Uncategorized

Burnham-ism: a warning from (Waltham Forest) history

July 23, 2026 Independent Panel, LBWF spin, The BNI, Uncategorized 0

Yes, definitely, let’s devolve power and money to the localities, because ‘communities know better than anyone else what’s right for them’. Power to the people! What could possibly go wrong? Well, if this story is to be believed, plenty. In the early 2000s, the government gave LBWF many millions of public money to help the most deprived neighbourhoods in the borough. Now read on. Postscript It’s important to add that the police did not act on my complaint, and accordingly it should be underlined that none of those mentioned in this article were found to have engaged in any kind of illega... »

Mark Baynes RIP

July 29, 2022 Uncategorized

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Love amongst the Leaders: Councillors Clare Coghill and Simon Blackburn

September 17, 2019 Cllr. Clare Coghill, Uncategorized

For the past few months, Labour members in Waltham Forest have been agog about the evolving private life of their supremo, Cllr. Clare Coghill. Now Cllr. Coghill has set the record straight, posting that she is happily embarked upon a relationship with the Leader of Blackpool Council, Simon Blackburn. People of goodwill from across the political spectrum will no doubt join this blog in wishing the couple well. Nevertheless, the story is not without its entertainments. Three pieces of background information are essential. Cllr. Blackburn, most appropriately, is an ardent fan of Blackburn Rovers... »

Waltham Forest Matters: 100,000 views up

April 18, 2018 Uncategorized

In the past few weeks, Waltham Forest Matters has sailed through the ‘100,000 views’ mark. As is obvious, ‘view’ does not mean ‘read’, and ‘read’ does not mean ‘digest’, let alone ‘agree’. Nevertheless, those caveats accepted, the milestone does indicate that (a) there is an appetite for discussion about the way that Waltham Forest is evolving, which can only be a good thing; and (b) despite the vast amount that LBWF spends on PR and spin, not everyone accepts its much proffered version of the truth. Anyway, warm thanks to... »

Fred Wigg and John Walsh Towers update

November 13, 2017 Fred Wigg and John Walsh Towers, Redevelopment, Uncategorized

This blog has previously covered the disgraceful situation that is ongoing regarding the ‘redevelopment John Walsh and Fred Wigg Towers in Cann Hall. Pasted below are two updates prepared by the residents. They eloquently speak for themselves. »

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Knife crime in Waltham Forest: a nasty little scandal (6)

August 9, 2017 Gang Prevention Programme, Policing/crime, Uncategorized

In mid-June, I contacted the Mayor’s Officer for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) to inquire about whether it or LBWF had prime responsibility for the Waltham Forest Safer Neighbourhoods Board (WFSNB). A day or two ago, I received the reply pasted below. It is gratifying to learn that MOPAC to some extent validates the concerns which I have laid out in previous posts, and promises that in future the WFSNB will be encouraged to operate ‘in a more clear and transparent fashion’. The hope is that such change will occur sooner rather than later. Meanwhile, as of today, the WFSNB’... »

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Petition to Waltham Forest Council: publish the fire safety plans for Fred Wigg & John Walsh towers

July 7, 2017 Uncategorized

 A petition has been started to persuade LBWF to publish the fire safety plans for the Fred Wigg and John Walsh towers in Cann Hall: It is really disgraceful, given all that has gone on both locally and of course in west London, to find the residents of the towers still having to resort to these kind of tactics to obtain basic information about their safety. To sign the petition, go here: https://www.change.org/p/waltham-forest-council-waltham-forest-council-publish-fire-safety-plans-for-fred-wigg-john-walsh-towers?recruiter=26274686&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&ut... »

The E11 BID Co. apparently set to close, but big questions remain

June 2, 2017 E11 BID Co., Uncategorized, Waltham Forest Business Board

Word reaches me that the E11 BID Co. directors have decided to throw in the towel, and shut their company at Christmas. If true, this is good news, for although the E11 BID Co. claims to have put its disaterous past behind it, there are still enough flaws in its functioning to give grave cause for concern. Well-run companies, for example, submit their accounts on time. But the visitor who looks up the E11 BID Co. at Companies House today is greeted by the following: Meanwhile the E11 BID2 Ltd. remains as big a mystery as ever. We know that LBWF now feeds this recently created entity the BID le... »

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Councillor Saima Mahmud’s surreptitious Town Hall award ceremonies: a further update

April 5, 2017 Cllr. Saima Mahmud, Uncategorized, Waltham Forest Labour Party

Regular readers of this blog will remember that last year’s Mayor, Cllr. Saima Mahmud, hosted surreptitious award ceremonies, organised by two private citizens, in the Mayor’s Parlour; and that the beneficiaries of these events included several controversial figures. The most unpleasant without doubt was the Pakistani Senator Sirajul Haq, a man known, amongst other things, for ranting about the Jews and opposing legislation on domestic violence – in other words espousing views which are not only abhorrent in themselves, but also (important in this context) diametrically opposed to LBWF communi... »

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Dave Hill on ‘Mini-Holland’ in Enfield

January 20, 2017 Mini Holland, Uncategorized

Writing for his blog, the Guardian‘s Dave Hill, who has his favourites but is sometimes moderately iconoclastic, surveys how ‘Mini-Holland’ is evolving in our neighbour, Enfield: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/davehillblog/2017/jan/17/the-long-war-of-mini-holland-in-enfield One sentence jumps out: ‘Meeting Rogers [‘Clare Rogers, local resident and mainstay of a group called Better Streets for Enfield’] made a nice change from encountering cycling zealots on social media, whose sanctimony, viciousness and weird conspiracy theories – these from the ... »

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