Wansteadium

Residents campaigning against Redbridge’s plan to close Wanstead Youth Centre are mystified by the council’s plan after it announced it wanted to open new facilities in the borough.

Redbridge Council leader Councillor Jas Athwal told the Evening Standard last week about plans to open a new lido and gym in Valentine’s Park, as well as of the new Wanstead Leisure Centre which is currently under construction.

But the campaigners say they cannot understand what is the point of opening new venues when the council is planning to close an existing facility which is used by 1,200 people each week.

A spokesperson for the campaigners said: “The Wanstead Youth Centre is the only one of its kind in the West of the borough and if it closes many of the activities that happen there for young people and vulnerable members of the community won’t be able to continue. The Council has repeatedly stated there is no money for maintenance and repair so closure has to be considered.

“How can the Council can find the money to invest in new leisure facilities but not to maintain an exiting well used and well-loved community leisure asset?”

It is also not clear what the council’s current position is. The original plan – first proposed in January this year – was for the centre to be closed by the end of April. But so far as is known, no decision has yet been taken. Campaigners have called for a 12-month moratorium on the decision to allow proper consultation and consideration of all the options.

More than a hundred street parties are due to take place across Redbridge to mark the King’s coronation with several happening in Wanstead.

• If things happen the way they usually do, Wanstead will have front row seats for the flypast – probably some minutes before 2.30pm. As ever, photos are welcome to info@wansteadium.com
• The biggest single event here though will be taking place on Christchurch Green on Sunday in aid of Tin in a Bin. Details below.
• Wanstead CC will be playing in the first of an annual Coronation Cup.

Wanstead climate action campaigners, who have been quizzing fellow residents for the past few weekends, are gearing up for big protests in central London over the weekend.

More than 100 organisations including Extinction Rebellion, Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth are staging the lawful, peaceful protest this weekend. Wanstead campaigners are focusing on calling on the Treasury to cancel global debt for poor countries so they can respond to climate change. On Saturday there is a march for biodiversity. Wanstead campaigners are leaving from Wanstead Tube at noon on Saturday. More details can be obtained from  Wansteadclimateaction@gmail.com.

Anyone looking for a way into (or perhaps out of) the Matrix should look no further than the end of South View Drive.

Wanstead Park’s bluebells are on the brink of their magnificence. The warnings to visitors of the damage that can be done by stepping off the path have been reinforced – though are still not clear enough for some.

Each year some of the bluebells are damaged by people treading on them, or other bulbs beneath the surface which are not visible, usually for reasons of Instagram. New signs put up by the Epping Forest managers explain the damage but are still not quite explicit enough for some park lovers who have added their own messages.

Meanwhile the Wanstead Art Group is starting a weeklong show and series of bluebell related events at nearby St Gabriel’s church. Details below.

Photos – thank you to Andrew Burns