Pic: Croydon Council

Croydon Council has 700 children currently in care and they urgently need more foster carers to give these young people the chance of a home life beyond council accommodation.

Active support for the annual campaign run by the charity Fostering Network aims to highlight the need for more than 9,000 new carers across the UK.

The message from the council is help give hope to the children in their care by responding to the  ‘Get in the Frame’ campaign to encourage more people to consider fostering.

Laura Fitzimmons, part of the fostering recruitment team at Croydon Council, believes the campaign is very important as Croydon clearly has one of the highest needs for carers across London.

So far the events in Croydon have been well attended. The awareness campaign is gathering momentum, despite the fact this is the first year that the Fostering Network has not received funding from the government.

James Foyle who works for the Fostering Network said they have received a lot of support: “We had a great success on breakfast TV and radio. There are a number of channels we’re using to get the message across.”

They have a big presence on social media and have used celebrity support to help attract many followers via twitter and facebook.

High profile backing includes Gareth Gates, the singer whose family fostered children when he was growing up, and Dani Harmer, who played Tracy Beaker in the CBBC television series about a children’s home.

Ian, a foster carer working in Croydon, believes that the local council are doing a great deal to raise awareness but, unlike James Foyle, he thinks that the media “could be doing a lot more” to support the campaign on a national level.

He said he was “disappointed with the lack of actual television coverage.”

Ian, who has worked with dozens of youngsters in the Croydon area, applied to be a carer in response to a similar appeal twenty eight years ago.

He thinks that one of the reasons for the shortage of foster carers in the borough is that people assume they have not got the right skills.

He said that “people just don’t understand that they could become foster carers…they discount themselves straight away.”

Croydon Council are hoping that residents not only support the campaign online, but also attend local events.

One of the ways in which Croydon Council hopes to attract potential carers is by providing an opportunity for people to hear the positive experiences of existing carers like Ian.

The council is running an information meeting at Croydon Town Hall giving locals the chance to hear from carers and social workers.

Local events will come to an end at the end of the week, but Laura believes that the fortnight  can make a difference despite  its limited duration. She said that last year Croydon “did actually see an increase in numbers after the Foster Care Fortnight.”

Reporters: Flo Neve and Hannah Newton

Modernisation and new management plan for Croydon’s Fairfield Halls

Fairfield Halls will be working more closely together with Croydon Council in the future management of the venue. This comes after 27 million pounds has been earmarked by the council for modernisation and refurbishment.

A restoration plan for the venue, celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2012, has been on the drawing board for years, but not until now has the decision been finally implemented.

Fairfield Halls performs a key role in showcasing local amateur societies and up and coming artists. The hall has hosted many famous musicians, including a performance from the Beatles in 1963.

On top of the recent renovation funding, the halls will also receive their yearly one million pound grant as well as a further economic commitment to the musicians in residence, the London Mozart Players.

The council will be represented through membership of the Fairfield Halls which makes them able to exercise their “member’s rights” and step in should their investment be considered poorly managed.

Both Simon Thomsett, chief executive of Fairfield Halls and Simon Funnell, chief executive of the London Mozart Players have expressed their excitement about working more closely with the council in the future.

Fairfield Halls, Croydon Pic: Google

Local community groups, on the other hand, are concerned about the council having a greater role in the management of the venue.

Charlotte Davies, chair of South Croydon Community Association, said her members did not share the optimism being expressed about the future: “If anything they feel it is going to reinforce poor quality management and lack of vision”.

Councillor Tim Pollard defends the move saying that it is only in very unlikely circumstances that the council would exercise any kind of control over the running of Fairfield Halls.

The presence of the council, he says, is meant to ensure that the investment is “not spent unwisely.”

He said that the council would step in if there were financial problems, but he did not think it would come to that as “the Fairfield board are much better at running an event’s programme than the council could ever be.”

Charlotte Davies, of The South Croydon Community Association, is concerned about the lack of a buffer between the funding authority and the institution.

She fears this might have an effect on other investors in the future who may “see [Fairfield Halls and LMP] as effectively Croydon Council and therefore charities won’t fund them.”

Other concerns include affordability for local amateur societies to use, and differences of opinion about the nature of the building’s refurbishment.

Croydon Council and local residents hope the Halls can regain the reputation they had when first built in the early 1960s.

Visitors to the Halls, Frank Edwoods (67) and Trevor Baker (61) said that were a number of opportunities for improvements, such as updating the toilets and film facilities.

