Ilford South Labour Party

The campaign by Downshall Centre users forced a hurried change to the agenda at Tueday night’s cabinet meeting. Various caveats were added to the recommendation for a “Free School” to replace the Downshall Centre. But the decision was still taken “in principle” to sell the centre to E-Act, a national organisation wishing to set up a school in Ilford & voluntary groups were left no clearer about their future.

The caveats were included to ensure that the council discharges its legal obligations, particularly in respect of Equalities legislation. Cllr Keith Prince, Leader of the Conservative & Liberal Democrat coalition running Redbridge, issued an apology to voluntary organisations & users of the Downshall Centre for the way things had been handled by his colleague, Cllr Alan Weinberg, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services. (more…)

Last night (Wednesday 16th) a farcical “public” meeting was held to present proposals by E-Act to open a Free School on the site of the current Downshall Centre in September (see post below). Below are some of the issues beginning to emerge

• E-Act have already advertised for a headteacher for the “proposed” school. The closing date for applications is this Friday, 18th March! If you wanted to apply, you’re already too late: the project briefing days for applicants were earlier this week.
• Back in October the Ilford Recorder ran a story about E-Act’s interest in bidding to open a free school in or near Newbury Park. It reported that a disused building such as a former office block would be used.
• The Department for Education website shows the proposal was approved to the “business case stage” on 14th January.
• About a dozen people attended last night’s “public” meeting held by E-Act. Most were representing voluntary sector groups using the centre. Also present were local councillor & Labour Group Leader, Bob Littlewood & union representatives. None of these people had been sent notice of the meeting. Only a couple were prospective parents, one of whom arrived minutes before the meeting ended.
• E-Act claims to have been running a consultation since December 2010. This has consisted of a survey carried out by MORI of a about 300 prospective parents about whether they would want to send their children to a free school in the local area. No consultation of existing users of the Downshall Centre. No consultation with local residents or their elected representatives.

Some of the questions which need answering are:

• When was the possibility of using the Downshall Centre first raised with Keith Prince, Leader of the Council, or Alan Weinberg, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services?
• Why was a true consultation of all stakeholders not implemented as soon as consideration of using the centre had been agreed?
• What consideration has been given to traffic management at the crossroads on which the Downshall Centre stands? This is already a longstanding problem which will be greatly exacerbated as the school builds from its opening capacity of 120 children to 420.
• What alternatives were considered?
• How can the results of the totally inadequate “consultation” be regarded as valid when those surveyed were not told the location of the school? Nor were they told it will take over the home of many servics provided by the voluntary sector & one of just four centres across Redbridge for the borough’s Youth Service.

Everyone accepts that there is an urgent need for more primary school places in the borough. That is why the last Labour government funded the building of new, purpose built primary schools on the old Port of London playing fields and off Winston Way. But the current proposal is not the way to go about it.

The Department for Education says free schools are “set up in response to what local people say they want”. We say:

• This is the ConDem government hurriedly pushing through its ideological free schools agenda with the connivance of local Tories & Liberal Democrats. This denies local people the chance to say what they want.
• This is no way to plan for the future.
• This is top down, not bottom up government.
• This is not transparent government.

Tonight, a poorly advertised “public” meeting will be the first to hear plans to close the Downshall Centre and open a Free School in it’s place in September.

This evening, at 6:00pm, free schools education organisation, E-Act, will present proposals to open a free school at the Downshall Centre. The proposal to dispose of the Downshall Centre to E-Act will go to the Cabinet meeting of Redbridge Council on Tuesday 22nd March.

The Downshall Centre is used by more than a dozen voluntary organisations in the borough. It is also used for meetings and sessions by various public organisations, such as the Youth Offending Team. The closure of the centre would be a huge blow to its many current tenants. They were only informed of the plans in a letter posted in their pigeon holes at the centre yesterday: it made no mention of tonight’s public meeting. But it will be the many users of these organisations who will suffer most if alternative, suitable and affordable premises can’t be found.

Residents in the local area are also likely to be concerned about likely traffic chaos as the Downshall Centre is opposite the existing Downshall Primary School.

The plans have been shrouded in secrecy. A small article in last Thursday’s Ilford Recorder advertised this evening’s meeting but did not mention a specific location for the school, simply “the proposed location in Seven Kings”. When contacted today, Seven Kings councillors Balvinder Saund & Bob Littlewood reported they had only been alerted to the proposal to sell the Downshall Centre by today’s publication of the agenda for Tuesday’s cabinet meeting. Yet the council’s ConDem administration, must have provided possible locations for such a school months ago.

