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Recent changes to local bus routes have impacted the lives of many local residents. In the third of a series of articles, 14-year-old Riku Fryderyk reflects on the day ITV News came to Wanstead to pick up the story

The Save Our Local Bus Services campaign made great progress in just the first month of 2025. I was first introduced to the group by my friend and joined one of their regular meetings at Christ Church in Wanstead out of curiosity. As a local video producer who covers all topics transport-related, I have, since that meeting, been working on a documentary to inform people across London about the impact of TFL’s bus route changes here and help residents’ voices to be heard.

And so, the moment I heard that Liz Martins, the founder of the campaign, had organised for ITV News to come down to Wanstead on the last day of January, I made sure I was there on that rainy Friday morning to film the entire event. The turnout was fantastic, with a crowd of concerned local residents listening to a panel of varied speakers, including Calvin Bailey MP, a director of the Wanstead Mental Health Clinic and many others. It felt incredibly powerful for the community to come together and speak their mind. Many will agree people’s horrible stories and experiences shouldn’t be diluted by the press and media – people want to know the truth.

The weather hadn’t permitted the gathered crowd of residents to walk all the way down to Wanstead Tube station, but we did get as far as Wanstead Place. The peaceful protest went brilliantly. We stopped traffic to cross the road safely, placards with messages like ‘Shame on TFL!’ and ‘Local Buses For Local People’ being held high in the air, with honks of support from car and bus drivers as Liz made our concerns heard through a megaphone.

After making it back, the ITV crew had a chance to interview a few people, myself included. In their report, which was aired that evening, there was a statement from the TFL press office which claimed that “26,500 more people now live within one bus journey of Whipps Cross Hospital.” We are well aware, though, of the countless disadvantaged people who no longer have simple access to the hospital.

It is so important that you make even a small contribution to this campaign by signing the petition, which takes very little time. Every name counts as we slowly but steadily progress to the goal of 10,000 signatures, which will permit a government response.

Each of the three routes (W12, W13 and W14) should run every 15 minutes in peak hours, and every 20 in off-peak. However, the concern is important nationwide – our campaign wants the government to agree on the fact that local residents must be meaningfully consulted prior to any changes that are made across the UK.

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

A young filmmaker has created a documentary about TfL’s recent changes to the W12, W13 and W14 bus routes.

“My film features interviews with campaigners, bus trips with affected members of the public and footage from the middle of the campaigning action. I’ve tried to give a full explanation of TfL’s route design flaws, as well as a hopeful message for the campaign group’s success,” said 14-year-old Riku Fryderyk. A Bus Route Change Disaster is available to watch on Riku’s YouTube channel.

Visit wnstd.com/rfyt

A decision on the application for a development at Holy Trinity Church on Hermon Hill is expected this month.

If approved, Project Arclight will see the church’s 100-year-old Trinity Hall demolished to make way for a three-storey apartment building and nine houses. A new hall, playground and café are also part of the plans, which the church hopes will benefit the wider community. A number of local residents who believe the current hall is a vital piece of local heritage have opposed the plans.

Visit wnstd.com/pa

Acting Inspector Reshma Sher celebrates the opening of a new police hub in Woodford, which she says will improve local policing. Photo by Geoff Wilkinson

In partnership with Redbridge Council, a new police hub has opened in Woodford, within the heart of the community in the Orchard Estate, off Broadmead Road. There will be up to 20 officers based there, covering six wards: Bridge, Churchfields, Monkhams, South Woodford, Wanstead Park and Wanstead Village.

The opening of our police hub in Woodford provides Safer Neighbourhood officers with a dedicated base, which means officers will be stationed within walking distance of their wards and able to respond more effectively to issues such as antisocial behaviour, theft and vandalism.

The hub will also help to improve police response times across the west of Redbridge by reducing the current travel time from Ilford and Barkingside, giving officers more time for local patrols and tackling issues.

Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said: “We are totally committed to making neighbourhood policing stronger than ever before so we can focus on tackling the crimes that matter most to Londoners. It’s an important step towards the Met’s mission of delivering our strongest-ever neighbourhood policing, which has already seen an additional 500 officers dedicated to working in communities across London, ranging from Superintendents to PCSOs.’’

I hope to provide you with some great results from the hub in the near future, but for now, I would like to share some good news stories from across Redbridge. There has been an almost 13% reduction in the number of offences in the previous 12 months, including fewer reports of violence, drug offences and violence against women and girls.

