Tories Baked Bean Budget

It seems the Conservative budget this year will go down in history as the “Baked Bean Budget”, following the generous rebate that they have given you of just 13p a week. Not even enough to purchase a cheap tin of beans.

Local residents have inundated us with comments, the most popular being “this is just election year gimmick” and “how much will it cost you next year when it goes up again”.

Your Conservative Councillors have made a big issue about how they have reduced your Council tax by 1/2% this year. Whilst we agree you pay too much, their saving equates to £7 a year, or 60p a month, or 13p a week. That’s right, they waste Millions and save you just 13p a week.

In a recent news flyer the Tories say “We Understand how hard you work to earn the pound in your pocket. That’s why your Conservative Council has worked hard to cut your Council Tax Bill”. However, they have had above inflation increases for the last three years and then increased just the Tory Special Responsibility Allowances by over £ 7,000 !

We looked at what you can actually purchase for your 13p a week saving, and our best option was a tin of Tesco Value Beans. Perhaps if the Tories had not wasted so much money over the last eight years of being in control, with Council Tax increasing a whopping 46%, there would be more available now to make proper reductions for the residents of Collier Row.

Council Tax has gone up 46% in 8 years under Tory Control, from £1,037 to £1,511. A 1/2% reduction is nothing compared to this increase.
It is also suggested that the Conservatives deliver better value for money? Well not according to the latest MORI poll which placed Havering Council at the very bottom of all 33 London councils, when residents were asked if the council provided Value for Money. Let us knot forget that Havering still has the third highest Council Tax in the whole of London !

Residents will not be fooled by a Council Tax reduction, just a few weeks before people go and vote for a new Council, I wonder when a Tory Candidate knocks on your door if he or she will assure you that their will not be an increase ext year to pay for it.

Andy

Cllr Andrew Mann

Massive Countil Tax Debt

According to the 2008/09 Council accounts, residential Council Tax debt has increased by £2.6m since 2006 and now stands at a breathtaking £13.8m, despite an average of £2.8m being written off in each of the last three years.

Information emerging from a Council question by Leader of the Residents' Association, Cllr Clarence Barrett, revealed that there were 10,413 recovery actions for council tax arrears in 2008/09. Of those actions, there were:

81 Attachment to earnings orders
244 State benefit reductions
7,174 referrals to bailiffs
30 bankruptcies obtained
264 summons to court

The balance were either withdrawn or paid up.

In 2006/07 there were 9,461 recovery actions and in 2007/08 10,500.

Cllr Barrett said: "It is important that Council Tax debt is pursued in a firm, fair and efficient manner, and that residents who pay should not be expected to subsidise those who do not.
"However, despite an average of £2.8m being written off in each of the last three years, it is very worrying that residential council tax debt has now increased by £2.6m to £13.8m under the watch of this Tory council".

notes:

Residential council tax debt (as per LBH statement of accounts)

2005/06 £11.205m
2006/07 £11.526m
2007/08 £12.523m
2008/09 £13.842m

Havering Chief Executive ignores Councillor concerns

Cllr Mann has hit out at Havering Council Chief Executive, Cheryl Coppell for failing to reply to an e-mail concerning a financing issue around funding for the Freedom Pass. The e-mail was marked urgent and was sent on the 2nd November, and as of the 1st December, she had failed to reply or even acknowledge it.

However, Cllr Mann sent it with an auto acknowledge and he can see that the e-mail was opened on the 5th November. The e-mail was sent, following Cllr White, the leader, failing to answer a simple question in Full Council concerning a leaflet that the Tories had circulated suggesting that the Government had cut £1.8 million form Havering's Freedom Pass budget.

This was later found to be untrue, however Cllr White refused to answer and instead went into a rant at the Full Council meeting. Cllr Mann then sent the request to the Chief Executive, for her to answer and is still waiting.

Cllr Mann said "It is totally unacceptable that the Chief Executive of Havering Council should fail to answer such a serious question, in over 4 weeks, without so much as an acknowledgement, let alone a proper answer. I am concerned that she is setting a bad example to Council officers that dealing with members enquires should be dealt with in a speedy and professional manner.

Also more worrying is that by failing to answer me,she is becoming involved politically, by protecting the leader from having to tell me the truth in relation to my question".

After the Elections in 2010 ?

We noticed with interests the Leader of the Council's comments at the last full Council meeting that there will be no increases in the Special Responsibility Allowances until after the next local election in 2010. But what else is waiting until then? Firstly there is there new swimming baths originally promised in the Conservative manifesto of 2002. Then there is the rebuilding of Clockhouse School. The start of this was promised for 2011 but our information suggests that the cost of a complete rebuild would take the whole of one year's schools' capital budget for the whole of Havering.