Councillor Pollard says the council wants the venue to be up to date for the audience and performers of today with better management and accessibility:

The modernisation would be completed faster and at a lower cost through a complete shut-down but a decision has been taken to keep two thirds of the Halls open.

“Local organisations and schools in particular use it for a lot of performance works, so it really is in the heart of the community,” the councillor says.

Reporter: Dea Cisar

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Pic: The Newspaper Society

The South London Press, one of the famous titles in London’s print media, is supporting Local Newspaper Week, by emphasizing the role of local papers as “being essential to democracy.”

The paper has had a turnaround in fortunes and is bucking the trend in local paper closures and rationalization after being taken over by the Tindle group in 2007.

It fully backs a national initiative running from Monday May 13 until Sunday May 19 organised by the Newspaper Society while a political battle rages over a Royal Charter to regulate newspaper and online content.

The NS theme this year is press freedom and the Society is stressing the importance of the local newspapers’ power to “scrutinize authority and hold the powerful to account.”

The society has published a report this week on the findings of a survey of local newspaper editors looking at press freedom issues including the effect of the Leveson Inquiry on the industry, but this has been condemned by Hacked Off as “Unscientific and Misleading.”

The Society’s survey reports that “Nearly half of all local newspaper editors believe the Leveson Inquiry has negatively affected their titles’ relationship with readers.”

It has been reported that Hacked Off’s executive director Brian Cathcart has written to local and regional newspaper editors arguing “The Royal Charter approved by all parties in Parliament in March is good for working journalists, good for the regional and local press – and good for the public.”

The Newspaper Society supports a rival majority industry proposed Royal Charter and their intervention persuaded the Prime Minister to put the all-party Hacked Off backed Royal Charter on hold.

Lobbying group attacking Newspaper Society survey of local editors.

Press Freedom Week campaign and events

The week’s events  include today’s Newspaper Society’s Annual General Meeting and the Society of Editors Regional Press Awards at Savoy Place.

The awards ceremony, run in conjunction with the Society of Editors and Journalists’ Charity, will be hosted by LBC presenter Nick Ferrari, and will celebrate regional and local journalism.

There are currently 1,100 local newspapers in the UK and 1,600 associated websites. According to the British Market Research Bureau, 30.9 million people read a local newspaper every week, making it the most widely read print medium in Britain.

The campaign has been backed by a number of high profile supporters, including Lorraine Kelly, Lord Hunt and the retiring Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales Lord Igor Judge.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson said “the way we ingest news is changing fast but I truly believe there remains an important place for well-informed, local journalism that speaks about the issues and concerns of the local community.”

Supporters of the Local Newspaper Week
Individual Pics: The NS
Graphics: Hannah Newton

Campaigning by the South London Press

The South London Press is one of the newspaper groups supporting the campaign. Founded in 1848, the newspaper provides weekly publications for the boroughs of Lewisham, Lambeth, Southwark, Wandsworth, Merton and Greenwich.  The newspaper, originally a Trinity Mirror publication, was taken over by the independent, family owned group Tindle Newspapers in 2007.

The South London Press will be backing the Local Newspaper Week, by interviewing local people and covering it editorially. They are also broadcasting an interview with the group’s founder, Sir Ray Tindle, about press freedom and the importance of the local press.

East London Lines spoke to the South London Press Managing Director, Peter Edwards who said “Press Freedom is something we as a nation should be proud of” and that we should “strive always to protect that.”

It is clear that this year’s campaign theme, Press Freedom, is in response to the Leveson Inquiry and the prospects of press regulation. Lord Justice Leveson, in his report, recommended that local newspapers be considered and that they should not face the same treatment as the national press.

Peter Edwards, of SLP, said that “The Leveson Report specifically mentioned local papers as not being complicit in what went wrong.”

He said that Lord Justice Leveson acknowledged that they served an important role in their communities and that factors such as the recession have meant that the local press have had a hard time in recent years.

Edwards said that the government and all party Royal Charter campaigned for by Hacked Off have been “a broad brush that don’t serve our needs or the needs of our readers.”

The Newspaper Society calls the government’s royal charter “state-sponsored” regulation. Peter Edwards said that the newspapers’ alternative charter differentiates much more clearly between the serial offenders and the local papers who “just have the best interests of their communities at heart.”

However, the campaigning organisation Hacked Off has attacked the Newspaper Society’s position alleging it: “has, unfortunately, consistently failed to give a fair representation of the findings of the Leveson inquiry to the public and to its members. It has consistently misunderstood and misrepresented the effect of his recommendations on the local press.”

