I spy with my little eye!

Here is some more graffiti I have see...located on the side wall of the grocery store on the corner of Somerville Road and Havering Gardens. This is a highly used and well populated area, if you do see anyone enacting this crime of criminal damage please do call the Police National Non-Emergency Hotline on 0300 123 1212. In the meanwhile I have reported the sighting to the Graffiti Cleansing team.

Beauty's only skin deep!

These are images of the road surface on Chadville Gardens (between Blackbush Avenue and Ashbury Gardens). As you can see the condition is in a very poor state and needs some immediate rectification. I have emailed a copy of these pictures to the reactive maintenance team.

Graffiti on Flora Gardens

In the image you will see one of the few graffiti daubed Green telecom boxes - in our ward. Our streetscene team are to thank, as they respond to my reports of graffiti very quickly. If you have any other sighting please do advise. This box is on the corner of Flora Gardens and Roxy Avenue.

Fanua Close - Aggression!

The images shown are of Fauna Close of Flora Gardens. Today whilst delivering letters in your area I was almost attacked by a gentleman, who did not belive me when I told him that I was actively trying to resolve the problem with road surfacing in our ward. he has told me that his pavamnets and roads have not been touched in decades.


Judging by the state of the road I am inclined to agree with him. However, no one has raised the issue with me previously and I have missed the condition due to the very strange nature of the construct of the road which does not make defect easily visible (see first picture)















The corners of this road are in a very bad condition and require the new surfaces that are in other areas. I have reported the defects to the reactive maintenace and corner engineering service departments. The gentleman who reacted negatively to my offer of assistance will be approcahed after any improvment excercise to see if his faith in politicians has been restored.

Goodmayes Road Fire!

Goodmayes Road is inacessible to vehicles today, after a fire near the Rail Station at a local hairdresser's. I do not have any more details at this stage, however I will update locals tomorrow.

Please do find alternative routes for your travel today.

No Budget - Sorry!

Here is the response received from the Highways Team regarding the condition of Shepherds Close and Glendale Avenue:

"As I have stated in the past there are hundreds of roads in this borough that require resurfacing and some in a worse condition than Shepherds Close. We also have to take in to account the road hierarchy and usage in establishing our programmes within the limited budgets. However as explained this years limited budget is fully committed and if I have no funds to carry out resurfacing and reconstruction then the only action is to continue to patch and make safe. I am sure that ***** who met with you on site would have pointed this out and made the necessary arrangements as you show in your pictures. We carry out extensive condition surveys using nationally recognised survey techniques and regular safety inspections of all our roads. I am sorry that I can not give you more of a positive response but I can assure you that we are fully aware of the asset conditions and priorities of the network in this borough and my team are dealing with these issues to the best of their ability within the limited resource available to them."

I have asked for a full inspection by one of Steve Grayers Officers which will take place in the next few weeks.

Glendale Nightmare!

I don't know how residents of Glendale Avenue Sleep at night. If I lived on this street, I would be having nightmares of the sudden collapse of the road and falling through the streets into the unknown below. This street is number 1 on my list of roads in Chadwell to encourage our planned maintenance team to undertake a full renovation for. It is unbelievable how poor the surface of the road is on this street and the kerb stones are all loose!

Recent construction works on the corner are adding to the demise of the road. Large haulage vehicles parking on the street are dislodging kerb stones and the weight of the vehicles is cracking the road further.

The condition of the road is so bad that even the engineer who I took with me yesterday morning from Reactive maintenance admitted the road is desperate need of an overhaul. I have asked the Planned maintenance team to investigate This road, Shepherds Close and Jarrow Road...The 3 roads in worst condition in Chadwell.


The gentleman from reactive maintenance believes the next cold winter will make Glendale Avenue erupt in numerous potholes.

Chadville Gardens/ Hathaway Corner Repair!

An unsafe section of road that could cause a danger to drivers is to be repaired, after a visit to the area by a reactive maintenance engineer and I. We used my car and I am aware of its inconvenient parking placement that might have caused a concern to some drivers yesterday morning. For this I apologise. There were other areas that required repair and they will be covered in the 13 week review of road surfaces enacted by the Reactive maintenance team.

All this Cracking is driving me Crazing!

