Terry Wheeler – Waltham Forest Matters

‘Our Olympics’: (2) The National Construction College’s Cathall Rd. facility

Nick Tiratsoo April 10, 2015 National Construction College Cathall Rd.

The National Construction College’s facility in Cathall Rd., on the Leyton-Leytonstone border, was presented by LBWF as the jewel in the crown of Waltham Forest’s Olympic legacy. Looking like a super IKEA, looming over the surrounding buildings, and hyped by every Labour hack from Cathall Councillor Terry Wheeler to the Leader himself, here was something, the patter ran, that really was going to impact on local people’s lives, and in particular dramatically diminish worklessness. Today, the Construction Academy is virtually forgotten, and the rumour is that it will soon close. Loca... »

Afzal Akram, broken promises, Chris Robbins, contracts, LBWF, National Construction College Cathall Rd., Olympic legacy, Shifa Mustafa, Terry Wheeler, Waltham Forest Council, Worknet

Documenting Past Failures: (9) the collapse of LBWF’s pet charity, O-Regen

Nick Tiratsoo March 18, 2015 Past failures: O-Regen

The registered charity O-Regen was set-up in 1997 as part of the redevelopment of Cathall estate, and charged with running community facilities in the south of the borough together with various programmes to benefit local residents. From the start, O-Regen appeared blessed. It was presented with a £4.5m endowment as well as a portfolio of 16 leasehold properties yielding an income of £120,000 p.a.; its board of trustees included many of the borough’s ‘great and good’ – at one time or another, the likes of Michael Polledri and Guy Davis (‘big players in the business and construction scene in Wa... »

Guy Davis, John Macklin, Khevyn Limbajee, LBWF, Matt Davis, Michael Polledri, O-Regen, past failures, Terry Wheeler, Waltham Forest Council, Worknet

Documenting Past Failures: (8) the self-defeating silence of Councillor Marie Pye

Nick Tiratsoo March 13, 2015 Cllr. Marie Pye

Shortly after the Independent Panel report, I attended a Community Council meeting, and heard Cllr. Marie Pye vociferously denying any responsibility for the NRF/BNI fiasco. So I wrote her an open letter explaining why I thought she was wrong. Needless to say, in true Waltham Forest style, she never replied. However, to some extent the last laugh is on her, because if you Google ‘Cllr. Marie Pye’ today, amusingly, my letter comes up as entry four. Anyway, here is the letter in full, as I believe still that it makes a perfectly valid point. 22 January 2010 Dear Councillor Pye... »

BNI, Clyde Loakes, Colin Moon, Harry Cohen, Iain Duncan Smith, Jan Wickham, LBWF, NRF, past failures, Peter Musgrave, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Terry Wheeler, Waltham Forest Council, Waltham Forest Guardian, Wood Street and Hoe Street

‘Forget the homeless, what about the coffee drinkers?’ LBWF v. The Christian Kitchen (Part 1): Councillor Terry Wheeler makes a stand

Nick Tiratsoo March 13, 2015 Christian Kitchen, Cllr. Clyde Loakes, Cllr. Terry Wheeler

A local correspondent writes as follows: ‘Waltham Forest Council is big on celebrating its own perceived achievements and spending our money to do so. You would think that having a local charity like the Christian Kitchen which feeds the homeless 365 days a year would be worth celebrating, but unfortunately, in 2013 our less than enlightened leaders decided otherwise by revoking its licence to operate from Mission Grove Car Park, Walthamstow, for an hour every evening from 7.30 to 8.30pm. In the battle that followed, which ended with the High Court declaring the Council’s decision unlawf... »

Christian Kitchen, Clyde Loakes, Terry Wheeler, The Labour Party in Waltham Forest

LBWF, the Local Authority Business Growth Initiative programmes, and the Waltham Forest Business Board, E11 Bid Co., and North London Ltd.

Nick Tiratsoo February 13, 2015 Argall Car Parks, E11 BID Co., North London Ltd., Waltham Forest Business Board

A couple of years ago, I started hearing some very surprising things about Leytonstone’s Business Improvement District (BID) company, the E11 Bid Co.. The allegation, in short, was that the directors of the company had failed to keep proper books and neglected to pay their taxes; run up substantial debts; and as a consequence jeopardised the company’s ‘going concern’ status. I had always been suspicious about the E11 BID Co. because there was a lack of transparency about its operations, and a lot of obvious flannel about its alleged successes. I knew that councillors (i... »

Afzal Akram, CCTV cameras, Chris Robbins, Clyde Loakes, contracts, E11 BID Co., LABGI, LBWF, Leytonstone Business Forum CIC, Martin Esom, Michael Polledri, North London Business, North London Ltd., One Stop Shop, past failures, Shifa Mustafa, Terry Wheeler, Waltham Forest Business Board, Waltham Forest Business CIC, Waltham Forest Council, Worknet

Asbestos matters: the Waltham Forest Town Hall fiasco

Nick Tiratsoo February 2, 2015 Town Hall asbestos

The Council’s recent conviction over the asbestos dust that it allowed to pollute the Town Hall has been well covered in the local press, see for example: http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/11734109.Council_admits_failing_to_protect_staff_from_deadly_asbestos/ http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/11746274.Confusion_over_town_hall_asbestos_scandal_as_contractor_denies_involvement/ http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/11737085.Council_employee_exposed_to_asbestos_dust__will_worry_his_entire_life_/ http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/11734195.Campaigners_call_for_individuals_to_be_held_t... »

Afzal Akram, asbestos, Chris Robbins, HSE, LBWF, Mark Rusling, Martin Esom, NPS London Ltd., Shifa Mustafa, St. Mary's School, Terry Wheeler, Waltham Forest Council, Waltham Forest Guardian, Waltham Forest Town Hall