New committee and strong working groups

It was encouraging at the AGM to find yet more people getting involved in working groups on improving the park. We now have good solid groups working on play, and on the Casimir Road entrance / old paddling pool area. They include several park users with relevant professional skills, so what is emerging is a design advisory group for MUG. A group on dogs is in formation.

Supporting them and providing continuity, the committee which emerged from the AGM has a good mix of old hands and new faces. Last year saw a big transition, with many new committee members and a new chair and secretary. With a year's experience under our belts, this is the class of 2012:

Emma Jack (chair; Play group convenor)
Tim Evans (secretary)
Claire Kelly (treasurer)
Ruth Smyth (membership secretary)
Michael Row (minutes secretary)
Harry Hewat (Design group convenor)
Diane Bernhardt (Dogs group convenor)
Barry Buitekant
Vivienne Foxley
Cleo Williams & Sabbir Lunat (seat-share)
Carrie Rutherford

Stepping down, with our thanks for all they've done, are Bob Benge and Andrea Sinclair. Bob was one of those who got the user group re-started in 2008, and has been vice-chair and chair.

Contact us via

AGM minutes as well as recent committee minutes as always are at our meeting records page.

In the past year we ...

Between the AGMs of 10 Feb 2011 and 3 March 2012, Millfields Users Group ...

Park design

• turned a council proposal for a path straight through the middle of the orchard, into a winding path at the edge under the trees linking with the new footbridge
• persuaded the council to do away with cyclist priority on the Black Path (after 3 years of asking)
• involved users in a working group on the Casimir Road entrance area
• involved users in a working group on play
• negotiated improvement of the National Grid proposal for removing the lay-by
• negotiated postponement of National Grid proposals for their gate area, pending a full review of the design by MUG

Safety & maintenance

• got the council to update the obsolete emergency phone numbers displayed in the park
• pressed for regular emptying of bins, (as usual)
• pressed British Waterways to repair the broken rail facing the Black Path, and make the newly-installed bridge rail safe by plugging the end
• got rid of the hazardous puddle / ice patch and misleading signage on the Black Path

Fun

• ran a Family Fun Day which attracted some 400 people

Plants & wildlife

• transplanted 4 fruit trees donated by Beecholme allotments into the park & arranged their aftercare
• weeded & mulched the orchard and started winter pruning during which we
• hosted a pruning course by Garden Organic
• ran 2 pruning courses for park users funded from by a grant from Re:Leaf
• co-organised a bat walk which led to the waste station changing its lighting regime to improve bat habitat
• organised a community bulb planting day
• supported a guerilla weeding and bulb planting on the riverside 'wildflower bed'
• invited Young Hackney to build bird boxes for the park
• contributed to the LBH Biodiversity Action Plan
• agreed a biodiversity plan for the park with the council and worked on implementing it
• worked with the council and EcoActive on a schools biodiversity programme, including meadow plantings in March 2012

Events policy

• commented critically on the LBH draft Events Policy, twice
• exposed abuse of the park by funfairs in 2011

Developments affecting the park

• opposed LBWF's approval of development on Essex Wharf
• supported opposition to an Olympic take-over of Leyton Marsh this summer
• commented on the Lea Valley Regional Park Authority's draft area proposals – its 10-year plan for the regional park which includes Millfields – and contributed to the Lea Valley Federation response

Community links

• built up contact with Jack Watts TRA, Millfields Estate TRA, the Guinness Trust and Circle 33 and kept up contact with Beecholme Estate TRA and the Riverside Close residents' group
• developed contacts with gardening, nature and cycling activities in local schools, and with Young Hackney
• worked with the Tree Musketeers, Hackney Community Tree Nursery, Hackney Parks Forum, Thames21/Love the Lea, and Hackney Biodiversity Partnership
• worked to keep and improve our liaison with local councillors
• kept or developed contacts with cricketers, footballers and local school cycle trainers
• explored contacts with the Dogs Trust

Parks department

• pressed for the Parks Development team to do a better job of consulting and informing us
• publicised the good work of the gardeners
• resisted the destruction of the council Tree Gang

Running and developing the group

• set up an interim web site and posted news, planning documents, minutes etc
• ran several summertime stalls in the park
• improved our presence on the park noticeboards (such as they are)
• increased our membership/mailing list from 240 to 340
• raised grants and donations to buy a mini-marquee for stalls and events, run the fun day, publish a news-sheet and run the orchard pruning courses
• made some progress on a permanent website but haven't finished it
• organised 4 group meetings
• and had 12 committee meetings

... which leaves plenty to do in 2012-2013 ...

