East End Life speech goes......undelivered!

An amusing story in PR Week magazine last week:
"The CIPR Local Public Services Conference in Edinburgh was enjoyed by
all, especially Chris Payne, head of commercial operations at Tower
Hamlets Council. Fun-loving Chris whooped it up at the traditional
Ceilidh dance on Thursday night. But we couldn't help noticing that he
missed the 10am presentation he was giving on local newspapers the
next day. Oops...."

Perhaps his absence was a deliberate example of the non-delivery of
East End Life!

Banned in Bangladesh but meeting in Tower Hamlets

Controversial radical group Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain held an emergency meeting in Tower Hamlets this week,  to discuss the fact that activities by their group have recently been banned in Bangladesh. The country joins a long list of nations who have outlawed the organisation, but unfortunately that list does not yet include the UK.

The group, which promotes non-participation in western democracy and an international Islamic state, has been banned in many countries including Pakistan, Turkey, Denmark, Russia and in Germany for spreading anti-Semitic propoganda. Tony Blair made unfinished moves to ban them in 2005, and David Cameron has urged the government to see that ban through saying, "People simply won't understand why an organisation urging people to kill all Jews hasn't been banned."

In 2007, I sought and received assurances from Tower Hamlets Council, that Hizb ut-Tahrir would be banned from using any council rooms or venues.


Speaking at the event this week,  Mujibul Islam of the Bangladesh Committee of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Britain, urged friends and family to lobby to have the ban overturned so that they could set about and "..establish a progressive Islamic Khilafah State in Bangladesh."

I for one, have heard the call, which is why I am publishing this post and publicising the local activities of this unacceptable group again. They need to be banned in this country too, and Tower Hamlets should be at the forefront of driving them out, rather than fostering their growth.

Lifting News for Tower Hamlets

News published yesterday revealed that 1 in 10 of the calls attended by London firefighters in the last year were to rescue people trapped in lifts.

In the league table of London boroughs, Tower Hamlets topped the poll again, with 1,688 call-outs to rescue people from lifts between October 2008 and September 2009. This compares to those at the bottom of the league table, such as Harrow, Kingston and Havering, who each had less than 100 call-outs.

Aside from my personal cause for concern (campaigning and casework visits means lots of lifts which equals a higher risk of getting trapped), this says a lot about the local maintenance of the buildings we expect people to live in.

And once again, Tower Hamlets proves it has the "John and Edward" X-Factor - always at the top of the league, but not for the right reasons!

Tower Hamlets has No Representation and No Idea on London City Airport

I have just received the answer to a question I submitted for the council meeting last week. The question sought to understand exactly how the residents of Tower Hamlets can make their views heard at London City Airport. Those views have repeatedly been ignored by this council and there are lots of very frustrated local residents.


The written answer from Labour Council Leader Lutfur Rahman states :
“Tower Hamlets Council works to ensure that the concerns of local residents are suitably expressed to London City Airport (LCA) through Councillor Ann Jackson on the LCA Consultative Committee.”

WRONG!

While Tower Hamlets Council is able to appoint one representative to the LCA Consultative Committee, Cllr Ann Jackson recently resigned from this role, meaning there is currently no representative from Tower Hamlets on the committee. Even when she was on the committee, she did not make a habit of attending meetings, but to have no representation and for the council leader to not know about it is a disgrace.

The written answer continues:
“Additionally, where there has been a LCA consultation exercise Tower Hamlets Council has ensured this was publicised in Eastend Life. This Council has also made a series of observations to Newham Council, as the local planning authority for the LCA, on the LCA’s proposals, including on their recent expansion plans.”

WRONG AGAIN!

Our council offered no objection to the recent LCA expansion plans and made no serious attempt to consult the thousands of Tower Hamlets residents who live directly in the flight path of the airport. Claiming that an advert in East End Life is consultation is as insulting as it is ridiculous.

So, the facts of the matter remain that local people have been routinely ignored in the consultation processes surrounding changes at London City Airport and that Tower Hamlets currently has no representation on the LCA Consultative Committee. Worst of all, the Leader of our Council sees the airport as such a local priority, that he hasn’t got a clue about any of this.

