February 10th, 2012 by Mark Rusling

Your three councillors have written to the Planning Inspectorate to call on the Inspector to reject the appeal regarding the EMD Cinema. The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, the owners of the much-loved building, were refused permission to turn the cinema into a church by Waltham Forest Council last year. They are now appealing that decision. We objected to the UCKG’s initial application (read here) and we are objecting to this appeal.

Here is the text of the letter we sent to the Planning Inspectorate:

We would like to object to the above appeals regarding the former Granada (EMD) Cinema and the Victoria Public House at 186 Hoe Street, Walthamstow, E17 4QH. We are the three councillors for the Hoe Street Ward in the London Borough of Waltham Forest – the ward directly opposite the EMD Cinema building. We objected to the UCKG’s application at the Waltham Forest Planning Committee on 18 May 2011 and we object to these appeals.

At the meeting in May 2011, at which councillors unanimously rejected the plans, we noted that, in a ward of over 10,000 voters, not one resident or business had contacted us to support the UCKG’s application. As of the date of this letter, that remains the case. Local residents are overwhelmingly opposed to the UCKG’s plans for this much-loved building.

The UCKG’s plans have been rejected twice by Waltham Forest Council, and once by the Planning Inspector and the Secretary of State. Although the UCKG has made small, cosmetic changes to their plans since their first application, these changes are not material. The applications to which these appeals relate remain substantially the same as the applications which were previously rejected on appeal. Therefore, we believe that the Planning Inspector should reject these appeals in the same way.

Walthamstow is an incredibly diverse place, and we are proud of that diversity. Any plans for the EMD Cinema building must include the whole community, and not exclude most. At the Planning Committee meeting in May 2011, Pastor Paul Hill, property manager for the UCKG, shouted at the Committee: “the cinema is ours!”. This does not give us confidence that the building would be open for all the community to use. This makes us believe that, as with UCKG buildings elsewhere in London, a once much-used community asset would be permanently lost should the UCKG be granted planning permission to change the EMD Cinema building’s use.

We do not believe that the UCKG’s plans would add to the entertainment offer and economy of Walthamstow. We do not believe that they would contribute to the regeneration of Walthamstow Town Centre. We believe that the plans would create enormous traffic problems for an already-crowded part of London. The problems of parking are already acute for our residents – the UCKG has not shown how it would stop their plans from contributing to that congestion.
The EMD Cinema building has been a focal point for the community since 1887. The UCKG’s plans would remove the building from the public, allowing only a small number of people to access its charms. Other plans put forward for the building by the Waltham Forest Cinema Trust would open the building to the whole community – not just in Waltham Forest, but throughout London and South East England.

Planning guidelines recommend that a listed building’s original use should be the first option for its continuing use, wherever possible. It is possible for the EMD Cinema building to remain in its original use, as a public building for entertainment, not as a private building for worship. We urge the Planning Inspectorate to affirm the decision of Waltham Forest’s elected representatives, to uphold their own guidelines, and to reject these appeals.

November 22nd, 2011 by Mark Rusling

Yesterday we held the third Hoe Street Community Ward Forum, and agreed our ward spending for the next year. A good turnout of around 60 people discussed a number of matters concerning the ward, and agreed the organisations to benefit from funding. Notes from the meeting are below. Congratulations to all the groups that were successful!

Notes from Hoe Street Community Ward Forum – 21 November 2011
1. Welcome and introductions
Cllr Ahsan Khan introduced speakers and Cllr Saima Mahmud and Cllr Mark Rusling.

2. EMD Cinema
Neil Gerrard of the Waltham Forest Cinema Trust spoke about plans for the EMD Cinema building. He spoke about the history of the building. The council refused the UCKG’s planning application in May 2011 and the deadline for the UCKG to appeal that decision passed on 18 November. As far as the Trust knew, no appeal had been lodged.

The Trust received £15,000 from Waltham Forest Council and £15,000 from Arts Council England to bring forward architects’ and business plans for the venue. Curzon Cinemas are interested in operating the cinema, alongside a restaurant, bar and community use. The Trust believed that the proposals would work alongside a multiplex cinema in the Arcade site. Residents were positive about the proposals.

3. Walthamstow Town Centre Regeneration
Sam Neal and Steven Boyes of LBWF spoke about plans for South Grove, the Arcade site, renovating shop fronts at the top of the High Street, re-vamping Walthamstow Market, and the Travelodge to be built in the car park of Walthamstow Central Station.

Residents mentioned the need for school places to match the new accommodation on the Arcade site. Councillors agreed.

Residents were concerned about the potential height of the Arcade development. Officers confirmed that, in the current plans, the highest part of the building will be six stories.

