tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33316455349429030472011-12-25T10:28:27.308ZLife, politics and gossip from the East End of LondonPhil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.comBlogger1421100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-76501659723519610462010-03-21T22:13:00.000Z2010-03-21T22:13:14.760Z

Local resident Dave Coker has put together an excellent website here which sets out all of the Tower Hamlets councillor compensation over the last four years, including breakdowns by ward and party. Although he has struggled to actually get his hands on the information, he has perservered and this is just the sort of transparency that local people should see. Perhaps someone living in every

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-19322901445500650612010-02-23T07:36:00.014Z2010-02-23T11:27:04.744Z

I promised some months ago to publish a full list of councillor allowances paid in Tower Hamlets during the current year, and I have now been asked by a number of people to share the information. Although such information is published in East End Life once a year, it appears that it is not the most readily available data when local residents (and tax-payers) request it. You can read the full

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-2160211138425342492010-02-20T18:29:00.000Z2010-02-20T18:29:22.204Z

Much has been written in the press (both local national) this week about the Tower Hamlets Council proposals for the so-called "Hijab Gates" at Brick Lane. The following text is from a letter I received on the subject fron a local resident (who has given me permission to publish this) and I think the content speaks for itself: "I understand that there is to be a meeting regarding the

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-48688509274525354962010-02-18T07:46:00.001Z2010-02-18T07:46:00.160Z

You Decide, the Tower Hamlets Council initiative to help you decide how some of your local taxes are spent, returns this month. There is a meeting for each LAP area, and for the Isle of Dogs (LAP8) this will be on Tuesday 23rd February (6pm-9pm) at George Green School. You have to pre-register and you can do so by texting YD followed by your postcode to 60060 or you can telephone 0800 035 1395

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-65889783134859577052010-02-17T07:23:00.000Z2010-02-17T13:34:43.745Z

A public exhibition at the weekend unveiled the latest development plan for the Isle of Dogs - this time for the office park at Skylines Village, located at the junction of Limeharbour and Marsh Wall. The development is a large one by any measure - 50 storeys, 806 new homes, a re-provided business centre, a new school with sports facilities, a new hotel, and some open space. I am concerned by

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-4518131760232674822010-01-11T19:08:00.000Z2010-01-11T23:29:03.282Z

While sitting in a mile-long queue on Westferry Road today and wondering how it is possible that temporary traffic lights on the Isle of Dogs appear to break down without fail, almost half of London was getting ready to welcome a new roadworks permit scheme. It was an election pledge from Boris Johnson that utility companies and other organisations should apply for permission before digging

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-50317147176209185172010-01-10T17:58:00.001Z2010-01-10T17:58:56.168Z

After years of living in denial, Tower Hamlets Council has withdrawn 258 talking "hate books" from local libraries, as revealed by Ted Jeory in the Sunday Express -http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/150772/Library-ban-on-sermons-of-hateA welcome move but just the beginning.

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-24936000793425794512009-12-30T23:32:00.001Z2010-01-11T23:38:01.017Z

An exciting analysis produced this week by http://averypublicsociologist.blogspot.com lists the top 100 political blogging tweeters in the country. Surprised to see that I am in at number 11 and I think the highest councillor in the list. 1) Alastair Campbell (12,270 followers) 2) John Prescott (10,717 followers) 3) Iain Dale (6,993 followers) 4) Tom Watson MP (6,977 followers) 5) Guido Fawkes (

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-72610155457232898132009-12-10T00:44:00.001Z2009-12-10T00:45:12.667Z

At the full Tower Hamlets Council meeting last night, agreement was reached on taking a harder line on the expansion of London City Airport. Following a question from me about representation on the consultative committee, and then a motion proposed by myself and colleagues, the Labour councillors caved in and offered their own amended version of the motion. All sides accepted the amended

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-14870261929852661262009-11-01T08:14:00.000Z2009-11-03T17:14:55.137Z

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

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-82845079854493663392009-10-31T07:54:00.002Z2009-10-31T14:40:15.775Z

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

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-39722832477431124172009-10-29T23:38:00.004Z2009-10-31T14:36:42.019Z

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

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-41764094454750527602009-10-22T17:08:00.003+01:002009-10-22T17:08:56.374+01:00

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

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-65668161947803229332009-10-16T07:56:00.000+01:002009-10-16T08:59:16.863+01:00

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

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-88246793333774716102009-10-15T11:37:00.000+01:002009-10-15T11:38:24.283+01:00

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

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-57702814463823091762009-10-13T18:35:00.001+01:002009-10-13T18:35:00.314+01:00

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

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-29871380966605408152009-10-13T07:48:00.001+01:002009-10-13T07:48:00.665+01:00

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

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-23501081549827022232009-10-12T12:43:00.001+01:002009-10-12T15:45:15.686+01:00

