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Local Democracy Reporter Josh Mellor exposes the botched refurbishment of LBWF’s John Walsh and Fred Wigg towers in Leytonstone

July 12, 2023 Fred Wigg and John Walsh Towers, Redevelopment

Local Democracy Reporter Josh Mellor has just published a terrific story in the Waltham Forest Echo about the botched refurbishment of LBWF’s John Walsh and Fred Wigg towers in Leytonstone, which has taken four years and millions of pounds, but for the most part remains incomplete: https://walthamforestecho.co.uk/2023/07/12/montague-road-estate-tenants-accuse-council-of-badly-mismanaging-refurbishment-works/ It’s all there: shoddy workmanship, cheap materials, haphazard job scheduling, spiralling costs, indifference to resident anxieties, and, as the programme failed, the coup de grace, LBWF’s surreptitious appointment of a consultant to ‘examine options’ – it’s al... »

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Mr. Hynes asbestos inquiry report is still awaited, though promised for June, and meanwhile LBWF continues to fight off awkward questioning

July 7, 2023 Asbestos at St. Mary's School, Town Hall asbestos

In various statements made from the end of 2022 onwards, LBWF Director of Governance and Law, Mark Hynes, reiterated that he aimed to complete the report of his asbestos investigation by June 2023. In May 2023, the Leader, Cllr. Grace Williams, backed him up, telling councillors ‘we are expecting the final report imminently’, and elaborating: ‘the Monitoring Officer anticipates [it] will be available no later than June this year’. June has come and gone, but without any sign of the report, or any explanation as to why it is delayed. When asked, Mr. Hynes comments only: ‘I appreciate your continued patience on this matter. I hope to have finalised the report shortly’. One theor... »

Some councillors seem to have been put on earth purely to entertain us. But are they having the last laugh?

July 3, 2023 Cllr. Ahsan Khan, Cllr. Alistair Strathern, Cllr. Anna Mbachu, Cllr. Johar Khan, Cllr. Keith Rayner

In a recent Waltham Forest Echo story, Local Democracy Reporter Josh Mellor reports that one of Waltham Forest’s finest, Cllr. Alistair Strathern, is standing for Labour in the eagerly awaited Mid Bedfordshire bye-election, and while a bit hazy about local issues, believes he is an upgrade on the Tory incumbent, Nadine Dorries, because she has been a ‘“part-time M.P”’, presumably a reference to her novels and TV work. A nice attack line, perhaps, but a somewhat strange one nevertheless. For since 2021, while Cllr. Strathern has been Cabinet portfolio holder for children and young people, one of the most demanding and important posts there is in local government, he also has be... »

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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... »

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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... »

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