Following our comment about Woodford Police Station, there is now a proposal by the Metropolitan Police to base all our Safer Neighbourhood Teams at Barkingside instead of in Woodford. This is bad news because coverage and protection in our ward would reduce measurably every day due to the travelling time between Barkingside and here, by push bike (the suggested means of transport!) at the beginning and end of each day.  Please add your names to the petition here  http://www.petitionbuzz/petitions/keepourpolice to keep the teams based here in Woodford, and not Barkingside, and thus protect not only our ward, but all the wards in Woodford which would be affected by this.  This petition already has over 1000 signatures, showing the strength of feeling on this issue, but more signatures are required if we are to persuade the Met to change their mind.

It was announced at the recent Area 2 Committee that the Safer Neighbourhoods Police Teams covering Area 2, which includes Monkhams, would be relocating to Barkingside. We believe that Woodford Police Station will be closed or even sold. This is linked to planned cuts in the numbers of the Safer Neighbourhood team from 21 to 14. With a rising population in Woodford, and the recent significant public order disturbances in nearby Ilford and Tottenham, and even some small damage very locally in South Woodford, a reduction in policing numbers and closure of our local police station is the last thing we need!

Please join the campaign to save Woodford Police Station by following this link to sign the petition:

http://tinyurl.com/savewoodfordpolicestation

Oh, and if you do sign the petition, please don’t forget to validate your signature by clicking the link on the confirmatory email you will receive afterwards. Otherwise, your signature won’t be counted! Thanks.

There have been rumours recently that Blockbuster in the Broadway was shortly to close and become a cafe. Yes, another eating/drinking place! However, we have been making enquiries about this, and Blockbuster themselves admit they have heard the stories that they were about to become a Starbucks or a Costa, but have said in as many words “It isn’t true” and that they are not closing.

This will be a relief to all those concerned about the changing face of The Broadway, and also a relief to all of Blockbuster’s customers.

Last Saturday was the day of the Chingford Village Festival.  Monkhams ward is part of the Chingford and Woodford Green parliamentary constituency, so Focus Team member Chris Greaves, pictured at the Festival with Cllr Richard Hoskins from neighbouring Church End ward, went along to support the event. The Festival showcased many organisations, both charitable and commercial, from around the constituency and neighbouring areas, and provided a number of entertainments. It was held on the Green at the end of Station Road in North Chingford and in the adjoining Assembly Hall. The day was most enjoyable, an excellent opportunity to meet people, and is a recommended “date for the diary” for next year. See you there!

The recent planning application for the Horse & Well public house, which we referred to in the recent Focus, has been turned down by Council officers, on a number of grounds. We await developments, as to the intentions of the developer, and will keep this website, and, of couse, Focus, up to date with news as it happens.

The next Redbridge Council Area 2 committee will be held on Tuesday 31^st May 2011 at the Hawkey Hall, starting at 7.15pm. These meetings are open, public, meetings, and  are not only your opportunity to find out what Councillors are doing and saying about local issues, where we live, but it is also your opportunity to address Councillors and the meeting about anything that concerns you that falls within the control of Redbridge Council.

If there are any matters that you wish to speak about, you will need to register to speak before the meeting starts. Requests should be made to Joseph Asante-Yeboah, via email on joseph.asante-yeboah@redbridge.gov.uk in advance of the meeting, but he will also take requests on the night, at the Hawkey Hall, before the meeting starts.

The Monkhams Focus Team will, as always, be in attendance, and we would love to meet you there!

If you are unable to get to this meeting, but would like to see what goes on, the next meeting is on Tuesday 26^th July.

We welcome readers who have found this site as a result of our current Focus, presently being distributed. We hope you find the site interesting, and a good way of keeping up to date with Ward happenings between our quarterly Focus newsletters. You can save this page in your Favourites, or alternatively, the orange RSS feed can be activated to let you know when we post new items.

As always, we’d like to hear from you, so please click the “Contact” tab above to let us know what you think, or to advise us of an issue in the Ward which you think we should look at. Welcome again, and we look forward to hearing from you.

For those who are following this story, an application for Conservation Area Consent for the demolition of the former Simmonds art shop will be heard by the Regional Planning Committee on 23rd March, in Wanstead. The recommendation from Council officers is that consent be granted. Hopefully this will close a sorry saga.

The link to the application can be found here: http://moderngov.redbridge.gov.uk/Published/C00000506/M00005066/AI00044896/12008311.pdf

We are pleased to report, following our previous comments about the former Simmonds art shop, that we understand the Council has now directed the demolition work to cease, due to the absence of consents. We await developments.

The former Simmonds art shop, at 512 High Road, is being demolished, with the roof and much of the first floor having been being taken down by today! However, the building is in a conservation area and planning consent for the demolition has not yet been granted. Monkhams Focus Team member Steven Warwick has been monitoring events at the site, and heard the concerns of residents. We have been informed that a council officer has been to the site today, and that the planning enforcement team are aware of the demolition activity and are keeping it under review.

We will update this site with further developments as soon as we are aware of them.