Save Wanstead Flats

From Blogger Pictures

Here are some campaign materials for your use – a poster / flyer and a petition.

Click here for the poster / flyer – http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10181365/Mass%20Community%20Picnic.pdf

Click here for the petition – http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10181365/Wanstead%20Flats%20Petition.pdf

Mass Community Picnic

5th September 1pm – 6pm

Location

On the spot to the west of Centre Road, where the police want to site their Olympic operations base in 2012 – Centre Road

More information

Ever since over 250 people attended a packed public meeting in July, residents living near Wanstead Flats have been demanding answers about plans by the City of London Corporation to allow the metropolitan Police to base its Olympics operational centre on the Flats in 2012.

In order to push this proposal through, the Corporation would need to amend an Act of Parliament that has protected Wanstead Flats for well over a century.

Local people want to know why the proposed site for this police base, west of Centre Road, has been chosen, how that decision was made and why the Olympic stadium site itself cannot be used. There has been no consultation, even though the plans involve locating a fenced – high security compound – with buildings, parking areas, stables and apparently even police holding cells – for at least 120 days and so close to residential neighbourhoods.

The Save Wanstead Flats campaign is organised by local people and on Sunday 5 of September, we’d like to invite you all to show your opposition to the City of London Corporation’s plans by joining us for a picnic – occupying the very spot where the police operations base would be constructed.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&q=Centre+Rd%2C+Greater+London+E7+0%2C+United+Kingdom&sll=53.800651%2C-4.064941&sspn=20.488956%2C56.90918&ie=UTF8&cd=1&geocode=FXi8EgMdw2IAAA&split=0&hq&hnear=Centre+Rd%2C+Greater+London+E7+0%2C+United+Kingdom&ll=51.559691%2C0.021672&spn=0.010485%2C0.027788&z=16

This is Our East End – Stop High Street 2012!

Tell them what you really think of their ‘regeneration’…

For those of you unfamiliar with the High Street 2012 project, it is essentially a gentrification gimmick for the route from the City to the Olympic Site in Stratford. That is, of course, including Whitechapel High Street – Mile End Road.

Amongst other monstrosities, it’s logo appears on the website for  the Water Lily Development and presumably has something to do with the demolition of the council estate right opposite what will become the Waterlily for – you guessed it – more shops that we cant afford to spend our money in.

The High St 2012 project cannot be seen in isolation from the wholesale yuppification of our area.

They never asked us if we wanted any of this…until now!

The Mile End Waste Consultation will be taking place at the Genesis Cinema, 93-95 Mile End Road, this Wednesday 28th July at 6:30 PM.

It will be discussing the nicer parts of regeneration, namely the planting of trees, cleaning of statues, and the creation of parks. Whilst WAG would not disagree that these are all things the East End could benefit from, we aren’t naive enough to think that we will be around to enjoy them for long if High Street 2012 – and their partners in Tower Hamlets Council and the London Development Agency –  have their way.

Such improvements to the area serve two purposes: one, to make it appear to the existing residents of the East End that their lives are being improved by the Olympic development and two, to make investment by those who cater for transient, but profitable, sectors of population (i.e: tourists, first-time buyers and City workers) more attractive. It doesnt take a genius to realise that the interests of the rich will take priority over the working class communities of the East End unless we organise together, now.

Fort Apache at Wanstead Flats

Packed public meeting for Wanstead Flats…

The organisers of the meeting expected only a turnout of fifty at most for this meeting but were very pleasantly surprised when the Durning Hall Community Centre was packed out with 250 people!! People were very concerned about the Metropolitan Police’s plans to put its Olympics operational centre on the Flats during 2012.

Original plans were for this centre to be there for 90 days but already the time span has gone up to 120 days. This is confirmed from information at the City of London Corporation (see here: http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Corporation/LGNL_Services/Environment_and_planning/Parks_and_open_spaces/Epping_Forest/Police+use+of+Wanstead+Flats+for+2012+Games.htm

Local people were not prepared tp put up with this and now a campaign has been set up. Thirty volunteers are on the steering group. A second public meeting is planned with invitations to the Met, and Newham and Redbridge Councils. They will be asked why the site has been chosen, why this centre could not be on the Olympics site itself, how the decision was made and why there was so little consultation. £185 was raised at the meeting for future leaflets and flyers. An information sheet with the contact information of key decision-makers, plus some initial unanswered questions, is available from Durning Hall’s reception desk.

The campaign can be contacted at c/o The Community Involvement Unit, Aston-Mansfield, Durning Hall Community Centre, Earlham Grove E7 9AB.

See Games Monitor at http://www.gamesmonitor.org.uk/node/1004 and Random Blowe at http://www.blowe.org.uk/2010/07/packed-public-meeting-demands-answers.html

P.S. When there was a plan to build 7,000 houses on Wanstead Flats in 1946 , local people organised and put a stop to it. See here: http://www.hidden-histories.org.uk/sites/all/themes/flexible/images/savetheflats-exhibition.pdf

It could be done then and it can be done now. No police site on Wanstead Flats!!

