West Hackney Rec. News and help needed

Daniel Chapman of LDA Design says:: “We are trying to design a place that encourages visitors to come and enjoy the recreation ground. We want to create a series of experiences, spaces and landscapes which we hope will become a community hub, a reflective area and a bio-diverse space - hopefully something for everyone.”	Top design team appointed to prepare Heritage Lottery Fund bid to regenerate our local park LDA Design, whose recent work includes Clissold and Victoria Parks, were appointed by St Paul’s Church in May to prepare the main application to The Heritage Lottery Fund for a grant of over £600,000 to regenerate West Hackney Recreation Ground and the surrounds of St Paul’s Church.	Ollie Bayliss of West Hackney Recreation Ground User Group says: : “Plans are progressing really well for this exciting project and I hope everyone who lives in the area takes this opportunity to get involved, have their say and be a part of the redevlopment of what we hope will be a fantastic addition to the community.”
You can help to make this happen  by doing this one simple thing! Please, please, please go online to https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WestHackneyRecreationGround and fill in the simple on-line quesitonnaire Doing this will tell our design team just what it is that local people want to see happening on this important site which is right at the heart of our local community. It will also tell The Heritage Lottery Fund that we care about this project and want to see it happen. Please send this on to your neighbours, to those in your street, to your friends who live locally and get them to fill it in to! Thank you very much! Niall Weir RECTOR OF ST PAUL'S CHURCH WEST HACKNEY niall.weir@mac.com 07840 762783 Remember, we need to have as many responses to this questionnaire as is humanly possible!

Wilmer Place: Sainsbury application submitted

Info from Stokey Local:

The developer has submitted a planning application for Wilmer Place

On 13th July the developers of Wilmer Place submitted a planning application to Hackney Council's Planning Office. Stokey Local became aware of the existence of the application on 18th July.

There will be a delay between submitting the application and it appearing on the Hackney planning website as it has to be validated before it is made public. This process is quite normal and often takes a few weeks for more complex applications such as this one.

So far no documents have been posted on the Hackney planning website. We will keep you up to date with developments as the application progresses and will be providing information which will help you to make a submission to the planning office.

The proposals, although there have been significant changes, are still going to damage the character of the area, and are an overdevelopment of the site (effectively building a housing estate on top of a large supermarket).

Once the application is validated it will be published and there will be a consultation period. We will be asking people to use the consultation period to make their views known. In the meantime the one thing that you can do that would be enormously helpful is to tell your friends and neighbours that the Sainsbury/WIlmer Place development is back and to forward this email on to friends, neighbours and family living in Stoke Newington and ask them to sign up to this email list. They will then automatically receive updates when we know more.

You could also post a message on your twitter or facebook pages so that we ensure that everyone knows to look out for the consultation period.

If you received this email direct, then you are already on our email list, if it was forwarded to you then you are not on our mailing, list, but we would invite you to join our mailing list: http://eepurl.com/eOEgg <http://stokeylocal.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c747f6d2c72e4ced2ac01c000&id=1361d85390&e=db0f4b3c5a>

If we all speak up, then we will be heard!

Thank you for your support.

Stokey Local

follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | forward to a friend <http://us2.forward-to-friend.com/forward?u=c747f6d2c72e4ced2ac01c000&id=9cdee41f5a&e=db0f4b3c5a>

Spring Newsletter, 'is it an octopus?' and other events!

The latest LARA newsletter is out on email to our subscribers - you can read it here or just click on the Newsletter heading above. Catch up on our local news and what we are planning next - our picnic in the park, the next pub quiz and other local events such as film club, exhibitions, school fairs and more....
Something else that dropped into our inbox today, sent by a local mum drumming up support for a great local community nursery:

“is it an octopus?”

Art exhibition by parents and children of 'Grasshoppers in the Park' nursery

at:

cafe-bistro Nar

35 Stoke Newington Church Street

London, N16 …..

