SLM WEEKLY DIGEST 16-10-14

SLM WEEKLY DIGEST 16.10.14

This is the Weekly Digest of Save Lea Marshes.  We are a group of Lea Valley area residents, concerned to see the wonderful green spaces of the marshes and other local green space saved for wildlife and future generations of children and local people to enjoy.  To find out more and be kept up to date with our work please see our website   and our blog 

There will be a new item added to our sales page soon.  We will be launching our SLM 2015 Calendar featuring the winning photos from the What I love about the marshes exhibition.  It will be the “must have” calendar of the year and make an excellent Christmas present.  So don’t buy a calendar until you hear that ours is available.  It will be fabulous, local and funds raised will go towards our campaign.

From beautiful nature to less beautiful corporate adverts – this week’s Hackney Citizen has an article about Hackney Council’s decision to use the entire façade of Hackney Marshes User Centre for a giant advert for trainers. As the Council have promised £30,000 of the funds raised to go to sport, the group supporting the new building on North Marsh have supported the move. This doesn’t bode well for what we will be allowed on the new pavilion building. Our pavilion or Adidas’s pavilion, we wonder…

Following on from last week – Mayor Jules Pipe has replied to our petition and that of those supporting the Council’s present plans for a new pavilion. Our response is on our blog here.

Petitions to see the North Pavilion built on the site of the current changing rooms and no additional car parks are still live, up until planning committee meet.  The Lee Valley Regional Park Authority’s  (LVRPA) Lower Lee Valley meeting came to the decision to object to plans in their present guise, following SLM and Hackney Marshes User Group representation, due to the adverse impact on Metropolitan Open Land in Lee Valley Park.

TRIANGLE-ULATED -  correspondence about the fencing off of the piece of Network Railway Land continues.  Network Rail are sticking to their reasons of closure being trespass, possible theft and as yet non-specific “illegal activities”  as well as, overall safety being the main reasons and state that OSS maps do not show  public access rights.

LOOKS LIKE THE BACK OF A BUS –   If you haven’t seen the advert yet – look out for a similarly sinister No.38 “Boris” Bus, the design isn’t just on the back ..

LITTER-ARY DEBATE – following the letter from a representative of Camden Football Club in the “Hackney Gazette” last week about “people with dogs littering the marshes” – the debate has continued with a counter claim that the fault of littering was mainly the footballers.  Chair of the Hackney and Leyton Football Club has responded and called for more litter bins on the marshes.

MORE FRACKING HELL – the petition of the week is Greenpeace urging people to get their M.P.’s to strike out Cameron’s updating of the law in Parliament this week to allow fracking companies “to pump ‘any substance’ under people’s homes and property and leave it there”.  Go here

HASHTAG FOR LONDON NATIONAL PARK CAMPAIGN – the other contender this week is this campaign’s request for people to join the “thunderclap”, basically a way of getting #AskBoris on Twitter to listen to the #LondonNationalPark  en masse.

AN INTERESTING READ – October’s Campaign for the Protection of Rural England’s Bulletin: items of interest include their criticisms of the Olympic Legacy Planning; Thames Tideway Tunnel, Cycling superhighways and Active Cities.

“ALL ‘ALE THE HEATHCOTE CAMPAIGN” – this Leytonstone pub campaign has prompted Waltham Forest’s Council Leader to ensure that the community has a say in the future of every pub in the borough see www.guardian-series.co.uk/news   Shame the esteemed leader is not so equally concerned about the loss of green space in the borough....

DES RES -  spotted in this week’s “Private Eye” Rotten Borough’s was a councillor from York who has come up with idea of using his town hall’s surrounding green frontage as a place for a travellers’ site.  Perhaps a Waltham Forest Councillor might come up with a similar proposal on their sumptuous green site? 

EVENTS

Litter Bugs on Tour – a collection of beasties made from recycled materials by Michelle Reader and local children can be seen at The Mill, 7-11 Coppermill Lane E17 7HA from Tuesday October 21 to Saturday November 22.  There is also a musical celebration on Thursday October 23 from 6-8.30 p.m.  Details and information from: 020 8521 3211.

Next SLM meeting with be on Monday 20 October at 7.30 at the Princess of Wales pub, Lea Bridge Road.  New people welcome.