Hackney doctors and nurses braved the cold weather to protest NHS reforms pic: Albert Steinberger

Hackney residents and health workers joined a national campaign outside the House of Lords on Wednesday in protest over proposed NHS reforms.

The demo, organised by the Hackney division of ‘Keep Our NHS Public’, took place while the controversial Health and Social Care Bill was being scrutinised by the chamber.

The picket started at 2pm with protestors chanting and singing in the bitter cold till past 8pm.

The Bill, which will see a controversial change to the health service, has been met with much resistance since Health Secretary Andrew Lansley introduced it in January 2011.  The Royal College of GP’s, Nursing, Midwives, Physiotherapists and the British Medical Association all openly oppose it.

Lansley claims the bill will improve patient care and choice, make services more accountable and decrease bureaucracy.

As EastLondonLines reported on Wednesday, Hackney GPs and protestors believe otherwise.

Dr Jackie Davis, Consultant Radiologist and Founder Member of Keep Our NHS Public Campaign said: “We have to constantly challenge this assertion – that no change is not an option. Of course we have to improve the NHS and we’re not saying it’s perfect. But it’s a very good, very popular health service that produces good outcomes and it’s completely wrong to reform it.”

Prime Minister David Cameron and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg told parliament on Wednesday night that there is not an alternative to the Bill, and no other way to move ahead with reforms without it. The planned NHS reforms will continue to be pushed ahead despite the protest.

Video by Albert Steinberger and Rosie Thompson

Kenley Police Station could close Pic: EastLondonLines

The future of Kenley Police Station is uncertain, the Metropolitan Police Service has announced, admitting that it may fall victim to national policing cuts.

According to the Met the closure could mean considerable savings. The news comes after plans were made to relocate the entire Safer Neighbourhood Team from its base in Kenley to Purley.

However the police authority have said the move does not necessarily mean the immediate closure of the station.

A police spokesperson said: “No decisions have been made and no proposals for 2012/13 or later have yet been put to the Met, but this could provide an opportunity to improve the estate at the same time as delivering substantial savings that will allow us to protect operational capability.”

Steve O’Connell, Kenley’s borough councillor, said: “I have seen no plans to close Kenley Station. I am opposed to any such proposal.”

The station and its services are currently under review from the Met who will look at how they can make the best use of the building and try to identify where savings can be made.

Statistics show that since the Safer Neighbourhood Team moved to Kenley in 2009 the number of motor vehicle crimes in the area have fallen by 25 per cent.

The Pitlake Arms. pic: Ruddhi Abhyankar

The Pitlake Arms pub on Wadden New Road was closed by Croydon Council this week, following a series of complaints made to police about the way the pub is run. Terry Jelley, 68, who has run the pub since 1995, has lost the licence. Jelley, who will not appeal the decision, is now set to sell the pub.

According to police, a large number of serious assaults have taken place at the pub over the last year. A series of complaints have also been made about the venue, including trading after permitted hours, smoking inside, drug use, and fights.

At a licensing sub-committee meeting last week, barrister Matt Butt, representing the Met, claimed that Jelley tried to hide the fact that an assault had taken place on numerous occasions.

“Over 12 months four people seriously assaulted have been allowed to leave [the pub], and most seriously, on no occasion had the police or ambulance been called. There is a significant risk someone in that condition could come to further harm and we fear a fatality could occur”, Butt said.

At the same meeting, Jelley freely admitted to holding lock-ins at the Pitlake Arms. He said: “Back street pubs like me all have lock-ins. It’s been going on back to the 17^th Century.”

The pub, which stands very close to Croydon town centre, was established over 160 years ago and is now up for sale.

The widely-used nursery will be closed by August this year pic: Roundabout Nursery

A nursery located five minutes from Homerton Hospital has announced they will close at the end of August, leaving hospital staff and parents struggling to find nearby alternatives.

Clients of the Roundabout Nursery, Kenworthy Road, E9, were shocked by a letter from the Hospital Trust team last week announcing that the service would shut at the end of the summer.