A resident complained about the timing of consultation events on the Central Station development – these were arranged during the day. Steven Boyes agreed to investigate this and arrange for events to be held during the evening.

4.  Attlee Terrace
Alan Bardsell of Ascham Homes spoke about plans for Attlee Terrace. Pram sheds are to be removed and video access security doors installed. Railings around the side and back of the estate will replace walls and more provision for parking will be made.

5. Ward Fund 2011/12
Cllr Khan explained the change from Community Councils to Community Ward Forums. Councillors recommended the following allocation of funding, which the meeting agreed.

Deaf Club - £1530 - Club for deaf and deafened people in the borough working out of Orford Social Club
Friends of Wingfield Park - £2080 - For play equipment in Wingfield Park
Drawing Shed - £1920 - Young women’s theatre group, based out of Walthamstow School for Girls
Ask Freda - £700 - Community notice boards by Batten House, The Drive
Senior Citizens Asian Group - £1000 - Coffee mornings, health services, trips
Asian Centre - £1900 - Youth club for local young people of all backgrounds
Hornbeam Centre - £600 - Cookery classes for local young people

6. General discussion
Residents raised the following questions:
(a) Many street signs are painted over in white and are unreadable. Action: this has been reported.
(b) Residents want the council to publicise the offer to swap large bins for smaller ones. Residents questioned whether this could be advertised in Waltham Forest News and whether the offer applied to residents living outside the conservation zone. Action: councillors will find out and feed back.
(c) CPZ signs on Fraser Road have been defaced. Action: this has been reported.
(d) Can residents clean defaced CPZ signs themselves? Action: councillors will find out and feed back.
(e) Residents asked about progress on improvement notices served on landlords of two properties in Woodbury Road. Action: councillors will find out and feed back.
(f) Gullies are being cleaned across the ward.
(g) A resident raised a question about enforcement action on Second Avenue. Notices have been served this week and Cllr Khan has fed back to the resident.
(h) Can all planning applications be reported in Waltham Forest News? Action: councillors will find out and feed back.
(i) A resident raised concerns about the property wall on the corner of Church Hill and Howard Road, which is falling down. Action: councillors will feed back.
(j) Can Hoe Street by hosed down, especially areas around rubbish bins and metal shutters belonging to shopkeepers? Action: councillors will find out and feed back.

July 15th, 2011 by Mark Rusling

Save Walthamstow Cinema is preparing an oral history project as part of the E17 Art Trail. The group is gathering memories and thoughts on the cinema from the people of Waltham Forest. They are inviting residents to send in drawings or written pieces or to arrange a video interview.

The project – “A people’s history of the EMD/Granada Cinema – looking ahead and looking back” – will show real-life stories from across the decades.

Anyone wanting to contribute to the collection should email storytelling@savewalthamstowcinema.org, look out for Save Our Cinema on facebook or twitter or send a letter to Save Walthamstow Cinema, 39-41 High Street, London, E17 7AD.

May 19th, 2011 by Mark Rusling

Last night the UCKG’s planning application to turn the former EMD cinema into a church was turned down by the council’s Planning Committee by 7 votes to 0. All three Hoe Street councillors were at the meeting, and I spoke on behalf of us, and our residents. Here are some excerpts from my speech:

“There is an important principle at stake here: the right of communities to decide how their areas should look and feel. Inevitably, there will be sincerely-held views on both sides of any planning application – and your committee has to adjudicate between those sincerely-held views. You must make sure that everyone’s voices are heard – not just the voices of the loudest.

But I represent over 10,000 people and I can honestly say that I have not spoken to one resident or business in Hoe Street ward who supports this application. I am sure that some do, and I respect their views, but I have not spoken to them or met them. So I join with the many people who have contacted me about this great building, and I urge the committee to reject this application.

The application has already been rejected by this council, and by the Planning Inspector and Secretary of State on appeal. It doesn’t look particularly different to me and officers have recommended that you reject it.

Walthamstow and Waltham Forest is an incredibly diverse place. Like many people here tonight, I wasn’t born here. But I am incredibly proud to call this most diverse of boroughs home. And that is why any plans for the EMD cinema building must include all our residents, and not exclude most. To put it mildly, the words spoken by the Pastor – “the cinema is ours” – do not inspire confidence that this building would include all local residents and not exclude the majority.

The plans must add to our borough’s entertainment and cultural venues. They must create jobs, particularly for the young people of our borough, and they must regenerate the Town Centre. Finally, they must preserve this fantastic historical landmark and not let it rot, as appears to be happening at the moment.