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

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-66893540262475761312009-10-05T18:49:00.001+01:002009-10-05T18:49:26.392+01:00

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

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-40122413612044745802009-09-16T07:15:00.001+01:002009-09-17T16:19:58.374+01:00

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

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-9264737513438817722009-09-14T18:05:00.000+01:002009-09-16T20:13:29.494+01:00

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

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-15259767814898316092009-09-14T07:40:00.000+01:002009-09-16T20:04:58.924+01:00

Gateway Housing held an exhibition last week about their plans for Cutty Sark House on Undine Road. If you were unable to see the plans for yourself, they involve demolishing the existing four-storey building and replacing it with two new buildings - one of four storeys and one of six storeys. In total, the number of flats will increase from the current handful to 40, made up of social rented and

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-10033344467364270982009-08-28T10:17:00.003+01:002009-08-28T10:34:47.414+01:00

Mayor Boris Johnson has just announced that he will use his new planning powers for the first time, as he considers the fate of the Columbus Tower planning application. The planned 63-storey building, located at the north-west corner of the Canary Wharf cluster, is a slightly amended version of one that was consented by Tower Hamlets Council a few years ago.However, on this occasion, Tower

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-2740734204696595602009-08-04T17:14:00.000+01:002009-08-04T17:59:31.953+01:00

With Tower Hamlets Labour Party in the grip of headquarters-imposed "special measures", we are about to witness some interesting local selection contests.Applications have just closed for those wanting to stand as Labour candidates for the 2010 council elections, and it seems there were some frantic last minute telephone calls to ensure the right people (friends of Leader, Lutfur Rahman) had

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-83582483770124781232009-08-04T11:49:00.000+01:002009-08-04T17:53:26.885+01:00

Fix it for 4 years at a time is the answer!As reported in the East London Advertiser this week, the ruling Labour Group are supporting the idea of electing the Council Leader for 4-year terms. This would mean that Lutfur Rahman could avoid the annual round of arguments, deals and gossip that surround Labour leadership battles, assuming he is still there of course!

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-32490034625065143482009-07-28T07:42:00.000+01:002009-07-28T09:52:57.485+01:00

The Tower Hamlets Cabinet tomorrow night will be considering an updated Idea Stores Strategy.This is clearly preparing the ground for another attempt at closing our local and historic libraries - the previous post refers to the threat to Cubitt Town Library from the Asda development, and this all seems to fit together, with the Idea Store strategy including a new location at Crossharbour.The

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-81481309370662135262009-07-27T14:50:00.000+01:002009-07-28T09:08:58.982+01:00

The long-anticipated redevelopment of the Isle of Dogs Asda came a step closer last week, with an exhibition of the latest plans in the store.Much of it was expected - the new larger supermarket, around 1,100 new flats and houses, additional shopping facilities, and a tower (of about 30 storeys) at the southern edge of the site.Also, as expected, the plan removes the only remaining petrol filling

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-47790005583581223322009-07-22T07:00:00.000+01:002009-07-22T07:00:00.333+01:00

As reported in the East London Advertiser this week, Labour Cabinet members in Tower Hamlets have splashed out £2,500 on an away-day in a luxury hotel in Kent.Clearly Labour are so proud of their achievements in this borough that they simply can't wait to escape and visit a Conservative-run area for a couple of days.While we would be delighted if our local councillors took a liking to Kent and

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-6886922995827008882009-07-21T22:43:00.003+01:002009-07-21T23:00:59.162+01:00

Once again yesterday, we were treated to the sight of a Labour government minister in Tower Hamlets - this time it was the turn of Health Secretary Andy Burnham, in town to promote swine flu as the latest government crisis.In the last few weeks we have seen Gordon Brown on the Isle of Dogs twice, and a string of other Cabinet Ministers in the area. Local residents are expressing disquiet that a

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-25917060745502985642009-07-21T22:36:00.004+01:002009-07-21T22:43:18.795+01:00

Residents of Coldharbour were kept in the dark last week when a film crew turned up to take over their street. Without any consultation or involvement from the council, the film company commandeered the street for the day and the first thing many residents knew when was they heard their cars (already ticketed) being removed by tow trucks early in the morning.Filming is often a welcome source of

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-60814444961104877082009-07-16T11:07:00.003+01:002009-07-16T11:17:54.651+01:00

The memorable quote of the night at the council meeting must go to Labour councillor Abdal Ullah.A powerful deputation from Tower Hamlets College made the case for the defence of ESOL classes, currently under threat of massive cuts. It is not rocket science to consider the provision of English teaching in a borough such as Tower Hamlets to be of paramount importance. We should be giving residents

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-2199774411451780662009-07-16T10:54:00.006+01:002009-07-16T11:07:47.425+01:00

