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Stillbirth and neonatal death charity Sands is seeking local volunteers to help establish a new support group in Woodford. Area coordinator Rose Abrehart explains what is needed

“I found out that I had lost my baby just before Christmas. There are no words to describe the utter despair I felt.” Those are the words of a parent who was helped by Sands.

Sands is the leading stillbirth and neonatal death charity in the UK. We work nationally to reduce baby deaths through promoting better maternity care and funding research. We have a programme of training and a wide range of resources designed to support professionals to improve the bereavement care they provide following the death of a baby, and we provide a comprehensive bereavement support service both nationally through our helpline and locally through around 100 regional support groups based across the UK.

Losing your much longed-for baby late in pregnancy or soon after birth is the most awful trauma any parent can experience. A whole future is taken away from that family. Sadly, this happens only too often. Currently, 15 babies a day die in the weeks before or just after birth. Sands aims to care for those families with practical and emotional support for as long as they need it.

We are currently working with Haven House Children’s Hospice and are looking to find volunteers to help us set up a new Sands group in the Wanstead and Woodford area. We need people prepared to become part of a committee, including a chair, treasurer and secretary as well as befrienders.

The chair helps the committee work together as a team, following the aims of Sands and ensuring the group works within the Sands constitution. The treasurer’s role would be especially suitable to anyone with financial acumen as well as an interest or empathy with our work. Not all committee members have to be bereaved parents. As long as you have an empathy and interest in our work, we would urge you to get involved.

Befrienders – who are usually bereaved parents, grandparents or family members – are also needed to provide support to anyone affected by the death of a baby over the phone and in person at group meetings. New befrienders must complete our befriender training, and a minimum of two years must have passed since their baby died.

I hope there are people in and around Woodford who will consider helping to set up a group in the area so we can look to provide support to bereaved parents and their families at a devastating time for them.

Currently, there is little support in the Woodford area for these parents and it is very much needed. I would urge anyone who could help to get in touch.

For information on Sands, visit sands.org.uk. To volunteer, call 07707 480 020 or email rose.abrehart@sands.org.uk

From traffic light signalling to flood defences and waste collections, Councillor Michael Duffell (Conservative, South Woodford) spends much of his time holding the Labour-run council to account

I am proud to have been elected as a Conservative councillor for South Woodford. I had been picking up casework and issues regularly in the years running up to election, and since then, it has been no different. Most of the work stems from chronic mismanagement of council services from the administration in the townhall.

South Woodford is in the forgotten corner of the borough. The streets are getting dirtier, pot holes are endemic and hedges go unpruned. The administration is getting the basics wrong while spending money on vanity projects elsewhere.

We are hearing time and time again that rubbish, recycling and green garden waste is not being collected from homes, and when they are collected, the council are leaving streets littered with rubbish. Please ensure this is reported both directly to the council and your Conservative councillors. We are holding the administration to account on all these issues, but residents are our eyes and ears on the ground.

We have been pressing the Labour administration on:

• The appalling rates of recycling and the substandard recycling scheme in the borough.
• The inadequate state of flood defences along the Roding.
• How much taxpayers’ money was wasted in Labour’s decision to axe weekly green garden waste collections, then to be forced into a fortnightly service.
• Investigating school applications to ensure our children can go to local schools.
• Traffic light signalling from the Queen Mary Gate development leading to the yellow box outside Waitrose on the High Road.
• The council’s current plans for the Station Estate in South Woodford.
• Speeding and parking issues throughout the area.
• Fly-tipping and cleanliness throughout South Woodford.

One of the main concerns over the past couple months was the council’s decision to build a three-storey, 30-unit modular development under the A406 flyover next to Charlie Brown’s Roundabout. There was a complete lack of consultation, and Conservative councillors spoke against the plans to house some of the most vulnerable in society in one of the most polluted areas in London in a development which did not meet the minimum requirements for housing.

South Woodford Conservative councillors hold surgeries on the first Saturday of the month at Lily’s Indulgence, 107B George Lane (10am to 11am) and on the third Saturday of the month outside M&S, 121 George Lane (10.30am to 11.30am). Call 07741 196 006

As Councillor Beverley Brewer (Labour, South Woodford) settles into her new political role, the local resident highlights some of her party’s environment-themed priorities

Having lived in South Woodford for so many years, I am tremendously proud of our area and what makes it special.

I am also very proud to have been elected by you as the first Labour councillor for the new South Woodford ward. As your councillor, I am committed to working hard for everyone in South Woodford. In particular, I will always stand up for the most vulnerable members of the community.

Until 2014, Redbridge Council had never had a Labour majority, but this May, local people elected Labour members to 51 of the 63 seats on the council. During the election campaign, I helped deliver a copy of the Labour manifesto to every home in the area. That manifesto set out our priorities for the next four years and it is worth highlighting some of those here.

I want to enhance and protect the green spaces in our area, as well as reducing pollution and cracking down on environmental crime. I want South Woodford to be an even better place to live.

Many local residents have told me how concerned they are about pollution and air quality. The council will be tackling air pollution by working with local schools to create ‘clean air’ zones. We will also work to roll out these zones around our parks and children’s play areas. Residents with electric cars will park for free in resident permit zones, and we will also increase cycling routes and continue developing our cycle renting scheme, and more.

