April 2024

Kathy Taylor from Wanstead Climate Action urges local politicians to support the United for Warm Homes campaign, which highlights the mental and physical health impacts of cold homes

A new report by the Institute of Health Equity highlights the shocking fact that in Britain today, 9.6m households are living in heat-leaky homes and have incomes below the poverty line. Cold homes double the risk of adults developing new mental health conditions and put one in four children at risk of multiple mental health symptoms.

The lack of meaningful action to tackle Britain’s cold homes over the last decade has intensified inequalities and the level of harm being felt across the country with many millions of households now at crisis point.

The UK has the oldest and least efficient housing stock in Europe, with housing directly responsible for 14% of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions, driven in part by the proportion of uninsulated or poorly insulated homes. Since 2013, installation rates of energy-saving measures and insulation have plummeted by 90%. Rather than the intermittent and piecemeal approach to home insulation of successive governments so far, if there were a nationwide, government-led programme to upgrade the UK’s inefficient housing stock, not only would this bring millions out of fuel poverty, but it would go some way towards tackling the climate crisis. In addition, with the reduced costs of fuel subsidies, the improved health impacts and the stimulus to a UK green economy, the costs of a street-by-street insulation programme would more than pay for itself. This would be win-win, as we cannot get to net zero carbon emissions without tackling our leaky homes.

The total cost of insulating low-income UK homes to a suitable standard (EPC grade C) is likely to be around £74.5 billion, or £6 billion a year over 12 years, which was the original commitment proposed by Labour as part of its warm homes plan before it backtracked on this recently. Wanstead Climate Action has been taking part in a Friends of the Earth campaign called United for Warm Homes to raise awareness of this situation. 

Locally, a shocking 69% of homes in Ilford are heat-inefficient. In Leyton and Wanstead, (John Cryer’s constituency) the figure is only slightly better at 66%, and in Chingford and Woodford Green it is 65%. Due to the high percentage of leaky homes and high fuel poverty in Ilford, we met with the shadow health minister Wes Streeting MP (Ilford North), who supports the campaign. However, we are asking all local MPs to pledge support and do all they can to ensure the introduction of policies to tackle this crisis so none of their constituents suffer from fuel poverty or a cold home. John Cryer, are you listening?

Last year, over 40 Redbridge people came together to make two beautiful quilts that highlight this situation. If you have a suitable public place to display the quilts for a few weeks, do get in touch.

For more information, visit wnstd.com/ch. To contact Wanstead Climate Action, email info@wansteadclimateaction.com

In the second of a series of articles charting the challenges facing Aldersbrook Medical Centre, Paul Wildish from the patient participation group explains the fight to maintain the same level of GP provision

Ever since a letter from Sarah See – the NHS manager responsible for commissioning GP Primary Health Care in the Redbridge area – dropped through our letterboxes in February, the residents of the Aldersbrook and Lakehouse estates have felt let down. The letter announced that our current, well-respected doctors at Aldersbrook Medical Centre (AMC) were leaving, to be replaced by others, not yet known, providing a level of service not yet determined. And all this to happen by the end of March (later extended to June). 

The NHS Primary Care team implied our doctors had made a voluntary decision to hand in their notice, but AMC’s patient participation group knew different. After months of negotiations with local NHS managers, our current providers found the continuation budget they were being offered amounted to a 10% cut, making the service they currently provide economically unsupportable. The patients of AMC came together and decided we would resist this new settlement being imposed upon us.

Of course, when you are just an ordinary patient it’s one thing to want to have your voice heard and quite another to do something about getting NHS managers to listen. Well, AMC patients are working hard and learning fast, because we know that patients expressing their distress at decisions made ‘up there’ at NHS North East London’s Integrated Care Board HQ in Unex Tower, Stratford, don’t count unless you gain the support of those who carry the gravitas and influence that NHS managers take notice of. 

Fortunately, the justice of our case to keep the same level of GP provision and no cuts at AMC has won the support of our local Wanstead Park councillors, our MP John Cryer and Lord Victor Adebowale CBE, chair of the NHS Confederation. They have added their voices to ours and continue to negotiate with local NHS managers on our behalf because the decisions the ICB is making, based on a 10% reduction in the budget, can only bring about a worse service.

We know the NHS is struggling. We know there is not enough money to go round. And we understand equity is a fundamental principle of NHS provision. However, we also know telling us we are getting more than we deserve and that we should be grateful with a reduced service does not wash. What they are really telling us is you can’t have excellence. It seems innovation and good practice must be limited by the cuts the government insists the NHS managers make, regardless of the specific needs a GP surgery must address.