Edwards says “power to scrutinize authority and hold the powerful to account” is not the sole objective of a local newspaper.

He highlighted the unique and privileged position of the South London Press, saying that they are “not only a voice for the community, but they also celebrate with the community and they also mourn with the community.”

He stressed that the role is also commercial, as the local press is an essential part of the local economy: “they rely on and support the high street.”

According to the NS, 62 million unique users visit local news websites each month.

With local people blogging and tweeting stories as soon as they break, some newspapers may be concerned about the demand for publications. But SLP’s Peter Edwards said that the new media is a channel they embrace, through their own websites and social networks, as well as feeding online material into their printed publications.

However, he is also confident that this new source of information “doesn’t in any way lessen the importance of the printed word”, quoting that families will always want to buy “first day at school pictures” in print.

Tower Hamlets more incidents of VAWG than any other borough in 2012. Pic: Julie Thing

Tower Hamlets has launched a new initiative this week to deal with the issue of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) in the borough.

The launch took place at a conference on Wednesday May 15 in the Osmani Centre in Whitechapel. The event was set up to offer an opportunity for local residents and professionals working in support services to find out more about the council’s plan.

One of the attendees was Tahira, who works for a local children’s centre in Tower Hamlets, she said: “[Violence against Women and Girls] is definitely a big problem in Tower Hamlets. In fact, just as I was walking into the building I bumped into a mum telling me about a recent incident.”

The conference featured a range of speakers from the Council, VAWG and community sectors, as well as police and other specialist support services. One of the speakers was the Deputy Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Ohid Ahmed who explained that the plan has been developed as a result of high rates of violence against women and girls in the borough.

“Last year there were 6,625 incidents reported and this is higher than any other borough. We want to address this problem.”

Another issue that the Deputy Mayor emphasized was that many incidents go unreported because the victim does not know where to turn to for help and support.

The council’s plan has been set up to expand the understanding of VAWG and its impact, as well as increase support services. The initiative is focused on the following areas: domestic violence, sexual violence, trafficking and prostitution, sexual exploitation, female genital mutilation, so-called honour-based violence, forced marriages, dowry related abuse and stalking harassment.

It is a multi-agency partnership plan which brings together a variety of different organisations so they can work closely together to prevent and support women and girls affected by violence.

The VAWG Strategy Manager, Fiona Dwyer, said that the plan is set up to have a long lasting effect:

“Each year we are going to examine the outcomes and have a look and see where the plan needs to be revised. Where it is working and where it is not working.”

Stop the Incinerator Campaign outside Sutton Civic Centre Pic: Andrew Dickinson

Planning permission for the Beddington Lane South London Incinerator has been granted following months of deliberation and protest.

After a vote on April 24 resulted in a tie, the incinerator was granted the go-ahead at a re-vote at the Sutton Civic Centre on Wednesday May 15.

The Sutton Council Development Control Committee went into the meeting with an agenda that stated “The balance is considered to be clearly in favour of the scheme,” but protesters still gathered outside the centre and stated their case at the meeting.

The incinerator is part of an initiative called the South London Waste Partnership run by four councils, Croydon, Kingston, Merton and Sutton to provide improved waste management services.

The current site is used for landfill for up to 63% of the participating borough’s waste. This operation is run by independent waste transformation company, Viridor, who will also manage the incinerator.

The cost of the new contract means a saving  of approximately £197m over the 25 year contract period when compared to landfill options.

Councillor Derek Osbourne, Chair of the South London Waste Partnership Joint Waste Committee said: “I’m very proud of the deal we have achieved for local people.  This facility is both kind to the environment and it avoids passing on large costs to the taxpayer. Viridor have listened to local people and offered something that makes sense for the entire area.”

Councillor Derek Osbourne, Chair of the South London Waste Partnership Joint Waste Committee

The first vote meeting, April 24, met with considerable opposition to the project due to complaints on environmental and air quality grounds. However, last night, the council stated that the proposals had been independently scrutinised by the Environment Agency concluding that the proposals do not pose any material health risks.

For Croydon in particular, the forecast effects on air quality were found to be insignificant.

The Environment Agency further stated that:  “the additional measures proposed go beyond those the applicants would need to apply if the plant were located elsewhere”.

The report stated that additional chemical treatments had been proposed by the applicant to reduce emissions of nitrogen dioxide to below the guideline levels.

Gordon Ross, Vice Chair of the Stop the Incinerator Campaign and a member of the Croydon Green Party, said that they still have health concerns.