The Trust stated that the nursery is forecast to make a loss of £132,000 this year due to new rental and overhead costs. It is already running at a financial loss, and NHS funds for patient treatment are used to support the expense.

Private clients make up the majority of people using the nursery facilities. At present, hospital staff benefit from favoured access and reduced fees at the nursery, though only 24 out of 3000 staff use the nursery services.

Homerton Hospital Chief Executive, Nancy Hallett, said: “We have looked at means of reducing the cost of running the nursery, and at increasing fees. However, the size of the financial gap is such that we do not see this as an option.

“We currently support Homerton staff by providing information and advice on a range of childcare matters, and this will increase in the coming months. We offer our staff flexible working hours and paid carer’s leave and this will continue.”

Roundabout Nursery opened in 1991 at the nurses’ home at the old Hackney Hospital and cared for the children of local NHS staff. It re-launched in 2008 to also cater for parents and children in the local community.

Pic: Mengdi Li

More than 500 people have signed a petition against the planned closure of Rushmead One Stop Shop in Bethnal Green.

At One Stop Shop, Tower Hamlets residents can access a variety of council services, make benefits inquiries, get help for elderly relatives, and apply for parking permits.

A demonstration organised by Tower Hamlets Labour Party and Socialist Party took place on Saturday in Bethnal Green to protest against the proposed closure and further cuts in Tower Hamlets council housing services.

One Stop Shop is the only place in the borough where locals can have face-to-face access with all council services; it is also the only place of its kind open on Saturdays. Approximately 60,000 people use Rushmead’s services every year. If it closes, users will be forced to use services in Bow or Canary Wharf – which are expected to be much busier.

Ali Ahmed, 49, has signed the petition to campaign against the closure. He said: “Visiting Rushmead is the most convenient way for me to get help from the council. If it closes, I have to travel to Canary Wharf to get services, which is annoying.

“Lots of people use it from the local community, particularly elderly people, people with disabilities, and people with not very good English.”

Rushanara Ali, Labour MP to Bethnal Green, said the proposed closure was “wrong”. “The Mayor could keep it open. He has big reserves in the council budget. So he could actually protect this One Stop Shop.”

Speaking at the demonstration on Saturday, Ali told EastLondonLines: “If it closes it’s going to cost the council more because it will then be blamed for not serving people properly. That’s why we are here today to ask the Mayor to rethink the decision.”

The number of signatures on the petition continues to grow. The public can expect a response from Tower Hamlets Council on February 22.

The Reverend Rose Hudson-Wilkin pic: Franka-in-London

The Vicar of Hackney’s “clown church” has outlined her terms for becoming the Church of England’s first female bishop – before she has been offered the promotion.

Reverend Rose Hudson-Wilkin, the first black woman ever to be appointed Queen’s Chaplain, put her case forward to a meeting of the Church’s governing body in London this week.

Church conservatives oppose the idea of anything but male bishops, which Hudson-Wilkin deems: “nonsense”. But presently, conservative members of the Church of England are seeking an amendment that will give the church a legal right to ignore the authority of any female bishop, bypass her completely, and elect to be led by a male instead.

Hudson-Wilkin, originally from Jamaica, said these rules were “like apartheid” in an interview with The Telegraph. She said: “It’s not that dissimilar from those who said, ‘OK, we accept that apartheid needs to be abolished but can we just have one bus which is white only, so we can ride in it?”

Demanding equal terms as that of a male bishop, the Dalston Reverend said she was not prepared to serve as a bishop unless changes were made, stating that she would “absolutely” turn the job down.

Hudson-Wilkin was ordained in 1994, the year the first women became priests. She has recently appeared on Women’s Hour on Radio 4 to discuss the possibility of promotion, as several CofE female laity and priests prepare to meet at Church House in Westminster in support of women bishops.

The famous clowns’ church service was held at Holy Trinity Church in Beechwood Road, Dalston, E8 3DY on February 5. More information and photos of the day, at which Hudson-Wilkin plays an integral role, can be seen here.