AGM agenda Sat 3rd March 3-5pm

[printable pdf here]

Venue:  Nye Bevan Community Hall, Overbury Street E5 0AJ (map)

3pm – arrival, biscuits, tea etc.

3.15 – Start meeting: welcome & introductions

3.30 – Review of the year

3.45 – Treasurer’s report

3.50 – Committee nominations, and election if necessary

4.00 – Casimir Road entrance area,

Play areas north and south.

Where the working groups have got to and a chance to discuss their ideas & research so far. Displays and informal discussion session with more tea & biscuits.

(if an election count is needed it happens during this)

4.45 – (If necessary) Election result

4.50 – Meeting ends

(4.51 – Committee meets briefly to fix first full meeting and nominate temporary officers)

Dick Ford 1932-2012

Edna and Dick at a Tree Musketeers stall 
with (foreground) Anne Woollett,
another great friend & activist 
now looking after a Norfolk woodland 

Many of the trees now growing and flourishing on Millfields were planted or looked after by Dick Ford, who died last week.

I first met Dick over a decade ago in what was then the Hackney Tree Wardens, local people volunteering to plant and care for trees. He was a man it was very easy to like – large, gentle, good-humoured and warm, with a big face and a throaty chuckle. And if Dick was on an outing, you got not only the pleasure of his company, but Edna's home-made scones as well. So they were both very popular.

It was Dick and Edna's popularity, in fact, which led to Hackney's famous Tree Musketeers replacing the more demure Tree Wardens, following a wardens' AGM at which Edna, not being a paid-up member, was asked to leave the room. My missus protested and we both left, as did most of the other active members. After that the Tree Musketeers were formed, where we understand that it's people not rules that make a group tick. So the Musketeers are, in a way, part of Dick's legacy.

Dick lived in Overbury Street and Millfields was his local park. Thinking over which trees we planted or mulched together, I'm sad to think that the cherries near the substation's west wall were among the many Millfields trees ripped out by National Grid. It's not only the greenery you lose when they send the bulldozers in. But the arboretums on north and south are still there and looking better every year, as are other teenage trees dotted round the edges and avenues. So next time you're enjoying them, don't forget to think of Dick Ford.

Tim

Next meeting: AGM Sat 3 March

Click here for a pdf you can download and print

Working group takes up Casimir Road

The Casimir Road entrance was a major item at the 7 December group meeting and had an excellent outcome: several group members with relevant skills stepped forward to form a working group. Since then another local professional has volunteered her time and skills - having seen one of her park designs featured in our discussion paper on a noticeboard.

We also decided to press for the removal of all railings along the National Grid lay-by, including the 'green'. The committee has taken this up with LBH.

The rules for committee elections were adopted. They basically describe what we did last year, but additionally give the opportunity for prospective committee-ists to describe themselves to the group before the election meeting.

For the full minutes, follow the link at our Meetings Records page.

Leyton Marsh: WF rubber stamps, resistance continues

Following Tuesday's Waltham Forest planning committee decision to approve the ODA application for basketball courts on Leyton Marsh a meeting has been arranged to discuss a campaign against the development.

Monday 13 February, 7pm  
Hare and Hounds, 282 Lea Bridge Road E10
The meeting is being held in what except for Monday evenings is the dining area. Children are welcome. But sorry no dogs.

Please contact MUG committee member  if you need further details or want to comment.

Keep updated / contribute at:

Twitter #leytonmarsh

Facebook:

• Save Lea marsh
• Don't Be Harsh, Save The Marsh!

Previous stuff at: 16 December and 15 January

Locals meet to defend Leyton Marsh

For updates:

Twitter 

• #leytonmarsh 

Facebook

• Save Lea marsh
• Don't Be Harsh, Save The Marsh!