My challenge to the council leader now is to fill the gap on the LCA Consultative Committee – not at the next General Purposes Committee in December, but now! We need proper representation on that body and we need it without further delay. Secondly, instead of appointing another councillor who has a half-hearted interest, why not appoint a directly-affected local resident to this body? Give someone with a real interest a real say in this issue that affects their life on a daily basis.

Flight-Fighting is Cheaper

News from the Fight the Flights Campaign that they yesterday cleared their first legal hurdle with costs protection awarded by the High Court in their legal challende to Newham’s decision allowing increased flights from London City Airport”.

Anne-Marie Griffin of Fight the Flights said: “Without costs protection, Fight the Flights would have been at risk of unlimited costs liability and could not have proceeded with the case. Costs protection is only normally given where the Court recognises the public importance of the case. This is a very important case and we now look forward to pursuing the case to the next stage.”

Election Fever Hits Council Meeting

At the full Tower Hamlets Council meeting last night, the mood was
dominated by the approaching election.

Labour realised that motions were something worth discussing and
voting on and we got through more in one night than on the last 3
years combined. Sensible discussion ensued on some topics and we even
had cross chamber agreement on three issues including the future of
the GP practice in Limehouse and the dangerous crossing on Mile End
Road.

It is unfortunate that Labour did not realise the importance of
motions sooner, rather than spending their time trying to stop them
and attacking members of the public up until last night.

Labour electioneering also picked up pace as they asked themselves
questions about freezing council tax next year, congratulated
themselves on a plan to build 17 (yes, just 17) new council houses,
and there were even some wannabe Labour council candidates in the
public gallery - I assume they had been given maps to find the town
hall on their first visit.

However, a heated debate on the future of ESOL classes at Tower
Hamlets College failed to win Labour over as they focused on blaming
everyone but themselves for the cuts and job losses.

Also at the meeting, Kevan Collins was confirmed as the new Chief
Executive.

All in all, the meeting gave us a preview of how Labour would behave
If they were in office 2010-2014. Three and a half years of cuts,
arguments, divisions and contempt toward the electorate, followed by 6
months of false promises and cynical ploys to win votes again.

"Labour Isn't Working" Returns to Canary Wharf

At lunchtime today, thousands of people lined the streets of the Canary Wharf estate. The snake of people stretching along Bank Street and round corners was not there for a free lunchtime giveaway or to grab tickets for a hot gig - it was full of people queuing to get into a jobs fair organised by Tower Hamlets Council.

The Wharf newspaper reports that about 10,000 people were in the queue when the fair opened, far surpassing expectations of 1,500 visitors during the entire day.

The long queue was reminiscent of the "Labour Isn't Working" election poster from the 1970s, which showed a long snake of people queuing at the unemployment office - the only different being that the queue today was a lot longer.

I hope lots of visitors today were successful in their job search, but the scale of interest underlines the state of our economy - yes, the same one the government would have us believe is on track for recovery!

Learn to Fish in Limehouse

Thames 21, supported by the Environment Agency, will be holding a fishing day at Limehouse Cut Canal at Limehouse Basin on Tuesday 27th October between 10am and 2pm.

There will be free angling lessons with equipment, bait and qualified instruction provided.



The ‘Riverside Safari’ will have lots of free activities for all the family including…


Bird watching walks!


Underwater camera: take a look at aquatic life!


Canal Dipping!


For further information please contact Vicky D’souza on 07827 852599 / Vicky.dsouza@thames21.org.uk

Boris Launches New Plan

London Mayor Boris Johnson has today published the updated London Plan. The London Plan is the overall strategic development plan for the capital up to 2031.

Alongside this plan, Boris has published the draft mayor’s Transport Strategy which sets out the mayor’s vision for transport in London over the next 20 years and the Economic Development Strategy which sets out his plans for the economic development of the capital.

Boris said the new Plan "puts more emphasis being given to quality and space, and with percentage targets for affordable housing scrapped in favour of numerical targets being agreed with every borough. There will be greater support for protecting small shops and promoting small businesses, and new targets and tighter regulations to reduce CO2 emissions from new developments in order to tackle climate change. And under the plan there will be more protection, promotion and enhancement of London's green and open spaces and waterways, and more land provided for growing food."