I want to see the building remaining in local hands, not because I am a ‘little Walthamstower’. But because I want the local community to control a building which has held such a special place in the life of the borough since 1887. A building that has hosted one of my musical heroes, Johnny Cash. For all these reasons, I urge the committee to ‘walk the line’ and reject this application”

April 29th, 2010 by Mark Rusling

Some of you will have received a Lib Dem leaflet yesterday, which stupidly was put under car windscreen wipers. Many of the leaflets have blown away, littering the ward. Street cleaning is currently a Lib Dem responsibility on the council – a responsibility that they have failed to uphold. And now they add to the mess by creating their own litter!

Not only that, but the leaflet mentions “your local Lib Dem team”, with a photo. Well, they don’t seem to be too local to me – these three people are standing in Lea Bridge ward, not in Hoe Street. The leaflet mentions the lack of a cinema in Walthamstow, blaming that on Labour. They seem to forget that the cinema is in High Street ward – a ward with two Lib Dem councillors! What have they been doing for the last four years?

We want the Lib Dems to stop shifting the blame for dirty streets and the cinema onto others. Your local Hoe Street Labour team (unlike ‘your local Lib Dem team’, we aren’t standing in Lea Bridge ward!) has pledged an extra £1 million for street cleaning – to go into the council, not Kier. Read our statement on the EMD cinema building - we want a cinema in the EMD and, unlike the Lib Dems, we won’t make promises to get your vote on May 6th that we can’t fulfil on May 7th.

If you vote Labour in Hoe Street, what you see is what you’ll get - and that includes cleaner streets, and a team who knows which ward they’re standing in!

April 16th, 2010 by Mark Rusling

On Sunday 25 April, we will be attending the hustings on the future of the EMD Cinema, organised by the McGuffin Film Society. The event will take place at 5pm at Walthamstow School for Girls, Church Hill. We expect the hustings to attract a lot of interest, and look forward to seeing you there.

We have provided the following statement on the cinema to McGuffins – let us know what you think of it.

During the last year, we have knocked on every door in our ward at least once, speaking to hundreds of residents about every aspect of Walthamstow life. We have listened to your concerns, which have been raised alongside many other issues. Like you, we want two things – the provision of a cinema in Waltham Forest and the restoration of the old EMD cinema building in a carbon-neutral way. This would benefit the whole community and provide a boost to Walthamstow’s night time economy. We would be delighted for the EMD building to be restored in a carbon-neutral way and run as a cinema by a private, independent operator, and we will happily work with McGuffins and any individual or organisation with a credible plan for doing this. Because of this, we welcome the announcement by Council Leader, Cllr Chris Robbins, that the Council will be funding an independent report into the viability of operating a sustainable and profitable cinema in the EMD building.

However, we will not make costly and unrealistic promises to win your votes on May 6th, only to find that we have no way of fulfilling them on May 7th. The EMD building is owned by the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God – not by the Council. We will not call for the Council to buy the building from the Church – a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) would be costly, lengthy and would not be guaranteed to be successful. Even if it were successful, the Council would have neither the extensive funds needed to refurbish the building, nor the expertise to run a cinema in it. Funding the CPO, refurbishment and operating costs would mean less money for schools, housing and care for vulnerable adults and children – or council tax increases. The poorest people in our borough would suffer from this.

We believe that any planning permission relating to the building should ensure continuous and extensive access for the public. We will investigate any option, and work with any organisation (including, of course, McGuffins) which can achieve our aims – a cinema in Waltham Forest and a refurbished EMD building open to the public. Our preference is for the building to re-open as a cinema. However, we will be open with residents in saying that this will not be easy – or cheap. We will not make easy promises to you now that we know we cannot keep after the election. We are in this for the long run, and we will work with you.

We would be very happy to discuss this with any Hoe Street residents – you can contact us through this website. We look forward to hearing from you. 

March 11th, 2010 by Mark Rusling

Some residents may have received a Lib Dem leaflet addressed to “Hoe Steet” ward over the weekend. The leaflet claims that Labour councillors want to turn the EMD cinema into a church. This is untrue – Labour councillors in Hoe Street are working to re-open the cinema. Don’t take our word for it – check out the McGuffin Film Society website: http://mcguffinfilmsociety.wordpress.com/councillor-watch/ and scroll down to Hoe Street ward.

The leaflet also suggests that Labour is planning to increase parking charges. Again, this is untrue. As we have stated many times on this website, we have pledged to reduce residents’ parking permits to £30 and provide free visitors’ permits.

We believe in being positive and up-front with residents, which is only fair, as we are asking you to vote for us! That’s why we have knocked on every door in the ward since August and we are starting again now - we feel that it is important for candidates to talk with residents directly rather than simply handing them a flyer. 

We will not misrepresent our own policies, or those of our opponents. By listening to your concerns and explaining our policies, we hope to represent you better in the council chamber. Handing out misleading leaflets at election time is no substitute for holding a conversation with residents all year round.