The full meeting of Tower Hamlets Council last night provided no more information on the departure of our Chief Executive, Martin Smith. Ground rules were laid out that meant no discussion could take place about any financial details of the pay-off or any meetings that took place, effectively closing down any hope of transparency.Council Leader, Lutfur Rahman used his answer time to talk about

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-29580487029982088482009-07-16T09:15:00.002+01:002009-07-16T09:15:00.672+01:00

The development team behind the proposals for the new Isle of Dogs Asda, and the associated "new district centre" will be returning for a follow-up exhibition next week.The exhibition will take place in a marquee next to the existing Asda on the following days:Thursday 23rd July - 1.00pm-7.00pmFriday 24th July - 1.00pm-7.00pmSaturday 25th July - 9.00am - 12.00noonThis will be an opportunity to

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-87237875170161954682009-07-15T19:15:00.000+01:002009-07-15T19:15:00.176+01:00

I have just been notified about forthcoming works at the Blackwall Tunnel, to facilitate the traffic management during the refurbishment of the northern bore of the tunnel.Work will start on Saturday 18th July and last for 3 months, with all work taking place at weekends.Work will include widening the existing gap in the central reserve, installing gates in the central reserve and the

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-37972598983462676012009-07-15T09:38:00.000+01:002009-07-15T15:40:52.901+01:00

Don't forget that there is a full meeting of Tower Hamlets Council tonight - 7.30pm at Mulberry Place.There will be quite a strong attendance from the public, with a number of questions, petitions and deputations.This will also be the first opportunity for the Council Leader to report back on the mysterious case of our disappearing Chief Executive. We await his story with baited breath......

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-34555570304841265872009-07-14T10:29:00.007+01:002009-07-14T10:53:31.014+01:00

The Tory Toms were successful at the Christchuch fete on Sunday, as we sold dozens of home grown tomato plants to help the Isle of Dogs church fundraising event.I'm pictured (right) with the Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Cllr Ahmed Omer, and some of our tomatoes in the background. The day was a success for everyone, with a packed turnout, sunny weather, and a fantastic team of volunteers to make the

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-50164626772806109512009-07-11T16:55:00.005+01:002009-07-11T17:06:23.019+01:00

Newham Council has this week published the cost of local Labour councillors, the third year such figures that have been published since the last elections in 2006.East Ham Conservatives have analysed these figures to produce some 3-year totals which provide shocking reading for such a deprived borough.I have quoted the text below from Neil Pearce, who ran the very close campaign in the Royal

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-52500821500091746862009-07-11T16:43:00.004+01:002009-07-11T16:54:57.441+01:00

This Sunday, 12th July will see the annual summer fete at Christchurch on Manchester Road, Isle of Dogs (near Island Gardens DLR). The event runs from 2pm until 5pm and all are welcome.Among the many attractions, we will be there selling our home-grown organic tomato plants, to help the fund-raising on the day.Hope to see you on Sunday!

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-55560505753320481392009-07-10T10:58:00.004+01:002009-07-10T11:08:36.489+01:00

In the interests of full information, I have copied the text below from a leaflet prepared by the Fight The Flights campaign group (local residents campaigning against the expansion of London City Airport)."Newham Council failed to contact and notify residents and previous attendees on this planning meeting.Newham Council failed to disclose that they are shareholders in AIG, previous owners of

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-90259843369195198822009-07-10T10:39:00.002+01:002009-07-10T10:57:50.384+01:00

On Wednesday, Newham Council voted to allow the long discussed increase in flights at London City Airport. This essentially means a variation in the maximum number of flights each year from 73,000 to 120,000. The extract from the planning report below provides more analysis of what this change means on a daily basis, with the original wording in brackets.Aside from the planning arguments for and

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-47129578657683465802009-07-06T17:21:00.000+01:002009-07-06T17:21:01.406+01:00

With the change in the municipal year this year, we have seen another change to the planning (Development) committee at Tower Hamlets. The start time of the meetings has moved from 7.30pm to 6.30pm - I hear a lot about this from the wife (Cllr Shirley Houghton) who now has even less time to get from work to the meeting.Such was the level of publicity for this change, that residents turned up for

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-69399473887171469022009-07-06T15:41:00.002+01:002009-07-06T16:09:12.661+01:00

Conservative Leader David Cameron delivered a key speech at Canary Wharf at lunchtime. The event, organised by think tank Reform, provided an opportunity for Cameron to set out his views on the future of quangos, which he described as replacing democratic accountability with bureaucracy.Referring to the current status of quangos, the Shadow Cabinet calculations showed that there are currently 790

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-27638254998504051742009-07-03T15:16:00.000+01:002009-07-03T15:16:00.747+01:00