You can read the draft strategy documents in full by clicking here.

The documents will now be out for public consultation, which runs from today until 12th January 2010, when there will be an examination in public of the strategies and responses.

There will also be a roadshow running across London for the next few weeks, when you will be able to meet some of the team and ask questions and about the strategies. In this area, the roadshow will be at Stratford Shopping Centre on November 5th and Canary Wharf Shopping Centre on November 13th, but details of all venues and dates are listed on the website linked above.

Article in Total Politics Blogging Guide

I have just picked up my copy of the Total Politics Guide to Political
Blogging in the UK 2009/2010.

More interesting for me this year, as I've written a section in the
book on blogging and local government. Just some of my thoughts on how
councillors can make use of a blog to improve local communications and
information.

I'll post the article on here at some stage, but you can also buy the
book from the Total Politics website or through other book stores.

Now, in the middle of party conference, it's time for a fringe meeting
on twittering!

New Hoppa Bus for Isle of Dogs

A new Hoppa bus service will be launched for the Isle of Dogs on Monday 28th September. The route has been funded by local developers from Section 106 contributions and will be known as the IoD1 (clockwise) and the IoD2 (anti-clockwise).

The service is free and exclusive to residents of the Isle of Dogs and South Poplar. However, you will need a permit to travel (free) and proof of residence will be required when applying for the permit.

The service will run for an initial period of 2 years and it will operate Monday to Saturday.

To apply for a permit email tsu@towerhamlets.gov.uk or telephone 0207 364 1060 for an application form.

Details of the timetable are listed below:

IoD “Hoppa” Bus - Timetable

IoD 1 (Clockwise)
On main roads, the bus will only stop at the marked bus stops identified on the map and listed below. These stops will have the route number (IoD 1 or IoD 2 shown on the bus stop flag depending on the direction of travel). Where the bus is travelling on residential roads without a bus stop it will stop when requested to drop passengers off or to collect passengers if they request the bus to stop – shown as ‘Hail and Ride’ on the map.

Chrisp Street Market (Chrisp Street, North of Suzannah Street)
9.30 – 10.30 – 11.30 - 13.05 – 14.05 – 15.05

Poplar High Street (Blackwall DLR, Poplar High Street, West of Bazely Street)
9.36 – 10.36 – 11.36 - 13.11 – 14.11 – 15.11

Aspen Way (Preston’s Road, South of Baffin Way)
9.39 – 10.39 – 11.39 - 13.14 – 14.14 – 15.14

Hail & Ride – East Ferry Road – Launch Street – Galbraith Street – Strattondale Street – Glengall Grove – Marshfield Street

(9.40 – 10.40 – 11.40 – 13.15 – 14.15 – 15.15)

Cubitt Town School (Manchester Road, Opposite & North of Friars Mead)
9.47 – 10.47 – 11.47 - 13.22 – 14.22 – 15.22

Hail & Ride – Seyssel Street – Saunders Ness Road – Glenaffric Avenue
(9.48 – 10.48 – 11.48 – 13.23 – 14.23 – 15.23)

Island Gardens Station DLR (Manchester Road, West & Opposite Stebondale Road)
9.51 – 10.51 – 11.51 - 13.26 – 14.26 – 15.26

Hail & Ride – East Ferry Road

(9.52 – 10.52 – 11.52 – 13.27 – 14.27 – 15.27)

Mudchute Station DLR (East Ferry Road, South of Spindrift Avenue)
9.54 – 10.54 – 11.54 - 13.29 – 14.29 – 15.29

Isle of Dogs Asda Supermarket
9.56 – 10.56 – 11.56 - 13.31 – 14.31 – 15.31

Hail & Ride – Spindrift Road

(9.57 – 10.57 – 11.57 – 13.32 – 14.32 – 15.32)

Windmill House (Westferry Road, Opposite & South of Dockers Tanner Rd)
10.04 – 11.04 – 12.04 - 13.39 – 14.39 – 15.39

