Love your ward & how about "DustyMcDustFace"?

This afternoon as a local ward Councillor, I went to support this event and speak to residents, officers and volunteers. The weather was not kind but everyone seemed very enthusiastic about its aims of encouraging recycling and the "give & take market" as well as practical steps such as litter picking, bulk rubbish collection and garden planting. My wife Gill had been busy clearing weeds from the communal garden.

We hope to attach the "Please Recycle" murals to the outside walls of Brassett and David Lee Point. I had a positive conversation with the artists who were spray painting them about communal art and I hope we can have more of this in our streets and estates. Behind us is blue boarding sectioning off land due to be redeveloped. Maybe we can do something with this boarding rather than leave it to be vandalised?

There was also a competition to give a name to the Newham Council Dust vehicle being used to collect bulk rubbish. All residents were asked to submit a name. I felt that I had to submit my suggestion "DustyMcDustFace". 

Love Your Ward: Saturday 12 October 10-3pm at Brassett Point/David Lee Point E15

Councillor Report to West Ham Ward 8 November 2018

Councillor Report to Ward As 8 Nov 2018

WEST HAM WARD LABOUR PARTY tel: 0203 373 3456 or email John.Gray@Newham.gov.uk

  

Ward issues

·        On 4 October after my surgery I attended a meeting of Leather Gardens Residents & Tenants Association with Cllr Whitworth in Brassett Point. It was a lively but constructive meeting with the Council concierge manager, discussing communal repairs, anti-social behaviour (ASB) & service charges. An inspection of David Lee Point was agreed as was a further inspection of Brassett Point.

·        A Council tenant who has caused ASB in the ward for many years to local residents was jailed this month for violent behaviour and homophobic abuse. A 3 year banning order was also imposed. Many thanks to local Police and Council enforcement officers for finally being able to bring this perpetrator to justice and protect residents.

·        23 October I took part in an inspection of all 21 floors in David Lee Point with Cllr Whitworth, Concierge officer, Leasehold services officer and a resident. The block was clean but minor repairs were noted and reported. Issues of ASB were also discussed.

·        All ward Councillors, Council senior officers and the Mayor, Rokhsana Fiaz attended a remembrance ceremony on 24 October organised by the local Police to honour PC Nina Mackay, who was killed on duty 21 year ago in Arthingworth Street E15

·        All 3 Ward Councillors met on 29 October with representatives of Newham Clinical Commissioners to express our concern on behalf of many constituents over the pending closure of West Ham GP surgery following the retirement of its main doctor. There had been huge opposition to this plan. We asked for the closure to be reconsidered or at least postponed but this was refused on the grounds that the premises were totally unsuitable and the practice was too small. At my surgery on Saturday residents told me that they are collecting a petition and will be asking for a meeting with the board of the local NHS Trust to protest further.

·        The planning application for a very large private tower block in Abbey Road next to the DLR station has been refused by the local planning committee. Congratulations to local residents for their very effective campaigning against this unsuitable application. It is likely that the developers will come back with a revised plan which probably will still be of concern to residents.

·        I was pleased to attend the 2^nd anniversary of the opening of the Darul Jannah Community centre on November 5 and give out prizes to top performing students with Councillor Whitworth and other Councillors.

Other

·        I was also pleased that the Labour Candidate Moniba Khan was elected as a Councillor in the recent Boleyn by-election with 74% of the vote. I had been campaigning with ward members.

·        I am due to present on my role as Cabinet member for Housing services to next month’s meeting of the branch (Now January 2019).

If any member wishes to contact me about this report or my work as a Cabinet member please do not hesitate to do so.

Surgeries and case work

Please note the new time and place of my Councillor Surgeries

·        Stratford Library,  3 The Grove, Stratford E15 1EL 1^st Saturday in every month 10am-11am

·        1st Floor Tenants’ Room
Abbey Road, E15 3LA. 1^st Thursday in every month 5pm-6pm.