Busses: 73 / 476 / 393 / 106. Trains: Stoke Newington (overground)

from:

25th May - 31st July 2012

Opening times: 10am-11pm, Mon-Sun

“is it an octopus?” is an idea that came about from parents of 'Grasshoppers in the Park' community nursery. Whilst many parents involved in the nursery are creative professionals, the purpose of making something artistic together with our children for public display, is not intended as a showcase of artistic talent, but as a statement about the value of creativity through which the strong emotional bonds with our children are made.

find out about the nursery here: www.grasshoppersinthepark.co.uk

Transition Town Stoke Newington

This sounds like an interesting event :
See the flyer below or go to ttstokenewington.org.uk to find out all about it and book your place.

German Exchange

Hi, I’m posting this for my old uni friends in Berlin who are looking for a student / language exchange for their two daughters (14 and 16) for some time this year. They're a really nice, easy-going family who live in a great house just outside of Berlin. This might be a good opportunity for someone studying German at school. Please contact either myself or my friends direct (see flyer for details)  if you know anyone you know are interested.

Andrea

07941 076 368

Click to Open image/flyer and enlarge

Our Talented Community and Local Events

We have a new Noticeboard!
We've had a few requests recently to post about events, offers of work and recommendations for tradespeople etc. Here's an update of recent contacts.  Apologies for the late posting and if you would like to 'advertise' your local talent please read the info on our Noticeboard for the quickest way to do it - otherwise, keep sending in the emails and we'll post up whenever we can.

Latest requests:

Dear LARA,

I have been living on Bayston Road for 18 months and would like to extend an offer of Private Tuition to the residents of our area.

I currently tutor a 9yr old girl in Archway, preparing her for the 11+ exam in English, Maths, Science, Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning. I am an Oxford University English Literature graduate and have experience teaching English, Drama, and English as a Foreign Language from beginner to A level standard. I can also teach Spanish (I am a fluent speaker) and Latin (up to GCSE).

As I am local, self-employed and not paying fees to an agency, I can offer a friendly, flexible and reliable tutoring service at competitive rates. If you think this may interest the residents involved in LARA, do please pass on this email. I would love to hear from them. Last year I met lots of young people (ages 3-11) in Stoke Newington, leading the drama component of half-term and holiday creative workshops at Newington Dance Space on Church Street. I know the Easter holidays are coming up and this is a crucial time for revision and extra help outside of school! I am happy to provide more information or references on request.

Many thanks,

Lucy

Contact:
wray.lucy@googlemail.com

*******************************************

Babysitter Needed?

Dear LARA community,

We are 4 lively creative 20 something ladies living in N16 (Bayston Road) keen to gain some extra pocket money in the evenings and weekends. If you could put this up on your blog, we'd be chuffed to bits.

Thanks a lot,
The ladies of Bayston Road

(07929016002)

p.s Here's my personal photo blog if you are at all interested - caraguthriephotos.blogspot.com

*******************************************

and finally not quite a local - but sounds interesting anyway!

 Dear N16 folks,

I live in france and teach english there, and am doing a Jazz poetry performance in Dalston on April 10. could you please inform your members of this event. people and come come along and have a good time in this nice little bohemian bar and we can chat about jazz and poetry and the Beat generation etc. below's the info:

Jazz Poetry Improv Ensemble

Servant Jazz Quarters | 10a BRADBURY STREET | DALSTON | N16 8JNApril 10, 8pm - 10.30pm

door fee: £5

Taran Singh, poetry (english, french, hindi)
Colin Webster, saxophones
Noel Taylor, clarinets
Ollie Brice, doublebass
Pharoah Russell, drums

Jazz Poetry Improv Ensemble brings together performance poetry and free jazz. Taran Singh performs poetry by the Beat Generation poets, black poets and original poems. The musicians improvise around the voice to create the sonic atmosphere that the context and the tone of the poems call for. Each performance is unique, cos entirely improvised in the moment. The poems are fun and the music runs the gamut from blues to jazz to funk to free jazz. Poetry in FRENCH, ENGLISH & HINDI. 

band website: http://taransfreejazzhour.com/jazzpoetryimprov
venue website: http://www.servantjazzquarters.com/events/jazz-poetry-taran-singh

A Big Cheers to the Pub Quiz!

Our first Lara fundraiser was a great success thanks to all the local residents that turned up on the night and made it a great evening. We had a full house and the competition was severe!

