February 26th, 2012 by Mark Rusling

Now that the weather is (hopefully) picking up, we have re-started our regular street surgeries. During a surgery, we visit a road to find out from residents whether there are any issues which we can pick up on their behalf.

Recently, we have held surgeries in Grove, Pendlestone, Granville, Clarendon, Copeland, Fraser, College and Merton Roads. Over the next year, we will be visiting every street in the ward, picking up casework, and then writing to residents to let them know what we have done on their behalf.

Here is the letter that we will be delivering to residents in the above streets:

Dear resident

We are your local councillors for Hoe Street ward – we hope you are well. Recently, we held a street surgery in your road to find out if there are any issues or problems that we can help with. We wanted to update you with what we have been doing on your behalf.

Many people said that the streets are cleaner than they used to be, but that they need to be swept more often. We have arranged for that to happen. Some sections of the footpath in your streets are quite damaged, particularly around tree roots. We have asked council officers to repair these sections.

We have also been in touch with the shops in the part of Hoe Street nearest to your homes, to make sure that the shopkeepers do not contravene planning regulations when they advertise on the footpath.

Many residents mentioned their concern at cars speeding through your streets. We have asked council officers to survey the area and to recommend ways in which we can stop this problem. We have also asked the local police to mount cameras and patrols in the area, to catch persistent offenders.

Finally, we have been in touch with the owners of the Grove Tavern to encourage them to speed up the works on the building. After we arranged for the building to be boarded up, we do not want it to fall into a worse state of disrepair.

If you would like to discuss any of these issues, do get in touch by email or letter. Alternatively, we are holding our next Community Ward Forum on Monday 19 March, from 7pm until 8.30pm, at St Stephen’s Church on Copeland Road. We hope to see you there!

May 12th, 2011 by Mark Rusling

Work will soon start on re-surfacing the footpaths on Copeland Road and Leamington Avenue, as well as the carriageways on Milton Road and Wingfield Road. Council officers hope to start by June this year, and to finish by March 2012.

This year, The Drive has been re-surfaced. Even though the council is going through the toughest financial times in living memory, we are still fighting for the money to renovate roads in the ward. We will let residents know when the works are to start.

March 23rd, 2011 by Mark Rusling

On Monday, we held our first Community Ward Forum, at St Stephen’s Church on Copeland Road. We had a good turn-out and an interesting discussion.

Officers from the council explained about the ways in which residents can get involved in shaping the future of Walthamstow Town Centre. We then heard from the Head of Voluntary Action Waltham Forest, and from the local police Safer Neighbourhood Team. We finished up with an opportunity for residents to ask questions on any topic concerning them.

For details of the discussions and the action points from the meeting, click here. Thank you to all who attended and spoke, and to Hilda Griffith from St Stephen’s Church, who looked after us so well.

February 19th, 2011 by Mark Rusling

Orphan sites have been blighting this borough for years. These are areas – often quite small – which nobody owns or cares for, so which become dirty and unsightly. We have been reporting sites that we have seen in the ward, arranging for them to be cleaned.

The alleyway between Hurst Road and Forest Road is one area – it has become overgrown and is an eyesore. By May, it will have been dealt with – the weeds will be removed and turfed over and the wall will be removed. Overhanging branches will be removed and improved lighting will be installed.

The alleyway between Howard Road and Aubrey Road is prone to fly-tipping, graffiti and anti-social behaviour. This will be improved by the end of May and will be taken over by the Aubrey Road Residents Association.

If there are other orphan sites that need to be sorted, let us know.

Four roads in Hoe Street ward have also been approved for improvement works, after lobbying from Saima, Ahsan and I. Copeland Road, Leamington Avenue, Milton Road and Wingfield Road will all be worked on in the next year.