Continued from 16 December


===================================
From the newly formed Leyton Marsh Users Group 2012
===================================

Dear Marsh User

I am sure you will have read about the plans for a huge basketball facility that is proposed to erected on Leyton Marsh by "London 2012". (See Olympic bid to occupy Leyton marsh). Here's a idea of what it would look like. This is a practice facility for Olympic teams, with no access for local people.

Application Number    2011/1560

http://tinyurl.com/wf2011-1560

3 events are coming up

Meeting at the Hare and Hounds, 278 Lea Bridge Road  London E10 7LD on Monday 16th January 2012 to plan what further steps can be taken to oppose the proposed development - all are invited - 6.00 pm on ward - if you can come at 7 or even later it is likely that people will still be there.

BBC TV are filming a news item on the proposals on Tuesday 17th January 2012 in the morning 10 am at the Ice Rink or 10.15 at the King's Head Bridge. They are keen to interview locals who use the marsh for whatever reason - dog walkers, joggers, slower pedestrians, horse riders!

Finally - where it may all happen

Planning Committee Waltham Forest Council

Tuesday, 7th February, 2012 7.30 p.m.

The Planning Committee of Waltham Forest Council will be considering the application at their meeting on 7th February 2012 - venue - Waltham Forest Town Hall, Forest road, London, E17 4JF.

The agenda will be displayed in the week before the meeting Proposed venue: Council Chamber
Contact: Oliver Craxton  020 8496 4380 Email: oliver.craxton@walthamforest.gov.uk
It would be great if you could attend and gather on the steps of the Town Hall at about 7.15 pm to make your feeling known to Committee Members.

Many thanks

Leyton Marsh Users Group 2012

Olympic bid to occupy Leyton Marsh

updated 1 Jan 2012
updated 11 Jan 2012
updated 15 JAn 2012

It is still worth sending objections (11 Jan). 

See update at Locals meet to defend Leyton Marsh

The Olympics Development Authority (ODA) have applied to Waltham Forest council for permission to erect on Leyton Marsh a basketball training centre comprising:

• Two 11 metre high modular court buildings
• A tented reception facility
• An access road
• A drop off area
• Car Park
• Plant storage containers
• Perimeter fencing

The location will be be to the north of the Ice Centre. Construction is planned to start on 1 March and the ODA say they will be off the site by 15 October.

Residents in Hackney have several concerns about this application. They can be summarised as:

• Increased traffic congestion on and around Lea Bridge Road
• Light pollution into buildings and surrounding land on the Hackney side of the River Lea
• Noise pollution from tannoys  into buildings and surrounding land from the courts themselves and associated amenities
• Loss of amenity for Hackney and Waltham Forest residents in terms of loss of open green space
• Detrimental effect on wildlife both through the immediate loss of habitat on the site, and through loss of part of the buffer zone  between the Ice Centre and the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) on Leyton Marsh

For more detail see the very detailed objection from the New Lammas Lands Defence Committee.

If you wish to object or comment to this proposal you should write to:
Terunesh McCoy

Development and Management Group
London Borough of Waltham Forest
Sycamore House
Forest Road
London E17 4JF

Please quote application number 2011/1560.

The planning notice is dated 12 December and objections and comments originally had to be received within 21 days of that date, i.e. 2nd January 2012.

But the officer's report is not yet written and it is still worth sending objections (at 11 Jan). When the situation changes we'll update this item again.

If you want any more information please contact committee member

Please post any objection or comment preferably as a comment here for other people to see, and/or to Barry.

Next Group Meeting 7 December

Next Group meeting 

Wednesday 7 December 

7 pm

Nye Bevan Community Hall

Overbury Street, E5 0LJ (map)

  

Redesigning the Casimir Road entrance area 

including old paddling pool, kiosk/toilets and north edge path

The National Grid road

NG says it will remove the lay-by and new railings early next year. Do we want to push for removal of the old railings too? And what about the railings around the enclosed green, which has become an informal dog walking area?