The Road surface along Shepherds Close is in the my top 3 list of road surfaces requiring imminent complete reconstruction (I have already seen to fruition a campaign for Reynolds Avenue and Gresham Drive). (the image in the picture shows an example of Adopted Road that is currently not been maintained - I have instigated an inquiry)

I spent over 1 hour travelling with an officer from the Reactive Maintenance team over the length of Shepherds Close, Jarrow Road and Glendale Avenue. The visit was rather productive as the officer agreed with me that these are the 3 worst roads in Chadwell and has agreed to conduct some reactive maintenance to the areas. The images to not provide justice to the scale of the problem, however local residents will no doubt be aware. I cannot upload all the pictures I have taken, however I can advise that whilst in discussion with the officer I have finally found out, what has caused the weird, slippery, bumpy and unsightly road surface near the junction leading towards the A12 from opposite number 41. (click on image of "Crazing" to make bigger)

The surface has moved over a period of time due to the large turn and outdated concrete base (this is called "Crazing"). This is in contradiction to a commonly held belief that a river must have washed over the road and eroded the surface....heh heh! The cracks in the road are formed by movement of tar over the concrete base. This allows water to enter cavities which expands in the cold and results in cracking. Modern road constructions are built on more flexible bases.

I had to use my persuasive charm to convince the officer that this section of the Road required treatment as he was concerned that a tree root, would make repairs very temporary.

Marking out sections of the Road. You will no doubt have noticed the white labelling in specific areas.

Brittle edges to corners are a common feature of the road.

Honour amongst crooks..?

When I was younger there was a widely used phrase "honour amongst crooks!" When very young I remember puzzling over its meaning and was advised that it was a phrase to indicate that even the most unscrupulous criminals will have deference for one
another (much like an unofficial pact) ensuring that they don't tread on each others "patch" or in the case of graffiti that they do not write over another artists work.

This was rather disappointing as it removed my naive (4 year old) assumption that crooks would have deference for the elderly or disabled - in a form of criminal conscience.

Nevertheless, in my youth it did seem apparent that graffiti artists would not write over another miscreants work. Yet nowadays, in this modern age when the fabric of society is peeling away under the intense pressure of media influence, broken marriages and consumerism. It would seem that even these steadfast assurances, misplaced as they may be are now being eroded as the modern youth tackle the growing pressure for self gratification and peer acknowledgement. Where am I going with this ....even I am not sure, however, I will be reporting this incident of graffiti to the general cleansing team and hope for its imminent removal.

The box is located on the corner of Charles Road/Chadwell Heath Lane.

Black bag menace

Here are images taken from Shepherds Close last night which was a Tuesday. Residents on the road will be aware that the waste collection service for your road takes place on a Friday. Such activity will induce an increased population of foxes, rats and other pests. This in turn will result in litter being strewn across roads and can demoralize communities and reduce quality of life.



I will report both items to the General Cleansing Team and ask for enforcement checks to be made on the bags. The first picture was taken from over the railings of Shepherds Close by the side of the A12 (near 63) and was probably dumped by a local resident. The second picture was taken from the mouth of the alleyway near number 41 Shepherds Close. The

Tree..mendous

Our weeding section have removed the unsightly weeds from the tree bed at the pedestrian opening to the A12 at Shepherds Close. They deserve great praise and thanks for the speedy manner in which this work was carried out. However, It is disappointing that the treed bed located directly opposite around 100m away near no. 63, still has visible weeding issues.


This tree bed was raised as a concern over a month ago and may not have the "Tree sucker" problem of the other beds, however, it is still a very unsightly mess that requires tending. I will ask the Tree Section to review the are for some potential remedial work.

Helen Duffet and Jesse Boucher...?

I am wondering if anyone has heard from these two new Chadwell Focus members or even heard of them. As far as I Can see Helen Duffet spends all her time on Twitter, Blogger, Facebook and You Tube - she talks a lot about the Lib Dems, however there seems to be no recorded community work or local action attributable to her...? Ooops! I did find this rather bizarre picture on the blog of a colleague of Helen. The writer talked of campaigning in Cranbrook Ward and this picture does show her colleague pointing at a rather tatty sign. They did not however, reveal what was done about the poor condition of the sign, or why they were having their picture taken by it...? Helen seems oblivious to the sign and preferred to make her best pose, with slight profiling. I must admit she dos look rather stunning in the black suit with the extra high ankle lift and starched longitudinal creases. Lovin it!

