a new Local council for the area

A local Council for the area, click on this link for more information www.e14residents.com It would not replace Tower Hamlets Council but add a new local layer below it. One more focussed on local issues. 

Liveable Streets Scrutiny Spotlight Monday 6.30pm ​


There will be a detailed scrutiny review of the Liveable Streets project Monday night 25th October by Councillors with the Mayor in attendance, the papers came out late Friday afternoon (not 7 days in advance as is preferred) 
It was advertised by the Council on Twitter but not Facebook for some reason 
https://twitter.com/TowerHa.../status/1451233228463935492...
There are 17 projects in total, 7 underway including the Barkantine, costing £11.6 million but TfL has paused parts of the Bow scheme and 10 still to come including 5 more in E14
Like everything to do with Liveable Streets the report for Monday is deeply flawed, I detail below why but first the agenda is here
https://democracy.towerhamlets.gov.uk/ieListDocuments...
But the main section is here and attached as pictures (I changed the order slightly)
https://democracy.towerhamlets.gov.uk/.../Item%209.1...
You can watch live or later as recorded from 6.30pm Monday 
https://towerhamlets.public-i.tv/.../webcast.../594686
The Chair of the Committee Cllr Mohammed Pappu has asked people to email him at Mohammed.Pappu@towerhamlets.gov.uk if they have any questions, thoughts, observations etc
You can cc me in at cllrandrewwood@gmail.com 
Any comments posted here before Sunday 4pm I can include in my email
Summary
The only area where the Council seems to actively planning to make changes is as regards removing PCL (the private company) from the consultation process and using more Council staff 
But they do agree that "There is a need to develop a bespoke consultation approach less reliant on online responses and mailed out surveys"
There is a hint, see Wapping below, that they maybe considering more resident exemptions
And note "There are concerns from TfL that diverted traffic could have adverse impacts on the wider road network and particularly bus journey times" as regards 2 road closures in Bow
It suggests that the remaining 10 schemes will move forward after the May elections but with a better consultation process
What is missing from the report is key as regards schemes already implemented 
  1. No air quality data analysis - no before and after analysis of the impact on air quality (I believe for Wapping they put up sensors)
  2. No vehicle data - no analysis of what happened to vehicles? did they stop driving, use other roads?
  3. No analysis of the responses from previous surveys especially the ethnic breakdown - who fills in the surveys is a key concern 
  4. No emergency services input despite evidence of emergency services concerns especially from the London Ambulance Service 
  5. Wapping bus gate income - I think Wapping has already paid for itself (or is close to) in fine income - what happens to this income, what will it be used for?
  6. Analysis of vehicles driving through Wapping bus gate - how many, when, types of vehicles, where vehicles registered? 
  7. Issues related to using CIL from the Isle of Dogs, Aldgate, Poplar etc on these schemes elsewhere which means less money for new infrastructure but if they have bus gates generating £££ for the Council 
  8. Resident exemptions except for one brief mention in the Wapping section "Possible resident permit for the bus gate"- but no detail on the exemptions granted for Bow and I think Wapping already 
  9. Total budget impact for all 17 schemes
  10. Poplar Healthy Neighbourhood is like a LS scheme but has a different name and led by Sustrans should that not be included in this summary

want to spend a lot of money locally?

Click on this link 25% CIL for more information about how to get involved in how the Council decides to spend the hundreds of millions of pounds it gets from developers.








​Attached is the list of some of the issues I am currently working on;
  • Planning - the picture above is a 3D rendering of what the Isle of Dogs might look like if all known developments finish - the area will be denser then Manhattan - how this area copes with that level of growth drives a lot of my work
  • Isle of Dogs Neighbourhood Planning Forum - website here 
  • Road and pedestrian safety especially around construction sites - I have drawn up this map here of the construction sites, danger spots and other issues which I share with the Council
  • 20 mph blanket speed ban - as I do not believe it delivers safer roads without other changes
  • Anti-social behaviour - short term by working with the police but this is an area that needs a lot more work
  • Member of the following Council committee's (substitute means I deputise if a colleague cannot attend)
    1. Grants Scrutiny Sub-Committee (Chair)
    2. Audit Committee (Member)
    3. Pensions Committee (Member)
    4. Housing Scrutiny Sub-Committee (Member)
    5. Overview & Scrutiny Committee (Member)
    6. Strategic Development Committee (Substitute)
    7. Development Committee (Substitute)
    8. General Purposes Committee (Substitute)
         My record of attendance at Council meetings is here , in attendance means a meeting I was not scheduled to attend but chose to
  • Communicating with residents;
    1. Through Facebook my own page here, through various local groups like Canary Wharf & Isle of Dogs Residents
    2. Twitter  
    3. www.streetlife.com now www.nextdoor.co.uk
    4. Local newspapers (see mentions in the press)
    5. & this website and emails (if you give me your email I will include you in a regular newsletter)
    6. Hand delivered letters - to deliver a letter to every single household in my ward (approximately 8,000) can take one person about four days effort so it is not something I can do very often