Better elections

Mike & Wendy's motion (in comment below)

The committee met on 30 November to finalise and timetable the agenda and the four items here are likely to use up all the meeting. If there are other things you'd like discussed please do still add them as comments, for discussion here and at future meetings.
The full agenda document is here.

(First posted 27 Nov)

Improving committee elections

Most community groups have to headhunt and arm-twist to get a committee together. But at last February's AGM, MUG surprised itself by having contested committee elections - 14 candidates for 12 seats. There was not time in the meeting for hustings, so votes were presumably cast on the strength of what voters happened to know about candidates.

Obviously it would be better to have a way for candidates to make statements and for members to assess them. At the same time, we don't want to set up a process which discourages people from coming forward for the committee: too complicated or rigid a process, and in a less active year the group might find itself with a weak committee or none at all. And it's hard to see how the AGM could fit in speeches from more than a dozen candidates.

So, simply, we suggest that candidates can make a written statement in advance, if they like.

The committee has drafted some rules to cover the details of how this could work, and we hope the group can discuss and adopt them, with any amendments, at the 7 December meeting, for use at the 2012 AGM next February.

Please do make comments here -- the more we can sort out online, the less meeting time we'll have to give it. 

Before the Meeting

1.       Invitation to stand sent out at least 4 weeks before meeting (email, park noticeboards)

2.       Candidates invited to send in statement by 1 week before meeting, which will be posted on website.

3.       There is no word limit for statements for posting online but candidates must submit a version not longer than 200 words for printed circulation at the meeting. Longer texts will be truncated when printed.

4.       Candidates should be nominated by one other park user; nomination can be at meeting (i.e. candidate may send in statement without having a nominator)

5.       People can stand and be nominated at the meeting but cannot make a statement at the meeting

At the Meeting

6.       Committee will prepare a reasonable number of voting papers, with space for those standing at the meeting to be added

7.       Committee will prepare a reasonable number of copies of a document containing the 200-word candidates' statements.

8.       Candidates can identify themselves but not make an oral statement.

9.       If there are more than 12 candidates, an election is held by secret paper ballot

10.   If candidates stand at the meeting the chair will read out their names for voters to write on the ballot paper

11.   If there are too few voting papers prepared, blank lined paper will be distributed and the chair will read out all candidates' names (as many times as necessary)

12.   Everyone at the meeting has 12 votes (or the number of committee seats up for election if other than 12)

13.   The meeting will elect 2 tellers to count votes. They may be users, council officers or local councillors attending as observers. They will not be candidates, unless no other person can be found.

14.   Tellers will announce the names of people elected but not the number of votes received

15.   Tellers promise not to reveal any other information about votes cast

16.   After the election, ballot papers will be placed in a sealed envelope and kept for 6 months by one of the tellers or by another person acceptable to the meeting

By-elections

If committee place(s) become vacant between AGMs:

17.   An election will be held, using the same procedure, at the first possible group meeting (i.e. if the vacancy occurs less than 4 weeks from a meeting, the election occurs at the meeting after that).

18.   If there is only one seat up for election, and more than 2 candidates, single transferabvle vote will be used.

---

Footnote: Single Transferable Vote

STV: Voter numbers candidates in order of preference. Teller redistributes 2nd (etc) votes from candidate(s) with least votes, until one candidate has a 51% majority.

---

Northern approaches: can we rehab the Casimir/pool/playground area?

We hope this will be an important discussion at the group meeting on 7 December. We could make progress towards turning an ugly and wasted corner of the park into something worth having.

For a more readable/printable copy of the document, click here.

Let 1,800 flowers bloom

Molly has been asking every morning if we can go and see the snowdrops...so it has proved to be a good way of teaching her a bit more about the seasons and patience!

1,800 bluebells, snowdrops, daffodils and wood anemones .. that's how many we planted on 12 November. Thirty-plus people, of all ages from 4 to 70-odd, joined in at various points between 11 and lunchtime. Plus several dogs.

The last arrivals found us all done & dusted, never got their hands on a trowel and had to be content with arguing about how to spell amonemonme anemone, and admiring the Great Green Gazebo as we worked out how to dismantle it - fortunately nobody took any photos of that process.

