Chisenhale School Street
This is a summary of the conversations and fight to save the school street around Chisenhale Primary School in Bow. What are school streets? A school street is a set of measures around a school which encourage parents to walk and cycle to the school and discourage parents from driving their cars to the school. The main aims of school… Read More >
Successful monthly speed watch
I’m very pleased that our, now regular, speed watch events are a success. We are going out monthly on the 3rd Saturday of the month to observe speeding drivers in Bow West. All interested volunteers are welcome to join us, just let me know if you’d like to come and I will let you know where we are meeting. So… Read More >
Skew Bridge crash resolution
I am very pleased to report that the repairs works have finally been completed following a crash off Skew Bridge in August. What happened? In August 2022, a car crashed into a garden fence near Skew Bridge along Old Ford Road in Bow. Luckily no one was hurt in the crash, but the damage was significant. Some railings protecting pedestrians… Read More >
Glyphosate project
I have been working with local campaigners and council officers to make Tower Hamlets the first borough in the country to ban the harmful weed killer glyphosate from regular use. Background on glyphosate Glyphosate is a particularly effective weed killer which is the primary active ingredient in herbicides like RoundUp, sold the world over to farmers, businesses, consumers and land… Read More >
Standing up for social tenants and leaseholders
A big part of my role as a councillor is supporting tenants of social landlords or Housing Associations (HAs). This post is designed to be an extended general explanation of the history of HAs, my experience of them since my election and what I am doing to represent residents in Bow West. Background and history Housing Associations are an invention… Read More >
Green waste recycling project Ranwell West
A very exciting project has been launched to start green waste recycling – composting – on the Ranwell West estate. Academics from Queen Mary University will be conducting a behavioural study of residents to find out what system might work for people who live on the estate. Background Currently, neither food waste nor green waste is not collected from flats… Read More >
Full council meeting 5 October 2022
Full council meetings happen every 2 months. It is the forum where all the Councillors and the Mayor get together to debate and vote on motions and hear from members of the public. The agenda and other papers are here: Meeting Documents A link to the recording is here: Council Meeting My contributions: The most important part of this meeting for… Read More >
My response to the Mayor’s plans to rip out beneficial low-traffic infrastructure
Residents and campaigners in Tower Hamlets stand ready to oppose Mayor Lutfur Rahman’s ideological tirade against LTNs. Removing Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) was a prominent part of recently-elected Mayor Lutfur Rahman’s manifesto. Despite his victory in May, it is becoming clear that the Mayor may have overestimated how important this policy was in his victory. There has been a significant… Read More >
Reducing ASB on Malmesbury Estate
Anti-Social Behaviour is a complicated issue and it has no easy response. However, I’ve been doing my best to understand the issue and bring together resources to combat it. What is the issue? I’ve had lots of reports from residents of Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) on the Malmesbury Estate. Sometimes, behaviour is harmless, but too often residents are made to feel… Read More >
Full council meeting 27 July 2022
My first full council meeting (with all Councillors and the Mayor) was useful and interesting. The agenda and a link to the recording is here: Council Meeting Maiden speech Because this was the first council meeting I have contributed to, I took the opportunity to say a few words following my election. You can watch the speech from 1h56m in… Read More >