And now the long awaited review of secondary school provision has been delayed until after May 2010. We know from the primary review of six years ago that numbers of Havering children entering secondary schools are falling. At present numbers are being kept artificially high by importing pupils from outside the borough. We do not know for how long this will last.

And yet the Council has agreed to proceed with a scheme to build a new academy on Harold Hill without having any real idea of the projected numbers over the next few years. The capital cost will be provided by the Government but the cost of maintaining empty places subsequently will have to be met by the schools' budget.

Joe Webster
Mawneys Team

April Fools - No its all TRUE

Members of Parliament will receive a 2.3% pay rise today, taking their annual salary from £63,291 to £64,766, an increase of just under £1,500 a year. This is no April Fools joke, it really is real.

The 2007 - 2008 Members of Parliament expenses have been published this week and although the full breakdown has not yet been released (after Parliament lost a court battle to do so) the headline figures make interesting reading, in particular as two of Havering’s three M.P’s claim for a second home, yet only live less than 18 miles from Westminster, or a 40 minute train journey.

Andrew Rosindell (Romford) claimed the maximum allowed of £23, 083 for his second home on the South Bank of the Thames. Angela Watkinson (Upminster) claimed £21,234 for her Westminster flat. However, James Brokenshire (Hornchurch) claimed just £368 for costs associated with staying away from home, choosing instead to come home to his family each night.
The total amount claimed by all three M.P’s including office running costs, postage, I.T equipment and second homes allowances comes to;

Andrew Rosindell £ 152,284
Angela Watkinson £ 126,083
James Brokenshire £ 107,093

The expense claim of Romford M.P Andrew Rosindell is even higher than the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown and Conservative Leader, David Cameron.

Less than 24 hours after the claims being made public, M.P’s now want the taxpayer to increase funding to their pensions of another £800k a year. M.P’s currently pay 8% or their salary into their pension, whilst the tax payer puts in almost 29%.

The Prime Minister has announced a review looking at the whole scheme will now be speeded up; however this will not be completed until the end of the year.

M.P’s recently lost a court battle, to make their full claims public, which is only right, as it is tax payers money after all. The lists will show every penny claimed, so we will be able to see if any of our M.P’s have made claims for new T.V’s, shopping from Sainsburys, kitchen sinks and anything else you could ever dream off.

Cllr Andrew Mann said “In this day and age, it is beyond contempt that M.P’s can claim such vast amounts of tax payers money and yet hide behind secrecy rules, so nobody can see what they are claiming. It is, very much in the public eye if an M.P claims for his parents shopping, or purchase two new flat screen T.V’s, the time has come for all 600 plus M.P’s to do the decent thing and be up front about what they claim for”

“I as a Councillor at Havering and an employee of another London Council have to account for any expenses I claim for and all of them are open to public inspection. It seems the Countries rule makers are trying to make the rules suit their own end, is it any wonder residents have such a low opinion of elected representatives”

Ambitions, but only for Harold Hill

During the Local Elections in 2006, the Conservatives in Collier Row suggested that if you voted for us, the Residents Association, we would move money out of the town and only spend it in Harold Hill, like the previous Labour party Administration did.

So it’s rather funny, how less than a year later, the Administration set up a regeneration project just for Harold Hill, by the name of the “Harold Hill Ambitions” and over the last two years, they have been investing more and more money in Harold Hill, at the expense of other areas of the Borough, not just a few pounds here and there, but millions of pounds !

The latest example from the Administration, involves yet more help for the Borough’s most vulnerable residents, including the elderly and families with young children, that is, unless you live in Harold Hill !!

Cllr Andrew Mann has launched a scathing attack on the Tory Administration over its plan to help only those residents in Harold Hill improve their energy efficiency and fuel bills. He said "I am amazed that in this climate of increased fuel bills and financial instability, the Tory Administration are only helping those people in its marginal seats and ignoring those in need across the Borough"

He went on "During the last local elections in 2006, the Conservatives, including Andrew Rosindell complained about the money being spent on Harold Hill and here they are, two years later doing the same thing"

"Whilst I do not begrudge the people of Harold Hill extra help, there are hundreds or even thousands of people in real need across the whole Borough".

