hang on ...

The meeting originally scheduled for (Thursday) 13th January 2011 at Coppermill School has been cancelled.

The Council has decided to abolish Community Councils from the beginning of January 2011. They are to be replaced with "Community Ward Forums", which will cover individual wards, and will provide an opportunity for residents to meet directly with their Ward Councillors in the setting of an open meeting.

Last update: Sunday 9 January 2011

Sorry this website has become so out of date - not enough hours in the day!

This site is wholly unofficial and is maintained (very erratically) by the current Community Chair, Philip Herlihy. Nothing here is endorsed or approved by the London Borough of Waltham Forest, or any Member, or Officer. (Or anyone, really!)

Be sure to visit also the Council's official site for the Walthamstow West Community Council. You may also be interested in the discussions of local affairs that can be found on the Walthamstow Yahoo Group.

new Budget dramatically increased from June 2008. More...

Comment: Does censorship affect Community Councils?

Comment: How big a voice should Councillors have in the Community Forum?

Links: A growing collection of external links of interest to local people.

Forthcoming Meetings:

Note that the annual budget spend process will be launched at the next meeting, and both residents and groups should start planning their bids!

Last Meeting:

Help Form« We have a "Help Form" What is PDF?, available (orange). The idea is to make Community Councils more accessible. If there is any reason you prefer not to speak at the meeting you can use this form to ask a question, raise a concern, or make a comment (anonymously if you wish). The form is also useful when you feel the exact wording of your comment or question is important. The Chairs of the meeting will do everything they can to see that you get a reply before the next meeting.

EvaluationFinally, there are Evaluation Forms What is PDF? available (yellow) - your comments are welcome and are studied carefully. »

These forms can only be accepted at a Community Council meeting

(Last update: 28 June 2009)

What's it all about?

trafficlight

Meeting:

Monday 5 January 2009, 7:30 pm

Venue:Chapel End Junior School, Roberts Road, E17 4LS

Post-meeting comments:

Another lively meeting, and we over-ran again - perhaps we need to go back to the earlier start-time. Keith Hanshaw gave a spirited account of how the Council is improving its monitoring of street-cleansing and adapting to a changing situation. Questions were equally spirited!

Lots of people were there to voice opposition to the opening of an access to the recreation ground via Cheshire Close (Chapel End), and one brave soul all in favour, with very eloquent arguments made on both sides, after a detailed presentation by Nick Burton (head of the council's Greenspace department). A difficult job for councillors to resolve, as they couldn't ignore the strength of feeling but they also have to find a solution which meets the needs of the wider area. In the event it was decided to attempt to set up a wider study to look into issues like "designing out crime" while maximising the use that could be made of this land. Meanwhile, the Community Council funding is ring-fenced for this purpose. Similarly, the Higham Hill councillors had found very mixed opinions on developing a play area at Millfield Avenue, and that too was deferred while further enquiries are made. Not much time left over for other issues in the Community Forum - we need to manage this better.

Do see the slides for full details, including the latest statement on the Arcade site (P19).

trafficlight

Meeting:

Monday 6 October 2008, 7:15 pm

Venue: Walthamstow Academy, Billet Road.

new Lengthy post-meeting reflections, in rueful response to the local Guardian's blunt assessment!

If you were one of the 128 people there, you'll know that this meeting did not go smoothly! You may be interested to know that intense discussions followed within the Community Council teams, and the many lessons learned at this meeting were quickly applied to the next. I'm pleased to report that the Leytonstone meeting on the 20th October went entirely smoothly, with residents applauding as each award was settled. Further reviews will take place when this cycle of meetings is complete.

trafficlight

Meeting:

Monday 9 June 2008, 7:15 pm

Venue:Lloyd Park Theatre

Post-meeting comments:

trafficlight

Meeting:

Monday 28 January 2008, 7:15 pm

Venue:Chapel End Junior School, Roberts Road, E17 4LS

trafficlight

Meeting:

Monday 19 November 2007, 7:30 pm

Venue:Walthamstow Academy

This meeting was the first since the Review of Community Councils, in which views and suggestions from a wide range of contributors were sought. You can read the summary proposals. (19 Kb What is PDF?)

There was much discussion about the Library Service and other topics concerning the Arts, Leisure and Culture portfolio. Responses now available here...

We also voted on:

  1. proposals (9 Kb What is PDF?) for our £10.000 annual budget, and
  2. who is to be Community Chair and Vice-Chair for the coming year - these are interesting and rewarding roles, and you can put your name forward on the night if you'd like to be involved.

trafficlight

Meeting:

Monday 10 September 2007, 7:30 pm

Venue:Lloyd Park Theatre

trafficlight

Meeting:

calendar Monday 2 July 2007, 7:30 pm

Venue:Mission Grove Primary School

trafficlight

Meeting:

calendar Monday 5 February 2007, 7:30 pm

Venue:Hillyfield Primary School

Meeting:

 Monday 20 November 2006, 7:30 pm

Venue:Lloyd Park Theatre

Among other things we voted on suggestions made at the previous meeting for projects for our Community Council's £10.000 budget. This handout (37 kb What is PDF?) has more information. Here is a summary (12 Kb) What is PDF? of the options on which residents voted at the meeting. More detailed information (everything we have) can be found here (30 Kb) What is PDF?,

We're also inviting volunteers to become our "Observer" on the Police-Community Consultative Group. You can find an application form and more information about these lively and interesting meetings here (18 Kb) What is PDF?. Note that anyone can attend these meetings, but it would be helpful to have a specific observer from the Community Council who could alert us at future meetings to issues affecting this area.

presentationYou can download the presentation from the Primary Care Trust "Fit for the Future" (220 Kb) What is PDF?.