Is this the story we want to hear or should patients in every surgery start demanding more?

For more information on the Aldersbrook Medical Centre patient participation group, email ppg.aldersbrookmedicalcentre@nhs.net

A statement from the Wren Wildlife Group about the bluebells in Wanstead Park:

“We have worked hard lining the paths with logs, which make it clear where people should walk to enjoy the bluebell vista. People often don’t realise they are damaging the plants when they tread on the leaves – next year’s growth will be impacted. Peak flowering time is at the end of April, and Chalet Wood will get very crowded, so visitors should be aware there are other areas in the park which have lots of bluebells, so be adventurous and find them!”

A presentation about new developments in the management of Epping Forest – including Wanstead Park and Wanstead Flats – is available to watch online.

“At our recent AGM, Ben Murphy, chair of the City of London Corporation’s Epping Forest and Commons Committee, gave a fascinating window into the scale of challenges and opportunities facing Epping Forest. If you have an interest in these open spaces, it is well worth a watch,” said a spokesperson for the Wren Wildlife Group.

Visit wrengroup.org.uk

An emotional wellbeing antenatal course will launch in Wanstead this month. Here, Milli Richards and Gemma Capocci from We are Motherly Love offer some tips for pregnancy and beyond

One in four women and birthing people experience mental health problems during pregnancy and the first year post birth. According to the Maternal Mental Health Alliance, 70% of women and birthing people will underplay maternal mental health difficulties, so the likelihood is that the numbers are in fact far greater.

Soon-to-be parents are presented with imagery of happy parents, basking in the joy of new parenthood, so the reality can come as a huge shock when the baby arrives. Few people actually feel prepared for the emotional impact that having a baby can bring. So, we’ve put together our top five tips to support your emotional wellbeing in pregnancy and beyond:

1. Support network
This could be your partner, family and friends, but for many of us living in London, they are often spread across the city, if not wider, so think about what help you might need in the early days after birth. Who can help you with the cooking, cleaning, taking care of any other children and even catching up on sleep? Consider what happens when your partner returns to work; who you can lean on during this time? Sign up to antenatal classes like yoga, hypnobirthing and postnatal groups to make friends with babies of the same age. 

2. Your first few months of parenthood Making time to communicate with your partner about how you will share the responsibilities when the baby arrives is really important. Mothers or birthing partners often struggle with the mental load during maternity leave and beyond, so working out who does what during the pregnancy will avoid any shocks in the future. 

3. Information overload
There are hundreds of parenting books, experts and influencers all providing different views on how to do things and this can feel very overwhelming. Talk to your partner about the type of parents you want to be and how to listen to your own intuition. 

4. Be open and honest
It might feel scary to talk to your partner, friends or healthcare professionals about how you are feeling but there are services in place to support you, and the sooner you tell people about any changes to your mood or feelings, the quicker you will get the help you need. Being open with ‘new’ parent friends will also deepen and strengthen relationships through authentic conversations. 

5. Take time for you
Make time for yourself to do the things you love that might become harder once you are a parent; visit your favourite restaurants, see live music or shows, spend time with your friends, read a book or have a bath.

We Are Motherly Love’s 10-week emotional wellbeing antenatal course starts on 30 April at Wanstead Works (£150). Visit wearemotherlylove.co.uk

Barts Health Trust has caused concern over the continuation of bed-based end-of-life care facilities in the new Whipps Cross Hospital.

“At this time, the analysis of data does not support re-providing the current bed-based services of the Margaret Centre in the new facility.” The statement also highlights that it is “too soon to make firm recommendations” and a decision on the Margaret Centre’s future is pending. The first phase of construction for the new hospital is expected to begin this summer.

Visit wnstd.com/mcfuture

Art Group Wanstead member Sonia Cudd reflects on the inspiration that Wanstead Park’s annual bluebell display brings

I am inspired by all things beautiful, namely the elegant and yet goofy greyhound, my friend’s cat and practically anything with four legs. And more recently, Wanstead’s bluebells. My art was a way to relax from my stressful accountant’s day job. You could say I was a ‘creative accountant’, though the creativity was strictly reserved for my art! 

Since being made redundant in April 2021, I have been fortunate to live my dream of becoming a full-time artist, which is wonderful and exciting. I opened an Etsy shop which started out featuring original, limited edition linocuts of greyhounds. Over the past few years, I have been revisiting different mediums, including screenprinting, which enabled me to produce ’functional art’ such as my Wanstead bluebell tote bags and a few prototype tea towels, which were on display at Wanstead Library last November. 