Last week I wrote about the results of the DCLG Place survey, in which the fear of anti-social behaviour in Tower Hamlets was the second highest level of any council in the country.This week, we have had two distinct response to this topic.On the one hand, we have the Tower Hamlets Council approach, as reported in The Docklands newspaper, where the council "scoffed at the accuracy of the results"

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-35125726485092737762009-07-03T12:08:00.000+01:002009-07-03T13:14:43.717+01:00

Speaking at the Local Government Association conference yesterday, Conservative Leader David Cameron promised a "lot more power" for local councils along with the scrapping of countless targets, plans and strategies. The focus is that councils should be free to get on with the job.On the issue of greater transparency Cameron said:I really do believe that transparency is one of the absolute keys

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-74302290362444998742009-07-02T22:32:00.003+01:002009-07-03T13:36:34.667+01:00

After my previous posting about the amounts of special responsibility allowances paid in Tower Hamlets, those committee chairs have obviously worked out that they were being underpaid.The meeting of the Audit Committee (and the accompanying 250-page report) on Monday night was rushed through in less than half an hour with little opportunity for debate. My colleague Cllr David Snowdon was left

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-54812563227518167842009-07-02T14:34:00.003+01:002009-07-02T14:41:27.443+01:00

After all that has been written and speculated on about the departure of the Chief Executive of Tower Hamlets Council, the council has today issued a press release confirming this.I have pasted the full text of the press release below, and I will add no further comment! CHIEF EXECUTIVE MOVES ONTower Hamlets Council has announced that Martin Smith, its chief executive since 2007, is moving on from

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-70447113481774112082009-06-29T12:22:00.000+01:002009-06-29T12:22:00.183+01:00

The full meetings of Tower Hamlets Council are invariably entertaining - if you enjoy the pantomimes that is! The next meeting takes place on Wednesday 15th July at 7.30pm and if you haven't been to one yet, why not pop along and see exactly how your money gets spent.To help keep interest in such meetings high, the Labour Council have helpfully refused to hold more meetings, so there are just 6

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-54935231931043878702009-06-29T08:34:00.000+01:002009-06-29T11:27:25.577+01:00

More publicity in Building Design this week about the campaign to save Robin Hood Gardens from the bulldozers.I have to say from my experience that most residents are only too keen to see the back of the buildings and see them replaced with some more modern housing. To date, I have only been contacted by one resident who is in favour of refurbishing rather than demolishing the buildings.As my

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-56798566971606642732009-06-27T19:26:00.000+01:002009-06-29T10:55:33.799+01:00

On Tuesday (30th June) evening, the Tower Hamlets Police and Community Safety Board will be hosting a Residents' Question Time on the local fight against crime.This will be held at the V&A Museum of Childhood on Cambridge Heath Road, Bethnal Green and will run from 6pm to 9pm. Details of the speakers and topics for discussion are listed below in an extract from the supporting documentation.You

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-18368582144516154912009-06-23T22:25:00.000+01:002009-06-23T22:25:02.295+01:00

A good blog here, and an example of one of many that may spring up:http://paythemoneyback.blogspot.com/The focus here is on Ed Davey, Lib Dem MP for Kingston and Surbiton and an apparent spendthrift - at least when it comes to taxpayers money. This specific case is not about a second home or paying his family, but using expenses to buy office equipment to produce political propoganda to tell his

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-22095391866623207762009-06-23T17:18:00.004+01:002009-06-23T17:27:13.487+01:00

Yes, East London is at the top of another league table, but it's another bad one. This time, the subject is anti-social behaviour in the latest government survey.The Place survey, published today by the Department of Communities and Local Government, was carried out by pollsters Ipsos Mori and gauges the number of people who are concerned about anti-social behaviour in their community.Tower

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-49498498750484026282009-06-16T19:08:00.004+01:002009-06-23T10:37:23.101+01:00

Against a background of expense scandals, dismal election results and unfalteringly unpopular policies, few things can make Gordon Brown smile these days (except of course carefully scripted YouTube recordings!).But, when Gordon looks East to the Labour "stronghold" of Tower Hamlets he must struggle not to let a little grin flicker across his face. For the failings of this bunch of contemptible

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-31850370824732778672009-06-08T12:51:00.006+01:002009-06-08T13:29:22.127+01:00

Amid the accusations, inflated claims and expense flipping in Westminster, we have found some unbelievable examples of overpaid councillors right here in Tower Hamlets.After lots of questioning, I have finally be furnished with a breakdown of the length of time that council committee Chairmen actually sat during the last municipal year (2008-2009).Those who were paid additional sums of money sat

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-91579344576350291572009-06-05T16:49:00.004+01:002009-06-05T17:04:45.208+01:00

The Tower Hamlets Labour Party has this week demonstrated just how far they will go to engineer their version of political control. By trying to force out the council Chief Executive, Martin Smith, they have shown their willingness to get rid of anyone who does not share their corrupted worldview. By any definition of decency, local Labour Councillors have repeatedly shown that they are prepared

