Posts

The E11 BID Co. and its debts: the evidence

August 14, 2015 E11 BID Co., Fawaad Sheikh, LBWF, Waltham Forest Business Board

Over recent years, the E11 BID Co. has regularly been in the news, mainly for the wrong reasons. The latest, and most unsavoury episode, saw LBWF, operating on behalf of the E11 BID Co., take local Leytonstone businesses to court, gain a successful adjudication, and then call in the bailiffs, with the Waltham Forest Guardian reporting as follows: http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/13506732.Bailiffs_try_to_remove_chairs_and_tables_from_popular_restaurant_in_battle_over_E11_Bid_fees/ This post and its successor look at some of the background. Briefly, for those who don’t follow these th... »

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Barnett v. Dhedi: the denouement UPDATED

August 11, 2015 Cllr. Peter Barnett, Cllr. Shabana Dhedi/Qadir, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest, Waltham Forest Labour Party

Regular readers of this blog will remember my earlier post describing a spat between Cllr. Peter Barnett and Cllr. Shabana Dhedi (sometimes Shabana Qadir), the essence of which apparently revolved around a late night Facebook exchange, the possible excuses that could be made for the Charlie Hebdo murderers, and some intemperate Anglo-Saxon. What was an obvious molehill soon became a mountain, with the on-cue involvement of sundry third parties, the parading of bruised feelings, and impassioned accusations of racism and ‘Islamophobia’. The upshot? Cllr. Barnett found himself suspended from the ... »

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Town Hall asbestos: new revelations

July 31, 2015 Town Hall asbestos

Before, during, and after its recent court case over asbestos contamination in the Town Hall, LBWF gave the impression that, having been made aware of the problem in early 2012, it then spent a large sum of money making the building safe. Thus, to give one example, a LBWF briefing dated 16 July 2012 states: ‘From 24th February – 19th May, the contractor carried out the decontamination work removing all dust and debris [Emphasis Added]. Where positive readings were recorded, any files that were exposed were deemed potentially contaminated. In some areas this is substantial’. However, it n... »

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LBWF and the anti-terrorist Prevent programme: is it wise to keep it in the closet?

July 28, 2015 LBWF spin, Martin Esom, Past failures: overview, Prevent

In early June of this year, I asked LBWF under the Freedom of Information Act for a list of its current Prevent contracts, with for each its start and finish dates, the name of the contractor, the value of the contract, and a brief description of what the contract aims to achieve. A few days ago, my request was refused, with LBWF arguing as follows: ‘Waltham Forest Council recognises the public interest in transparency and openness in local government; and in the context of this Freedom of Information request, such openness would increase public understanding and inform public debate about the... »

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The Waltham Forest Business Board and North London Ltd hit the buffers?

July 23, 2015 Argall Car Parks, E11 BID Co., North London Ltd., Waltham Forest Business Board

In several previous posts, I’ve looked in detail at some of the organisations that purport to represent business in the borough, particularly the Waltham Forest Business Board, and North London Ltd. It is fair to say that few of my observations have been very favourable. For example, I’ve never quite got my head around the fact that in the three years immediately after the directors of North London Ltd. had initially accessed copious sums of public money in 2004, the ‘Directors’ emoluments’ column in their annual accounts reached £161,387, before receding to £66,8... »

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Town Hall asbestos: a telling example of how LBWF neglected its statutory duties

July 9, 2015 Town Hall asbestos

I am currently collating further material on the Town Hall asbestos scandal, and much of it is very revealing. Here is a brief taste. As is by now widely known, LBWF first found out about asbestos in the Town Hall in 1984, though it was a subsequent survey of 2002 that filled in many of the details. In late 2011, LBWF decided to refurbish the Town Hall basement and reception areas, and in advance of this work, used NPS London Ltd. to commission a new asbestos survey, this time by GBNS Ltd. GBNS Ltd.’s operative begun his work on 19 January 2012 and reported back his findings to LBWF on 1 Febru... »

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‘John Cryer MP Once Lived Here’ UPDATED

July 7, 2015 John Cryer MP, MPs, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

A correspondent writes: ‘People viewing properties in Leyton may have come across a flat in Lawton Road E10. In estate agent jargon, this well appointed property has two bedrooms, modern kitchen and bathroom; is located in a quiet residential street close to the cricket ground; and is well served by local buses. The estate agent may or may not relate that this nice but otherwise unremarkable flat was until very recently the home of John Cryer, the MP for Leyton and Wanstead, who purchased it in 2012 after promising to move to the constituency if selected to be the Labour candidate at the... »

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Cllr. Patrick Edwards speaks out

June 18, 2015 Cllr.Patrick Edwards, Fred Wigg and John Walsh Towers, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

According to the Waltham Forest Guardian, Labour Cllr. Patrick Edwards, of Cann Hall ward, has now publicly broken ranks with his party’s leadership, and come out strongly in favour of the tenants in Fred Wigg and John Walsh Towers being balloted about the Council’s plans for the redevelopment of their homes. He is quoted as saying: ‘”I support redeveloping Fred Wigg and John Walsh but it’s important that the people who are going to live there back it too. We’ve moved a long way from the era where people were told what was good for them to one where they can... »

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Private Eye reports the E11 BID Co.

June 18, 2015 E11 BID Co., Fawaad Sheikh, North London Ltd., Private Eye, Waltham Forest Business Board

A little bit out of sequence, but for those who didn’t see it, this story (see ‘Lost in the Forest’, centre column, bottom) is interesting on LBWF and the E11 BID Co., the subject of previous posts. Its from Private Eye no.1388, 20 March-2 April 2015. »

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Private Eye reports the Town Hall asbestos scandal

June 15, 2015 Private Eye, Town Hall asbestos

See ‘Dust to Dust’, centre column, bottom of page. From Private Eye no. 1394, 12-25 June 2015. »

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