Details have become clearer about TfL’s new bus routes serving Wanstead, which are coming into effect this weekend.
At a meeting at the Town Hall in Ilford on Monday night it became clearer that an earlier proposal to remove the Nightingale Estate from the new W14 route, which replaces the W12, has been amended. It now appears the new route will follow the existing one, which will be welcomed by many people who depend on the hail-and-ride service.
However in a major change the new service will run only once every 60 minutes rather than a mix of every 20 and 30 minutes at present. If the same sized buses are being used this will cause serious overcrowding, especially at peak times. It will also limit the usefulness for people using buses for school or to get to Tube stations for work.
And in another significant change, the new services will no longer go into Whipps Cross, but rather stop outside.
This could be the last week of the much-prized W12 bus route as Wanstead knows it as TfL prepares to make a major shift to its services.
Click to enlarge. But yeah, we didn’t really follow it either.
Campaigners against the changes have other ideas though.
From the end of this week, the W12 will no longer serve Wanstead and will instead go from Walthamstow-South Woodford-Woodford Bridge. In its place will come a re-routed W14 which will go via Snaresbrook Tube, but miss the accessible Wanstead Station, then nip down Nightingale Lane before going back on towards South Woodford. It means it will miss much of the Nightingale Estate, large parts of which have come to rely on and cherish the W12 service.
Campaigners are furious, saying the consultation was over complicated and didn’t take everything into account that it should have done. They have amassed thousands of signatures on a petition (which is here).
The campaign group Save Local Buses and Routes for Local Residents issued a statement saying: “Among the scheme, the new W14 (replacing the W12) is being reduced from every 30 minutes to one an hour and, vitally, it will no longer deliver passengers into Whipps Cross Hospital’s grounds. Instead it will halt about a quarter of a mile away – difficult and possibly hazardous for for patients, visitors and staff, especially after dark and in bad weather.
“Incredibly, the same W14, also cuts out the most valuable points on the old route – no longer stopping near Wanstead Tube station with its vital step-free access, nor the useful small bus terminal at Wanstead’s Woodbine Place, missing out most of Wanstead’s high street including pharmacies and GPs, stopping nowhere near South Woodford’s supermarkets and cinema around George Lane, and no longer serving a number of schools, including Forest and only running once an hour to Nightingale Primary.
It will also no longer travel to Walthamstow — passengers will need to switch to the new W12 route. Residents on the massive Nightingale Estate, stretching from Wanstead to South Woodford, will be particularly badly hit, as the bus service provides a lifeline in their large network of roads away from other public transport links. The inadequate hourly service also puts women and other individuals at risk if they have to walk long distances down quiet, dark streets at night.”
It’s the moment you’ve been waiting for – the full list of events in next month’s Wanstead Fringe is now available here, with tickets available for theatre, music, book events, films, comedy nights, tours, tastings and more.
The spectacular growth the Fringe has seen in the past few years has continued apace, and this year there are 12 plays being staged at three different venues and 12 different musical recitals from jazz and country to piano and harp and even an opera.
The full range of events is available here. Tickets for all events are now selling.
Comedian Paul Sinha is among the line-up for the fourth Wanstead Book Festival which also includes local author Iain Sinclair, historian Otto English, children’s writer Tola Okogwu and author Daisy Goodwin.
They join philosopher Julian Baggini, and crime writer Alice Slater, author of Death of a Bookseller.
Geraldine Roberts, author of The Angel and the Cad which will next year be marking its 10th anniversary, will be discussing the legacy of Wanstead House with fellow historian Hannah Armstrong.
Sinha is familiar to TV and radio audiences thanks to his quizzing on The Chase and comedy on Radio 4. He is also a stalwart of the Wanstead Fringe having appeared several times, but on this occasion he will be appearing as an author, discussing his newly published autobiography One Sinha Lifetime.
Otto English is the author of Fake Heroes and will be in conversation with Victor Adebowale.
Author Iain Sinclair who has written much about the nature of east London will be discussing his new book Pariah Genius with John Rogers.
Daisy Goodwin is well-known as a TV producer and is also the author of Diva, a gripping account of the tragedy of opera star Maria Callas.
Tola Okogwu is the author of Beka and the Moon and the Onyeka series of children’s books and will be taking part in the festival’s first Family Book Day which is being staged with Redbridge Libraries as the climax of their Fabula festival.
Wanstead Book Festival is part of the Wanstead Fringe, which runs from 7-28 September and promises a huge range of cultural events. Full details of the line-up and tickets for the events are now available at the Wanstead Fringe website.