Pic: Virador

A controversial waste plan that could see an incinerator built on Beddington Lane, was approved by Croydon Council on Monday in spite of concern from local people and Green councillors.

Croydon Council said that a contract has not yet been signed  and that planning permission has not yet been applied for.  However, waste company Viridor was previously selected as the preferred bidder for an incinerator on Beddington Lane by The South London Waste Partnership (SLWP). The SLWP  provides waste management for Croydon, Sutton, Kingston and Merton councils.

If the plan goes ahead, the incinerator could become operative by 2015.

The proposal has caused concern among local residents in Croydon area. Jerry Wood, 35, told Eastlondonlines: “I think is not a good idea to choose Beddington Lane as the incinerator site. As we in Croydon live downwind, there is no doubt that we will be the recipient of air pollution”.

But Croydon Council said the proposed facility would be eco-friendly and safe: “If planning permission is granted the Energy Recovery Facility proposed for Beddington would use the latest technology to thoroughly clean any emissions before they leave the facility. The proposed facility would also have to operate under an Environmental Permit issued and regulated by the Environment Agency which will ensure that local air quality is not compromised.

“Viridor’s proposal is a safe, environmentally sustainable and cost-effective way of dealing with household waste,” Bownas added. “Instead of being buried in the ground, this waste would be turned into 26 megawatts of electricity. It is enough to power the facility itself and supply 30,000 homes. The facility would also enable the work to restore the existing landfill site to amenity parkland for the Beddington Country Park and Wandle Valley Regional Park to be accelerated.”

According to Croydon Council, Viridor is planning to do an Environmental Impact Assessment to ensure the safety of the new facility.

Viridor will also undertake a public consultation in February this year to gather feedback from local residents about the proposed development.

In recent weeks, environmental campaigners questioned the SLWP’s decision to build a new incinerator on the Croydon/Sutton border instead of using an existing facility. And local campaign group Stop The Incinerator say the proposal does not sit well with Croydon Council’s aim to achieve a 70 per cent recycling rate in the borough.

pic: Albert Steinberger

Lewisham Council has launched an online survey asking residents for their views on safety in the borough.

Residents have the opportunity to respond until February 22.

According Metropolitan Police statistics, the crime rate of Lewisham is on par with the London average. Lewisham ranked 18th out of 32 London boroughs in December of last year, with 2040 registered criminal offences.

The areas Lewisham Central and New Cross present higher crime rates. Both wards together are responsible for 20 per cent of crime recorded in the borough.

Anti-social behaviour is the most common crime in Lewisham. Violence against the person, residential burglary and cars thefts appear as the most frequent criminal offences recorded.

According to the Council’s Safer Lewisham Strategy 2011-2014, the high anti-social behaviour figures are due to the large amount of youngsters on the borough.

The document, published last year, states: “As a statistically ‘young’ borough Lewisham has a much higher number of young people compared with adults, and young people tend to be more criminogenic between the ages of 15-21. There is an ongoing challenge of tacking Personal Robbery, Knife Crime and Youth Violence – the number of these offences tends to be higher in Lewisham than for its statistical neighbours.”

The survey also raised concerns about a large number of crimes going unreported.

According to Lewisham Council, the survey’s results will be used by The Safer Lewisham Partnership to set its priorities of the coming years. The partnership includes the local authority, the police, probation and fire services, and a number of health and voluntary organisations.

Pic: Milennial Myth

Tower Hamlets activists will kick off LGBT History Month tonight with a talk held at the Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives on Bancroft Road.

Author and human rights campaigner Roz Kaveney will share a platform with Jack Gilbert, co-chair of local forum Rainbow Hamlets, which is hosting the event.

The talk will begin a month-long celebration of lesbian, gay and transgender history. LGBT History Month is a annual event that began in 2005 after the abolition of Section 28, a controversial statute forbidding local authorities to “promote homosexuality”.

Gilbert said the talk would not only bring activist together but be “a prime opportunity for the general public to learn about the untold stories of the area.

“The press is often full of stories about problems between communities in Tower Hamlets, but the point about what we’re doing is about building community life and building understanding between communities.”

