July 2026

Redbridge Council has received government funding to pilot the use of pavement channels for electric vehicle owners who do not have off-street parking.

The channels will allow charging cables to run beneath the pavement, avoiding trip hazards and enabling access to domestic electricity tariffs. The council will cover up to £1,200 of installation costs through the Electric Vehicle Pavement Channel Grant. Additional fees are payable by the applicant, including a £315 application and license fee and a £500 bond.

Visit wnstd.com/channel

Sunil Kapur reflects on Wanstead Climate Action’s recent screening of People’s Emergency Briefing at Wanstead Library and outlines the concerns and hopes the film raised

The event was very well attended by local residents, and we were delighted to be joined by Calvin Bailey MBE (MP for Leyton and Wanstead), Councillor Jo Blackman (Redbridge Council’s lead on the environment) and three other local councillors.

People’s Emergency Briefing is a film about the risks to British life from ongoing damage to nature and to our climate. The 50-minute film presents evidence from leading UK experts on climate science, food security, health and economic stability. It is about the direct impact of climate change on ordinary life; only last summer, there were wildfires on Wanstead Flats, which led to the call-out of 70 firefighters and 10 fire engines. In the film, naturalist and television presenter Chris Packham is joined by people from all walks of life, who discuss their concerns and hopes in footage which is both serious and uplifting.

After the screening, there was a facilitated discussion. Attendees discussed their responses to the film in small groups before sharing their thoughts with the wider room. Some felt sadness, despair or frustration. Others felt we have the ability to change things, through our spending power or by lobbying elected representatives. Calvin Bailey MP expressed his own concerns about climate change. With a family himself, he wants them to have the same opportunities, including a good environment. He referred to the throwaway culture and shared that he learned to darn as a child and has passed the same skill to his own children. He acknowledged that climate change is the number-one issue of our time. However, he added that we are in a cost-of-living crisis, so the transition needs to be delivered in a way that supports those worst off.

In January 2026, Redbridge councillors unanimously declared a nature emergency.  Councillor Jo Blackman found the film moving and reminiscent of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth. She mentioned local achievements, including more EV charging points, cycle lanes and pollinator pathways. Jo thanked those in the room who had engaged in consultations to help make these changes happen. She did not dismiss the despair felt by some in the room, but reaffirmed her commitment to further drive down emissions in Redbridge.

Cedric Knight of Wanstead Climate Action spoke briefly. Noting that the talk was taking place in the library’s Churchill Room, he quoted: “I never ‘worry’ about action, but only about inaction.” The meeting closed with all attendees being encouraged to contact their MP. Every MP is being asked to call on the government to provide a clear, televised briefing to the nation about the risks of climate change.

For future screenings of People’s Emergency Briefing, visit wnstd.com/pebscreen

For more information on Wanstead Climate Action, visit wnstd.com/climate

Photographs and stories connected to The Shrubbery are being collected as part of an ongoing restoration and archiving project.

“We would love to see any images and hear any memories people are willing to share… We recently heard from the grandchild of a resident who lived here in the 1950s. They shared fond memories of childhood adventures, including playing on the roof of the building!” said Rohini Wahi, director of the iconic Grade II listed residential building on Grosvenor Road.

Visit theshrubberye11.co.uk

Wanstead Mental Health Clinic has joined forces with Fatima Whitbread MBE to support young people connected to children’s social care.

“I’m proud to be working alongside the team at Wanstead… Through innovative peer support groups and learning programmes, they are helping to break down barriers and improve access to vital mental health services,” said the former Olympian.

Fatima’s UK Campaign partners with organisations to promote better outcomes for care-experienced children.

Visit wnstd.com/wmhf

Residents are invited to help the Wanstead Community Gardeners tend to the High Street.

“Come and join our monthly working party at the Corner House on the first Sunday of each month. We meet at 10.30am and spend a couple of hours working in the Corner House garden and tidying up the tree pits on the High Street. It’s a great opportunity to meet other local gardeners, share tips and help to make our local public spaces look beautiful. No gardening experience is necessary,” said a spokesperson.

Visit wnstd.com/wcg

Sir Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London and chairman of TfL, has replied to a letter from a local school regarding long-ignored bus problems. Donna Mizzi reports

Woodbridge High School was invited to send a letter to the Mayor after its pupils from across Wanstead and Woodford suffered more than a year of severe bus travel problems. Last November, deputy headmaster Jeremy Clifton wrote and explained that the relied-on W12 buses serving the Woodford Green school had insufficient capacity, and were then replaced by even smaller electric vehicles!

Sir Sadiq Khan replied: “When making improvements to bus services, TfL must look across the whole network and ensure it is providing value for money. Occasionally, service changes are required on the bus network that may lead to changes to people’s previous journeys, but which will deliver an improved bus service overall. This was the rationale behind making the changes to the W-bus routes… Following the letter from Mr Clifton, TfL subsequently undertook surveys in the vicinity of the school. The results found buses to be busy but with no significant crowding problems on nearby bus routes.” The letter – which can be read in full online – also refers to the wider bus reorganisation and the closure of the Broadmead Road bridge.

But the Mayor’s recent survey was carried out ludicrously late. TfL’s public liaison officer said 14 months ago that the school’s bus situation would soon be surveyed. It wasn’t. Keith Prince, this area’s London Assembly Member (Conservative turned Reform), said at the beginning of 2025 that he would start a full, local investigation into the W-bus scheme and promised a survey at the school last autumn. Both never happened. Pupils say after 18 months of getting nowhere, and sometimes standing at stops in the freezing cold while full buses sailed past, they gave up. Many resort to alternative means of travel, including paying for the Tube instead of using their free bus passes or being ferried by parents.

Local residents say Sir Sadiq and TfL refuse to confront the stark problems created by the poorly devised W-bus reorganisation, imposed despite protests in September 2024. Nightingale Estate residents and elderly people on Snaresbrook Road still have no dependable hourly W14 bus to be able to reach anywhere, and have greater difficulty reaching Whipps Cross Hospital. The reorganised W-buses continue to be confusing and illogical.

Meanwhile, the dinky W12 bus frequently has insufficient capacity along its route. “Being able to get onto the W12 is a problem every day. Luckily, I can also get the W13 for my journey, but that’s no good for those at Woodbridge High,” said Wanstead High School student Maja Broker. In contrast, the W14 bus is oversized for the narrow roads of the Nightingale Estate. TfL has got the bus sizes of the W12 and W14 the wrong way round. On the myriad W-bus problems, residents say: we’ve seen it. Said it. And it still needs sorting.

To read Sir Sadiq Khan’s letter in full, visit wnstd.com/busletter