Stop the Incinerator Campaign web-page rallying protest for meeting.

He said that 29,000 doctors across Europe have signed a letter asking for more research to be done into the potential health risks. He added: “To us it seems quite reasonable. It’s not saying never build any more incinerators, it’s saying just to hold off until more research is done.”

Viridor have made a video and published a web-page setting out the advantages of their proposed “state-of-the-art Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) facility.”

It argues that what the campaigners describe as an incinerator would provide: “a safe and cost-effective alternative to landfill. It will also bring forward the completion and restoration of the existing landfill into green spaces and wildlife habitats.”

Viridor describes the incinerator as an “Energy Recovery Facility”

Protesters have also raised concern about the impact on local traffic as the area already has congestion problems.

However, the council argued highways advisers have confirmed that the proposals will generate less traffic than the current landfill site. Gordon Ross commented that protesters find this hard to believe as 75,000 tonnes of ash will need to be transported away from the site.

Concerns about the routes of commercial vehicles have been met with the proposal of lorry routing enforcement measures, but Gordon Ross is not confident that this will solve the problem of heavy goods vehicle traffic.

In an attempt to resolve issues between the applicants and community protesters, a community forum will be formed to discuss issues such as traffic and pollution.

However, Gordon Ross of “Stop the Incinerator” sees this as a PR stunt and alleged that Viridor had not responded to invitations to community forums in the past.

Despite being granted planning permission by Sutton Council, the application will still need to pass through The London Assembly.

As a large-scale proposal, it may be called for further consideration by the Mayor of London Boris Johnson.

The “Stop the Incinerator Campaign” see this as an opportunity to raise the issues again and they hope that the plans can be challenged against a number of points in the London Plan, National Plan and the Metropolitan Open Land guidelines.

They are also calling people in the community to write to the Mayor in the hope that if he receives a considerable number of objections he will take them into consideration.

Victor McAllister chairperson for Hackney Caribbean Elderly Organisation Pic: Benedikte Granvig

A new project in Hackney called “Take Care of the Pennies” has been set up to tackle the crisis of one in five elderly residents in the borough living below the poverty line.

“Take Care of the Pennies” and local community organisations are pledged to help end the plight of senior citizens struggling to make ends meet in near subsistence living.

Armed with a grant of £250,000 from the Lloyds TSB Foundation for England and Wales, sixteen grass-root charities including Hackney Caribbean Elderly Organisation, Hackney CVS and Hackney Chinese Community Services  have started this project to encourage the empowerment and independence of older people in the borough.

East London Lines spoke to Victor McAllister, 60, chairperson for Hackney Caribbean Elderly Organisation on how the lives of Hackney’s older population are affected by poverty and how this new  project plans to help.  He said many elderly residents in Hackney have so limited means that they sometimes have to chose between eating or heating up their flats.

One part of the “Take Care of the Pennies” project that Victor McAllister believes will particularly benefit the elderly residents across the borough is cooperative and coordinated effort from the many different local organisations in Hackney.

McAllister says that community organisations have a tendency to keep to their own groups these days, whereas people were better at working together in building up the country after the world wars  in the 30′s and 40′s.

In the Take Care of the Pennies project, the people involved come from many different backgrounds, which means they can draw on many different skills and collectively make a difference.

Victor McAllister says that one of the more effective strategies of the Take Care of the Pennies project –  as opposed to projects run by the government – is the way in which they approach the local residents. The different community organisations are going to actively seek out the residents in need and meet them in their home environments, so the support programme can be adjusted to their particular needs.

“We’re actually going to them and saying ‘How would you like us to help you?’. They’re pleased to see that we’re stepping into their worlds to see what life is like for them” says Victor and he adds that the knowledge acquired by the residents during the project will continue even after the funding stops in three years.

Chris Anderson, Head of Grant Making for the South at the Lloyds TSB Foundation for England and Wales said the project supports older disadvantaged people at a time when much other funding is being cut.

He added that  “it will enable Hackney CVS to deliver vital work to help reduce isolation, financial hardship and poor mental and physical health of older people living in this London borough.”

Take Care of the Pennies will officially launch this week at Ridley Road Market, where representatives will distribute information about how the project can help the elderly residents of Hackney.

Mind Tower Hamlets held an event as part of Mental Health Awareness Week. Pic: Lucy Johnson

The Tower Hamlets branch of  Mind, the mental health charity, and the Muslim community group Maslaha are seeking to challenge the stigmas associated with mental illness and reach out to the most isolated and least resourced people in the community.

