February 2025

Nightingale Primary School will join Redbridge Council’s School Streets scheme this month.

From 24 February, vehicular traffic will be prohibited from entering Ashbourne Avenue and part of South View Drive during term time. The restrictions will be in force from 8.30am to 9.15am and from 3.15pm to 4pm. “These schemes are critical to protecting children from traffic at the school gate, preventing accidents and keeping children safe,” said a spokesperson.

A consultation on the scheme was conducted last year. 

People living with Parkinson’s and other movement conditions are invited to join free seated yoga classes in Wanstead.

“The benefits of yoga, adapted for the chair, extend beyond improving mobility and posture, it also lifts the mood and supports the nervous system, which is important when managing a health condition,” said yoga therapist Yanar Alkayat, whose classes are funded by Parkinson’s UK.

The hour-long sessions take place at Christ Church every Wednesday from 12 noon.

Visit wnstd.com/freeyoga

Wanstead’s Laugh-Able comedy night returns with an all-LGBTQ+ line-up, including a UK Pun Championships finalist. The accessible event simply asks the audience to pay what they can afford, says Mark Nicholas

Hello Wanstead locals! This month, the only award-winning disability and mental health-themed comedy night will opens its doors once again for another fantastic showcase of talent! And you only need to pay what you can afford to be in the audience; you can even reserve for free if you need to!

For February’s performance, there is an additional theme. I am very proud to be working with Redbridge Rainbow, One Place East and Vision RCL to be showcasing the most up-and-coming and best LGBTQ+ acts on the UK comedy circuit. What a fantastic way to celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month with immense pride!

LGBTQ+ causes have always been close to my heart. I have learned so much from close friends in my life who identify as LGBTQ+ and have witnessed the trials and tribulations they have faced because of their identity. And so it is an honour to be with them as they celebrate who they are. I am, and always will be, an ally to such an important cause. So, when Rhonda from Vision RCL came to me a few years ago at the very start of this Laugh-Able venture with an idea to include an LGBTQ+ night as part of our monthly event, I embraced it with open arms. Over the years, so many incredible LGBTQ+ comedians have graced our Laugh-Able stage including Jen Ives, Andrew O’Neil and Rosie Jones. 

This month, we have Leicester Mercury Comedian Of The Year finalist Stephanie Laing closing the show. Stephanie began on the Scottish comedy scene in 2007 and since then has performed at the most prestigious comedy clubs in the UK, including The Laughterhouse, Frog and Bucket, The Stand, Komedia and The Comedy Store.

As this will be an all-LGBTQ+ line-up, I will be temporarily stepping back from my regular duties as MC to give a guest host the chance to shine. I will, of course, be there cheering everyone on (and helping Rhonda, Paul and Albert with all the amazing behind-the-scenes work they do to make this show run so smoothly). So, for this month, you will be left in the very capable hands of US comic Rabiah Coon, who is now based in London. After beginning her stand-up career in San Diego, she quickly developed a reputation for her unique style, blending storytelling with dry humour and a dash of self-deprecation. And last year, Rabiah was a finalist in the UK Pun Championships. 

Special thanks go to Vision RCL, One Place East and Redbridge Rainbow for supporting this month’s show and to Wanstead Village Directory for giving me the space to publish this article. See you in the audience!

The Laugh-Able LGBTQ+ comedy night will take place at Wanstead Library on 19 February from 7.30pm to 9.30pm (pay what you can afford). For tickets and details of future events, visit wnstd.com/laugh2025

Recent changes to local bus routes have impacted the lives of many local residents, including 13-year-old Lola Bullman-Borg, who now finds her journey to and from school more stressful 

My name is Lola. I am 13 years old and go to Woodbridge High school. For those who live in the Wanstead or South Woodford area, TfL’s bus route changes have brought us students nothing but stress and anger.

Before the changes last September, I caught the 549 bus (that shockingly only ran every 90 minutes) from South Woodford to Loughton at 8am to get to school by 8.30am. I took the 549 as it was less busy than the W14, which had a similar route and annoyingly would come a few minutes later, rather than being more evenly spaced out. However, with the 549 being so infrequent, I always caught the W14 to go home, but being a single-decker, it was inevitably crammed full with schoolchildren.

TfL’s changes mean the W14 runs hourly, so even though it’s more direct and I don’t have to change buses, I use the W12, which is timetabled to run every 15 minutes. That timetable is meaningless though, because the W12 route has been extended and the bus goes down all the busy main roads, getting stuck in heavy traffic. I and my friends often wait an extra 20 minutes after school every day because the bus is running late and with sometimes two, or even three, buses arriving around the same time. 