The scheme announced by Havering Council works with the London Warm Zone scheme to make the homes of residents in Harold Hill warmer and more energy efficient this winter.
Over the next year, partners including seven London boroughs, the East London Renewal Partnership, London Warm Zone and EDF Energy, will help residents access all available grants to improve insulation, as well as lower the cost of heating their homes.

Grants are available for loft and cavity wall insulation and while people on certain benefits could qualify to have the work done for free, homeowners could receive a discount of up to 75 per cent.
The scheme is focused on the areas which are part of the Harold Hill Ambitions Project, a 20-year regeneration plan to rejuvenate the area with improved education and training opportunities, youth facilities and parks, to give residents a better quality of life.

The project aims to change people’s perception of Harold Hill, as well as give our residents there a better quality of life. Making sure vulnerable people have warm, energy efficient homes is just one way that we are making Havering a better place for all.

Cllr Clarence Barrett, leader of the Residents Association in the Town Hall said “Whilst energy efficiency improvements are very welcome in Harold Hill, it should be borne in mind that the scheme does extend to homes right across the borough”.

The London Warm Zone offers grants for insulation and central heating to help people save money on fuel bills and reduce the effects of climate change. For example, subject to eligibility, discounts of up to 75% are available for those considering loft and cavity wall insulation.

To find out more we would encourage residents to call London Warm Zone on freephone 0800 587 2251 or visit http://www.londonwarmzones.co.uk/.

Remembrance Parade & Service

Collier Row & Mawneys team members Karen & Graham Price, Joe Webster and Denis Stevens were all at Havering's Service today. Cllr Mann was unable to attend today, missing the service for the first time since 2001, he attended a serice in London instead.

We hope as many of you as possible attended Remembrance parades or services, Havering had services at Romford, Hornchurch, Rainham and Harold Hill, details are on the Havering Council Web Site.

We have also added the name of Andrew Rosindell to the story below, after his office e-mailed Cllr Mann complaining that his name had been left out of our description, we are happy to include his name as the term "Member of Parliament" is obviously not enough for him.

Rise Park School Merger

Collier Row Councillor Andrew Mann has hit out at the Conservative Administration in their handling of the proposed amalgamation of Rise Park Infant and Junior Schools. The proposal to consult in joining the two schools together was started back in May, when Cabinet member for Education, Cllr Geoff Starns (Tory) signed an Executive Decision agreeing to consult on the amalgamation. Cllr Mann said “It would seem he has now forgotten that”.

Cllr Mann has been inundated with concerned parents who are very unhappy that the two schools could merge into one and feel that following the public meetings last week, the Council are biased towards merging the schools and gave no evidence as to what benefits it would have..

Cllr Mann, whose children have attended the school, for the last seven year said “I am amazed that the Council would want to even think about closing the infant and junior schools and making a new Primary school, this action should only be considered if the school is failing and Rise Park is far from that situation”.

The amalgamation has been labelled a farce by Cllr Mann, after the three Conservative ward Councillors for Pettits Ward have all objected to the proposal by their own Cabinet colleague, with a few of them turning out for a photo shoot with the M.P for Romford and Cllr Starns all pretending to be concerned, they even brought along former Councillor, Alby Tebbutt.

Cllr Mann said “The farcical situation is that the Tories made the decision to consult on its merger in the first place and now they are all shouting their heads off, how they are against it, Cllr Starns evens turns up for a photo shoot against his own consultation”.

He went on “It would seem that the Conservative Party in North Romford are not content on ruining the reputation of Bower Park School (when they produced a leaflet suggesting it would close) they have now moved onto Rise Park, it would seem this bunch of so called local Councillors could not run a bath between them, let alone a Council”.

Cllr Mann has urged every parent of children at the school to write to the Borough with their objections, by the 26th October. You can do so by e-mailing primaryvision@havering.gov.uk or writing to Social Care & Leaning, 23 Eastern Road, Romford, RM1 3NH. Or you can log onto the Havering web site at http://www.havering.gov.uk/ and clicking “Education” and then “Consultations”.

Mayors New Car

Just as you think this Conservative Administration has taken us all for fools for the last time, they go and do it again, this time Leader of the Council, Cllr Michael White, surpasses himself by authorising the purchasing / lease of a new car for the Mayor.

However, it is by no means an ordinary car; it is a £50 Thousand plus Mercedes S class, in black of course. The decision was taken this week in what is know as an “Executive Decision” and signed by the Leader himself.