And as Alice said - what about the north side? Quite right. We plan to sow wildflower seeds there next Spring. Maybe we could add some snowdrops in the green, and some plug-planted foxgloves. Where would you like to see those go in? Around the fruit trees we planted with Beecholme TRA in February? (Which have done very well thanks to Beecholme allotmenteers' regular watering through the Spring.)

Planters: Alice & Laurie, Emma B, David, Harry & Vita & Orson, Michael, Terry (& Rags), Christine W & grandchild, Ruth & Ilsa & Lana, Pippa & Lola, Sara & Molly, Vicky & family, Ellen, Diane & Freya, Andrea & Mia, Claire, Christine K, Justin, Nicoletta, Jane, and, umm.. have I missed you out? - let  me know & I'll add you. 

Thanks to Hackney Marshes Users Group Community Tree Nursery for lending tools; biodiversity officer Kate for getting us off the ground & getting plants, park manager Paul for other organisational support & as always Salvatore for enthusiastic commitment to aftercare.

Funfairs: MUG comments and council reaction

Here are the comments we sent to the council, based on what you said to us. I hope you feel we got it right - please let us know.  A printable pdf document is here.

The council has now invited MUG to a meeting and we are asking exactly what this will cover. Please keep your comments coming. You don't have to be original - if many people say the same thing, that's useful.

Millfields Users Group comments on the two applications for funfairs on Millfields in March-April 2012

  

George Irvin 9-18 March

Joseph Manning 20-29 April

Summary

We have concerns about events quotas, timing, duration, previous breaches of terms and damage to the park, location and site layout, and affordability for local families.

Response period

It is not easy to get a representative opinion from a park user group in just 1 week. The committee meets monthly and the group quarterly. Fortunately email (300+ addresses) and the web help us here, and the web page asking for opinions has been viewed 58 times since Monday. Some park users' comments can be seen following this item:

http://millfieldsusers.blogspot.com/2011/10/how-do-you-feel-about-funfairs.html

Other comments have been received by email.

How many funfairs should Millfields host a year?

LBH's draft events policy proposed a maximum of one, and MUG did not disagree.  The council must have had reasons for setting this maximum, and I think it follows precedent. In 2011 we suddenly had two: Manning's ran in (I think) June and Irvin's in July, both for 2 weekends. Irvin's had in fact applied for a single weekend in September, and my records don’t include any consultation of MUG on the change of date and duration (my records include all MUG committee discussion emails to February 2011, at which point I became secretary and have all council emails to MUG). I can't find a record of an application from Manning's for 2011. I have recently asked the events team to send me any paperwork that's missing in both these cases.

For the time being (and possibly wrongly), I have to assume that an application for one fair for one weekend in 2011 somehow translated into two fairs for 4 weekends (and weekdays). Obviously such a step change in intensity of use shouldn't pass by default but should be clearly decided upon, since it disagrees with the council's draft policy. The balance of comments is, I think, against having more than one fair a year. We should aim for more community-originated free events such as the Family Fun Day

Timing

Almost everyone who has commented has objected to holding 2 funfairs so close together. They would occupy the park for four weeks out of eight. MUG must therefore object.

Duration 

A 2-weekend run, with erection and striking, results in a fair occupying the park for a fortnight. Millfields is theoretically a large park, if you add up the acreage, but its dissected layout means that the land occupation of such a large event is more intrusive than simple arithmetic would suggest.

Irvin's seems to be proposing to open on the intervening weekdays (it would be good to confirm this) but Manning's explicitly says it is not. We suggest users will be unhappy with a fair simply parking, closed, on the park in a large and prominent position for a week.

On the other hand, if Irvin's opens on the weekdays, who will be its customers? It aims at families, but the dates it requests fall in school term. (The School holiday is 30 March - 16 April.) Would it in practice simply be using Millfields for parking for a few days as well?

LBH, by the way, gets significantly less revenue from the fairs on days they are not open - £500-600 less depending on the size (see Events Consultation).

Breaches of Terms, and Damage not made good

The fairs are presumably subject to 'Terms And ConditionsFor Hire Of Parks And Open Spaces', LBH 2011.

