ASB awareness week outreach
Bow Road and Mile End Road is a hot spot for phone snatchers who ride bikes on the pavements and target vulnerable people. This week is ASB awareness week and I was out with local police and enforcement officers to inform people of the risks. We were standing in the freezing cold weather outside Bow Road station handing out leaflets… Read More >
Success (finally) with Onyx House
Residents of Onyx House and Aberavon Road will be pleased, if possibly incredulous, to hear that I’ve successfully sorted out the ongoing cleaning problems in the grounds of Onyx House. 401 Mile End Road, also called Onyx House, was redeveloped by the Council as much-needed Temporary Accommodation in 2021. However, the responsibility for managing the block was unclear after the… Read More >
Details for new Victoria Park festival LIDO
We now know that there will be another festival in Victoria Park in June of 2025 called LIDO. I have had an information briefing from, and meeting with, the organisers and Council officers managing the contract. I have found out a few key pieces of information and raised some issues with them for them to address in the months before… Read More >
New road sign for Malmesbury
Am I the only one so satisfied when things get that little bit better? When a resident pointed out to me that the road sign for Malmesbury Road on the junction with Alfred Street was looking a bit tired, I knew this was something I could get fixed! The old sign: I requested a new sign and the team told… Read More >
Provisional list of forthcoming EV chargers in Bow
One of the questions I’m asked most often is some variation of: “Councillor, I’d like to have more electric vehicle charging facilities in my area. How can I request one, and when will they be working?” One of the Mayor’s only manifesto commitments on transport was a promise to install large numbers of EV chargers across the borough and I’ve… Read More >
My support for a petition calling for pension fund divestment
I am please to support a campaign calling for Tower Hamlets Council to divest its pension fund from companies profiting from the Israeli State’s wars and those which profit from climate change. The campaign was led by the Tower Hamlets Coalition for Ethical Investment, which brings together Unison, the Tower Hamlets Trades Union Council, the Tower Hamlets Palestine Solidarity Campaign… Read More >
Long-running bin problem resolved!
It’s the little things that go a long way to make an area really nice to live in. However, often it is so difficult to get seemingly simple things fixed. The problem Some residents approached me about an issue with their bins. The refuse bin was always left out on the road and attracted a lot of fly-tipping. Initially, it… Read More >
Council to introduce reasonable adjustments policy for disabled residents
I’m pleased that the Council will be implementing a policy – and training for staff – to enable disabled residents to access services in appropriate formats. I am however surprised and disappointed that we didn’t have such a policy before now, and that it took a case being decided by the Local Government Ombudsman to prompt us to do so…. Read More >
Council parking enforcement consultation: more parking and where is the enforcement?
I’m disappointed to have seen the questions asked in the Council’s Parking Enforcement Consultation. The questions were overwhelmingly aimed at car owners, rather than users of other modes; there were loaded questions about increasing the number of parking spaces; and there was nothing about the quality and effectiveness of current parking enforcement. I am worried that the Administration is planning… Read More >
Update: response received from Met regarding zombie knife surrender scheme
I have received a response from the Metropolitan Police in response to concerns I raised about a scheme to surrender so-called ‘zombie’ knives. In August, I learned of the Home Office scheme to allow the surrender of ‘zombie-style’ knives and ‘zombie-style machetes’. The scheme ran 26 August – 23 September in preparation for the new legislation prohibiting the manufacture, supply,… Read More >