Cllr Mann said “The Tories have got ideas of grandeur above themselves, to spend that amount of money on a new car for the Mayor is unbelievable, the old car is still running perfectly well, even if it is a Rover 75 (pictured above), it is serviced by our own garage staff at Purfleet and has very low mileage”.
Leader of the Residents Association, Cllr Clarence Barrett said “At a time of rising inflation, cutbacks and the economic uncertainty, the need to exercise prudence is more important than ever. The current proposal to lease a Mercedes S class gives us no indication of costing, no idea of running costs and little evidence of alternative options being pursued. Whilst the car should be suitable for mayoral duties, there is a compelling need to ensure that council taxpayers are getting value for money and that environmental issues are also considered”.

The Residents Association will now be “Calling In” the decision, which means it will have to go before a special meeting of the Corporate Overview & Scrutiny meeting before the decision can be acted upon, the date of the meeting is not yet know, however it should be within the next two weeks.

Before anyone accuses me of making it up, follow this link to the Havering Web site http://www.havering.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=15361&p=0 where you can see a copy of the document yourself.

Homes in Havering Farce

Following the pay of of Homes in Havering Chief Executive last week, Havering Park Councillor, Andrew Mann has hit out at the Board Chairman and Cabinet Member for Housing, Conservative Councillors Curtin and Armstrong.

Councillor Mann has condemned the latest situation at homes in Havering to be an absolute farce, he has hit out at the pay off of the Chief Executive of Homes in Havering as outrageous and a crass waste of public money, that we the taxpayer will all have to pick up.
Cllr Mann said “How the Chairman of the board at HiH could even think about paying of someone who wanted to leave the organisation a whole year’s salary is beyond contempt, he should hang his head in shame and resign from the board immediately, he is playing foot loose with public money, whilst Council tenants strive to pay increased rent and charges, he is dishing out £87,000 like confetti”

He also criticised the involvement of Housing Cabinet Member, Cllr Michael Armstrong, Cllr Mann said, “He (Cllr Armstrong) should hang his head in shame along side his colleague Cllr Curtin, he has implemented charges to Council tenants and lease holders that are wholly unjustified and unnecessary, such as CCTV, cleaning and fly tip removal to name but a few”.

After reading HiH documents that Cllr Mann has obtained, he said “There is clear evidence to suggest what we have known all along, that these charges were actually a ruse to bring in extra cash for HiH and not about improving service delivery at all”.

Cllr Mann has also raised issues around the relationship of a Cabinet member being on the Board of HiH, let along the Chairman. He said “How can Cllr Curtin and Armstrong work independently of each other when they are both in the Cabinet together, it is clear that both of these Councillors are joined at the hip and decisions are being agreed between them and not in the interest of the residents of this Borough, this needs to be looked at by the Leader of the Council”.

Cllr Mann went on “Perhaps as we look for a new Chief Executive of HiH, it may be a good idea for the Board to look for a new Chairman”.

BOWER PARK SCHOOL

STATEMENT OF FACT ON BOWER PARK SCHOOL

Last week, a leaflet distributed by the Conservative Party in Collier Row suggested that Bower Park School was to close and it urged you to sign a petition. However there is no truth in any of this, Bower Park school is not going to close.

Yes, Bower Park School was named last week on a list of 600 or so schools across the Country, the reason it was on the list is simple, it needs to achieve 30% of pupils gaining 5 A-C grades including English and Maths, currently we are a few points behind on this, everyone in the School and the Local Education Authority knows this.

Cllr Mann Said, As a Governor I feel very passionate about Bower Park, I have been here six years and since the arrival of Mary Morrison just under four years ago, the school has gone from strength to strength, to such a level that this year we now have a full intake of 180 pupils wishing to join us"

We have posted the letter from Mrs Mary Morrison, sent to all Governors, pupils, parents and feeder primary Schools, earlier this week. Below that is a copy of a letter sent by Cllr Mann to the Chief Executive of Havering Council and to those Conservative Members named on the leaflet objecting to the contents and informing them of the damage they have done to the school.

COPY OF LETTER FROM HEAD TEACHER

Dear Parent/Guardian

Re: Recent Conservative Leaflet concerning Bower Park School

As you will be aware last week the Government launched an education initiative to raise standards nationally. The benchmark stated that there is the expectation that all schools will achieve 30% 5A*-C including English and Maths.

Our predicted target grade for this year is 43% 5A*-C and 32% including English and Maths. This is in line with the sustainable improvement that we have achieved over the last 3 years. This means that as a school we will not be labelled or categorised as a school needing extra public funding.

As the Head teacher I feel very privileged to be working with such a dedicated body of staff and focused group of Year 11 students who are going beyond the call of duty (sometimes completing a 7 day week) working together to achieve students’ potential.

