At the beginning of February, Thorpe Hall School celebrated their 75th anniversary. We were delighted that the Lib Dems were represented by Cllr Bob Belam. The theme of the assembly was the history of the site.

Last year, Cllr Jane Morgan arranged for a blue plaque to be put up at the school. Congratulations to the staff and pupils at the school on the anniversary, here’s to the next 75 years!

A new planning application for Larkshall car park in being heard by the council’s Planning Committee on Tuesday 2nd March. The application is for a major development, and your local Lib Dem councillors will be speaking against it.

The application is being heard at the same time as an appeal is being processed for a separate but very similar application on the same site. The car park is opposite when the proposed Tesco will be, and we’ve heard a lot of residents object to the size of the proposed development. It is big, and when you consider it alongside the massive Tesco proposals, we think it’s a huge over-development in Highams Park.

Lib Dem councillor Sheila Smith-Pryor will be speaking against it, and we expect a number of residents to attend the meeting, which starts at 7.30pm. We’ll let you know what happens.

Nick

Your local Lib Dem councillors are pleased to see a new addition to the ward! An information board can be found at the junction of Hale End Road and Oak Hill, opposite the Royal Oak pub. It’s on the original village green of Hale End, the first settlement in the area.

The board outlines the area’s history and shows Beech Hall which was was demolished in 1964 and the Oak cottages where the ‘Tottenham Outrage’ robbery ended. Councillor Jane Morgan helped to get the board put in. Read the rest of this entry.

Cllrs Jane Morgan and Nick Bason recently visited Thorpe Hall Primary School to talk to parents about the dangerous traffic situation outside the school:

Parents we spoke to voiced concerns about traffic speeding along Hale End Road and had encountered problems with parking regulations not being enforced. This means that it is dangerous for parents and children crossing the road to school.

We got the council to ensure the parking enforcement team regularly visit the area to tackle the problem. We want to hear from parents still experiencing problems as it helps us get the council to take action.

After months of campaigning, the Oyster Card readers at Highams Park station were finally activated on 2 January 2010.

Although they were installed months and months ago, the weren’t activated, meaning people using the station were having to pay higher rail fares.

The Lib Dem Focus Team have been as frustrated as anyone that the readers weren’t working - as my picture shows! We’ve been campaigning with the Lib Dem group in the Greater London Authority to get the readers working. Now travelcard and Pay As You Go customers can use the machines.

We appreciate the pressure residents have been putting on the Mayor’s office, TfL and the national rail operators to get the readers working. It is long overdue, but still good news.

The last Lib Dem Focus of 2009 will be delivered across the ward over the festive period.

Sheila, Jane and I would like to wish everyone a good Christmas and a happy new year. Formal council business finishes with the last Full Council of the year tonight. We will of course still be available for casework across the festive period. Contact details can be found on the site.

The next Focus will be out in early 2010. We hope you all have a happy and peaceful winter break.

The path along the River Ching was cleared on Saturday 14 November in a clean-up organised by the Lib Dem Focus Team.

Despite the rain and wind, Cllrs Jane Morgan, Nick Bason and Sheila Smith-Pryor were joined by residents, local cubs and council officers to clear the path which runs between Hale End Road and Beech Hall Road.

We removed toilet seats, a paddling pool, fence panels and posts - in total, two skips were filled with rubbish. We have asked the council to place a boulder at the Hale End Road entrance to the path to deter fly-tippers. We will monitor it for any further dumping of rubbish.

A big thank you to all who came and helped!

A planning application to permanently extend the licensed hours of the Hurricane Snooker Hall in Hale End Road has been rejected following action from residents and your Lib Dem Focus Team.

The establishment, which is in the old Regal cinema building, has entrances on both Hale End Road and Beech Hall Road. It has previously had a temporary extension to it’s licensed hours, which comes to an end in November 2009. The application was to make this extension of hours permanent.

Read the rest of this entry.

Your Lib Dem Focus Team have organised a clear up of the Ching Path on Saturday 14th November 2009, and we’re looking for volunteer helpers!

We will be clearing the path, which runs between Hale End Road and Beech Hall Road. The path has a lot of litter and green waste on it. It is hazardous, unpleasant for local residents and not accessible.

The clear up will be between 10am and 3.30pm on Saturday 14th November. Gloves and equipment will be provide for all volunteers.You can come for as long as you want. Your help will be very much appreciated!

We aim to make the path a pleasant place to walk!

Lib Dem councillors Jane Morgan and Nick Bason have met with council officers and Tesco themselves to gain clarity for residents on the latest Tesco planning application. The application has been altered recently and some information circulating is now out of date. We want residents to have the full facts about the development. As of 23 July 2009, the application contains the following features:

Read the rest of this entry.

A Blue Plaque for George Gascoigne has been put up in Thorpe Hall School after a request from Cllr Jane Morgan.

The headmistress and the children of Thorpe Hall School were very proud to be associated with George Gascoigne, the Elizabethan writer who lived in Thorpe Hall, on the site of the school.

Your Lib Dem Focus Team are proud of the history of Hale End & Highams Park and are keen to recognise it. If you know of other historical figures with a connection to our local area, get in touch.

There are a number of conflicting reports about the proposed development of a Tesco store in Highams Park. The issue was raised again at the South Chingford Community Council meeting on Monday 13 July.

