[slideshow]
Save Leyton Marsh joined the People’s Picnic on Wanstead Flats. In just two weeks, nine acres of Wanstead Flats will be fenced off to the public in order for it to be used as a police base for the Olympics.
It was great to link up with another campaign group who have also tried community and legal action in order to prevent this seizure of common land.
We collected signatures from all those present for our Save Leyton Marsh petition which has now surpassed the 500 signatures mark!
It has come to our attention that once again a ‘non-material amendment’ has been submitted to Waltham Forest Council; this time an attempt to sneak though an extension to the working hours on the construction site at Leyton Marsh.
Presently, working hours are as follows:
08.30 until 18.00 Monday to Friday
08.30 until 13.00 on Saturday
No working on Sunday at all
The amendment seeks to extend the working hours:
Until 22.00 EVERY WEEK DAY!
Until 18.00 on Saturday
From 10.00 until 18.00 on Sunday!
This is obviously a material change in the hours which would adversely affect residents and users of the marsh who were promised reasonable working hours so as to minimise disturbance and noise from the construction.
There have already been several instances of out-of-hours noise nuisance from the site, particularly hammering and sawing in the Ancillary Building nearest Riverside Close – this is an extremely lightweight structure with fabric roof and minimal sound insulation.
We believe a decision on this matter should only be made by the Planning Committee – who approved the original application based on the assurance that working hours would be strictly limited and secured by Planning Condition. A Non-material Amendment application deprives nearby residents and users of the land of the chance to comment on the application – or even knowing about it – though the outcome affects them greatly.
Under the Town and Country Planning Act Section 73 a full application for Variation of Condition should be submitted which allows for normal consultation and publicity requirements. This should be upheld.
In addition, the applicant ‘London 2012’ has no demonstrable legal interest in the land – meaning they are not entitled to submit this type of application. In light of the previous unlawful approval regarding the extension of depth of excavation, and the Judicial Review of the original application, further unlawful non-material amendments should not be accepted.
Don’t want to face further nuisance, noise and hazard as a result of this needless and unwanted construction?
Make sure you write immediately to:
terunesh.mckoy@walthamforest.gov.uk
ian.ansell@walthamforest.gov.uk
and copy to:
graham.loveland@hackney.gov.uk
swilkinson@leevalleypark.org.uk
Outlining the points above.
Please do this as soon as you can since we have reason to believe permission will be hastily granted after the bank holiday!
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rI4JCOyJOw]
Great video of Claire on Leyton Marsh explaining some of the issues.
Big thanks to Indefilms333
Save Leyton Marsh Group decided that it was time to get out on the streets campaigning today, specifically to collect names for our petition demanding an immediate removal of the hazardous waste and restoration of the marsh to an open access public green space.
We received a tip off that the Mayor of London was visiting Wood St Market and decided to get down there to challenge him about what has happened to our marsh. Unfortunately at Wood St we discovered that the Mayor was indeed visiting…the mayor of Walthamstow (who, surprise surprise, didn’t know anything about Leyton Marsh)!
Well not to be put off, members of the group got down to St John’s Church in Hackney and collected petition signatures for three hours by the Saturday market. The reception was very encouraging and we collected a few hundred signatures.
Some of the group then headed off to Stoke Newington Literary Festival 
for a discussion of the true Olympic Legacy with Iain Sinclair and China Mieville. There we got to speak about the campaign and collected the signature of the author of Ghost Milk, Iain Sinclair who now joins Lindsay German (Stop the War Coalition), John Rees (Counterfire) and John Carlos (’68 athlete) as signatories.
So the question is – have you signed yet? You don’t have wait to be presented with the paper petition where you are – get online and sign!
There are four chances to win a prize of a special commemorative
edition of the legendary "March to the Marsh" poster, autographed
by many protesters, with a full-colour image on the reverse of the
latest in the campaign.
To take part in the raffle, please email
saveleytonmarsh@hotmail.co.uk a pledge for either:
£1 for a strip of five tickets, or
£5 for ten strips of five tickets (obviously the bargain to go for).
Winning tickets will be drawn on Monday 11th June.
(c) Kevin Blowe
Last night the legendary Olympic athlete John Carlos spoke at Stratford Picturehouse about his life of principled resistance. He described how his whole life led to the historic moment on the podium in 1968 when he raised his fist in the Black Power salute as part of the Olympic Project for Human Rights. Inspirationally, he described meeting with Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. All these great people had been described as ‘troublemakers’ so he too, was proud of that label. A member of Save Leyton Marsh Group gave a short speech about the campaign and asked John Carlos what present struggles inspired him. He replied that he based his opinion on one factor only – whether something was right. he volunteered that if our petition was right, he would sign it and was true to his word after the meeting!