There is no worse feeling than seeing the bus go past because it is not running as scheduled and being left to wait in freezing weather or rain for the next bus, that then arrives late. 

Many elderly people have also been affected as the W14 does not go into Whipps Cross Hospital and does not stop at places that they need, such as the shops on Wanstead High Street, the supermarkets on George Lane or Wanstead Tube station. 

I remember taking my bass guitar and having to walk it all the way to school because I missed the bus. I was sweating so much my hair was wet. I ran halfway because I couldn’t risk being late. 

These changes are standing in the way of my education. The buses are essential transportation that gets me to school and home. I feel unsafe standing on the street waiting for a bus; I have no idea when it will come.

I remember the confusion and chaos when the changes came on 7 September. We didn’t know about them and people didn’t know which bus to take. Many children were late for school. The new service is a mess and I hear stories every day of how others are also suffering with the buses in the area.

If you are affected by the local bus route changes, submit your experiences to the Save Our Local Bus Services campaign. Visit wnstd.com/busform. To view the campaign’s petition, visit wnstd.com/bus

Cherry Tree Café on Woodbine Place – which is run by students with additional learning needs from New City College – is seeking donations of plants to improve its outdoor space.

“Just before Christmas, Daniel Windsor Landscapes donated their time to transform our garden into a lovely area where our students, customers and clients from the adult centre can enjoy sitting outside. We are now looking for donations of plants and herbs to turn this area into a sensory garden,” said Jayne Hart.

Call 0330 135 9000

Residents are encouraged to provide feedback on the draft designs for a new education and youth hub on the site of the former Wanstead Youth Centre, which closed in October 2023 for repairs.

The £6.5m project will see the facility remodelled, with the addition of classrooms, a café, playrooms and office space. Under the plans, the centre’s rear gymnasium will be converted into a dining hall and multipurpose space, which has sparked concern among campaigners.

The hub is expected to open in September 2025.

Visit wnstd.com/hubplans

Chair of the River Roding Trust Paul Powlesland reports on the results of the river’s first-ever comprehensive water testing programme, with some disturbing figures for the Alders Brook 

The water testing project – which ran between May and September 2024 – brought together the River Roding Trust, Thames21 and local volunteers (citizen scientists) in an excellent example of local coordination and action. 

The results are good and bad. There is clearly a serious problem with combined sewer overflows (CSOs) illegally spilling sewage into the stretch of the Roding between Loughton and Ilford. That being the case, the water quality as the river enters London is OK, and often good, so there is real hope that if these CSOs are fixed, the Roding could achieve bathing water quality status in London. 

To produce this report, local volunteers had a rota to collect samples in eight different locations along the river from Loughton down to Ilford. Originally, sampling was only going to go down to Ilford, but thanks to lobbying from the River Roding Trust, it was extended downstream to give the people of Barking information about water quality in their stretch of the river. These samples were sent off to be tested for E. coli in a lab. The results were then analysed by Thames21, plotted onto graphs and compared to rainfall data to begin to understand what was causing any raised levels of E. coli. Results were analysed against the Bathing Water Regulations (2013) standard for Faecal Indicator Organisms levels, which the Environmental Agency uses to classify designated bathing water quality.

In many ways, it is a damning indictment of the Environment Agency that such testing has never been carried out before. How can it be government agencies had no idea whether the water in the third-largest river in London, flowing through the middle of massive population centres, was grossly polluted?

Nine outfalls discharged untreated sewage for a total of 316 hours, causing clear spikes in bacteria levels at many sample points during the monitoring programme, at times in periods of very little rainfall. These discharges meant many of the samples collected produced results that were poor and showed E. coli above safe bathing water quality levels. 

The worst performing outfall was in the Alders Brook (a tributary of the River Roding with its source within the City of London Cemetery), which was causing E. coli spikes of up to 19 times safe limits. What makes this more infuriating is that I discovered this illegal outfall nearly four years ago and it still has not been fixed by Thames Water. 

It is heartening that, thanks to the efforts of local volunteers, we now have a picture of water quality on the Roding for the very first time. We now need the Environment Agency to do its job as guardian of the river and act on this report by stopping all illegal sewage spills into the Roding.

For more information and to view the report, visit wnstd.com/rodingwater

Residents are invited to contribute to a series of Wanstead Village Directory articles documenting local memories, thoughts and feelings about World War Two.

“Calvin Bailey MP explored the importance of Remembrance in the January 2025 issue and Rev Gilder outlines his hopes for local VE Day celebrations in the February 2025 edition. With 2025 marking 80 years since the war’s end, I’d like to continue this theme. If you have a story to tell – yours or a relative’s – do get in touch,” said editor Lee Marquis.

Email editor@wnstd.com