Editor

A South Woodford resident is urging local drivers to take note of the Idling Action London campaign.

“Air quality has become a pressing issue in our area, and we have all got into bad habits, such as vehicle idling, which has proven harmful effects on pedestrians and even those inside the car. Idling an engine even for a short period causes air pollution, so, please help to support this valuable initiative by adopting ‘engine off every stop’ and improve the air quality for everyone in E18!” said Stewart Brown.

Visit swvg.co.uk/ial

The City of London is consulting the public over the future of cycling in Wanstead Park.

“Currently, there is one designated cycle path through the park… The rest of the park is subject to a 1930s byelaw which prohibits cycling. Feedback suggests this current mix of rules is confusing,” said a spokesperson.

The consultation proposes three options: no changes, a complete cycling ban, or allowing cycling on paths throughout the whole park.

The consultation closes at 9am on 10 May.

Visit swvg.co.uk/parkcycle

Redbridge Council is seeking community input on how to improve high streets across the borough.

“We want to hear your views about cost-effective, high-impact changes that will create welcoming, safe and attractive high streets, improving the shopping experience for all… We are keen to work with you to improve our high streets and will consider all the responses we receive,” said a spokesperson.

Visit swvg.co.uk/highst

A new temporary Post Office has opened in The Galleria shopping arcade, replacing the George Lane branch which closed for good on 28 April.

“The former branch at 139 George Lane closed because the landlord served notice on the lease of the property due to redevelopment. We have been looking for temporary and permanent premises since notice was served in February… We fully recognise how much the community rely on having Post Office services and we continue to seek a permanent solution for the people of South Woodford,” said a Post Office spokesperson.

Located at Unit 1, The Galleria, 180–182 George Lane, the new venue is open from 9am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday and from 9am to 12.30pm on Saturday.

Services include bill payments, cash withdrawals, postage and home shopping collections and returns.

The first seven trees – including cherry and apple trees – have been planted at the community orchard site on the corner of Primrose Road and Mulberry Way in South Woodford.

“They’re healthy saplings at the moment and should bear fruit in a couple of years. Look out for more planting days in the warmer weather, when we’re hoping to plant herbs, soft fruit bushes and other plants such as rhubarb and cardoons. If you’re interested in helping, let us know,” said a South Woodford Society spokesperson.

Visit swvg.co.uk/sws

The South Woodford Society has been awarded £2,500 by the Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Fund.

“We plan on using this money to pay for benches and signage at the community orchard and to also continue the campaign for the provision of South Woodford village signs. Only 20 projects were picked for this level of funding, so we are very excited. It will help us to regreen South Woodford, increase biodiversity and make our area an even better place to live, work and visit,” said a spokesperson for the community group.

The Rotary Club of Leytonstone and Woodford will be hosting a virtual festival of music on 21 May from 7pm.

“Following quiz and bingo nights in lockdown, our club continues efforts to help the community. There will be something for all, from classical to pop, swing, opera and show music, delivered by a number of talented artists, including Colin Sell, the pianist from I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue,” said John Bracken. Tickets are £12 per household, with proceeds going to Haven House and the Chigwell Riding Trust.

To register and for joining instructions, email peter.blake97@outlook.com

As Woodford Arts Group make tentative plans for an exhibition in June (with a virtual display back up), group member Ged Rumak compares and contrasts two of his spring-themed paintings

Like most people, I have had a love-hate relationship with lockdown, which I won’t discuss here, but needless to say, it has necessarily created a more restricted artistic view of the world. However, with spring upon us, two of my paintings from 2019 in contrasting locations and with different approaches come to mind – one in Rapallo, Italy (inset), and the other in Epping Forest (main image).

Both paintings are not just a matter of recording the subjects to be painted – though the skills to do this are pre-requisite. In working on these images, I am trying to refine the physical experience of being on location. This process involves many things, certainly the fundamental skills of drawing and painting, space, light, tone, perspective, form and composition, but also gut response, risk-taking and a sound knowledge of materials. If all this has worked, then I hope the images have come to life.

Painting and drawing ‘en plein air’ is a tricky business, especially in spring when weather and subject are likely to change quickly. Places seem to have something different to offer each time you see them, especially after a heavy shower. Making sketches and hastily grabbed phone-camera shots are often necessary before proceeding to the studio, but occasionally so is having to revisit the site to consolidate things. Some conjecture and good-old artistic licence can be necessary, but I normally resist the temptation to tidy up too much – staying true to the basic composition as first seen, for better or for worse.