As part of Mental Health Awareness Week  the local branch of Mind, has hosted a day where residents can try out and hear from various service providers in the borough. “Health and Wellbeing Day” promotes mental health treatment and the importance of maintaining good health.

Abdirashid Gulaid, Support Services Manager at Mind Tower Hamlets, explained the purpose of the event: “The idea is for service users who often are isolated and excluded to come out and tap into these services by either taking information or having some kind of taster sessions.”

One of the many organisations at the event was Maslaha, a social enterprise working to support the Muslim community in the borough.

Project developer Sarah Hobbs explained that the organisation was taking part in the event to raise awareness of the stigmas attached to mental health, and how this is a prevalent issue in the Muslim community.

Hobbs also noted that the communities Maslaha works with are “most isolated, the ones that had least resources available, and the least support available to themselves.”

She also pointed out that it is crucial for mental health professionals to be aware of people’s sensitivities:  “It’s important not only what’s said but also how it’s said and who says it.”

Maslaha also work with local imams and religious leaders to find out what techniques work best for local diaspora communities.

Mental Health Awareness Week runs from 13–19 May.

Pic: Julie Thing

This Sunday saw the Boishakhi Mela festival transform Victoria Park into a Bangladeshi microcosmos. An enormous array of colours, food and performances attracted people from all over the borough to the park  to celebrate the biggest Bengali family festival in London.

With a variety of performers and colourful props, the grand Mela parade began at Weavers Fields along Bethnal Green Road and continued toward Victoria Park, where the festival went on from noon until 7.30pm.

Due to its growing popularity, the festival was moved to Victoria Park from the smaller Weavers Field, near Brick Lane.

Watch below for interviews and photos from the event.

A new dispersal zone introduced in Whitechapel to combat anti-social behaviour
Pic: Sundial Centre

As a result of high levels of anti-social behaviour in Whitechapel, a temporary dispersal zone has been introduced in the area this week.

The dispersal zone will give police officers the power to demand that people leave the area for 24 hours if their behaviour is considered antisocial. Anyone refusing to leave could be fined up to £2,500 or face arrest. Between 9 pm and 6 am the police will also be able to remove unsupervised young people (anyone under the age of 16) from the area and take them back to their homes.

The zone covers an area with a busy night life, frequented by tourists as well as Londoners from other boroughs, and residents have complained to the council about noise and disrespectful behaviour.

Local resident Mark, 41, is in favour of the initiative:

“People here get beaten up all the time, so there is definitely a problem and always have been. Something has to be done, so I think it is the right thing to do.”

Lauren, 27, on the other hand, does not believe this measure will put an end anti-social behaviour in the area:

“You are just going to send them to another area that will create problems,” she said, “so you might as well try to act on the situation when it happens.”

The dispersal zone in Whitechapel stretches from Commercial Street in the west to Whitechapel Road in the south, Bethnal Green Road in the north, and Wilmot Street and Brady Street in the east.

This is the second time that Tower Hamlets council has used its powers to introduce a dispersal zone in the borough. A previous temporary zone covered a smaller area in Bethnal Green.

The dispersal zone is set to end in the beginning of November 2013.

Stoke Newington Farmers Market Pic: Growing Communities

Stoke Newington Famers’ Market is set to celebrate its 10^th anniversary this summer with a number of events.

The market is the only one to be all organic in the country. It began on a very small scale ten years ago with only two stalls, however, it has proved to be very popular with the local community and now it has more than twenty.

It will be running several events throughout the summer starting this Saturday with an exhibition of photos taken from the first Farmers’ Market, which was held at the Old Fire Station on Lewsin Road.

Other events range from family activities to taster sessions and recipe competitions. It will culminate with a trip to visit Stocks Farm on Monday, August 26 and on Apple Day in October.

The market is run by Growing Communities, a community led organisation in Hackney. The group aims to provide an alternative to non-environmentally friendly food production and to support small sustainable farms and farmers in and around London by ensuring they are given a fair price for their product whilst maintaining a small carbon footprint.

They are set to open a new stall this Saturday, May 11 which will sell produce from a new starter farm they opened in Dagenham recently.

“We want to thank everyone who has supported the market over the years,” Market manager Kerry Rankine said, “and encourage more people to see what’s on offer and buy produce directly from the people who grow it.

“Life has been very tough in the past couple of years for the small, organic producers who come to the market, with appalling weather and rising feed and fuel costs taking their toll. It is more important than ever that we support them.”

The market currently takes place every Saturday at St Paul’s Church on Stoke Newington High Street.