Some of our recent local operations have seen:

• 65 bags of cannabis and nine wraps of white powder – along with approximately £2,000 – seized when a car was stopped on Goodmayes Lane.
• A man, later found to be wanted for three other burglaries, pursued and arrested after officers noticed an alarm at a commercial premises near Ilford station.
• Officers on routine patrols around Churchfields recovered two machetes and a hunting knife from a building known to be used as a squat.
• Four arrests as part of an operation focused on offenders targeting victims making ATM withdrawals in Ilford town centre.
• Three machetes, a firearm, white powder and brown substance found in a property in Mayfield Ward as part of an intelligence-led operation. A man ran from the property, was located by a dog unit and arrested.
• Three vulnerable women rescued from a brothel by neighbourhood officers in Ilford.
• Two robbery suspects arrested by officers in the Orchard Estate after they stole a victim’s coat and recorded the attack on a phone.

The Woodford Police Hub is located on the Orchard Estate, Broadmead Road. For more information and to contact your local Safer Neighbourhoods Team, visit wnstd.com/snt

Work to improve Chestnut Avenue in Wanstead Park has been completed.

“This double avenue of chestnut trees, with an iconic view towards the Temple, is an important feature in the park… By removing lower branches and opening up the northern side of the avenue adjacent to Chalet Wood, we are helping improve the avenue’s health and ensure definition to the park’s heritage features,” said a spokesperson for the City of London Corporation, which manages the park as part of Epping Forest.

Mark Gorman is co-author of a new book exploring the almost forgotten work of unemployed labourers who transformed the local landscape in the late 19th century

Epping Forest is far from being a natural landscape. For centuries, people have been making use of the forest, and in doing so, have continually altered ‘the natural aspect’. The southern forest is no exception – from the 1880s to the first decades of the 20th century, the terrain we know today was created largely by unemployed workers.

When the City of London Corporation took over Epping Forest in 1878, they set about altering the landscape of Wanstead Flats, Wanstead Park and Leyton Flats. There was an economic depression in the late 1880s and 1890s and local worthies formed committees to support unemployed labouring men and women. There were public appeals for money and later, government grants began.

Local Distress Committees organised public works projects and all the lakes on the Flats, and several in the Park, were created or much altered. Heronry Lake was enlarged, the island created and the bottom concreted by hundreds of unemployed labourers working only with hand tools. The Ornamental Waters were de-silted and restored. Meanwhile, on Wanstead Flats, Alexandra Lake was created from scratch, and West Ham labourers built the Model Yacht Pond (now Jubilee Pond). Sports fields were laid out on the Flats and drained. The Hollow Ponds at Whipps Cross were also enlarged and a swimming lake created.

The conditions the men faced were back-breaking, involving levelling uneven heathland, planting and tilling, as well as digging and draining the areas that were to become the lakes in the southern forest. A Forest Gate resident, observing the work on Wanstead Flats in the late 1890s, commented that “it was positively distressing to see the poor ‘unemployed’, mostly men of miserable physique, engaged in the useless labour of turning over the heavy frozen clay.”

Not all the men worked willingly, but quite minor offences could lead to dismissal. Half a dozen men were removed in March 1907 for offences ranging from refusing to stop smoking and abusive language to “being absolutely lazy.” The works foreman declared: “We are drifting into the casual labour class,” comparing them unfavourably with previous batches of men. Although those dismissed could appeal against the decision, most appeals were rejected.

The work of these men is now almost forgotten, but we owe the modern-day environment of the southern forest, with its playing fields, lakes and copses, to the unemployed labourers of East London who, in the space of 25 years, transformed the face of this landscape.

Changing the Face of the Forest by Mark Gorman, Peter Williams and Andrew Cole is priced £6 and available from a number of local outlets. For more information, visit wnstd.com/ctfotf

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

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

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

Ingrid Howarth has transformed Wanstead Place Surgery’s backyard into a wellbeing garden much appreciated by doctors and staff

The Wanstead Place Surgery Patient Participation Group (PPG) decided last summer to create an outdoor space for wellbeing activities by improving the surgery’s backyard. The yard resembled a concrete jungle, invaded by weeds one metre high. The storage shed and timber fence panels were showing signs of rot and junior maple trees had begun life in the gutters of the shed. To make matters worse, there was no outside garden tap and therefore no direct access to water, vital for any garden.

As a Wanstead resident and patient of the surgery, I offered to take on the challenge and create a welcoming outdoor space suitable for the doctors, trainees and staff.