Unfortunately many of you will have received a Collier Row Political Party newsletter (Sunday 15th June 2008) urging you to sign a petition to keep our school open, there is no need to sign this petition. I am telling you as the Head teacher of Bower Park School that this storyline is factually untrue Bower Park does not need saving.

The Leader of the Council, Cllr Michael White and the Lead Member, Cllr Geoffrey Starns visited the school on Monday to assure me that we have the full support of the Council. Our Action Plan is robust and the Council is convinced we have an assured future.

The School has the full support of the Local Authority. We continue to be a moving, improving school and look forward to our examination results in August.

Yours faithfully

Mary Morrison

Mary Morrison
Head teacher

C.C.
Bower Park Staff
Bower Park Governors
Head teacher Clockhouse Primary School
Head teacher Pinewood Primary School
Head teacher Dame Tipping CE Primary School

COPY OF CLLR ANDREW MANN'S LETTER

To:
Cllr Michael White
Cllr Geoff Starns
Cllr Sandra Binion
Andrew Rosindell M.P.
Mr Billy Taylor

Dear All

Re: Recent Conservative Leaflet concerning Bower Park School

I have seen the newsletter that you have distributed over the weekend suggesting that Bower Park school is going to close and that you have launched a petition to save it, apparently you quote Gordon Brown as saying Bower Park is a “Failing School”, this is, as you all know, completely untrue and I would go as far as saying an out an out lie.

I phoned Cllr Starns at home last night and asked him to stop anymore leaflets being delivered to the Ward and informed him of the unhappiness of the Chairman of Governors, I am informed that you did indeed do this Geoff, however the damage was probably already done. I am also somewhat surprised that during this conversation Cllr Starns told me he had not seen the finished leaflet that was now being delivered across Collier Row, I am amazed at a statement such as this, who else had not seen it and who produces your leaflets ?

Geoff more than anyone as a Governor at the school and Cabinet Member for Children’s Services knows what is going on. Your newsletter suggests that an action plan is being launched by Cllr Starns and White to save the school, what action plan is this ?

Is it the one put in place by the school and the LEA that Geoff was given a copy of, on Tuesday night ? As it is certainly not being written by either of you two, or is there another action plan that nobody in the school knows about.?

You also suggest that all of you are working with the Head Teacher, staff, parents and Governors to ensure the school survives, if this was the case, why does non of the above know about it ?

I also feel that as both Cllr Starns and Binion are Governors of Marshalls Park, a more common sense approach may have been taken, Geoff as you know amongst some Governors, there is a little bit of unhappiness that you are the Chair of the neighbouring senior school, this will do nothing to help that situation.

You say the Government want to close Gobions Post Office, well this may be true, but when have they said they wish to close Bower Park School.

The only statement made, was from OFSTED last week, it was reported in the Evening Standard and the School and Council moved quick to make sure a positive story came out of it; both I and Mark Leech from Communications contacted the Time FM radio station to correct their story that suggested the school could close. The Recorder ran a very positive story on the school and all of its good work. The Yellow Advertiser is also coming in this week to meet pupils and staff to do the same.

The statement which OFSTED made, said that of the 800 or so schools on the list had three years to improve their exam results to above 30% for A-C grade including Maths and English, which with the dedicated help of staff working weekends and holiday with pupils, we will be well on track for this August, therefore we will be removed from the list and any possibility of closure. As it is, Bower Park is in the top quarter of Schools on the list anyway and it would be very unlikely they where even on the list this August, let alone in three years time.

I do not think I can find a single statement in your newsletter that is true, the whole thing is completely made up and extremely damaging to the school. I have already received phone calls and e-mails from parents and Governors demanding to know what is going on, your actions have diverted the teaching staff from doing the one thing that will improve the school and that is helping the year 11 pupils to pass their exams.

I will leave the school to make any formal complaint and raise any issues with you; I am writing to you as a Ward Councillor who also happens to be a Governor at Bower Park, not on the Schools behalf. At the very least you owe the school and the whole community a public apology and retraction to the words you have used.

To watch kids come into the school crying because they think their school is closing and to set staff panicking about the future in the middle of our exam session is just terrible, what you have done is utterly shameful and beyond contempt and I feel that you have brought your offices into disrepute by putting your name to the leaflet.

To that end, whilst the school is still to consider their own response, I will be forwarding this e-mail to the Chief Executive, Andrew Ireland and Christine Dooley to lodge a formal complaint and to ask the Monitoring Officer if she feels that you have breached the member’s code of conduct in any way.

