After 27 years as MP for Leyton / Leyton and Wanstead, Harry Cohen will be stepping down in 2010 following the wide-ranging parliamentary expenses scandal. But has Harry done a good job for his constituents over the course of his career? Please vote in our current poll (see the sidebar).
Interesting Leytonstone Area Residents’ Association meeting last night on Crime and Safety, particularly given the news today regarding CCTV in Leytonstone town centre. Good turnout with ward Councillors Clyde Loakes and Marie Pye speaking along with representatives from the Safer Neighbourhoods and Neighbourhood Watch schemes.
A fairly wide range of topics were covered, but one in particular struck me as worth mentioning. In response to my question regarding the state of the High Road and its effect on crime in the area, Councillors Loaked and Pye mentioned the difficulties they have actually persuading property owners on the High Road to maintain their buildings. For example, the Independent Buildings in Church Lane have various bits of graffitti on them. The clock set in the buildings facade has also been broken for a long time. Apparently though the owners won’t allow the council to clean the graffitti or fix the clock, both offered free of charge. Quite what the reasons were for this I’m not sure, but it does seem a bit odd.
I’ve mentioned the “roof tree” problem on the High Road before, and the general run-down state of many buildings, but apparently the council are powerless to do anything about this either. There are no by-laws that can be enforced to make landlords keep their buildings in a presentable state. This seems ridiculous, those buildings will just remain as they are until they’re either sold, they fall down or by some miracle the owners decide to give them a lick of paint. With no investment money on the horizon, it seems the state of the High Road isn’t likely to improve any time soon. Maybe we should have a “Fix Leytonstone High Road Day”, we can all go armed with ladders, pots of paint and brushes to tart the place up!
One more thing – estate agents. Apparently, many of the “to let” signs around Leytonstone are just put up to attract business. Estate agents give landlords management fee discounts if they leave a sign up on their property. So the transient appearance of the High Street and many other areas of Leytonstone may not actually be a true reflection of the real situation. Unfortunately all of those signs give a bad impression. In recent years, schools have been brought into the equation as well – estate agents put up signs in peoples gardens advertising an event at a local school, but the boards look like their regular signs with just a tiny strip on the bottom actually mentioning the event. Bit cheeky really.
A reminder about the sterling work the guys at the Leytonstone Film Club are doing. Given that there isn’t a single cinema in the whole of Waltham Forest, the film club is a much needed resource in our area. They tend to show the type of films that aren’t readily accessible in mainstream cinemas too, such as high quality foreign films or critically acclaimed films which may have only been given a limited release.
Screenings are held on the first Wednesday of every month. All screenings take place at Leytonstone Library, Church Lane, E11 1HG (just off Leytonstone Tube Station).
The film club will only survive if local people support it, so if you can, please go along.
Upcoming screenings:
Directed by Tomas Alfredson. Duration 1hr 54 mins, Rated 15.
Let The Right One In
Oskar is a 12-year-old outcast who is frequently picked on by his classmates. He dreams of getting his revenge, but he never stands up to the boys. With the arrival of his new next door neighbour, 12-year-old Eli, Oskar may finally have found a friend, ally, and first love. But Eli is no ordinary girl: she must keep her pale skin out of the sunlight, she can perform many inhuman physical feats, and she has a thirst for blood.
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