I share the concern of many of my contemporaries over the degradation of painting and drawing skills taught in our art schools. It is essential to be taught or to teach yourself the rules and master them before you break or abandon them.

Most of my work is based on personal experience. I tried to capture a bright, early spring morning in Rapallo before the bustle of the port begins and the tourists descend on the cafés on the waterfront, changing its character. In contrast, forgetting the rules somewhat by breaking down literal shapes and colour combinations, Epping Forest, again on an early spring morning, still evokes a particular sense of time and space.

To lovers of visual art, or perhaps to those who just enjoy the experience of galleries and exhibitions, it’s worth noting that the Woodford Arts Group is planning a Covid-safe exhibition in early June at Packfords Hotel. If this is not possible, a virtual exhibition will be available online.

For more information on Woodford Arts Group, visit swvg.co.uk/wag

Old Mill Court – a development of 26 two and one-bedroomed properties off Chigwell Road in South Woodford – has officially opened.

It is part of Redbridge Council’s commitment to building 600 quality new council homes.

“These are high-quality homes for local families, with top sustainability standards making them more affordable to heat. We know that there is a housing crisis in London, and we are determined to do all that we can in our borough to help redress the balance so that local people have the stability and freedom to build a better life for their families,” said Redbridge Council Leader, Cllr Jas Athwal.

The development represents the first project completed in partnership with the council’s delivery partner ENGIE. “We are pleased to deliver our first project for London Borough of Redbridge, especially one that is so pinnacle to the borough. It’s great to see that the residents are happy with their new sustainable homes. We are proud to provide this scheme of high-quality housing and look forward to continuing our partnership with London Borough of Redbridge to deliver more homes across the borough,” said Dan Germann, Managing Director of ENGIE.

Cabinet Member for Housing and Homelessness, Cllr Vanisha Solanki, added: “It is fantastic to see so many happy faces amongst our new residents, most of whom have come from very small temporary accommodation. I spoke to one working mum who is absolutely thrilled to be moving into her brand new flat with her daughter. Temporary accommodation is expensive and doesn’t provide ideal living conditions for local families – often small and outside the borough away from family, children’s schools and support networks. We are working hard to make up for years of underbuilding of council homes so local families, many of whom have been waiting for a house for upwards of 10 years, can enjoy a stable, secure future.”

Redbridge Liberal Democrats has launched a petition demanding the local community have a say in the future of the former bowls club in Elmhurst Gardens.

“Following the closure of the Bowling Club in Elmhurst Gardens, the council’s leisure agency (Vision) has been considering what to do with it. The Friends of Elmhurst Gardens have made some suggestions and some members of the public have commented to them, about a future use which could include such things as a nursery and a community café. We understand that Vision are now considering some bids – but no-one knows what they are for nor how they will be assessed. We have heard rumours that at least one bid would result in at least part of the site being turned into office accommodation. The danger is that the bid that offers them most money to Vision will be successful regardless of what local people want. We oppose the secrecy and lack of public involvement in this process,” said a Redbridge Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

Gwyneth Deakins, Chair of Redbridge Liberal Democrats and a local resident added: “It is typical of this Labour Council to not even consider how this valuable piece of green space can be used. The local community have made some sensible suggestions on alternative uses of the area and they should not be ignored. It is entirely wrong to operate in this secretive way.”

The petition demands that the local community have a say in the award of the contract for the use of the bowls club and that community use is prioritised.

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Redbridge Council’s Principal Arboricultural and Horticultural Officer Peter Marshall heads up a team responsible for thousands of trees across the borough. With South Woodford’s felled trees being replaced in March, Peter explains the scope of his team’s work. Photo of Elmhurst Gardens by Geoff Wilkinson

Did you know Redbridge Council maintains 40,000 trees and 128 hectares of woodland in the borough? It’s a big job and takes a very special team from Redbridge Council to maintain it all.

The borough’s Arboricultural and Horticultural team – made up of specially trained staff –are responsible for the maintenance of the council’s 21,000 trees on the streets, 19,000 trees in parks, schools, housing and welfare sites, grass verges and shrubs on streets, and assisting with maintaining council woodland.

To ensure the trees stay healthy and cared for, my team carry out annual inspections of all street trees to recommend work to maintain them – and once every three years to recommend pruning work.