I have posted online photographs and comments on breaches and damage by Irvin's in 2011:

http://millfieldsusers.blogspot.com/2011/10/how-do-you-feel-about-funfairs.html

I didn't scrutinise Manning's so closely (because it didn’t occur to me that the council would permit such blatant breaches) and can't comment on their behaviour. Presumably the events team have the site plan which each fair submitted and it would be interesting to see those for both fairs for this application and for 2011.

Irvin's put a pool on grass, a very heavy weight with presumably an impermeable base. The site was bare of grass afterwards, remains a scar, and recovery has been so sparse that re-seeding must surely be required (see photo on web).

Terms: "No plastic or rubber carpet underlay shall be placed on the grass at any time. Coconut matting or similar materials shall not be laid on the grass for more than 3 days. No wooden flooring shall be laid on the grass for more than 10 days." (T&C 6.4)

Irvin's parked an HGV 1 metre from a young tree (see photos on web). The permitted distance for HGVs is 7 metres, for vans 5 and for cars 4 metres. At other young trees, vehicles were parked right against the crowns and may have also been in breach.  (T&C 6.6)

'Any damage caused to the grass or trees as a direct result of the Event will be

charged to the Hirer. The cost of the repair shall be determined by the Council’s

Parks Department and shall be non-negotiable.' (T&C 6.4.12)

Damage to tree roots may not be evident for some years but perhaps the parks department could invoice on the basis of likelihood of the trees, for example, suffering a setback in growth or being more susceptible to disease. Will the council pursue Irvin's for this and for the cost of re-seeding the grass?

Clearly the council must take in hand the communication and enforcement of terms and conditions affecting trees and other plants before MUG can agree to either of these applications.

Location in the park and submission of site plan

The fairs sites stretched into the north Millfields arboretum with the unhappy results just described. The arboretum is (obviously) dotted with semi-mature trees and MUG questions whether it is a suitable site for the heavy vehicles and rides of a funfair. We certainly wish to see a site plan before agreeing to any more funfair applications.

(For those unfamiliar with the site, the arboretum lies towards the east of north Millfields and runs in a north-south belt parallel to the waterside plane trees. It is an important feature in the Millfields Biodiversity plan and has been, and will continue to be, the focus of much volunteer care and development by local people.)

Pricing/affordability

A user commented on Manning's:

"We spent £14 to get 3 (short) rides per child - felt ripped off - They advertise a certain rate per ride outside but once you're in they seem to have a lot of rides with more expensive prices that 'aren't included'!"

We suggest that a family-oriented event shouldn't be getting this kind of feedback. Will the council investigate pricing and affordability for local families?

Again, this comment militates in favour of free community-based family events such as the Fun Day.

Visitor origins, Traffic, Parking and Sustainable Transport

Beecholme Estate TRA tells us that families there enjoy the fairs. Residents in the Leagrave/Hillstowe Street area draw attention to increased traffic and parking. Is anything known about the proportion of local to non-local visitors? What traffic and parking load is expected as a result of non-local visitors?

We would like to suggest provision of secure supervised cycle parking inside the fair to encourage families to cycle there. Several local primary schools have cycle training programmes and everything possible should be done to get parents cycling with their skilled-up children. Advice on this can be had from Streetscene's sustainable transport officer. It might be interesting to lay on a Dr Bike so that bikes can be fixed while families enjoy the fair.

Security and public order

A member of the Community Action Panel tells us that the CAP and the police are happy with the fairs' approach to order, and this testifies that both fairs take this question seriously and are successful. MUG was approached by one or two residents of Casimir Road about street disturbances nearby the fairs, perhaps as a result of groups of youths being refused entry. We don't have very clear information about this, and don’t know whether it was reported to the police. But we suggest that it would be worth the Safer Neighbourhoods team paying some attention to this question during the fairs.

 

How do you feel about funfairs?

[Sequel is here]

The two funfairs that visited this summer would like to come back in March and April 2012. How do we feel about that? Did you go? Did you enjoy them? Did you notice any problems? Are they too close together in time? Should they go somewhere else in the park? Please let us know.

