Bethnal Green residents save One Stop Shop

A rally last Saturday helped stop the closure of the One Stop Shop in Bethnal green pic: Mengdi Li

The plan to close Rushmead One Stop Shop in Bethnal Green was blocked at a council meeting on Wednesday thanks to an ongoing campaign by local residents to save the valuable council service.

As reported at the time, activists from Tower Hamlets Labour and Socialist parties gathered outside the Rushmead council building to rally against the closure of the shop last Saturday. Around 800 residents signed the petition to save the service, which provides a place for locals to apply for a number of council services, including parking permits and benefits.

But Motinuz Iaman, deputy leader of the Labour group, believes the Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman, is still determined to save money by cutting front line services.

Iaman said: “I understand the Mayor ditched the idea to close Rushmead. We have been partly successful but the Mayor intends to take savings from all the other One Stop Shops. We will now campaign to protect our other front lines services.”

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