I could not find much on Jesse Boucher....Probably as active as the rest of the Liberal lot!

They do like their propaganda dont they......?

Is there no end to the incompetence exhibited in the recent Liberal Focus!

The most recent Liberal Focus included an article on the Swimming Pool Fiasco. Bizarrely, there has been no progress towards a collaborative all party focus on new facilities - even though all parties have agreed a need and desire to service the demands of the massive number of supporters. In the meanwhile my wife is forced to take my daughter to Romford and others travel to an oversubscribed, crowded and rather anachronistic facility at Fullwell Cross, Barkingside.

The Liberals failed to highlight that the cost of consultation was in excess of £1.5m pounds that was squandered on the proposed swimming pool choosing to descale the image of the profligacy (wastefulness) of our cabinet by labelling the cost as hundreds of thousands.

Cllr Gary state has not provided any evidence of how he derived a figure of £8m for a new facility, however, I remember in a recent article in the Ilford Recorder, Chris Connelly from Take action for Seven Kings, threw a gauntlet to the Council to allow him to run the former pool for a purchase of £5.00 - he intended to fund the running cost via creation of a charitable organisation and submission of funding applications. What a shame he was not allowed to fulfill that challenge as he may well have been successful in his singleminded focus on a restoration of the pool. Such drive is what we need from the Councillors, rather than the continued rhetoric and failed promises! Its time for change!!!

Besides in recent times I have noticed the Liberals have added to their number reported in their Focus Team (Helen Duffet and Jesse Boucher), yet we hear little, of any tangible effort towards the improvement of our ward....?! All we get is the waffle in that dastardly FOCUS!

The truth has a way of emerging!

Click on Image to see a former Redbridge Protest for more school Places!

The Liberal Focus edition 138 was a real joke this time. On the front page the Liberals hailed themselves as saviours of our Borough, quoting how they had forced the Conservatives to review the existing school placement position (shortage of places). They then went on to discuss how the Conservatives agreed with them that the report produced to Cabinet for the conversion of the Chadwell Centre to a local school, should be requisitioned (at a recent full council meeting). They stated the Labour Party voted against the requisitioning and that the Labour Party agreed with the report that the shortage of play area in any new school, at the location, would nullify any benefit.

Firstly, if the Conservatives had agreed with the Liberals they would form a strong majority coalition...?

Secondly, they had hailed the result of the recent leadership election as a new dawn for the borough. Yet one of the first decisions has already failed to produce any positive direction for Chadwell ward, the south of the Borough or the borough holistically. What could be more important than more schools at a time that we are increasingly hearing of abnormal journeys to schools and people waiting on massive waiting lists....? Sorry if I seem dismissive but it all seems like the same old, same old - barring some of our Liberal Councillors hold newly found senior positions (scrutiny chairperson) resulting in a better spread of the wealth (more evenly)...between themselves that is!

Counting the Pennies!

In the most recent Liberal Focus the incumbent Councillors have praised their achievement in resolving the recent debacle regarding the election of a new leader of the Council. What they failed to tell us, was in one instance they were voting in agreement with the Labour Party and then after some clandestine activity with the Tories, the Liberal Leadership was suddenly in tune with the local Tory Peers....?!! Bizarrely enough the Liberals gained position and influence through that decision, whilst they also, managed to malign the Labour Party and undermine any scheming our incumbent Labour Councillors probably intended, with their own intended package of sanctions on the Conservatives.

All this secretive, "behind close door" scheming undermines the local political process, besides we should query whether the intention of the Liberals was predominantly an opportunity for increased salary and position or the the Reviews they have stated they have endorsed (which probably would have been an inevitable process anyway...?

They painted a good picture of achieving a shared political future with wider depth of opportunity and vision. What is worse having political figures from the same party making the wrong decisions or those from a wider range..?

6 and two 3's if you ask me!

Makes you laugh though does it not....? If only more of our councillors would pull their fingers out and actually facilitate some change.!

Streetscene Response!