I have been a member of Art Group Wanstead for a few years now and took part in last year’s bluebell art fair, for which I created my first bluebell piece, an ambitious watercolour wash with a multi-screenprint printed onto gorgeous A3 handmade paper. Unfortunately – after my strict quality control – only a few of the planned edition of 30 escaped my studio recycling bin! All was not lost as I took photos of the survivors and created a new series of bluebell digital art. 

The iconic Wanstead bluebells are also the subject of my first series of artwork for 2024. Having booked the Wanstead Library showcase for the end of February, I set myself a challenge to create new art using different mediums: oils, watercolours, acrylics, linocut prints and digital art.

I wanted to create art that represents what the bluebells mean to me and the impact they have on the emotion and mood for so many locals who visit them. The bluebell wood is such a magical place and I, like so many others, have such wonderful memories of visiting them with loved ones.

I worked throughout the sometimes wet and dreary months of January and February, looking forward to spring and new beginnings as the bluebells reappear and delight as they do year after year. I love the similarities between these delicate and yet resilient flowers and my other passion, the rescue greyhound. This may seem a very random mix, but to me, both are such things of beauty – they just need a little care and our protection to enable them to bring joy and wonder into our lives.

Sonia will have a stall at the Local Makers Market at Christ Church hall on 18 May. 

To view more of Sonia’s art work, visit gracecuddleart.com

Local solicitors Edwards Duthie Shamash is delighted to announce that Gerald Shamash, a partner in the firm, has become a member of the House of Lords, having been made a life peer

The King has conferred a peerage on Gerald Shamash, who is now a member of the House of Lords, and henceforth known as The Lord Shamash. This distinction reflects a lifetime’s work on the part of Gerald in the fields of politics and the law.

“Gerald Shamash is highly regarded for his work for the Labour Party, advising on legislative proposals, parliamentary rules and the reformation of election law, and is described as ‘peerless’, ‘a legend’, ‘one in a million’, and ‘the god of election law’,” said The Legal 500, the world’s leading legal directory.

If you keep updated with the news, you may have seen, read or heard about Gerald Shamash many times: with his involvement in cash for honours; MPs’ expenses; leading the likes of Alastair Campbell and Paul Gascoigne through a media scrum; talking live on the BBC about Prince Harry’s hacking trial in 2023; or you may have read about the legal aid lawyer who helped a senior politician in 1983 with his late-night dash to the Royal Mail sorting office, armed with a judge’s order to prevent delivery of politically damaging, inaccurate leaflets.

Gerald founded his firm, Steel & Shamash in 1981, which merged with Edwards Duthie in 2019. Since 1990, Gerald has advised the Labour Party on electoral and legal issues.

Politics was around in Gerald’s early life. His family moved from Manchester to London in 1964 for the election of his brother-in-law to Parliament. For Gerald, however, law was not always his ambition. He had a place at King’s College London Dental School that he did not take up; he decided he didn’t want to become a dentist. He then subsequently started his degree course and embarked on his law exams and articles to become a solicitor.

Fast-forward to the present, almost 50 years since qualifying as a solicitor in 1976, Gerald heads up Edwards Duthie Shamash’s parliamentary, electoral and media law practice, and is widely regarded as one of the pre-eminent specialists on electoral law in the UK as well as being a veteran practitioner in media disputes in the High Court. “He’s extremely experienced, knowledgeable and able to navigate the often blurred lines between the legal and political fields. He has excellent political judgement and a strategic legal mind,” said a spokesperson for Chambers and Partners.

The King making Gerald a life peer reflects a lifetime’s work and relentless dedication on the part of Gerald in the fields of politics, the law and the people’s access to justice.

Edwards Duthie Shamash is located at 149 High Street, Wanstead, E11 2RL. For more information, call 020 8514 9000 or visit edwardsduthieshamash.co.uk

Skylarks successfully bred on Wanstead Flats last year, helped by temporary fencing to prevent disturbance to these ground-nesting birds. Please respect the fence again this year, says Mary Holden

Wanstead Flats has always been known for its iconic ground-nesting Skylarks, but in recent years, numbers have fallen. During the 2012 Olympics, a temporary police base was installed on the fairground site, east of Centre Road, and in the following years, no Skylarks nested in that area, although several pairs continued to breed among the anthills on the other side of the road. These birds represent the closest population of breeding Skylarks to the centre of London.