Threat to Wanstead Flats

This is from leaflet handed out in run up to a public meeting:

The Metropolitan police has applied to the City of London Corporation to build a temporary Olympics headquarters on Wanstead Flats. This will remain for three months in 2012 on the west side of Centre Road, in the area currently used by travelling fairs and circuses (for no more than a week at a time).

To make this possible, the police are seeking to amend the Epping Forest Act of 1878, which stipulated that the Corporation “shall at all times keep Epping Forest unenclosed and unbuilt on as an open space for the recreation and enjoyment of the people”. The police say they have undertaken an assessment of open land in east London and that Wanstead Flats is the “only viable site” for their Olympic operational base.

But why is it the only viable site?

What is wrong with the Olympic stadium site itself? Setting up a deployment base on Wanstead Flats means the main route for police vehicles to Stratford is via the already congested Woodgrange Road and Forest Lane.

Access to the Flats for local people will inevitably be affected by a sensitive high-security operational centre.

Changing a law protecting Wanstead Flats sets a dangerous precedent, making future building and enclosure much easier. It also treats land that belongs to us as nothing more than ‘empty space’ – which can be easily closed off whenever it is deemed ‘convenient’.

The Metropolitan police has applied to the City of London Corporation to build a temporary Olympics headquarters on Wanstead Flats. This will remain for three months in 2012 on the west side of Centre Road, in the area currently used by travelling fairs and circuses (for no more than a week at a time).

Norman the Nuclear Engine

Action East End turned up at the rally and demonstration against nuclear trains through London on Saturday July 10^th. This was organised by the Nuclear Trains Action Group and supported by us, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, and the Stop Nuclear Power Network, as well as by the Green Party. It was a blisteringly hot day and there was a large police turnout too. What did they think we would do? Burn down the Olympics site? The rally in Victoria Park attracted about a hundred people, a shame because this is an important issue that effects all working class people in East London. The best speech came from the speaker from the Stop Nuclear Power Network who said that direct action was needed to stop the nuclear trains. About seventy of us then marched through the back rivers and canal paths of Bow heading east to Stratford. We handed out copies of our leaflet to the few people we met on the tow paths.

When we got to Stratford rail and bus depot, the activists from CND and their supporters staged a die-in. This attracted a lot of attention from passers by. Action East End people meanwhile handed out hundreds of our leaflets (as well as the Howler). See our leaflet elsewhere on this blog and watch this space for future actions and events.

Nuclear Trains Group at http://www.nonucleartrains.org.uk/

LAMMAS PICNIC, Sunday 1 August 2010

LAMMAS PICNIC, Sunday 1 August 2010 – NEW LAMMAS DAY

Time: 1.30 pm – 5.00 pm – Marsh Lane Fields, Marsh Lane, Leyton E10.

Meet where the path from Seymour Road meets Marsh Lane, just west of the Dagenham Brook bridge.

The New Lammas Lands Defence Committee invite you to bring food and drink to share at our 18th annual Lammastide Community Picnic. Tea and coffee provided, as well as Lammas Loaves – ceremony of breaking the bread at 2.00 p.m.

Bring balls, kites, games to join in and acoustic musical instruments to play.

A walk around Marsh Lane & Seymour Fields will take place at around 3pm, to look around the area (including Dagenham Brook and the vandalised bridge at the river-crossing) and pick blackberries.

Waltham Forest Council are threatening to put four or five high-rise high density residential tower blocks on Seymour Fields, behind the Clementina Road back gardens – on covenanted Lammas Land!

Please come along to our picnic to find out more and discuss what you and we can do to help fight and stop this awful proposal.

Meeting place: Marsh Lane Fields

Nearest transport: Lea Bridge Road buses: 48, 55, 56; Church Road buses: 58, 158.

Contact: nlldcmail@googlemail.com

Cost: free

Children: welcome if accompanied by responsible adult – well-behaved dogs also welcome.

More information from 0790 415 9398.

Also, for the foodies amongst you, the day before the picnic (31st July) sees “Rise Up” – A Celebration of Bread at the Hornbeam Environmental Centre, 458 Hoe Street, Leyton Green (cnr Bakers Avenue, near the Bakers Arms crossroads) E17.

Free – all ages welcome.

We now have our alcohol licence so beer and wine (best organic) will be available!

The day’s programme includes:

Bread stall from 10.30am – bring your homemade loaf to share

11am – Lammas ritual to start the festival in the old pagan way

All day from 11 – play dough for all ages!

All day from 11.30 – Milling flour with our stoneground mill – bring a container to take some home.

11.30 – Learning to bake bread for all ages – approx 3 hours with time in between. Limited numbers so book your place.

13.30 – Story-telling workshop

15.00 – short films, serious and amusing bread-related titles.

16.30 – Bread stories and the Lammas toast. Hear and tell bread stories, share the Lammas loaf.

18.00 – Harvest Feast – sharing bread, good food, beer, music and poetry.

More information from 020 8558 6880.