Yours sincerely,

Andrew Mann

COUNCILLOR ANDREW MANN
Shadow Cabinet Member for StreetCare & the Environment
& Havering Park Residents Association Ward Councillor

Another Car Park U Turn by Council

Following the decision by the Leader of the Council this week, to change some of the car park charges around the borough, the Residents Association has suggested it is no more than smoke and mirrors and proved that they were wrong all along.

The Administration have kept the 20p charge, for 2 hours, but lowered the charge for 3 hours to 50p, however they have kept all of the higher charges and will not consider scrapping them altogether. They will also stop charging for Sundays in Romford.

Residents Association Spokesman for Parking, Cllr Andrew Mann said “We have been telling the Administration for almost a year that their car parking strategy was wrong, this is now the second time that we have forced them to make changes to it, first we won the battle for Sunday charges in outlying car parks, and now we have forced them to change the charges for Romford on a Sunday”.

He went on “The fact that not one of the private car parks were charging for Sundays, has had any bearing on this, and you only paid in a Havering controlled car park, the Administration have yet again got it wrong”. The Leader of the Council has suggested that he has listened to people, however why did he not listen to all those 20,000 plus people who objected before he brought the charges in to the Borough”

When the Council announced its new Parking Strategy for the Borough last year, the Residents Association launched a Borough Wide campaign against it; over 20,000 residents signed the petitions that were presented to the Mayor last year.

Leader of the Residents Group on Havering Council, Cllr Clarence Barrett said “I am pleased that once again the Administration have been forced into an embarrassing climb down on one of their policies, I have said time and time again, that they should be consulting more with other Councillors in the Town Hall and more importantly, listening to their residents concerns, over 20,000 people, said they did not want charges, however they ploughed ahead anyway and are now being forced to make changes as they go along”

Cllr Mann said “It is a sorry state of affairs, this whole parking strategy of the Administration has been a farce from day one, with the CCTV car issuing over 24,000 tickets a year, instead of the projected 2,200, is it any wonder that the Council can reduce the fee to 50p having made something like an estimate £1.7 million out of the car alone in almost 12 months”

Gobions Avenue Post Office to Close

"It is a sad day for Collier Row" words of postmaster, Mr Sunny Patel


Following yesterdays announcement by Post Office Ltd, to close Gobions Avenue Post Office in Collier Row, Havering Park, Ward Councillor, Andrew Mann has hit out at the decision.

He said “Despite massive objections from local residents the Government and Post Office Ltd have totally ignored local feeling and residents objections have been ignored, this post office serves hundreds of local residents from across Chase Cross, Havering-Atte-Bower and Collier Row, its closure will now have an adverse affect on those that use its services, in particular the elderly and those less able to get around”

He went on “We have done a lot of work recently to improve the Gobions Avenue area, with pavement and lighting upgrades, without our post office bringing in residents, it will put the whole shopping parade in jeopardy of becoming like a ghost town”,

He went on “I feel terribly sorry for Sunny Patel, who has run this post office for 20 years, he does not deserve this and has been an asset to the community in all that time”The Residents Association collected hundreds of signatures on a petition, which along with Romford M.P. Andrew Rosindell, were delivered to the Prime Minister at Number 10 Downing Street, hoping that by working together, it would add greater weight to the objections.

The Residents Association would like to thank everyone that wrote in or objected in anyway, although on this occasion it has not helped, the show of public support towards Sunny Patel and the local feeling has been huge.

Cllr Mann also singled out the Prime Minister for attack, he said “Gordon Brown delayed announcing this from last week so that it did not affect local people voting in the London Elections, he could not have had a worse time as it was, yet he hid behind the consultation so as not to give him any more bad news”.

New Mayor of London

London has a new Mayor, after 8 years of Ken Livingstone, Conservative Boris Johnson was declared the winner after a six week campaign with 1,168, 738 votes, a majority of almost 140,000.

Boris has often been described as a floppy haired buffoon, even by his admirers, his bumbling, self-deprecating personality has long made him one of the best known politicians of his time, often by his many TV appearances, now he is running one of the biggest Cities in the World with, a £11 Billion budget.

His full name is Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson and was born in New York to English parents in 1964 and was, until recently, an American citizen. He has the typical upper class English background of Eton public school, Oxford University and a father who is a Conservative politician. But he is no stereotypical aristocrat.

Nothing about the 43-year-old now given huge powers over one of the world's great cities is as straightforward as it appears. Yet he has also has the ability to sabotage his own career with his sense of fun - and apparent refusal to take things too seriously - proving his undoing on more than one occasion.