Numbers have been in decline nationally for decades due to various factors, including loss of habitat. The future for the Wanstead Flats birds looked bleak. In 2020, no Skylarks bred successfully on the Flats and our other ground-nesting bird, the Meadow Pipit, also stopped breeding. Drastic action was needed to prevent the Skylarks from disappearing. The Wren Wildlife and Conservation Group, in conjunction with the City of London Corporation, which owns and manages the land, were determined to try and protect numbers locally.

So, in 2021 and each year since, temporary fencing has been erected around two areas of the Flats between March and the end of August. This has meant that the birds – whose eggs and chicks are particularly vulnerable to disturbance – have been protected from heavy human and canine footfall during the nesting season. This protection paid off handsomely last year with at least four young birds fledging – the best breeding success for quite a few years.

We hope the Skylarks repeat that success this year and that we will begin to see the recolonisation of more areas of the Flats.

In order to reduce the use of single-use plastic fencing, the City of London Corporation has this year been experimenting with blue rope to demarcate the two areas, and people are politely being asked to keep out and also to keep their dogs on a lead between Centre Road and the football pitches.

The reaction of walkers to the new ropes has generally been very positive and the vast majority of people are willing to keep out to protect the nesting birds. But like me, many people are annoyed and perplexed by those that wish to keep traversing the area. A person or persons so far unknown have been vandalising the ropes, meaning they had to be totally replaced several times last month.

Please respect the temporary fencing: the future of our Skylarks, which bring local people and visitors alike so much joy every spring and summer, may depend on it. If you see the rope being vandalised, please report it to the police by phoning 101.

For more information about the Wren Wildlife Group, visit wrengroup.org.uk

The Redbridge Cycling Campaign and local cyclist Haydn Powell have been honoured in the Mayor of Redbridge’s annual community awards.

“This well-deserved award is testimony to the fantastic work volunteers put into organising local bike rides,” said Councillor Jo Blackman. Redbridge Cycling Campaign promotes safe cycling and active travel across the borough.

The next organised ride will explore the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, departing from Wanstead Park at 11.30am on 14 April.

Visit wnstd.com/rcc

In the 38th of a series of articles, David Bird from the Redbridge Music Society introduces local pianist Yuki Negishi, who will be performing at Wanstead Library this month

Two of Redbridge Music Society’s main aims are to bring high-quality, live chamber recitals to the borough and to celebrate local musicians. Both aims will be realised on 16 April when local and international pianist Yuki Negishi will perform music by Beethoven, Debussy, Chopin and others. She will also give the world premiere performance of Christopher Norton’s Bulgarian Sketches for Piano.

Tokyo-born Yuki started piano at the age of five and at age 10 was accepted to the Julliard School of Music Pre-College Division for exceptionally talented young musicians as an honorary scholarship student. She has won many prizes – at the age of 16, she was the youngest prizewinner at the Takahiro Sonoda Piano Competition, also receiving second prize at the 2000 International Jeunesses Musicales Competition (Bucharest). Since entering the UK in 2001, she has won many coveted prizes at the Royal College of Music and elsewhere.

Yuki has worked with many eminent pianists (including Takahiro Sonoda, Peter Katin and Murray Perahia) at prestigious institutions such as the Toho Gakuen School, the Amsterdam Conservatory and the Royal College of Music, where she obtained an MMus degree (distinction) and Artist Diploma in 2006.

Yuki has given many concerts (over 600 in the UK alone) and regularly performs about 30 concerts per year. She has played at many major venues across the UK, Europe, Asia and the USA, and as a chamber musician has collaborated with members of distinguished orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic, Philharmonia and the Royal Concertgebouw. She has also broadcast on BBC Radio 3, Scala Radio, ITV, Channel 4 and on continental television and radio stations.

She released her debut CD Enigma in 2022, which was highly acclaimed in leading international music magazines. A second CD, with violinist Yukiko Ishibashi, of hitherto unrecorded works by Japanese composer Koichi Kishi has also been issued, as has a DVD from Sound Techniques in conversation with BBC presenter Andrew Green. 

Yuki is also an established adjudicator and has frequently served as a jury member for the Sussex International Piano Competition alongside distinguished pianists such as Artur Pizarro and Idil Biret.

Please come along to hear Yuki and to support this particularly significant event in Redbridge Music Society’s 75th anniversary Year.

Work to improve a section of the River Roding adjacent to Wanstead Park has been postponed.

“We had to cancel the majority of the scheduled action days last month because it seemed to rain before every event, raising the water level and making it unsafe to work. We will be resuming the project after the summer when the fish spawning and bird nesting seasons finish,” said Tyler Randall from Thames21.

Volunteers have been assisting with the installation of deflectors in the river, which create new flow patterns.

Visit wnstd.com/t21