In response to my recent request for removal of bulky waste from Mayesford Road and queries regarding the door to door garden green waste collection - Russell Ward the head of streetscene has stated:

Hi Wilson, Many thanks for the email.Hopefully arrangements are in hand for the removal of the bulky waste.With regard to the collection of garden waste, Chadwell Heath would normally be on a Monday (refuse/recycling collected on a Friday).Since the introduction of the scheme we have been overwhelmed with the take up of the weekly service. Since April we have collected 3500 tonnes when compared to 2000 tonnes for all of last year ! This has resulted in the weekly schedule slipping some weeks and catching up at weekends. However, I am concerned to learn that some addresses have been missed for at least 4 weeks and it would be useful if I could be provided with the locations so that I can follow it up with the contractor. If you require any further information please let me know. Thank you for bringing these matters to my attention.

I hope this is a satisfactory response to the concerns and am aware that Russell, is working hard towards even better improvements to the overall streetscene delivery of service.

Shepherds Close Success!

I have received a response from the Redbridge weeding section regrading concerns on Shepherds Close:

"Hi Mr Wilson , Further to our conversation I have E mailed the contractor about the weeds on the hard surfaces , I have spoken to Peter who has E mail the contractor about the tree suckers which is shown by your picture , we are also getting quotes to remove the elders in the railings opposite 53 and 54 Shepherds Close ,I have also defaulted the contractor about the missed grass triangular area near the entrance to the close . I have also visited Essex Road and will contact the contractor about the shrubs over the path as we spoke about yesterday .Hopefully this will improve both these areas."

Bulky Waste - We need our resident Wombles!

The image displays the unsightly bulky waste in front of a garage that is itself located near the junction of Reynolds Avenue and Mayesford Road. I have reported the unaesthetic mess to the Streetscene team and hoe it will be collected soon.

In the meanwhile, I am aware of a number of concerns regarding the door to door garden waste collection. Residents are complaining about the non removal of green garden waste and others are purporting delays of up to 4 weeks. Residents have also asked for clarification of collection dates as the original proposal was for collection was to be the day after normal collection, however, there seems to be a lack of uniformity and an element of randomness regarding the graden waste collection. In previous discussions with Russell Ward he has highlighted the fact that the original estimation of Garden waste production was vastly exceeded and this was causing the unfortunate delay. I will ask him for an update so that we are all better advised.

Mayesford Road Rage!

In the image you will notice that Highways contractors have placed their equipment at one of the few locations on Mayesford Road where parking is available. 3 Parking places have been lost while the 7 month Major Road work programme is underway. I have asked the Highways team to ask the Contractors to move the equipment just 20 yards around the corner to the are in the picture on Reynolds avenue to minimise resident disturbance while the works are being completed. I believe this to be a more sensible solution -see image 2.

Shaggy!

Overgrown hedges along Railway Street and Essex Road are making pavements extremely difficult to use as safe walkways. They potentially allow thugs to lie in wait to accost pedestrians. Whilst, also forcing pedestrains to walk on the road to avoid being entangled in the spiky bushes. I have informed streetscene and the Borough Arboriculturalist.

Not a pretty sight ay...?

Who let the dogs out..?

Residents of Fields Park Crescent will no doubt be pleased with the introduction of the new dog bin installed on their street. The Streetscene team who kindly responded to my request for the unit to be installed, will be monitoring the level of deposits. If there is significant use another bin will be installed at the other end of the crescent. However, I must add, that disappointingly this morning I had noticed that normal rubbish has been shoved into the new dog bin. Please avoid putting wastes other than dog foul in these bins. If you require a waste bin at this location, I can put in a request to streetscene. Please advise....?

I hope you are pleased with the installation and some feedback would be much appreciated...? The good news does not end their however as before the end of the month you will have the double yellow lines implemented at the bend on the road, where nuisance parking has been prevalent!

Shepherds Close Makeover!

The Shepherds Close nightmare continues but Isla our very active Green member from the road, is resolving issues as soon as they appear. A primary issue on your road is the lack of kerb corner drops flush with the road. Isla has reported all 3 suspect corners to the Highways including the one in the picture near the flats the one to the entrance of the alleyway opposite number 35 and one at the entrance to the alleyway to the rear of 72 - 76. These will be lowered soon.

Isla has also reported to the highways team another section of road that has large potholes and is a part of the adopted highway. This is close to number 15 shepherds Close.

The following images are of the mess and bulky waste in the alley to the rear of 1 - 44 Shepherds Close. Isla has reported the items to the Ceneral Cleansing Team. Russell and his team are very responsive and we expect a speedy clean up.

More concerns in the alleyway.

Even worse and this is to the rear of number 42!