·         

I can also be contacted by email or phone (see top) or even via twitter (@grayee) or Facebook (search “John Gray Newham”)

Regards

John Gray

West Ham Ward Councillor

Out and about Newham Council Housing: Cundy Street Centre, David Lee Point, Janson Close & Park Road

Picture collage from recent visits, talks and walkabouts I have been on as Newham Housing lead with local residents, Council Officers and local Councillors.

While visiting our housing estates and meeting residents I have found lots of things that we need to do much better but also examples of excellent practice and dedicated Newham staff doing, what is at times, a really difficult job.

I really enjoy "walkabouts", meeting residents and also getting things done. So, if you are a Newham Council tenant or a leaseholder and want me to to come to your estate then please contact your local Councillors and ask them to invite me. 

21 floor "walkabout" Brassett Point

On Friday I went on a "walkabout" with residents and Newham Housing officers from the top to the bottom of Brassett Point in my ward.

It is always encouraging when you see residents who actively care about their homes and their environment. They have collected a petition, which 90 out of the 120 flats have signed, calling for improvements in communal repairs and stopping anti-social behaviour.

A number of actions were agreed and there will be follow up inspection later in the year.

The sister block nearby, David Lee Point (see picture left who also sent a resident representative) will be next.

By coincidence it was good to meet up with former colleagues from Tower Hamlets Council. I used to work with Agnes, now a local resident, (2nd from right above) when she was a Homeless Officer and Bob, a local caretaker (not in picture) we met on the walkabout who used to work with me on the Ranwell East (Roman Road) estate.

The longstanding Leather Gardens TRA rep, Ted Nolan (1st on left), was there as ever, to keep things moving along and all of us in order.

The residents will be handing in their petition at the next full Council meeting and are planning to send in a delegation to speak at the meeting. They are also going to set up a Facebook page for the block.

Canvassing David Lee Point & Remembering Gunner John Henry Carlile

This afternoon it was raining so we decided to canvass the tower block, David Lee Point in Leather Gardens, West Ham ward.

In the block lives one of our oldest Labour Party members, Gerry Carlile (see picture top right in white shirt).

Gerry invited us in for a rest and a chat. On his wall is the picture of his elder brother John (see left) who was killed in action during the Second World War. He had volunteered to serve as a Gunner on a merchant ship which was later sunk by a German U-Boat in the brutal "Battle of the Atlantic". Below is the stark details on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website.

"CARLILE, Gunner, JOHN HENRY, 1797607. 3/2 Maritime Regt. Royal Artillery. 7th December 1942. Age 21. Son of John Henry and Margarett Cathrine Carlile, of Stratford, Essex".

I believe that John was on the SS. Peter Maresk, which was sunk during 7 December with the loss of all 67 crew. On that same day at least 3 other ships were sunk with a total loss of another 751 lives. I think only 4 men survived.

I imagine that on walls and mantlepieces, up and down the country, there are similar photos surrounded by red poppies. Over 800 lives were lost on that day in just one part of the War. A sobering thought.

Tomorrow, I will be paying my respects and remembering John and the millions of others who lost their lives defending our country. If you live in Newham Click here for details of the commemorations taking place tomorrow.

London Marathon 2012 Wk 19: Ken's Fare Deal

The training for this year's London Marathon is still going relatively well except for ongoing sensitivity in my left knee. I'm trying to do more stretches and sessions on the "wobble board". So far so good. It

hasn't stopped me running but must keep an eye on it.

This week's "best run" was on Saturday when I did a 2 hour session delivering Labour "Ken's Fare Deal" tabloid leaflets (see right) starting off from Forest Gate, picking up leaflets on route then delivering around my ward in West Ham.

I am ashamed to say that in a moment of weakness I took the lift up the 21 storey tower block, David Lee Point and then ran down. However, I did run up its sister block, Brasset Point then back home via West Ham Park. The views of East London from the top of both tower blocks is spectacular. Delivering leaflets is stop start and probably nearer a jogging pace than a "run" but there is some useful "uphill" workout from going up stairs in blocks of flats.

I am running the London marathon on 22 April 2012 while sort of using the official advanced training programme and will be raising funds for a valuable homeless charity for Young People called "Alone in London". Click here to sponsor me on the Justgiving website.