Leytonstone cartoonist Woox on LBWF’s housing policies
(Reproduced by kind permission of Woox) »
Nick Tiratsoo's Posts
LBWF’s flagship Blackhorse Yard ‘affordable’ housing scheme teeters, as developer Swan Housing steps away
The future of LBWF’s flagship ‘affordable’ housing scheme at Blackhorse Yard has been thrown into disarray, following the withdrawal of one of its two developers, Swan Housing. Swan Housing and its partner, Catalyst Homes, originally had gained planning permission for Blackhorse Yard in February 2019, and intended to deliver ‘359 affordable homes for shared ownership’, together with... »
Asbestos in Waltham Forest Town Hall: LBWF CEO Martin Esom answers the criticisms…sort of
On 1 July just passed, LBWF CEO Martin Esom e-mailed his response to the various points that I recently raised with him about asbestos in the Town Hall and the Assembly Hall (see his e-mail pasted below, and links to my correspondence at the bottom of the page). Mr. Esom is extravagantly paid and also on the government’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Board, and so it is a reasonable expectatio... »
Asbestos in Waltham Forest Town Hall: a new LBWF disgrace? Part Two
I have sent the letter pasted below to LBWF Chief Executive, Martin Esom, and will post his response when received. 24 June 2022 Dear Mr. Esom, I note that in a submission about an ex-employee’s asbestosis that was part of legal proceedings in 2019, LBWF’s defence team ‘specifically denied that members of the public who visited Walthamstow Town Hall for ordinary civic functions were inevitably (or... »
Asbestos in Waltham Forest Town Hall: a new LBWF disgrace? Part One
I have sent the letter pasted below to LBWF Chief Executive, Martin Esom, and will post his response when received. 10 June 2022 Dear Mr. Esom, Asbestos in the Town Hall Prompted by recent media coverage, I have been looking again at how asbestos was managed in the Town Hall from around 2013 to June 2020, when of course the whole building was closed. I note the following: 1. At various times durin... »
Property giant Long Harbour buys up the c.500 ‘build to rent flats’ in the redeveloped Walthamstow Mall, but will leaseholders be adequately protected? UPDATED
In late 2017, LBWF granted developers Capital & Regional (hereafter C&R) and Mount Anvil planning permission to redevelop the Mall site in Walthamstow, that is, extend the existing retail space, add two new tower blocks with c.500 ‘build to rent’ flats, one third ‘affordable’, and re-model the surrounding public realm. The objective was to transform and so revive what the senior offic... »
Despite being berated by the Information Commissioner’s Office in 2020, LBWF failings over the Freedom of Information Act continue
Over recent years, there has been growing unease about the way that LBWF responds to Freedom of Information Act requests from the public. Indeed, in July 2020, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) took the almost unprecedented step of issuing LBWF with a Practice Recommendation, which itemised in detail what it had been doing wrong, and what it must put right. However, a recent case suggest... »
After a complaint, LBWF’s legal eagle, Mark Hynes, rules that Cllr. Anna Mbachu’s register of interests is compliant, but inevitably questions remain
Some weeks ago, on 6 April 2022, I complained to LBWF Director of Governance and Law, Mark Hynes, that Cllr. Anna Mbachu’s register of interests (RoI) did not make reference to the fact that she was a director of Anna Mbachu Educate Orphans and Support The Widows Ltd. (company number 12321223), incorporated on 19 November 2019, and Association of British Nigeria Councillors UK Ltd. (company n... »
New LBWF fire safety scandal: Northwood and St Georges Court towers have had high risk failings for years, and nothing has been done about them
LBWF is currently embarked on a £40m. programme of ‘building safety works’. Much of this sum will be spent on its 14 tower blocks, all of which require substantial modifications, to the extent that for many months Waking Watch arrangements (where ‘suitably trained persons continually patrol all floors and the exterior perimeter of the building in order to detect a fire, raise the alarm, and ... »
Cllr. Anna Mbachu seeks permission to appeal her recent libel trouncing, but is refused, meaning she’s on the hook for £34,000
As previously reported here, Cllr. Anna Mbachu recently lost a libel action she had brought at the High Court, and in spectacular fashion, too, so leaving her with a £34,000 bill. Subsequently, she decided to seek permission for an appeal, and on the 29 March just past the Rt. Hon. Lord Justice Welby of the Court of Appeal, Civil Division, gave his verdict. It is fair to say that he was less ... »