Hail & Ride – Tiller Road – Mellish Street – Alpha Grove – Strafford Street
(10.05 – 11.05 – 12.05 – 13.40 – 14.40 – 15.40)

Byng Street (Westferry Road, South of Byng Street)
10.11 – 11.11 – 12.11 - 13.46 – 14.46 – 15.46

Westferry Station (DLR, Westferry Road, South of Limehouse Causeway
10.14 – 11.14 – 12.14 - 13.48 – 14.48 – 15.48

Limehouse Police Station (West India Dock Road, East of Beccles Street)
10.16 – 11.16 – 12.16 - 13.50 – 14.50 – 15.50

Chrisp Street Market
Approx. 4 mins. later

IoD 2 (Anti-Clockwise)

IoD2On main roads, the bus will only stop at the marked bus stops identified on the map and listed below. These stops will have the route number (IoD 1 or IoD 2 shown on the bus stop flag depending on the direction of travel). Where the bus is travelling on residential roads without a bus stop it will stop when requested to drop passengers off or to collect passengers if they request the bus to stop – shown as ‘Hail and Ride’ on the map.

Chrisp Street Market (Chrisp Street, North of Suzannah Street)
10.00 – 11.00 – 12.00 - 13.35 – 14.35 – 15.35

Limehouse Police Station (West India Dock Road, North of Rugg Street)
10.05 – 11.05 – 12.05 - 13.40 – 14.40 – 15.40

Westferry Station (DLR, Westferry Road, North of Garford Street)
10.07 – 11.07 – 12.07 - 13.42 – 14.42 – 15.42

Manilla Street (Westferry Road, North of Minilla Street)
10.10 – 11.10 – 12.10 - 13.45 – 14.45 – 15.45

Hail & Ride – Strafford Street – Alpha Grove – Mellish Street – Tiller Road
(10.11 – 11.11 – 12.11 – 13.46 – 14.46 – 15.46)

Windmill House (Westferry Road, Opposite and North of Claude Street)
10.17 – 11.17 – 12.17 - 13.52 – 14.52 – 15.52

Hail & Ride – Spindrift Avenue

(10.18 – 11.18 – 12.18 – 13.53 – 14.53 – 15.53)

Isle of Dogs ASDA Supermarket
10.25 – 11.25 – 12.25 - 14.00 – 15.00 – 16.00

Millwall Park (East Ferry Road, South of Chapel House Street)
10.27 – 11.27 – 12.27 - 14.02 – 15.02 – 16.02

Island Gardens Station DLR (Manchester Road, West of Stebondale Street)
10.30 – 11.30 – 12.30 - 14.05 – 15.05 – 16.05

Hail & Ride – Glenaffric Avenue – Saunders Ness Road – Seyssel Street
(10.31 – 11.31 – 12.31 – 14.06 – 15.06 – 16.06)

Cubitt Town School (Manchester Road, North of Friars Mead)
10.34 – 11.34 – 12.34 - 14.09 – 15.09 – 16.09

Hail & Ride – Marshfield Street – Glengall Grove – Strattondale Street – Galbraith Street – Launch Street – Eastferry Road

(10.35 – 11.35 – 12.35 – 14.10 – 15.10 – 16.10)

Bridge House (Preston’s Road, South of Raleana Road)
10.42 – 11.42 – 12.42 - 14.17 – 15.17 – 16.17

Poplar High Street (Blackwall DLR, Poplar High Street, West of Preston’s Road)
10.45 – 11.45 – 12.45 - 14.20 – 15.20 – 16.20

Chrisp Street Market
Arrive: Approx. 5 mins. later

Proposed Changes to St John's Park

Tower Hamlets Council is currently consulting on changes to a number of local parks, and the latest is St John's on the Isle of Dogs. The plan below suggests some of the possible improvements local residents are encouraged to feed in any ideas or comments.

There will be a consultation event in the park tomorrow (15th September) between 2pm and 6pm, and the plans will be presented to open resident meetings on both the Samuda and St John's estates on the evening of Monday 21st September.

Please make your commente known, either to me or to the lead officer on this, Tamzin Hill (details on the flyer below).