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-50089983504512781992009-05-20T13:10:00.004+01:002009-05-20T13:15:04.270+01:00

David Cameron launched this petition earlier in the week, and the issue dominated PMQs today. The campaign calls for an early General Election to let the country have a say on what is currently taking place in Westminster.Click here to sign the petition.David Cameron said: "I think the scale of the problems facing Britain today - the recession, the debt crisis, and above all the political crisis

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-59925429671623328082009-05-19T22:35:00.000+01:002009-05-19T22:35:00.683+01:00

Tomorrow night (Wednesday 20th May), we will assemble at Tower Hamlets Town Hall for the annual changing of the guard, as a new Mayor comes in and the Cabinet membership is shuffled to reflect who has been "good" and "bad" in recent months.To ease public transparency, I will publish a full list of local councillor positions and the allowances they claim on this site later in the week.

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-8295128533673659942009-05-19T17:14:00.005+01:002009-05-19T17:32:35.675+01:00

Michael Martin resigned as Speaker of the House of Commons today in a 33-second no-regrets speech. Many words have been written and said about the symbolism of his departure and his unfortunate role in trying to keep the lid on the publication of expenses.However, what seems to have been forgotten recently, is that Speaker Martin was being outed for a lavish taxpayer-funded lifestyle many months

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-1752851633973642072009-05-15T11:17:00.004+01:002009-05-15T11:20:31.813+01:00

News this morning that the Secretary of State at the DCMS has confirmed that he does not intend to list Robin Hood Gardens.Hopefully this will be the end of the matter, for the sake of the people who have to live with the estate.Or, how long will it take before another bunch of architects (who don't live in the area, or in badly maintained social housing) pop up and demand it be saved?!

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-56583580334204212122009-05-15T11:08:00.005+01:002009-05-15T11:16:30.064+01:00

The great and the good assembled at Canary Wharf this morning to see the official start of work on the long-awaited Crossrail project.A breakfast reception heard speeches from the project manager, the Chief Executive of Canary Wharf Group, the Mayor of London, and even from the Prime Minister Gordon Brown. As ever, Mayor Boris stole the show and quipped to the PM "I know you're in a hole at the

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-75971658545828571442009-05-12T17:30:00.000+01:002009-05-12T17:30:01.001+01:00

As mentioned further down this page, there will be a public exhibition at the weekend about the development proposals for the Dollar Bay site - which I believe will include a 46-storey tower. The exhibition will run from 9am to 9pm on Friday 15th May and from 9am to 1pm on Saturday 16th May. It will be held in the Barwood Room, CCT Venues, Walbrook Building, Thames Quay, 193 Marsh Wall, London,

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-10292638963010424032009-05-12T17:15:00.000+01:002009-05-12T17:26:59.265+01:00

David Cameron was right this afternoon to take such a hard line on the scandal of MPs expenses. The country looks to elected politicians to know the difference between right and wrong, but far too many of our MPs have shown the only difference they understand is money in and money out.But this exposure of Parliamentary claims (for which the Daily Telegraph should be praised) should only be the

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-26996467270016022932009-05-12T17:00:00.003+01:002009-05-12T17:06:02.873+01:00

Following the recent vague exhibition on the Asda redevelopment, I promised to look back at the information that was submitted to the council last year, to see if we could cast some more light on the intentions for the site.In October 2008, Tower Hamlets Council received a request for a scoping opinion on the development of the Asda site on East Ferry Road. The parameters of the proposed

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-10926092701185791042009-05-11T22:49:00.000+01:002009-05-12T16:58:08.176+01:00

I've just read in the Evening Standard that extra money will be spent sprucing up the route of the marathon at the 2012 London Olympics. Part of that money will come from Tower Hamlets Council, who will be spending another £1million on cleaning up roads, pavements and buildings along the way. The bills for the Olympics continue to mount and appear to fall disproportionately on the residents of

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-16562655232379923292009-04-18T09:20:00.000+01:002009-04-18T09:20:00.884+01:00

Next weekend, on Sunday 26th April, the London Marathon returns to town. I pity the thousands of runners who will have to endure the roads of the Isle of Dogs.Uneven surfaces, deepening pot-holes, sinking lanes and roadworks detritus will all contribute to more of an obstacle course than a marathon route.If the Tower Hamlets Council uses this as an excuse to fix the roads, it will be welcomed by

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-83414954487382857502009-04-17T10:05:00.000+01:002009-04-17T11:18:14.456+01:00

The Tower Hamlets Strategic Development Committee on Wednesday was an absolute disgrace. You don't have to take my word for that - just refer to the dozens of residents who gave up an evening to sit through a farcical display that Jim Henson would have been proud of.On the Isle of Dogs, the joint schemes of Island Point and City Pride were pushed through, despite the objections of more than 1,500

