Nick Tiratsoo's Posts

Another LBWF fire safety cock up: now its housing management agent, Morgan Sindall, replaces flat entrance doors ‘in error’

August 23, 2021 fire hazards, fire safety

Over the years, LBWF has gained a reputation for blunders, whether big, like recklessly exposing its own employees in the Town Hall to dangerous asbestos dust, or relatively small, like planning to spend £40,000’s worth of public money on an inappropriate and unwanted ‘artistic’ mural in Cann Hall. What follows is a further example of this disreputable tradition. As this blog has extensively repor... »

Cllr. Clyde Loakes and food standards: Waltham Forest revealed to be London’s least hygienic borough when it comes to visiting eateries, pubs, and supermarkets

August 19, 2021 Cllr. Clyde Loakes, food hygiene, LBWF spin

Every now and again, Cllr. Clyde Loakes, the relevant Cabinet portfolio holder, pops up in local media, and assures residents that LBWF is taking food hygiene very seriously. Thus, earlier this year, when LBWF closed three restaurants down, he opined ‘“This sends a very clear signal to that small minority of food businesses which think they can flout the law…We want residents in Waltham Forest to ... »

London Fire Brigade attendance times in Waltham Forest: are they delayed by road closures?

August 16, 2021 Mini-Holland

The paper reproduced below is by local resident Steve Lowe, and looks in detail at the vexed issue of whether LBWF programmes such as Mini-Holland and low traffic neighbourhoods have impacted on London Fire Brigade attendance times in the borough. We are grateful to Mr. Lowe for permission to reproduce what is a very interesting, well researched, and, above all, convincing contribution to the deba... »

The Information Commissioner’s Office audit of LBWF: less a forensic examination, more a damp squib

August 10, 2021 Freedom of Information Act, Mark Hynes

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has just released the executive summary of a ‘Data protection audit report’ focusing on LBWF (ICO policy, apparently, is not to release the full version). The ICO’s overall judgement is that, as regards both the governance and accountability of data protection and the operation of the Freedom of Information Act, LBWF is achieving ‘a reasonable level of a... »

The recent Labour Leadership contest in Waltham Forest: a tale of Grace Williams, Liaquat Ali…and Clyde Loakes

July 30, 2021 Cllr. Clyde Loakes, Cllr. Grace Williams, Cllr. Liaquat Ali

As local news outlets have reported, in the election to find a new Council Leader following Clare Coghill’s resignation, the Labour Group has plumped for Grace Williams, with Liaquat Ali a close second. The general feeling on the Labour benches is that Ms. Williams will provide short-term stability, though many also believe that after the 2022 local elections, there will be a further Leadership co... »

LBWF, the London Fire Brigade, and ‘controlling the narrative’ over fire crew response times in Low Traffic Neighbourhoods

July 14, 2021 LBWF spin, Mini-Holland

As this blog has reported over the years, LBWF spends a good deal of time and money attempting to ‘control the narrative’, that is burnish its reputation through fair means or foul and, crucially, head off legitimate criticism. Previous posts have looked in detail at how this works, focusing on spin (‘the selective assembly of fact and the shaping of nuance to support a particular view o... »

Has LBWF followed the relevant ‘technical advice’ when addressing the flat entrance door scandal? It’s a key question but one the Town Hall finds difficult to answer

June 24, 2021 fire hazards, fire safety, Goddarts House, Northwood Tower

In correspondence earlier this year, Darren Welsh, LBWF’s Deputy Strategic Director, Resident Services, stated that the strategy adopted for dealing with the 217 fake FD60 flat entrance doors (FEDs) at Northwood Tower and four sheltered housing blocks conformed with ‘the technical advice’ that the Town Hall had been supplied with. What follows describes my tortuous efforts to establish whether thi... »

Cllr. Clare Coghill steps down as Leader

June 18, 2021 Cllr. Clare Coghill

Cllr. Clare Coghill has announced she is stepping down as Leader of LBWF, and not standing as a councillor at next year’s election. In the past few months, sources have told this blog that she was being seen in the borough less and less, and her departure may be related to a previous post here, ‘Love amongst the Leaders: Councillors Clare Coghill and Simon Blackburn’. How history... »

Private Eye reports the Cann Hall mural fiasco

June 14, 2021 Cllr.Sally Littlejohn, LBWF spin, Redevelopment

From Issue 1549, 11-24 June 2021 »

LBWF’s flat entrance door scandal: an update on developments

June 1, 2021 fire hazards, fire safety, Goddarts House, LBWF spin, Northwood Tower

In the past few weeks, fresh revelations have emerged about the scandal surrounding LBWF’s 2017-18 purchase and installation of the 217 flat entrance doors (FEDs) at Walthamstow’s 21 floor Northwood Tower, and four sheltered housing blocks (Boothby Court, Goddarts House, Holmcroft House, and Lime Court) – FEDs which all remain in place today. The following provides a summary. Certi... »

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