Features

Dr Noshaba Khiljee is the Conservative Party candidate standing for the Leyton and Wanstead constituency at this month’s General Election. Here’s why she thinks she deserves your vote on 12 December My name is Dr Noshaba Khiljee and I am the Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for the Leyton and Wanstead constituency. I was raised in Walthamstow and have many friends and family in the Leyton and Wanstead area. I understand there are a number of issues that voters in Leyton and Wanstead are concerned about. Ending the uncertainty over Brexit More than three years after the referendum result, the country needs to be able to move on. A Conservative majority government will implement the new deal negotiated with the EU, and we can then fully focus on our agenda for improving people’s lives. Improving the NHS I am a practising NHS hospital consultant and am fully committed to the principles and values of the NHS. I understand the challenges the NHS faces but am sure it can continue to deliver world-class healthcare in the 21st century. I will be a strong advocate in a Conservative government to protect NHS patients and staff and was pleased to hear that Whipps Cross...

Zulf Jannaty is the Brexit Party candidate standing for the Leyton and Wanstead constituency at this month’s General Election. Here’s why he thinks he deserves your vote on 12 December At this momentous time in British history, we should all ask ourselves a fundamental question: why is our country in such political and social turmoil, with a huge gulf between us the citizens and those meant to represent us? Well, I think we all know the answer: the politics and established parties of yesterday are no longer fit to serve us today or into the future. This has become obvious to all of us over the past three years. To change politics for good, we need to rebuild our nation’s democratic foundations so that Parliament serves us all, whatever our backgrounds and lifestyles and across all generations. To do this, we must first see the largest democratic referendum result, for Brexit, delivered. It is a matter of trust and democracy! The Brexit Party is in a unique position to drive this change because we are not part of the political status quo. Our policies include: reform of the voting system as ‘first past the post’ has failed to deliver representative government...

Ben Sims is the Liberal Democrat candidate standing for the Leyton and Wanstead constituency at this month’s General Election. Here’s why he thinks he deserves your vote on 12 December Our politics is broken. The Conservative Party has abandoned any claim to economic competence for an ever-harder Brexit. The Labour Party spend their time squabbling rather than opposing a Brexit that would do untold damage to our communities. Both are stuck in the past, failing time and again to deliver a better future. Re-electing a Brexit-backing, Corbyn-supporting Labour MP means more of the same. Thankfully, things are changing. In May, the Liberal Democrats won the European Elections in London. We have an ambitious plan for the future of our country, where every person, every community and our planet can thrive. We can stop Brexit and use the £50 billion Remain bonus to rebuild our country. Once Brexit is stopped, my number one priority will be the climate emergency. We will generate 80% of our electricity from renewables by 2030 and commit to insulating all low-income homes by 2035. I will lead the fight against the ridiculous plans to expand London City Airport. It is senseless to inflict noise and air...

Rising at Molehill Green in Essex, the River Roding passes through the Wanstead and Woodford area en route to the Thames, bringing with it a very real flood risk to local homes. In the sixth of a series of articles charting the River Roding Project – which aims to reduce that risk – Laura Hepworth from the Environment Agency reflects on the project’s recent community events. River image by Anna MacLaughlin Since our last article, the River Roding Project Outline Business Case has been approved, which means we are now working to produce detailed designs. We are aiming to apply for planning permission by spring 2020. We have also submitted a bid for funding to the Mayor of London’s Good Growth Fund, and should hear if we are through to the next stage early next year. During October, we were busy hosting local events, which took place on Ilford High Road and outside Woodford Station. At these community events, we raised awareness of the local flood risk and shared information on the proposed environmental enhancements in Redbridge. It was a great opportunity for residents to provide their thoughts and highlight further improvements they would want to see along the Roding. The proposed local enhancements...

In the 19th of a series of articles, David Bird discusses the work of Redbridge Music Society and introduces us to local jazz pianist Keith Nichols, who will be performing at Wanstead Library in early December One of the aims of Redbridge Music Society is to bring high-standard live musical events of all styles and genres to local venues at affordable prices, performed within a social and genial atmosphere. On 3 December, Keith Nichols will provide a programme of festive music performed in his own inimitable way at the Churchill Room in Wanstead Library. Keith is considered to be a foremost authority on classic jazz and ragtime and is a widely respected exponent of the Harlem Stride style of jazz piano playing – a style developed in the large cities of the American East Coast during the 1920s and 1930s. He also specialises in all older jazz piano styles, including Scott Joplin, James P Johnson (“the father of stride”), Duke Ellington and Fats Waller. Born in 1945 in Ilford, Keith took piano and accordion lessons at the age of five, becoming Great Britain junior champion on accordion in 1960. After graduating from the Guildhall School of Music, he turned professional...

At next month’s meeting of the Wanstead Historical Society, Mark Gorman and Peter Williams will explain how Wanstead Flats was used as a venue to spread political and religious messages Take a fascinating journey through the history of the flats showing how this semi-regulated space became the base for the free expression of ideas, whether religious or political, at the end of the 19th century. Some notable local characters from Leytonstone stand out. Bushwood, it turns out, was our local Speakers’ Corner. The talk will also discuss how the conservators, the City of London Corporation, sought to exercise control and some of the court cases that ensued. Political and religious groups have long seen Wanstead Flats as a natural meeting place, as ‘public property’ for the use of the people. However, since the passing of the Epping Forest Act in 1878, the City of London, as ‘conservators’ responsible for managing the Flats as part of the wider forest, have tried to control and restrict such uses. This is the story of the struggle between these two differing views of Wanstead Flats. Up to the mid-20th century, the main means of communicating political or religious messages was through mass meetings and processions with...