Inspections on the remaining council trees in parks, schools, housing, welfare sites and woodlands are carried out on a three-year rotation. Trees in the Wanstead and South Woodford areas are due to be inspected for pruning in 2022.

Trees are usually only removed when they are dead or decayed, in line with council policy. When pruning and felling is recommended, the work is normally grouped by borough wards and completed by the end of March the following year. My team normally fell a tree on the street to a waist-high stump and then return to remove the stump just prior to planting a replacement tree.

Planting is carried out between November and March, and planned street planting in Wanstead and South Woodford is aimed at being completed by March 2021.

In addition, there is also about 160,000 square metres – equivalent to 22 football pitches – of highway grass cut eight times a year, and 20,000 square metres of highway grass cut once a year as part of the Grow Zone project to create wild flower meadows in the borough to improve biodiversity. A quarter of these Grow Zones are in Wanstead and South Woodford.

Highway shrub beds – covering an area equivalent to seven football pitches – are also pruned up to twice a year, depending on the obstruction they may pose to pedestrians and vehicles.

Where weeds grow up in footpaths, kerb edges and shrub beds on the street, my team carry out a spot treatment with herbicide to control growth up to five times a year, as required.

We also work closely with the Neighbourhood Street Scene Engagement team on numerous community projects to spruce up the borough’s neighbourhoods. These have included:

• Installing railing planters and troughs outside schools and business.
• The spring bulb giveaway.
• Tree planting within schools.
• Community adoption of shrub beds and adopting street tree pits.
• Working with Trees for Cities, planting new trees in east Ilford and a new woodland near Seven Kings park.

Green spaces improve air quality, boost wellbeing and make the borough look and feel better. In addition, they can provide healthy spaces for wildlife to flourish.

Redbridge is one of the greenest boroughs in London, and we want to make the most of our green spaces so local people can enjoy them now and for years to come. To help achieve this, the council is currently working on a Green Urban Landscape policy that will create a plan for managing and improving council greenery across the borough.

For more information on the work of Redbridge Council’s Arboricultural and Horticultural team, visit swvg.co.uk/trees

While National Trust properties remain closed, Richard Speller, chairman of the charity’s Woodford and District Centre, is pleased to have launched the group’s programme of virtual talks

Like so many local and indeed national voluntary organisations, the Woodford and District Centre of the National Trust has suspended all of its activities for a year now, obviously due to the pandemic.

The centre has well over 200 members, most of whom are also members of the National Trust centrally. We endeavour to keep in touch with them regularly by email to assure them of our continued existence, but it has to be accepted that, due to the demographic nature of our membership, many do not have an internet connection. In February, we started a series of virtual talks, commencing with my own presentation on war memorials. It is our intention to continue these monthly, or even more frequently, until lockdown is ended and meetings are once again permitted.

It is worth remembering our centre normally has a varied programme of events, including monthly talks from September to April, autumn and winter London visits to places of interest, summer outings to houses and gardens, both National Trust and others, and an annual summer holiday. It is most certainly our intention to re-arrange all of these missed activities as soon as possible.

The Woodford and District Centre is one of many supporter groups around the country affiliated to the national organisation. We support the national charity by providing volunteers for National Trust properties and donating money to their projects. Over our centre’s 50-year existence, we have donated the best part of £200,000. During 2020, money was given to Wicken Fen for a thermal telescope, to Sutton Hoo (very topical with Netflix’s The Dig) for a wheelchair accessible sand tray and to Lavenham for tea room furniture, to name a few.

It is, of course, ironic that 2020 was the 125th anniversary of the National Trust, founded in 1895 with 100 members, paying 10 shillings and looking after four and a half acres in North Wales. The first president, the Duke of Westminster, told co-founder Octavia Hill: “Mark my words, Miss Hill, this is going to be a very big thing.” In 2020, there were almost six million members, caring for a vast number of places, from captivating castles to historic  houses and magnificent meadows and miles of wild and beautiful coastline.

Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus, all the properties are closed – although some grounds are open – and staff have had to be laid off and many projects abandoned. However, for those able, it is well worth visiting the National Trust website, where there are many virtual tours and stories.

The Woodford and District Centre will re-energise, take up where it was before and provide an educational, social and worthwhile service to the people of Woodford and surrounding areas.

For more information on the Woodford and District Centre of the National Trust, call 07774 164 407