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 things, the E11 BID Co. is a private business set up with the support of LBWF to improve the trading e... »

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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 Labour whip, pending an investigation. That investigation has now happened, and Cllr. Barnett is res... »

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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 now appears that this happy picture is by no means the whole truth. Very recently, I have obtained a ... »

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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 aims and objectives of Prevent work in the borough. Additionally, disclosure would raise public awa... »

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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 £66,810, and £86,700 – no doubt quite legal, and normal, too, in some circles, but still rather sho... »

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