Lets hope with Ken gone, Boris can start to make a difference to the people of Haveirng, the Mayor has a lot to do in helping Havering residents gain better services and more money distributed more evenly across London.

GLA Member for Havering and Redbridge, Roger Evans was also re-elected for another 8 year term, beating his second placed rival from the Labour party by a comfortable margin.

CCTV Control Room, two faced Tories

Following the Romford Recorder story last week, with Five Conservative Councillors pictured in the CCTV control room, Havering Park (R.A) Councillor Andrew Mann has hit out at senior Conservative Councillors and Council Officers as being hypocrites.

Following the Recorders coverage of Cllr Mann visiting the CCTV control room in February of this year (pictured above), he was written to by Christine Dooley, head of Law at Havering Council to say he should not have been photographed in the control, this despite making a pre-arranged visit with the manager and asking permission to take a photo.

The letter from Mrs Dooley came following a complaint from a Conservative Councillor, he was told Councillors could not be pictured in the room, but then went back through the press archives and found various Councillors and M.P’s in the room over the last 2 years.

Now, only two months later (during a London Election) there are five Conservative Councillors pictured in the room, Cllr Mann said “Why does it need five of them, are they that worried about my press coverage, they complain that I am in the CCTV room, but then it is o.k. for them, this is typical of the two faced Administration we have at the moment”

As the overtly political photo was sent out during an election period, Cllr Mann has now lodged a formal complaint against the press office, Government legislation that controls Council press officers during any election states “In coming to any decision on publicity, the Council must have regard to the Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity” Cllr Mann feels that this has not been followed in a proper manner.

That said, Cllr Mann is pleased that the CCTV Cameras have now been turned on and are working up in Collier Row and other area in the Borough.

Angry of Havering Webs Site Launched

Following the Residents Associations high profile campaign to highlight the wrongs of the Conservative Councils CCTV Smart Car, local residents and business people have got together and launched a web site to help increase the profile of this issue.

The site www.angryofhavering.com has only been up for less than two weeks and it has already had a massive 2000 plus hits, which we have to say is very impressive, that is even more hits than our own site.

Cllr Mann has been helping residents and shop keepers in the Collier Row area for over six months on this issue, he has been inundated with people contacting him about the car and how the tickets have been issued.

All of this has been reported to Council officers and printed in the local press, however what do our Conservative Councillors do ?

Nothing, they tried to kick a review of the car into the long grass last week, after Cllr Mann moved a motion at a Environment Scrutiny meeting in the Town Hall.

There are some interesting views and pictures on the web site, take a look at www.angryofhavering.com the picture in the "Highway Robbery" section is interesting !

CCTV Car under Scrutiny

Last night saw the Environment Overview & Scrutiny meeting at Havering Town Hall, approx 30 local residents had turned up to see what happened in relation to the CCTV smart Car, that was to be discussed at the meeting.

The whole meeting to be honest was a joke; the Conservative Members (there were four of them) attempted to kick the whole thing into the long grass and refused to discuss it, by suggesting that they need a report on the subject first, what nonsense, you hardly need a report as the thing has been in the press almost on a weekly basis for months now.

It was a shame that the Chairman (Tory, Cllr Binion) refused to allow any member of the public to speak, I know they are not allowed unless the Chairman allows them, however I think there would have been no harm in letting a few people speak.

Myself and Cllr Ray Morgon (R.A Cllr for Hacton ward) attempted to move the discussion on and were eventually successful in getting the committee to agree to our motion to review the CCTV smart car, however as of yet, we have not agreed the reviews groups make-up or its terms of reference. Just as soon as more is known on this issue, we will post it on the web site.

Forest Row Open Day

Yesterday saw the opening of the Forest Row Centre, in Lodge Lane, Collier Row, Havering Park Councillor Andrew Mann was on hand as one of the Charity Trustees overseeing the centre to show local residents around the building.

Approx 500 plus residents attended on the day, to take a guided tour and look over the facilities on offer, apart from a free cup of tea and a sandwich; there was the chance to see some of the user groups in action, from dance shows and gymnastic displays, to jive dancing and the Collier Row juniors Football Club.

Havering Mayor, Cllr Georgina Galpin was on hand to meet and greet visitors to the centre long with cutting the cake, pictured with the three Charity Trustees, Phil Butler, Jacky Taylor and Cllr Mann cutting the cake.