Thursday 31st May – Save Leyton Marsh stall at ‘Do we want Olympic missiles in our communities?’ meeting at Bow Road Methodist Church, 1 Merchant St, London E3 4LY. Hosted by Stop the Olympic Missiles.
Saturday 2nd June – Leafleting and petitioning at Wood St Market from 10.30am and St John’s Church, Hackney from 12pm.
Sunday 10th June – Come Dine With Us on Wansted Flats! Save Leyton Marsh group will be joining Save Wansted Flats for their People’s Picnic, in solidarity with their campaign against enclosure of another piece of common land for the Olympics. Bring food to share, drums, children, friends…
Thursday 14th June – This is the court hearing for Simon Moore who was slapped with an IASBO for his part in peaceful protest on Leyton Marsh (for which he was already imprisoned for 5 days). The Police are applying for a full two year ASBO, contravention of which would lead to up to five years imprisonment for Simon. A group from Save Leyton Marsh will be at Westminster Magistrates Court for the hearing at 9.30am.
Tuesday 26th June – Defend the Right to Protest re The Olympics Meeting at Harmony Hall Walthamstow with speakers Alfie Meadows, rep from Newham Monitoring Project and more tbc. From 7pm-9pm.
Tuesday 31st July – Save Leyton Marsh Comedy Benefit night hosted by Susan Murray and starring Shazia Mirza, Ninia Benjamin and Bob Mills at the Ye Olde Rose and Crown Theatre Pub. Get your tickets here!
Sunday 12th August – We Are Waltham Forest Demonstration against the EDL in Walthamstow.
Monday 15th October – Reclaim the Marsh gathering. This is the date that the Olympic Delivery Authority have repeatedly claimed Leyton Marsh will be ‘restored to its original condition’. Whilst we know this is impossible, we expect that our common land will be returned to us and will be there to ensure they make good on their promise!
Saturday 20th October – Reclaim Leyton Marsh Celebration. We will be celebrating the return of Leyton Marsh to the people who have fought so hard for it! This will be a joyous event to also celebrate the end of the punitive injunctions ruled against the people in order for the unwanted monstrosity to be built. There will be food, music and poetry…Get in touch with us if you would like to provide some entertainment on the day!
© Jason N. Parkinson
It appears that developers may be in breach of condition 1 of the planning consent:
1. The maximum depth of excavation shall not exceed 0.6 metres at any point and the total excavation shall not exceed 2,100 m3.
A substantial excavation approximately 6m x 6m has been dug in the past week close to the north wall of the main buildings. From the perimeter it can clearly be seen to be more than 0.6m deep and is fenced off from the rest of the site with signs saying ‘Danger – Excavation’.
Tues July 31st Bob Mills heads a local bill of comedy for a Save Leyton Marsh Benefit:
Shazia Mirza – a very funny award winning British Asian stand up Comedian from Birmingham England. Before becoming an internationally successful comedian, she taught chemistry in East London for ten years. She has appeared on CBS 60 Minutes, NBC’s Last Comic Standing, and Have I got News for You (BBC)
Ninia Benjamin – a local resident and is one of the UK’s hottest female comedians with a wealth of television, stage and live stand-up experience. Ninia was catapulted to stardom as one third of BBC3′s 3 Non-Blondes, which later transferred to BBC2 and BBC America before going to a second series, shown internationally. From this, her talents have been showcased across all the major UK channels in a variety of roles, as a presenter, studio guest, actress and reality TV star.
Report on yesterday’s Enough is Enough protest on Leyton Marsh against contamination is on our Press Releases page.
‘Enough is Enough’ Protest We will be there to inform visitors to the marsh about the damage being done to what was once our common land and is now a toxic blight on the landscape.
We will be highlighting key environmental issues relating to the site and carrying our our own community litter pick on the marshes. We will also be collecting signatures for our SLM PETITION which is available for download.
This is a peaceful protest and all visitors are reminded that there is an injunction prohibiting people from obstructing access to the site or inciting others to do so. There will be no attempt at breaking the injunction, copies of which are posted around the site.
Our campaign is ongoing and we feel our duty now is to not only monitor the site and lobby for its reclamation after 15th October, but also to keep ourselves, our neighbours and our communities informed of the machinations of all parties involved in the destruction of this site: the Olympic Delivery Authority, Lea Valley Regional Park Authority, London Borough of Waltham Forest et al.
This protest has been lent serious weight by the EA’s admission to local MP Stella Creasy that “the waste soil pile will need to be treated as hazardous waste”. Piles of rubble have been on site for 11 weeks without any warnings being posted for residents or passers-by who could have inhaled poisonous asbestos. Even when the piles have been covered, this cover up has been done ineffectively and tarpaulin has been blown off or has not covered the entire mounds.
The shocking letter from the EA can be found here and the asbestos report can be downloaded here
The leaflet for the demo is available for download Enough is enough 2