The council has an ambitious target of a 50% recycling rate in the borough by 2022. I support the work of enforcement officers cracking down on environmental blights, such as illegal dumping and vandalism, to help us create a cleaner, greener borough. In our manifesto, we pledged to crack down on fly-tipping and we are now the toughest council in London on this issue and on environmental crime – we’ve already issued over 700 £400 fines to those committing offences.

In addition, creating a cleaner area is one of my biggest priorities. Millions will be invested each year to keep our streets clean, removing litter and cracking down on fly-tipping, graffiti and flyposting.

In recent years, national government has cut 48p in every pound that Redbridge Council used to receive. Despite that, the council continues to work hard to ensure all our residents can realise their ambitions and fulfil their potential.

I am sure many of you will join me in supporting the council to achieve these goals.

Beverley holds surgeries on the first Wednesday of the month at The Salvation Army, 26 Daisy Road, South Woodford from 6pm to 7pm. A Labour street stall is also in place on Saturdays outside M&S, 121 George Lane (11am to 1pm). Call 07741 329 779

Dr Malik and his team from Improve Your Smile at Woodford House Dental Practice presented representatives from the Stroke Association with a cheque for £2,170 in August. It follows a charity coffee morning and raffles held at the practice earlier in the year, which is now set to become an annual event, raising awareness of the links between oral health and stroke risk. “I was overwhelmed by our patients’ kindness and also the multitude of amazing raffle prizes that were donated by local companies,” said Practice Manager Moona Malik. “A stroke can happen to anyone, but there are steps you can take to minimise your risk, including looking after your oral health.” A free blood pressure check event is also being planned for the autumn at the practice, located at 162 High Road, Woodford Green. Call 020 8504 2704

Local resident and author Anne Cassidy will be launching a new creative writing group at Woodford Green Library this October. “When I started writing I didn’t know a single other person who wrote. It was only when I joined a writers’ group that I found like-minded people,” said Anne, who has published over 40 novels for teenagers, most notably Looking for JJ, which was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal in 2005. The group, which will hold its first meeting on 2 October from 6pm to 7.30pm, will meet fortnightly and will be a chance for unpublished writers of various experiences to come together and work on their craft. “I am keen to give writers a reason to write,” added Anne, who became a full-time writer in 2000 following a career in banking and teaching. Call 020 8708 9055

The recent hot weather has devastated the community flowerbeds on the bridge over the A406 in South Woodford. Despite the best efforts of the South Woodford Community Gardeners – who tend to these raised enclosures as well as the patches along George Lane – the heatwave has seen the loss of many plants. “Most of what we nurtured through the winter and spring has not survived. We would therefore welcome more contributions of plants,” said Jane Turner, who leads the group. More volunteer gardeners are also needed to help maintain the sites. “Although we were originally a U3A group (mainly retired people), we welcome anyone who would like to join us. No gardening experience is needed… We meet mainly on a Thursday or Friday morning.” Email gardeners@swvg.co.uk

Repairs to the roof of Woodford Memorial Hall – which was built in 1902 – have taken place over the summer. The work follows a series of fundraising events held throughout the year and grants from the All Churches Trust, the Pilgrim Trust and the Veolia Environmental Trust. “The Trustees of the hall have been working hard over the last few years to ensure it continues to serve the Woodford community for another 100 years. In 2015 a new dance floor was installed in the front hall. In 2016 repairs were made to the roof at the east end and the ornamental flèche. This year, the north side of the roof over the back hall has been retiled, and work continues on the section of the roof over the stage… Our priority is to keep the weather out so that people can come in,” said St Mary’s Rector Ian Tarrant.

Work on a long-awaited TfL improvement project at Charlie Brown’s Roundabout started this summer. New safety measures at what is one of Redbridge’s busiest junctions will include signal-controlled pedestrian and cycle crossings and wider footpaths. During the upgrade, temporary changes will be in place, including diversions and lane closures impacting the A406 and A1400. Bus routes will also be affected and some pedestrian crossings temporarily closed. “Our plans to install signalised crossings on all arms of the roundabout and widen the pavements will reduce road danger and contribute to the mayor’s vision zero target: nobody killed or seriously injured on London’s roads by 2041,” said a TfL spokesperson. The work will continue until the end of October. Visit swvg.co/cbr

The South Woodford Society has nominated George Lane in the Great British High Street awards. The annual competition – run by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government – offers a £10,000 prize for a local community project. “As we all know, South Woodford is a wonderful place to live and work, and the residents enjoy the community and village atmosphere of the area, particularly our main shopping street, George Lane. The South Woodford Society wants to encourage individual shops and new eateries to allow our high street to thrive and to enhance and protect our local spaces, which is why we have nominated George Lane,” said Louise Burgess. A shortlist will be put to a public vote in October, with the winner announced in November. Visit swvg.co/gbhs

Local soldiers who lost their lives during the First World War will be honoured at an event in South Woodford this October. “Using information researched by local resident Adrian Lee, a small number of soldiers will be given a voice through words, pictures and music. They will represent the many soldiers whose names are on memorial plaques throughout Woodford,” said Viveca Dutt, a trustee of the Woodford Memorial Hall, which is hosting the ‘There But Not There’ presentation. Young people from St Mary’s Church, local schools and cadet groups will provide the voices of these soldiers, many of whom will have been the same age when they enlisted and died. Most of Woodford’s casualties during the Great War were those who volunteered between 1914 and 1916 and a stone tablet at St Mary’s Church commemorates 73 local men who lost their lives in the conflict. The evening event will take place on 8 October from 7.45pm (tickets: £8, including refreshments). Call 020 8505 3352