Your Lib Dem councillors have been in frequent contact with planning officers on the proposals. The situation as of Wednesday 15 July is this:

• The planning application will NOT go to Planning Committee in July, as reported in the press. It is tentatively scheduled in to go to Planning Committee in September.
• A number of different aspects of the plan are still being discussed. Images of the associated housing development on the site circulated in late June are out of date. The design is still being finalised.
• Issues about local traffic are also still being discussed with officers.

Your Lib Dem Focus Team will keep you updated on the proposals. Views at the South Chingford Community Council among residents remains mixed - some in favour, some not. The decision of Planning Committee will be solely on the application submitted, not on previous applications.

We would be happy to hear your views on the development - you can submit them via this website.

On Saturday 4 July your Lib Dem Focus Team arranged a blitz on trade waste around Highams Park parade. We know that there are problems with businesses on Winchester Road and Hale End Road leaving out their trade waste. Residents and local groups have contacted us about the rubbish asking for something to be done.

The Focus Team arranged for enforcement officers to visit every business on those roads checking waste disposal arrangements and clearing rubbish. We got senior staff from the council, as well as the Leader & Deputy Leader of the council and the portfolio holder to spend time in the area to see for themselves the problems and how we are solving them.

Cllrs Sheila Smith-Pryor, Jane Morgan & Nick Bason got officers to spend three hours talking to businesses. Enforcement action was taken against a number of businesses – however there were also success stories and many businesses are being responsible in how they dispose of their waste. There was interest from the local press and we were glad to bring council officers to hear from local businesses first-hand about their issues locally.

Read the rest of this entry.

Lib Dem councillors Jane Morgan and Nick Bason joined teachers and pupils from Thorpe Hall Primary School in cleaning up Railway Terrace on 15 June.

Railway Terrace is behind the school and has previously been targeted for fly-tipping. This has been a persistent problem. However, your Lib Dem Focus Team got the council to organise a Big Clean Up event to improve the area. Jane Morgan and Nick Bason joined enthusiastic pupils, teachers and council officers to blitz the Terrace, which is between Cobham Road and Thorpe Hall Road.

Read the rest of this entry.

The Lib Dem Focus Team welcome council plans to implement road safety measures across the ward, but warn the measures must be proportionate to the problem.

There are a number of schemes planned for 2009/10 in different areas of the ward, with residents still to be consulted on some schemes. Lib Dem councillors Sheila Smith-Pryor and Nick Bason have already intervened in traffic calming plans for the junction of The Charter Road and Henry’s Avenue. Councillor Jane Morgan has urged further investigation into planned parking measures around Belle Vue Road and Hillcrest Road. We listened to residents’ views on both these schemes and took action to persuade the council that measures needed to be proportionate to the problem.

A new road safety scheme is planned along Forest Road, between Woodford New Road and Hale End Road. Consultation leaflets will be going out to residents over the next few months. A public consultation on measures to reduce accidents on Hale End Road between Forest Road and Wadham Road has recently closed, with a good level of interest from residents.

Councillor Nick Bason said: “We are pleased that the council is taking road safety in Hale End & Highams Park seriously, and is backing that up with financial investment. It is crucial that the views of residents are taken into account when designing schemes. The Lib Dems will continue to help find a consensus between the council and residents, to ensure Hale End & Highams Park is safe for all road users.”

If you have concerns about road safety in Hale End & Highams Park, get in touch and let us know your views.

Your Lib Dem Focus Team are urging residents to report anti-social behaviour to the Met and Safer Neighbourhoods Team following recent incidents in Hale End Road.

On Saturday 13 June, trees that had been recently planted by the council were destroyed. Councillors Sheila Smith-Pryor and Nick Bason visited the scene, spoke to residents and discussed the matter with the police officer in attendance. Following that, residents have contacted us about further incidents on the section of the road near Highams Park station.

The police told the Lib Dem Focus Team that they know there is a problem but find some incidents do not get reported to them. We ask residents to report incidents to the Met police on 0300 123 1212 if it is a non-emergency and to the Safer Neighbourhoods Team on 020 8721 2646. If it is an emergency, dial 999. Please let your Focus team know if you have problems getting a response.

Cllr Nick Bason said: “We know there are issues about anti-social behaviour in the area and are working with the police and the council to find a long-term solution. Any information residents can give will help make the area safer for everyone.”

More information on the local Safer Neighbourhoods Team can be found at http://www.met.police.uk/teams/walthamforest/haleendandhighamspark/index.php

Your Hale End & Highams Park Lib Dem Focus Team have produced a version of the story about The Regal fencing for YouTube. The video can be seen at:

http://www.youtube.com/nickbason

We’ll be adding more video updates over the coming weeks and months as another way of keeping you in touch with what we’ve been doing. Please drop me a line about what you’d like to hear about, and do keep checking back!

Following pressure from the Liberal Democrat Focus team, the council are to force the owners of the The Regal (also known as the T Bar) in Highams Park to remove the fencing around the property.

The Regal is on the corner of Hale End Road and Beech Hall Road, near Highams Park Station. The fencing has been up for a long time and there is frequently a lot of rubbish collecting behind it. The Lib Dem councillors have been pressing the council to get the fencing removed for some time, following complaints from residents. However as the fencing is technically on privately owned land, progress has been slow.

At the beginning on June 2009 however, council officers confirmed to your councillors that they have started legal procedings against the owners to force them to take the fencing down. This action may also affect some other parts of the unsightly facade on Beech Hall Road. Council officers expect the action to take up to three months. Your local Lib Dem Focus Team will make sure the council follow through on the promise.