 

Meeting:

 Monday 4 September 2006, 7:30 pm

Venue:Chapel End Junior School, Roberts Road, E17 4LS

Cllr Afzal Akram (Cabinet Portfolio holder for Community Safety) with Chief Inspector Mark Benbow (Met Police Borough Commander) presented this brief statement (23Kb What is PDF?) on the recent arrests in connection with an alleged terrorist conspiracy. To allow more time for discussion of this and other "hot" topics, it was decided to defer item 7 (on Youth Activities) to a later meeting.

We asked residents for new suggestions for projects for our Community Council's £10.000 budget. You can still submit suggestions by ringing the Community Council team (020 8496 3000) until Monday 11 September - after that the existing suggestions will be costed and evaluated before the next meeting. This handout (37k What is PDF?) has more information.

Post-meeting comments:

Meeting:

 Wednesday 28 June 2006, 7:30 pm

Venue: Stoneydown Park School, Pretoria Avenue, E17 6JY

Post-meeting comments:

Meeting:

Monday 16 January 2006, 7:30 pm

Consultation: Mark Yeadon, Consultation Manager for LBWF, gave a presentation on "Consultation: Past, Present & Future", explaining how the consultation process is expected to work in the future. Download What is PDF? (81 Kb)

coins

This meeting gave residents an opportunity to vote on our £10,000 budget. Residents had already narrowed spending down to three themes, and this time they voted on specific proposals What is PDF? for the benefit of our area.

Voting Results:

Residents' Priorities
Project Votes
Football Pitches
53
Schools Environmental
44
Mobile Youth Club
35
Basketball Posts
26
Operation 'Payback'
26
Running Track
21
Play Equipment
16
Teen Seating
14
Street Warden Patrols
11
Councillors' Decisions
Project Allocation
Football Pitches
£700
Schools Environmental
£2000
Mobile Youth Club
£5000
Basketball Posts
£3000
Operation Payback
remainder

 

Only Councillors have the legal authority to make binding decisions at CC meetings - that's why the Chair changes over near the end of the meeting as the meeting enters a "formal" stage. In practice, Residents vote on priorities and then, as Residents watch and listen, the team of ward Councillors convert those priorities into practical decisions ready to be implemented. I believe this process works well, as Councillors are used to "haggling" and can usually tidy up any loose ends quickly and efficiently. We haven't yet had a situation where Councillors vota against the priorities of residents - when/if that happens I think we'll be in for an interesting night!

Meeting:

Monday 7 November 2005, 7:30 pm

This meeting included a workshop in which residents combined in small groups to discuss new ideas for how to use our £10,000 budget for 2005/6. After discussion, residents voted for the following three themes as priorities:

Theme
Votes
Youth:
57
Antisocial  Behaviour:
40
Parks:
39

Next Steps:

There was also the chance to elect a new Community Chair and Vice-Chair. (In the absence of alternative candidates, both will carry on as before.) If you'd like to consider standing in the future, contact the Community Council team via 020 8496 3000. They are very supportive, and will be happy to explain what's involved and answer any questions you may have. Volunteers will be invited to introduce themselves briefly to the relevant meeting, after which residents vote for their preferred candidate.

 In the second half of the meeting, there was a presentation on the latest plans for the redevelopment of the Blackhorse Lane area. What is PDF?

Note that presentations from the September meeting are also available for download. See below...

Meeting:

Tuesday 13 September 2005, 7:30 pm

There were presentations/discussions (available for download as PDF What is PDF?) covering:

... plus the Community Forum in which residents raise (more or less) any issue they choose.

Meeting:

Monday 6 June 2005, 7:30 pm

Greenleaf Road Adult Education Centre: During the Community Forum residents expressed very strong feelings about the imminent closure of this popular facility. From the Chair, I asked the head of CLaSS, Dr. Maureen Green, if she'd be prepared to give a written statement of current changes and developments. Dr. Green was quick to respond - you can read her summary here, or download as PDF What is PDF?.

Cinema: Officers from the Regeneration Team were on hand before the meeting to consult with residents about the future of the Granada Cinema on Hoe Street.

Consultation Strategy for Waltham Forest: Officers working on a draft "Consultation Strategy" for the Borough were on hand before the meeting asking for residents' views. Comment...

Police and Community Consultative Group (PCCG). During the meeting we asked for a volunteer to be our Community Council's delegate to this lively group. Details... (in PDF format) What is PDF?

April Meeting Cancelled:

Monday 11 April 2005

(Documents are in PDF format What is PDF? - Adobe Reader available here)

Meeting cancelled : As the General Election has now been announced, and the 11th April falls within the pre-election period, it has been necessary to cancel this meeting for legal reasons.

As I understand it, the Council's Legal team believe there is a significant risk that an individual or party may claim that they have been "disadvantaged" in some way, and mount an action for damages. In order to protect the public purse (and the whole electoral process) they believe the only thing to do is to cancel all events where this risk may exist until the whole thing is over.

It's unclear how many other councils take the same view. PH.