Some thoughts:

• Both fairs are aimed at families with kids. They enclose the fairs and charge £1 for entry. They don't allow alcohol or groups of unaccompanied youths, and they use tokens for rides. The Leabridge ward Community Action Panel (CAP) is apparently happy with them, as is the Beecholme Estate TRA.
• Some Casimir Road residents raised concerns with MUG about street behaviour nearby.
• Irvin's in July broke the rules about protecting trees and grass (see photos below). In view of the rules about keeping vehicles away from trees, perhaps the arboretum is not a suitable area for them.
• Both fairs want to visit for 2 weekends. One of them is going to be closed on the weekdays in between, just occupying part of the park. Counting their set-up and take-down days the two fairs will be on Millfields for 4 of 8 weeks in March and April. Is that too much?

Irvin's put a pool here in July. Grass still hasn't recovered in October.       

Council rules say: No plastic or rubber carpet underlay shall be placed on the grass at any time. Coconut matting or similar materials shall not be laid on the grass for more than 3 days. No wooden flooring shall be laid on the grass for more than 10 days.

Irvin's parked this articulated cab right next to a young tree for a fortnight. Tree roots extend underground to 12 times the trunk diameter, so the roots were being crushed by the weight, and asphyxiated as air was forced out of the soil. Vehicles were parked as close as they could get to other trees in the arboretum. But most of the young trees have crowns at head height, so the vehicles couldn't get as close as with this narrow Lombardy poplar.  They may have been breaking the rules at other trees too - but we didn't get photos.

The wheel marks at the same spot three days after the end of the fair show that the HGV was just a metre away from the tree trunk (the length of my jacket on the ground).

Council rules say:   Vehicles shall be parked on boards / tarmac at all times.   The Hirer shall ensure that no vehicles park next to the base of trees, even on tarmac areas. The following requirements for the distance of vehicles from the base of trees shall be:  

Cars – 4 metres

Vans, caravans – 5 metres
HGVs, coaches, plant vehicles and generators – 7 metres 

Park equipment stolen for 3rd time

For the third time, the Millfields gardeners' lockup was broken into last week in broad daylight, and all the tools stolen. Thieves drove a van in at 11 in the morning, cut the padlock, loaded up and left. It seems the theft isn't covered by insurance.  So once again, the gardeners are left without the equipment they need to get on with their work. 

There seem to be two underlying problems with the park storage -

• The depot is shared between the park and Hackney Homes. As a result, the depot can be open with no park staff present, and HH staff don't challenge strangers monkeying with the park lockups and equipment.
• There doesn't seem to have been any upgrading of locks. A simple box around the padlock would defeat bolt cutters, a pretty standard feature on industrial containers like these.

Maybe if MUG had taken it up with a councillor there would have been action -- but why should that have to be how things work?

Nature spotting with the kids

From Alice Westlake ... 

 

Over the summer I've been taking my two young kids out around North Millfields to see what flora and fauna we can spot. The idea, as I understand it, is just to build up knowledge about what lives on Millfields. Well, so far the answer seems to be: nothing very unusual! We have seen lots of dandelions and daisies (or daisy-lions and dandies, as Hector calls them), ladybirds, bees, woodlice and something that may have been a soldier beetle - and taken and drawn plenty of pictures of them! It's good fun to do with small children, and I am sure if we persevere, and with a little help from other like minded folk, we will start to build up a more complete picture which includes some of the less regular visitors to our park.

At the end of the summer term, at my instigation, a small group from Laurie's class also went on a biodiversity walk around N Millfields and took some pictures which they posted on iSpot, of earwigs, damsons (?) and fungi.

One place we focused our attention on was the wildflower belt alongside the river. When we first started looking there, this had been newly planted and looked quite pretty although it seemed to consist exclusively of poppies, nettles, comfrey and hoary mustard, most of which can be found all over the marshes. There were many different types of bees frequenting it, bumbles and solitary, although I noticed that there were no butterflies - why not?

When we went back a few weeks later, the flowers had all finished and the whole scene was quite different; it just looked like an un-loved and weedy verge, was very full of litter and I hardly saw a single bee. In one place where the fence had been broken down people had clearly been trampling across it in large numbers as the plants had been completely flattened over a wide section. 