My work began in early June, lifting five-dozen concrete slabs to create an outline shape. Roughly two thousand wild garlic bulbs (half of which are probably still there) were lifted; weeds, old tree stumps and various other bits were bagged up for the fortnightly waste collections.

Once the areas for planting were established and cleared, a trip to Redbridge Garden Centre ensued to buy soil, compost and a host of plants and shrubs. Some patients and other Wanstead residents, encouraged by the project, kindly donated plants from their own gardens. A big thank you goes to a friendly neighbour who offered to remove over 200 kilos of rubbish and then installed a very useful garden tap.

Planting continued in earnest over a two-month period. The panels and gates were wood-filled and painted to add colour to what was a drab area. The storage shed was cleaned and painted brilliant white and an old bookcase, shoe stand and beer drum were upcycled and now act as plant stands for colourful potted plants.

The once dull outdoor space is now flourishing with colour and happiness, and with seeds and bulbs in place for the spring, the future is looking even brighter. The first summer has already provided a wonderful space for lunch breaks, staff and PPG meetings, as well as training sessions for GP trainees and medical students. There are growing ideas of offering the garden for wellbeing and other outdoor activities for patients in the coming years. 

Wanstead Place Surgery is a large practice with a vibrant clinical team of six senior GPs, four GP trainees, three nurses, two physiotherapists and a clinical pharmacist. This is a surgery of family doctors; some of them have been resident for over two decades and have witnessed previous youngsters become parents themselves.

The surgery is located at 45 Wanstead Place, Wanstead, E11 2SW. For more information, call 020 8989 1968 or visit wnstd.com/wps

There was much excitement about recent sightings of otters in the River Roding. It was particularly astonishing given the state of the river, but is a reassuring sign of nature’s resilience, says Councillor Jo Blackman

The River Roding and its tributaries are critical features of Redbridge’s environment and a vital haven for a range of wildlife and biodiversity. They are also valued by residents and form a distinctive part of Wanstead Park and Roding Valley Park, as well as plans for the Ilford Arrival scheme, a Greater London Authority part-funded programme to open up access to the Roding near Ilford, and wider regeneration.

Sadly, the River Roding has suffered similar challenges to other waterways across the country and has some of the highest number of sewage discharges in London, after the Thames. Information on permitted sewage outfalls is now made publicly available on the Thames Water website. 

Recent testing undertaken by Thames21 and the River Roding Trust in collaboration with local citizen scientists shows levels of E. coli and intestinal enterococci bacteria regularly exceeded safe limits during dry weather conditions (sometimes by a factor of over 20). These results are likely evidence of Thames Water spilling untreated sewage in addition to the outfalls authorised by the Environment Agency. Thanks to the work of the River Roding Trust, we are aware of at least two unpermitted sewage outfalls (located on the Aldersbrook and at Little Ilford). Further work is needed by Thames Water to identify any other unknown outfalls in the Roding. 

Thames Water and Environment Agency officials recently appeared in front of the Redbridge Council’s External Scrutiny Committee, chaired by Wanstead Village Councillor Daniel Morgan-Thomas. The real special guest at the committee was the Roding itself. Paul Powlesland from the River Roding Trust brought a container of water from the Roding with him – a powerful reminder that we need to ensure all agencies are acting in the best interests of the river, which has too often been neglected.

Whilst some progress has been made by Thames Water, officials at the meeting were unable to provide the committee with much detail, nor was the Environment Agency able to tell us if they had taken any action against Thames Water for the pollution of the Roding. I have therefore joined forces with Calvin Bailey MP, Chairman of the Epping Forest and Commons Committee Ben Murphy and Redbridge Council Leader Kam Rai in a letter to Thames Water and the Environment Agency demanding urgent action in the interests of the environment, public health and our residents. 

If we want the otters and other wildlife to thrive in the Roding, we need Thames Water and the Environment Agency to step up and take action to address the sewage scandal.

Jo Blackman is a Labour councillor for Wanstead Village and Cabinet Member for Environment and Sustainability. Visit wnstd.com/blackman

Drivers in Wanstead are reminded to stay alert following the installation of new yellow box junctions on the High Street.

“We train learner drivers to read pedestrians’ body language before we reach zebra crossings, ensuring they are ready to stop if someone is close to the edge of the road. If you have followed us without being aware, you may end up in the yellow box and be fined. It is not our fault there is only room for one vehicle between the crossing and the yellow box,” said local driving instructor Diane Ward.