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-32137821203538253402009-04-14T10:42:00.000+01:002009-04-14T18:46:46.598+01:00

The long-awaited Strategic Development Committee will be held tomorrow night, Wednesday 15th April. It is an agenda packed with contentious applications including proposals for City Pride, Gladstone Place and St Katharine's Dock.The meeting starts at 7pm at Mulberry Place and it is sure to be well-attended by members of the public.So, why not come along and see how local planning decisions are

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-89537970997160508762009-03-30T20:34:00.003+01:002009-03-30T20:38:20.894+01:00

After local residents made their views clear, Tower Hamlets Council has today decided to postpone the Strategic Development Committee scheduled for Thursday 2nd April. The disruption of the G20 summit in the local area would have had a massive impact on the ability of residents to actually get to the meeting and make their case.We will hear in the next day or two when the replacement meeting is,

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-38234096561975874502009-03-27T08:44:00.003Z2009-03-27T09:04:59.140Z

Last night, the Labour Party limped to a victory in the Royal Docks by-election, winning with 723 votes to the 708 votes polled by Neil Pearce, Conservative candidate.But this was a hollow victory for Labour, and after years of running an effective one-party state in Newham, this election has left them damaged.Labour threw everything at this election, fearing they could lose, and even yesterday

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-12822080311601435802009-03-26T11:36:00.003Z2009-03-26T11:55:10.547Z

While world leaders assemble at Excel for the G20 summit next Thursday, Tower Hamlets Council will be pushing ahead with one of the most controversial planning meetings of recent years.The figures are quite staggering and really speak for themselves.The Strategic Development Committee will be considering 8 different applications across the borough, including a 62-storey tower and a 43-storey

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-35305760053505828752009-03-20T10:06:00.005Z2009-03-20T10:16:17.727Z

The latest casualty of the downturn at Canary Wharf is the Jamies Riverside bar. It is particularly sad to see this one go, as it offered something slightly different to the chains, often with an interesting choice of bar snacks and a relaxing location by the river. I have been going there for the last 9 years or so, when it first opened. For a number of years, we even used the function room

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-83150455945520480492009-03-20T08:54:00.003Z2009-03-20T08:59:04.741Z

George Galloway has been barred by the Canadian authorities from entering the country, as reported in The Sun today.Because of his views, they say "He defends the very terrorists trying to kill Canadian forces in Afghanistan".A common-sense approach to defending national interests, and one that could be better applied in this country.Fortunately, we don't need to take too much action on Galloway

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-87719862455020456112009-03-18T09:58:00.004Z2009-03-18T10:13:44.858Z

The answer is when it is a council-run paper.The ongoing opposition to the Tower Hamlets publication, East End Life, is highlighted on the Guardian website as a prime example of the current battle between regional newspaper operators and local authorities who see too great a role for themselves.Yes, it is right that councils inform local residents, but should we as council-tax payers be funding a

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-76832086377576306532009-03-17T09:25:00.002Z2009-03-17T09:32:30.609Z

As of yesterday, Monday 16th March, the Isle of Dogs Police Station is now open full-time again. Some staffing issues that reduced the opening times have now been resolved and the office will be open between 10am and 6pm on weekdays.However, these hours are still insufficient and provide no station access for people who work during the week. I am therefore still asking for more steps to be taken

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-35627810457879256002009-03-14T15:56:00.004Z2009-03-14T16:20:46.954Z

I promised to post about the public exhibition about the Asda development, but I am afraid there is very little to say.The exhibition boards included some simple maps and some design principles, but there was no information on height, density, tenure mix and many other aspects. We were promised this information later in the year and were assured that such detail hasn't been finalised yet. This

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-38675224197346194392009-03-10T09:37:00.003Z2009-03-10T09:45:32.356Z

This story on the BBC highlights what has happened to the Standards Board and the system that it has spawned.A Labour councillor in Bournemouth used an alias to log onto the local newspaper website and praise himself. It was far from honest, but does it warrant hours of time wasted (at taxpayers expense) to investigate whether he had brought his office of councillor into disrepute?The concept of

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-63276929029100856762009-03-09T22:26:00.003Z2009-03-09T22:33:28.864Z

On Saturday 28th March, Trees for Cities will be joining forces with East End Homes for a community planting day.The event will run from 11am to 3pm and will be held in the community square outside Urmston House on the Isle of Dogs.Live music, face painting and free refreshments will all be on hand to support tree and shrub planting.