In the first of a series of articles, local photographer Geoff Wilkinson discusses his new exhibition – entitled ‘Quick! Before it goes’ – depicting London’s East End, an area which resonates with many residents here. Growing up in London’s East End was a fascinating experience for a young boy. In the 1950s, bomb damage from the war was still very much evident. Living mostly in Stratford, I remember the area just to the right of the old Angel Lane street market which had been completely flattened. No houses or buildings remained; it was just a playground or used for parking vans and cars, such as there were. Perhaps it is the memories of this loss of buildings and architecture that has made me so determined to photograph what is left of the old East End. When I opened my Whitechapel exhibition last year at the gallery, it was interesting to see the various reactions of the visitors when they saw the photographs. Many of my generation were delighted to see pictures of streets where they had grown up and played or perhaps the buildings where their grandparents had lived. My daughter’s generation, mainly young professionals, reminisced about nights out at bars...

At this time of year, many homeowners will be in their gardens pruning back hedges and trees. Just be sure you don’t chop off more than you can handle, says Ruhul Ameen, a partner at local solicitors Wiseman Lee If you are planning to do more than a little light pruning and are considering more major changes in your garden, it’s worth making sure you are aware of your legal rights first – particularly if it affects neighbouring properties. In one case, a Dorset homeowner was prosecuted for cutting down 11 trees on his property. He had not realised they were subject to a Tree Preservation Order. This meant he needed to apply to his local authority for permission before either pruning or removing the trees. One of the consequences of removing the trees was that it increased the light and garden space of the property. In fact, when the case went to court, lawyers acting for the council argued that the tree removal had added an additional £137,500 to the value of his £1.4m home. Despite claiming he had not carried out the work to enhance the value of the property but had only removed the trees to protect...

Christine Clark will be talking about her experiences of volunteering at Redbridge Foodbank at an East London Soroptimists event this month I volunteer at Redbridge Foodbank, one of the 1200 Trussell Trust foodbanks in UK. We provide a food and hygiene parcel for clients, designed to last around three days. The intention is to tide them over until their situation has improved. Most of the people who come to the foodbank are in financial difficulties due to low income or benefit changes or delays. However, we also have people who are sleeping rough on the streets, or who are having difficulties due to bereavement, health issues, redundancy, or who are asylum seekers.  Last year Redbridge foodbank gave out over 6000 food and hygiene parcels, an increase of almost 2000 on the previous year. The role I play at the foodbank is to meet and greet the clients, welcoming them in a warm and friendly manner. They arrive with a referral voucher and I go through our "shopping list" with them while they tell me what things they needs. They are then able to have a hot drink and biscuits while their parcel is prepared. While they wait, I also chat...

In the 18th of a series of articles charting the Wild Wanstead project, green roof expert Chris Bridgman explains how to turn your extension roof into a wildlife-friendly garden in the sky Living green roofs can be installed on most flat or gently inclining roofs. For an average residential extension, the green roof system is just loose laid directly on top of the roofing material as an extra layer. This can be done when building a new extension or retrofitted onto an existing roof. The green roof system is made up of three main components: A root barrier that stops the roots of the plants getting through and damaging your waterproof layer (most new roofing felts are already root-proof so this may not be needed). A drainage layer, which stores water but also lets any rain seeping through the vegetation run off the roof and into the gutters in the usual way. A lightweight growing medium for the plants – small particles of porous material and organic matter, which takes the place of soil. Plants are grown on top with a small gravel border around the perimeter. For low-maintenance options, roofs are usually planted up with sedum, meadow wild flowers or...

In the sixth of a series of articles looking at the developing plans for restoring Wanstead Park, John Sharpe from the Friends of Wanstead Parklands takes a look at the recently published Parkland Plan. Photo of Perch Pond by Christian Moss In the October edition of the Wanstead Village Directory, in his article on the lakes of Wanstead Park, Friends of Wanstead Parklands member Richard Arnopp referenced the development of the Parkland Plan, which sets out in detail the vision for future restoration and management of the park. The latest version has now been published and sets out how the work aspires to improve the park environment and the user and visitor experience. The intention of this article – and the next instalment planned for the December edition – is to summarise these planned developments, which aim to regenerate Wanstead Park (which since 2009 has been on Historic England’s ‘Heritage at Risk’ register) and put it on the map as the main ‘Southern Gateway’ to the wider Epping Forest landscape. The Friends of Wanstead Parklands have worked with the other major stakeholders to best represent park users within the developing framework. However, it is the main landowners – the City of...

Wanstead resident Colin Cronin started organising local Remembrance services several years ago. Here, the former councillor explains why he continues to do so and why such events provide a valuable lesson. In 1922, local residents gathered for the unveiling of the Wanstead War Memorial next to Tarzy Wood. Designed by Forest Gate resident and sculptor Newbury Abbott Trent, it has stood as a permanent reminder for Wanstead residents of those members of our community who have given their lives selflessly during times of conflict. Seventy-five years later in 1997, Snaresbrook’s Garden of Remembrance (off Snaresbrook Road) opened to honour all victims of war. Now we are in the Remembrancetide period, members of the Wanstead community, young and old alike, are once again ready to stand together at the war memorial on Remembrance Sunday and in the Garden of Remembrance on Armistice Day to pause, reflect and pay our respects to those who, for our tomorrows, gave their today. I first began assisting the Royal British Legion in organising the Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day commemorations several years ago, and with the closure of the British Legion’s Wanstead branch some time ago, have continued to organise these annual commemorations ever since,...