Pressure on school places is enormous in Ilford South. But are these rushed, secretive plans the way forward?

“The unprecedented attack on front line services in Redbridge and elsewhere is not an economic necessity but is part of a wider agenda to undermine the public sector.”

So said the preamble to Labour’s motion to the budget setting council meeting at Ilford Town Hall on Thursday 3rd March.

The Tory led administration rejected the motion and pushed through £25 million cuts over the next 3 years with the help of their Lib Dem accessories. £15 million will be cut in the current year.

Cllr Bob Littlewood, Leader of the Labour Group said:

“The cuts proposed in this budget are unprecedented and unnecessary. The coalition government wants to dismantle the public services in this country.”

(more…)

High on the list of cuts proposed by the Tory/Lib Dem Coalition running Redbridge is Goodmayes Library. They are proposing to close this modern purpose built facility in 2013. The Council feels that the tiny shop premises at Seven Kings are sufficient for all of the areas needs.

Mike Gapes M.P. Local Labour Councillors and members have been active in the campaign to oppose the closure of the Library. This weekend to celebrate National Libraries day Mike Gapes M.P. was at the protest at Seven Kings Library when hundreds of residents turned out to show how inadequate the facility was if lots of people tried to use it at once. Later demonstrators massed at Goodmayes Library itself in a demonstration of support. On Sunday Mike and the Labour Team called door to door in the Goodmayes Area collecting signatures for the petition opposing closure.

As of today the petition has 2530 signatures and it is intended to present it to the Council’s cabinet meeting on 15 February. The petition has been set up by an independent, broad alliance of local people formed to save the Library. If you have not signed go to www.savegoodmayeslibrary.org and sign there now, or call at the Library in Goodmayes Lane and sign there. We need as many signatures as possible before this vital meeting.

If you want to attend the Cabinet Meeting it is at 7.15 p.m. on Tuesday February 15th at Ilford Town Hall.

In our pictures we see Labour Cllr. Ali Hai addressing demonstrators at the Library and the Labour Team prior to setting off knocking door to door on Sunday morning.

School Places

Labour Councillors Aziz Choudhury & Ross Hatfull have been busy representing constituents at this years batch of school place appeals.

Conservative/LibDem controlled Redbridge has a chronic shortage of school places so many children are expected to make long journey’s to Hainault and Woodford Bridge each day. For primary age children this usually means parents must take and collect them when the journey can be an hour each way.

This can’t go on. Aziz & Ross are organising a petition calling on the Council to make provision of additional local authority school places in Valentines their number one priority.

Street Drinking

Many residents have told us of the problems you are experiencing on a nightly basis caused by street drinking.  Ross and Aziz are calling on Cllr. Patel, as the Cabinet member responsible for Environment and Community Safety, to approve expanding Ilford’s Drinking Control Zone to cover to cover Mansfield, York, Beal and Argyle Roads. This would give the Police more power to take action when nuisance is being caused.

If you were out when we called you can contact us to sign the petitions. Or print both petitions here, complete them & return to:
Ilford South Labour Party at:
6 Mildmay Road, Ilford, Essex, IG1 1DT

Or call at Aziz & Ross’s Advice Surgery, Cranbrook Baptist Church, Wellesley Road, Ilford every 2nd and 4th Saturday each month between 10.30 a.m. to 12.30

Look here to see the newsletter we have been distributing in the Valentines area.

On November 4th Redbridge’s Conservative Cabinet has to decide how to react to the 5,000 people who responded on line and on paper to the Council’s questions about what major developments to go ahead with and how they ought to be paid for.
They are likely to put off any solid decisions until next year.

Respondents chose school improvements and the construction of a new leisure Centre and Pool in Ilford South to replace recently closed High Road Pool above all other options.

They also chose the sale of land in North Ilford as the means to pay for these developments.

Labour supported the setting up of the Conversation, as an alternative to the Tories “solution” to the financial mess they have been in for years which was to sell allotments.

Labour also support the choices the people have made, especially the building of a new Leisure Centre and Pool to replace the recently closed High Road Pool, and we will continue to campaign until we get what the local people want.