Anyhow, we will do another trip soon to look out for interesting fungi and spiders, now that autumn is here...

If you're like minded folk and would like to join Alice, Hector & Laurie looking for mushrooms and spiders, please email .

Laurie is at Southwold School. 

September Open Meeting decisions

The group's Open Meeting on 17 September decided to:

• Get rid of the cycling priority track on south Millfields. People on foot will have priority on the whole of the Black Path, once the redesign work is done

• Go ahead with the orchard path on the lines decided in April. You should see signs of this starting soon. All the work will be done by hand

• Get started on exploring ideas to improve the playground

You can see the minutes here (with the agenda and treasurer's report).

Next meeting: Wednesday 7 December, evening. Venue to be announced.

But don't wait for the meeting - have your say here.

MUG in print: September Update / publicity flyer

Thanks to our Grassroots Grants funding for the fun day and summer stalls, we've been able to afford some printed publicity.

The 'update' newsletter summarises work described in more detail here on the blog.

There is also a general purpose publicity/recruitment flyer.

Every copy that reaches new people makes a difference. You can get reasonable quality downloadable versions of these by clicking the images. If you can print a copy for a shop window, waiting room, noticeboard, cafe, etc, or get them into school mailings or similar ... well, it all helps.


If you would like some of the printed copies, get in touch.

Unfortunately we can't afford a professional designer, so we have to be content with a layout that is, let's say, clean but clunky. If any of our 300 supporters has the skills and can spare some time, it would be quite a step forward for us.

(I also have a feeling our pdf files are bigger than they need be, so if anyone can suggest a solution which'll work on a 10-year old laptop running Windows 2000...)

It needn't be grim up north

The north edge of Millfields is one of the least-loved-looking bits of the park. For several months the committee has been working on ideas about this, and we tried to consult about some of them at our stall in the park in June -- a plan which was a bit sabotaged by the incredibly unseasonable cold, wet weather that day. Still, we distributed some information about ideas, and had some useful comments from users. We also publicised and discussed ideas at the fun day on 21 August. At the group meeting on 17 September we hope the group will be able to make some decisions.

Problems

Ø      The Casimir Road entrance looks unloved & unwelcoming.
Ø      Grass doesn't grow or look good in the shade of the big plane trees by the playground.

Ø      Tarmac near the trees is damaged by the strong roots

Ø      The abandoned paddling pool is an eyesore

Ø      The kiosk and toilets are enclosed in the playground, not accessible to other park users

Ø      The path along the north edge is in bad condition and bordered by an ugly metal fence

Ø      The north-east (towpath) entrance is a mess

Ideas

Ø      Casimir Road by the gate is now motor-free. Remove the vehicle gate, and echo the footway paving in the park entrance, pulling the pedestrianised street into the park.

Ø      Replace scraggy grass and lumpy tarmac with a clay/gravel surface, French park style, where people can stroll, sit, or play.

Ø      Break the pool surface into hardcore: lay a new surface suitable for a social area - a plaza (see State of Play, 23 July)

Ø      Add benches, chess table, tennis table, etc, under the trees and in the new 'plaza'.

Ø      Realign the playground fence so that the kiosk is at least partly outside it (see State of Play, 23 July).

Ø      Reposition the north side path inside the tree line

Ø      Plant along the north fence to hide it

Funds 

Ø      Latham's yard section 106 funds: £45,000 for north side. Not enough to fix the path, says LBH, but enough to improve the entrance.

Ø      'Walk England' funds: LBH obtained £10K for the north-east end which had to be spent by the end of summer 2011. We were expecting to be consulted about its use but they've now (8 Sept) gone ahead without that: "The resurfacing works will match the treatment which has been undertaken along the river in North Millfields, tarmac with a gravel scree.  We will also be looking at replacing the bin in that location with a more suitable version."

There is no funding allocated to the other ideas yet. There is about £200,000 in the kitty from National Grid's 'rent', with another £100K to come by 2014 (see our Funds page). Would this be a good way to spend it? Please come to the meeting, and/or comment here.