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-71606885823273223212009-03-09T11:08:00.004Z2009-03-09T22:45:18.502Z

A rampant form of selfish behaviour seems to be gripping the local area and I can't help but notice that it is getting worse. It is nothing to do with making money but is in fact just how people park.Parents eager to get deliver their children as close to the school gate as possible will think nothing of parking on zig-zag lines, double-yellow lines, pavements, corners or junctions. Even in the

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-38135311705406383412009-03-09T11:03:00.002Z2009-03-09T11:07:30.820Z

After years of speculation and rumour about what would happen to the Asda site on the Isle of Dogs, there will be a public exhibition this week.The exhibition will take place in the foyer of the store on East Ferry Road at the following times:Friday 13th March - 2.00-6.30pmSaturday 14th March - 9.30am-2.00pmThis will be an opportunity for all of us to see the outline plans for the first time, so

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-75882184056088844062009-03-08T12:44:00.002Z2009-03-08T12:56:35.256Z

Coverage in the Sunday Times today about the new political party established by former Tory donor Sir Paul Judge.The "Jury Team" is aimed at “cleaning up politics” and replacing party whips with independent thought and open governance. The party aims to field a full slate of candidates in the European elections. The party has no specific policies and will select its candidates by public vote from

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-45024795060516299852009-03-07T17:25:00.003Z2009-03-07T17:50:47.378Z

Out on patrol with the Isle of Dogs Police team yesterday, we stumbled across a set of fake police officers, but before they were arrested for impersonation the lights came on and the cameras rolled.Television programme The Bill had spent most of the day filming on the Barkantine, partly in the Alpha Grove Community Centre and then some shots in Malabar Street.So, look out on your screens soon

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-1161491584632879552009-03-06T09:07:00.003Z2009-03-06T09:51:57.693Z

Another trip to the Royal Docks council by-election last night, where Neil Pearce has a chance of becoming the first Conservative councillor in Newham for 18 years.The most bare-faced mistruth of the night was the Labour leaflet claiming the Conservatives were responsible for the expansion of London City Airport. Given that the local planning authority is Newham Council, and when the decision was

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-74626416658083523092009-03-05T09:43:00.002Z2009-03-05T09:52:57.213Z

Labour councillors in Tower Hamlets last night pushed through their latest budget, and as predictably as ever increased taxes again.Despite all of their talk about helping people through recession, and the helping hand from Boris with a GLA tax freeze, our local councillors deemed a 2.3% tax increase to be a helping hand for local residents.As is the case in other Labour-run councils, Tower

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-44883171054995973982009-03-04T00:07:00.002Z2009-03-04T00:07:00.133Z

Through the local partnership network Tower Hamlets Council is offering all residents the opportunity to have a say in how some local money is spent. In each of the 8 LAP areas (each Local Area Partnership covers two council wards) there will be one public meeting where residents can vote on how to spend a pot of almost £250,000 on projects such as extra police, park improvements, extra cleaning

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-3393521796933563422009-03-03T23:05:00.002Z2009-03-03T23:11:37.531Z

I had a briefing this evening on the future masterplanning process for Millwall Park. Flush with some more Section 106 money, Tower Hamlets Council will be overhauling a number of local parks and our very own Millwall Park is in line for some investment to maximise the balance and provision for park users.It seems a consultation event took place in August last year, when park users were able to

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-20498795705743774722009-03-02T14:30:00.003Z2009-03-02T14:33:19.221Z

Excellent news from City Hall, as Mayor Boris has given his backing to an electric car hire scheme across London.This is just the sort of forward-thinking initiative we need to give people transport choice while keeping the city moving.You can read the full story in the Evening Standard.

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-34132252694881279042009-03-02T14:19:00.004Z2009-03-02T14:28:04.160Z

The public conveniences at Island Gardens on the Isle of Dogs are still closed. Locked up since April 2008, when they provided a convenient budget cut for the Labour Council.Here we are, 11 months later, and the light in the toilets is still switched on.I raised this with the council in January, and they in turn asked EDF to disconnect the power supply. But, there was no action!I then received

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-9871217963102036442009-03-01T16:10:00.000Z2009-03-03T23:18:36.802Z

We've just returned from the Conservative Local Government Conference in Leeds, and a large invigorated gathering of councillors awaiting the election of a Conservative Government.That election will herald the introduction of new policies outlined in the latest green paper, unveiled recently by Caroline Spelman MP.Those policies embody the essence of localism and devolving power back to local

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-18969645999281468972009-02-26T14:10:00.008Z2009-03-02T14:18:08.296Z

On Monday, we spent the afternoon at the House of Lords, joining 10 local women who received certificates for completing their Future Councillors course.This Tower Hamlets Council initiative has been welcome for introducing local women to the work of the council and exposing them to a crash-course in the work that the authority and individual councillors do.Attracting new people to run as council

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-52104018747130604502009-02-26T13:53:00.003Z2009-02-26T13:59:37.513Z

The Conservative candidate for the Bethnal Green and Bow constituency will be selected on Tuesday 10th March, and every local resident has an opportunity to be involved.The US-style "Primary" will take place at 7pm at Our Lady's Roman Catholic Community Hall on Commercial Road E1.Anyone over the age of 18 and living in the constituency can register to attend by going to the link above or emailing