Kaveney, who at the event will describe her involvement with the Gay Liberation Front in the 1970s and time as a deputy chair of human rights group Liberty, said east London played a key but often neglected role in LGBT history.

“People often forget the working class roots of parts of the LGBT community – it’s always been a place where the more impoverished sections of the queer community lived. I ended up in the east end when I transitioned – because I was poor!”

The author, who has lived on the border of Hackney and Tower Hamlets for 40 years, writes on her website: “I was reared Catholic but got over it, was born male but got over it, stopped sleeping with boys about the time I stopped being one.”

Robert Thompson, chair of the Lesbian and Gay News Media Archive, will also give a speech. LAGNA compiles articles and news clippings to keep track of the changing perceptions of gay and transgender people through time.

Management committee member Peter Kelley said: “The purpose of LGBT history month is to celebrate histories that have been outside of mainstream of history and hidden. It’s just as much about the present as the past.”

Gay rights groups clashed with the EDL and Muslim activists last year over stickers posted across Tower Hamlets that read “Gay Free Zone”. 18-year-old Mohammad Hasnath was fined £100 in June for a public order offence in relation to the stickers.

Kaveney told EastLondonLines such conflicts were regrettable but distracted from the question of “the real enemy”, which she identified as fascist groups.

“East End residents were prominent in the fight against Mosely and his fascists throughout the 40s and the 50s. Even when they haven’t been able to rule the streets of the east end, east enders have remembered that they are the enemy and fought them elsewhere.”

Gilbert believes there is still work to be done, citing many homophobic incidents that are reported without leading to police action, but said the situation had improved in the last 20 years.

In January Tower Hamlets council ranked first among London boroughs and 16^th in the country on a list of gay-friendly employers compiled by gay rights charity Stonewall.

For more information, visit the Rainbow Hamlets webpage. The talk begins at 6pm and continues until 8:30.

pic: Ewan Munro

Local shop owners have expressed concern over rumours that a Tesco Express will open in a disused pub in South Croydon.

Although Croydon Council have not confirmed Tesco have applied for planning permission, Selsdon Road shopkeepers fear Tesco’s arrival is imminent and would have a devastating effect on local businesses.

Rumours have been growing in recent weeks, with shop keepers saying the new supermarket would be located on the ground floor of the historical pub in Swan and Sugar-loaf pub on Brighton Road, which has been closed since March 2010.

The building is owned by the Whitgift Foundation, who have not confirmed that a deal has been agreed despite building work on the property ongoing.

Croydon council  could not confirm that a planning application has been made for a change of use.

Kalpana Patel, co-owner of the South End post office, thinks the rumour is true. Patel said: “It is a very bad idea to open a new Tesco Express at the Brighton road as it will affect not only my business but will have a pressure on many local shops, restaurants and businesses.

“It would be a better idea to open McDonalds or maybe a gym instead of Tesco as it is a perfect spot considering the nearby school with lots of students and the new apartments being build on the top floors of the Swan and Sugar-loaf pub.”

I think McDonalds will work great especially when the KFC just closed recently. It should be something useful to be opened, something that will keep  local business going and add a benefit to the local residents. If the new Tesco plan is confirmed it will turn  Brighton Road into a ghost street with masses of empty premises.’

Pic: Agata Grafa

James Murphy, local resident with a property business in South Croydon  said: “I hear that many people are against the Tesco’s expansion plan but  experience tells me that afterwards we all will be happy about it”.

Marcia, South Croydon resident said: “It is a 50/50 solution for the area. It will be good for local shoppers, as now they won’t travel far to do grocery shopping but very negative for shops nearby.

Pic: Agata Grafa

“I had my own business a while ago and I remember exactly the same situation happened when a new Tesco Express opened just opposite my business. As a result of this I needed to close my business as I was loosing all my customers.”

The Guardian reported last month that Tesco aims to open thousands more stores. The food retailer plans to open enough new stores in future years to cover 500 football pitches, which would increase the retailers trading space by up to 50 per cent.