWF spends enormous amounts each year on non-disclosure agreements, but is this justified?

November 1, 2023 LBWF spin 0

In recent years, and particularly following the Harvey Weinstein scandal, there has been growing unease about the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). It is widely accepted that NDAs can be appropriate in some circumstances, for example to protect sensitive commercial information. The worry, however, is that on occasion NDAs appear to have been deployed solely to cover up unlawful or abus... »

The Mall tower blocks: Stella Creasy raises safety fears with Secretary of State Michael Gove, but there are other big concerns too UPDATED

October 2, 2023 Redevelopment, Stella Creasy MP 0

In the last few weeks, Walthamstow residents have been amused – possibly bemused – by the sudden appearance of a new tower block’s soaring central core right in the middle of the Mall redevelopment scheme (now officially called ‘17&Central’). As the Waltham Forest Echo reports, this startling vision has prompted numerous memes on social media, including ‘King Kong atop the tower... »

Chingford speed humps: the prior consultation was manipulated, and what LBWF refers to as supporting evidence is revealed to be decades out of date

September 20, 2023 LBWF spin, Mini Holland 0

Here’s a further update from our Chingford correspondent, this time with some incendiary revelations (see links for back story). ‘Recent research casts further doubt on how LBWF has acted in installing speed humps in Chingford. First, it emerges that the consultation about speed humps was blatantly manipulated.  LBWF claims to have distributed a survey to all households in the area where the ... »

LBWF and information requests: a new case shows that despite past official reprimands, Information Officer Mark Hynes’ service is still casually impeding transparency

September 12, 2023 Freedom of Information Act 0

As this blog has documented, LBWF’s past history of handling information requests is chequered, with some residents finding their inquiries thwarted by delays, illegitimate evasions, and ignorance of the legal framework, to the extent that the Information Commissioner’s Office periodically has had to intervene. All that is regrettable, but a new case suggests that obfuscation has not jus... »

Departing LBWF CEO Martin Esom: 13 years in the job, £2.6m. salary in the bank, a few highs, but also some very unattractive lows

August 30, 2023 LBWF spin, Martin Esom 0

In December 2022, LBWF announced that its CEO, Martin Esom, would be leaving the Town Hall at the end of 2023, but subsequently, and without explanation, his departure date was brought forward to the last day of July just past, when he took up a position at the Sports Grounds Safety Authority. Accordingly, it’s a good time to evaluate what Mr. Esom has achieved in his near 13 years at the helm. Ha... »

Ex-Guardian journalist Dave Hill skewers Cllr. Clyde Loakes over Waltham Forest’s Mini-Holland and LTNs UPDATED

August 24, 2023 LBWF spin, Mini-Holland 0

In the New Statesman last week, Cllr. Clyde Loakes claims that Mini-Holland and LTNs are ‘proven to make ourselves, our neighbourhoods and our planet healthier’. As might be predicted, while Cllr. Loakes’ tone is bombastic, his argument is largely vapid.  Thus, to take one example, he quotes the Kings study on air quality of 2018 as if gospel, apparently unaware that, LBWF spin notwithst... »

Traffic calming measures that are harming houses and people: a local resident fights on to force LBWF into recognising its responsibilities

August 21, 2023 LBWF spin, Mini-Holland 0

A previous post focused on a local resident’s concern that badly thought-out traffic calming measures in Waltham Forest are producing damaging consequences (see link, below). More recently, the same resident has requested a meeting with the newly appointed LBWF CEO, Linzi Roberts-Egan.  Asked by one of the latter’s staff to explain why a meeting was justified, our resident replied with t... »

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