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-32165513947021322522009-02-26T13:48:00.004Z2009-02-26T14:07:36.054Z

At the last Tower Hamlets Council meeting, both Respect and Labour councillors engaged in a debate about Gaza, and the actions the British government should take on issues such as arms exports.Their words didn't change anything that is happening elsewhere in the world. All they achieved was wasting some precious time. There is little enough time devoted to the discussion of local issues without

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-2147685270063096262008-10-26T13:42:00.003Z2008-10-26T14:08:05.646Z

With my work hat on, I spent most of this week at BWEA30, the annual wind energy conference. The event took place at Excel in East London and celebrated the 30th anniversary of the British Wind Energy Association.How times have changed since 1978! This week, almost 3,000 delegates from around the world converged on London, and there were speeches from Ministers and Shadow Ministers of all 3

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-28293440510062861232008-10-25T16:14:00.000+01:002008-10-26T14:18:51.924Z

Iain Dale looks at the lunacy of the attempts to introduce a congestion charging scheme in Manchester.If they believe that the London scheme has made any difference at all (apart from emptying the wallets of unsuspecting motorists) then we need to educate them on the facts.

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-80534566291680418572008-10-16T10:24:00.002+01:002008-10-16T11:01:46.836+01:00

A full meeting of Tower Hamlets Council last night witnessed Brownism at a local level. Gordon Brown has managed to appear as the saviour of the economy, despite the fact that over the last 11 years he has carefully created and nurtured the problems whilst doing nothing to avert them.The Labour Party last night demonstrated Brownism on 3 issues:1. They announced that the Bancroft Library and

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-71678184063522913052008-10-15T14:53:00.002+01:002008-10-15T15:57:57.344+01:00

At lunchtime today, local residents and staff gathered outside the Barkantine Housing Office to protest at the One Housing plans to restructure their offices.Despite commitments in the original offer transfer document to retain local housing offices, the latest plan is to close all but one and establish a new customer call centre at Mile End.This is an unacceptable reduction in access for all

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-12021285595686370272008-10-10T18:28:00.002+01:002008-10-10T18:38:35.649+01:00

It was a busy night at the Tower Hamlets planning committee last night, but I spoke on behalf of residents objecting to plans for a new super-yacht hotel to be based in South Dock. Neighbouring residents of Meridian Place have justifiable fears about noise and visual impact for a 180-bedroom hotel and events vessel that will rise 23 metres above the water. Rick Wheal spoke at the meeting as a

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-92085284446405513672008-10-10T17:00:00.000+01:002008-10-10T18:26:53.578+01:00

Residents of from the North-East of the Isle of Dogs took their views to the council this week, but it was Greenwich Council. Many people living in Coldharbour, New Providence Wharf, Virginia Quay and the surrounding areas are concerned about the likely noise impact of the latest show at the O2.The Chinese opera is similar to the recent Afrika Afrika event in that it will be housed in a huge tent

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-90436750287349279522008-10-09T16:40:00.005+01:002008-10-09T17:00:19.770+01:00

With news today of almost 100 local authorities (and rising) that have lost money in Icelandic banks, the question is what will the government do to bail out the councils? They have bailed out the banks, so why not councils?As a resident in a borough like Tower Hamlets, my imagination has now started to run wild with just how good a government bail-out might be!Just think, if the government took

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-72094605063270927962008-10-08T01:32:00.003+01:002008-10-08T01:57:53.153+01:00

As the daily onslaught of dire economic news fills our screens, we are still regularly rewarded with an "expert" telling us they didn't see it coming or they never imagined it would be so bad. These economists, pundits and sometimes politicians only succeed in proving how inescapably pointless their titles are and how their grasp of basic economics doesn't seem to extend much further than paying

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-91564985758199186892008-10-07T23:19:00.002+01:002008-10-08T02:35:13.537+01:00

Rupert Bawden became the latest Tower Hamlets councillor to throw in the towel yesterday, as he resigned his Mile End East seat, where he was elected for Labour in 2006. Tower Hamlets is a unique council where it often seems that self-interest or special interest take precedence over what is best for the whole community.Regardless of political party, the real problems of the borough can only be

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3331645534942903047.post-87778714013136225392008-10-02T16:44:00.006+01:002008-10-02T16:54:05.049+01:00

On Thursday 1st May, the people of London voted for real change when they elected Boris Johnson as their new Mayor. His many new policies have repaid their trust, but his willingness to make difficult changes has been the most important.Heads have already rolled at City Hall and across all of the GLA organisations, but the most significant change has happened today with the resignation of Sir Ian

Phil Briscoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05707740078060660865noreply@blogger.com0