Month: May 2019

There are four major issues at present. If you are interested in knowing more about any of these please contact us.

• The “Madison Square Garden Sphere” between Westfield and Angel Lane: A planning application has been lodged which gives rise on initial examination to some serious concerns. We are going to examine it more carefully with other interested stakeholders and LCC HQ with a view to lodging objections by the end of June deadline. The full application is available here
  
• The Freemasons Rd Liveable Neighbourhood potentially covers a wide area and has potential to deliver huge benefits for walking and cycling , particularly when linked to other schemes covering the Royal Docks. The Council are going into detailed design stage and we hope to contribute to this. The area of the scheme is set out in this map.
  
• Newham Council are consulting residents in Manor Park west of High Street North on how to counter the large scale rat-running. The recent changes to the direction of one way flows so not appear to have solved the problem as this document showing traffic flows indicates.
  
• Newham Council have consulted on how to counter rat running in Manor Park to the east of High Street North. We are awaiting further information on the solution.
  
  We will be pressing for high quality schemes that make these areas akin to Liveable Neighbourhoods. In its Local Implementation Plan Newham Council have told TfL:
  
  “The Council is committed to the delivery of Safe and Healthy Neighbourhoods schemes across the Borough in response to resident concerns. Two schemes are already being delivered with 2018-19 LIP funding in the East Ham North and Manor Park wards”
  
  
  
  
  
  

On Saturday 25 May a team of Newham Cyclists took a group of enthusiastic children from the Saturday cycle club of the Canning Town based charity “Ambition, Aspire, Achieve” on a ride of the Greenway and Olympic Park.

Sunday saw a large group of 20 – from Newham and other areas of London take our latest leisurely Newham Ride.

Its 15 miles took in the Greenway, Gallions, the Thames to Woolwich, the Royal Docks and the River Lea. The weather was excellent for the duration of the ride and we even managed to navigate though crowds of comic book heroes at the Excel Centre. Once we were back the weather deteriorated.

Our next ride is the longer “Cake Mountain Ride” on 9 June before reverting back to another Newham Ride, using a slightly different route, on 16 June.

Arnold

With thanks to Rishi, a video of the event.

20 gathered in an upstairs room in the Red Lion High Street South for our Annual Meeting.

The following Officers were elected.:

• Co-ordinator:  Arnold Ridout;
• Deputy Co-ordinator:  Kerena Fussell;
• Treasurer: Bill Bremner;
• Rides Co-ordinator:  Steve Smith;
• Local Infrastructure Rep:  Olawale Ajibola;
• Deputy Infrastructure Rep:  Chris Kershaw;
• Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Rep: Jonathan Rothwell.

A draft Annual Report , Annual Accounts and Budget were approved.

Away from the more formal business:

• Terry Patterson, LCC Trustee, expressed her appreciation of the groups work over the past year and asked members to consider standing for posts as LCC Trustees.
• Louis Martin, from Fossil Free Newham, recalled that Newham Council had now voted unanimously to to go “fossil free”, explained what this entailed and reminded us that vigilance was needed to ensure that this vote was put into practice.
• In response to Steve’s report on rides, there was discussion on categorisation of rides.
• Olawale outlined developments following Newham Council’s successful bid to take part in TfL Liveable Neighbourhoods initiative in Custom House and prospects for the principles to be applied in the Stratford/ Forest Gate areas in partnership with Waltham Forest. Murray Woodburn, from Newham Council, supplemented this and delivered the news that 5 pilot “School Streets” initiatives had been agreed.
• Our discussion on how to communicate better and in a changing environment resulted in a call for a single regular e-mail newsletter to replace the Borough insert into the London Cyclists magazine and continued use of the Yahoo Group for urgent communication – backed up by continued use of social media.
• We discussed forthcoming activities including a possible Councillor Ride, and a partnership event with Stratford Original on 13 June during Bike Week.

Watch this space over the next year

Arnold