A note for readers…
This is a personal blog, which aims to scrutinise the powers that be in Waltham Forest, from the Council (hereafter London Borough of Waltham Forest or LBWF), both elected members and staff; to our MP... »
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A local resident writes in about LBWF ‘traffic calming measures’ that do the opposite! UPDATED
The post that follows, contributed by a local resident, describes how badly thought-out traffic calming schemes in Waltham Forest are producing damaging consequences. It is a valuable case study in it... »
Explainer: the current Waltham Forest Town Hall asbestos scandal in ten bite-sized chunks
1. In 2022, I discovered that a specialist firm, commissioned on behalf of LBWF, had surveyed the Town Hall two years previously, and found that asbestos was present throughout but especially in the b... »
Leyton and Wanstead MP John Cryer calls out Labour anti-semitism again…but for his far-left party colleagues he is a liar and a Tory
More fun and games in the local Labour Party, so often the home of the gutter. A couple of weeks ago, John Cryer, M.P. for Leyton and Wanstead and Chair of the Parliamentary Party, took to Twitter and... »
The Town Hall asbestos investigation led by LBWF Director of Governance and Law Mark Hynes now has been running for 100 working days, yet not delivered a single finding. What gives?
Director of Governance and Law Mark Hynes’ investigation into my apprehension that, from 2015 to 2021, LBWF may not have managed the large amounts of asbestos that riddled the Town Hall in line with t... »
Walthamstow resident and community activist Charlie Edwards dismantles LBWF’s claim that it ‘consulted’ before installing 500 new bike hangers
In the past, this blog has been somewhat sceptical about LBWF’s Mini-Holland and associated ‘active travel’ interventions, primarily because when the bombast was stripped away, careful investigation o... »
LBWF councillors: what do they do, and is it value for money? An update.
In essence, the relationship between residents and councillors is an informal contract. Residents agree to pay councillors from the public purse For their part, councillors, amongst other things, atte... »
LBWF’s fiefdom: ‘borough of culture’ or borough of dysentery?
One recurring theme in LBWF’s endless self-promotion is that, thanks to the Town Hall’s efforts, Waltham Forest is an unusually appealing place, the borough of ‘the Stow’ and ‘the Stone’, ‘quirky... »
Hate crime in Waltham Forest: setting aside the scary rhetoric, is it as bad as LBWF claims?
Introduction In the last few years, LBWF has regularly asserted that Waltham Forest is afflicted by ‘an unprecedented rise’ in damaging hate crime – especially, according to senior councillors, racist... »
Looking back at the past, an occasional series. Part three: Private Eye reports on LBWF’s feeble attempts to curb Islamist extremism
From Private Eye No.1407, 11/12-18/12/15 As a previous post noted: ‘Perhaps curiously, given LBWF’s decidedly chequered record in identifying and addressing Islamist extremism, Martin Esom, the ... »
After 64 working days, LBWF Director of Governance and Law, Mark Hynes, is still to complete his asbestos inquiry, ratcheting up public unease
In an e-mail of 30 January 2023, LBWF Director of Governance and Law Mark Hynes writes: ‘Although I was hoping to have concluded my review into the concerns you raised about asbestos management compli... »