Cllr Mann, who was a former Forest Lodge Schoolboy, has spoken of his delight at the centre finally opening. He said “Ever since I was elected in 2002, I have been working with the committee of FLAC (Forest Lodge Activity Centre) and the Collier Row Junior Football club to make this centre happen; I have had probably 100 meetings with both, the committee, planners council officers, developers and local residents to achieve this dream”

Cllr Mann was rewarded for his involvement with both organisations as they become one, to for the Forest Row Centre, that has now been registered as a charity, and he has now become one of the three charity trustees to oversee the running of the centre during the duration of its 25 year lease.

As you would imagine, the open day was crawling with Conservative Councillors and even an M.P and his assistants, they have even produced a leaflet suggesting it was all down to the Conservative Council for building this centre.

So Cllr Mann has set the record straight he said “For over 5 years, ever since I was first elected in 2002, I have been involved with this project. I have attended hundreds of meetings in that time, yet Tory Councillor Geoff Starns has you believe, along with his new colleague Sandra Binion that they have built this centre, almost single handily, you would think they had laid the bricks themselves.

In those five years, Geoff Starns has not attended one single meeting at Forest Lodge, not one in over 5 years, you have to wonder how he has the front to claim credit for anything in Collier Row, let alone this centre, as for his accolade, Sandra Binion, she has popped her head into the centre about half a dozen times in 18 months”

That said, the centre is fantastic, it is all down to the hard work and dedication to a small band of people that run the old FLAC building and Collier Row Juniors, they deserve all the credit for the commitment to stick at it over the years, and now they have their reward.

Cllr Andrew Mann

Letter in the Romford Recorder

Below is a copy of a letter in this weeks Romford Recorder, following the recent report on Joe webster joining the Collier Row & Mawneys Residents Association.

The Editor of The Recorder,

I would just like to set the record straight, and to correct a factual error contained in the report, “De-selected Webster joins Residents’ Group- Tories rocked by another defection”, the Recorder, 14th December.

The article states that “Mr. Webster is one of a three former Tories - deselected as prospective councillors for the party in controversial circumstances in 2006, to go on and join the R.A's”. In fact, when Collier Row and Mawneys Residents Association was launched in March 2006, there were no less than five Councillors, all deselected ex-Conservatives, who formed the new Residents Association.

These were, Cllr. Andy Mann, Jean Gower, Martin Smith, Alexandra Smith, and myself. The welcome addition of Joe Webster now makes six, and a seventh is also evident in the form of Cllr. Ray Morgon, who was the first to resign from the Conservatives, in protest at our numerous de-selections, and move to The Residents Associations in Havering.

GRAHAM PRICE

Mawneys Ward Action Team

Letter to the recorder

Below is a copy of a letter in this weeks Romford Recorder, following the recent report on Park Land being sold off and the Editors Column last week.

Dear Editor

Your view from the editors Column published last Friday is absolutely spot on with “Parks, time to be worried”. Well at least we now know officially what the Conservative Administration in the Town Hall intend to do, with the open area of land behind Linley Crescent in King Georges Playing Fields.

After several months of rumours that they wanted to use it for the Council’s vehicle depot, it now transpires that they have identified the former children’s play area as a potential site for disposal and suitable for development as detailed in a report to Cabinet on the 24th October.

It is one of several sites identified in the same way, two of which are in Mawneys Ward, the other being the grassed play area situated between Hood Walk and Clovelly Gardens.

The Collier Row & Mawneys Residents Association have been simply inundated with comments from dozens of residents in Linley Crescent, all of which have signified to us their firm and vociferous opposition to the proposed disposal of the open area of land, we have not received even one comment in favour of the proposal, from any resident in Linley Crescent.

After the Cabinet decision was made, The Residents Group requisitioned a special meeting of the Corporate Overview & Scrutiny Committee which was held on the 12th November, a meeting which I attended in an observant capacity, together with approx 50 members of the public. After a discussion of the cabinet report and their decision lasting over an hour, the Conservative members voted by 4-2 to uphold the decision.

In your editorial published last Friday, you have directed criticism at “Council Leader Michael White & Cabinet Member Paul Rochford”. However, it is interesting to note that two of the Mawneys Councillors are heavily implicated in the proposed disposal, as Peter Gardner is also a Cabinet Member and Roby Misir actually chaired the special Requisition meeting and used his vote to uphold the decision.

Like all Conservatives, they are fond of putting out leaflets stating that they are “On Your Side”. However, the residents of Linley Crescent now know for sure that two of their Mawneys Councillors are most definitely NOT on their side !

Graham Price
Mawneys Ward