Jamie and Jim did a brilliant double act on questions and answers, whilst our youngest quiz master Arthur kept everyone entertained during the grand 'vintage' raffle.

Many thanks to the White Hart for letting us have their room upstairs (a fantastic room for a private party!) and a big thanks to all our committee for helping to set it all in motion.

We managed to raise £133 which will help towards promoting and funding our Big Lunch in the summer and any admin costs for future leafleting/newsletters etc. throughout the year.

Thanks for all the donations to the raffle - which included extra special home made marmalade, a box of chocs, various bottles of fine booze, a pair of genuine Ray Bans, a super stylish photo of the 'Carry On' star Charles Hawtry, a classic retro alarm clock (which went off mid game!) and the grand prize of a designer lamp by local lighting Queen Helen Rawlinson

and the winners ......

Drum roll..........
Top prize went to Rachel..or was it Jim?

If anyone can remember who actually won the quiz and team names, please add in the comments. We were the Tyssen Tearaways!

See you at the next one!

The LARA Pub Quiz

Just a reminder about the LARA pub quiz tomorrow night:

LARA PUB QUIZ + RAFFLE - Upstairs at the White Hart. 69 Stoke Newington High Street, N16. Wednesday 1st February 2012. 8.00pm start. £2 entry

Make up a team of friends and become Brain of Stoke Newington.

Fun! Pub grub! Competitiveness! Prizes! Meet and beat your neighbour!

Fundraiser for LARA (Leswin Are Residents’ Association).

Dont worry if you don't have a team, you can just turn up tomorrow and join in the fun.

Hopefully see you there.

LARA committee

STOKE NEWINGTON COMMUNITY ADVISORY PANEL (CAP)

If you'd like to help set the priorities for the work of the police's Stoke Newington Safer Neighbourhoods Team , why not come along to the Stoke Newington Community Advisory Panel ?

The next meetings are at 7 30 pm on :

Wednesday 11th January

Wednesday 14th March

at

Yorkshire Grove Community Hall
Yorkshire Grove Estate
Gunstor Road
N16 8HF

If you can't attend the meetings you can still help to set priorities by going to StokeNewingtonCentral.snt@met.police.uk and completing a short survey giving your views online.

Carols!

Protect Your Local Railway Station

Hackney Unites is proud to be supporting the Together for Transport initiative which wants to protect Hackney’s local railway stations from staffing cuts. There is a public meeting on Monday 12 December, at 6.30pm at the Old Fire Station, 61 Leswin Road N16 7NX.

There will be speakers from:

• Disability Backup (highlighting the value of station staff to disabled people using rail transport)
• The TSSA (rail workers’ union),
• Jennette Arnold (Labour Party GLA member covering Hackney) and
• Anna Hughes (Green Party candidate for the GLA).

This will be an opportunity to hear about the government’s ‘McNulty Report’ and its recommendations which if carried through will see the closure of ticket offices at six of the borough’s railway stations and reductions at a further three (the government is also planning above inflation fare increases).

However, this meeting is not intended to be just a ‘talking shop’ we want to establish rail user groups (similar to the park user groups already active in the borough) for each railway station in Hackney. Elsewhere, rail user groups have been active in their communities and have worked with train operating companies to win improvements to stations, and have campaigned successfully to maintain staff on their stations.

This meeting will initially focus on Stoke Newington, Stamford Hill and Rectory Road, and we have invited speakers from the company Abellio which will be operating the train services through these stations from next year, (but if you use any station in Hackney and want to get involved, please come along).

Bring your friends and bring your ideas about how we can create a voice for passengers in the borough.

The meeting is supported by the N16 Magazine: http://www.n16mag.com/news/latest-news/974.html

Help us promote this meeting by forwarding this email onto friends, neighbours and colleagues who you use Hackney’s rail stations, by forwarding this email on, by sharing it on social networking sites, and by promoting our facebook event https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=552496836&ref=notif&notif_t=friend_confirmed#!/events/248155985240504/

If you have any time over the next week, and can help by leafleting outside one of the stations, then please email woodsg@tssa.org.uk

Please consider forwarding this email to Hackney people who may be interested. Hackney Unites is a coaltion for social justice, if you are not already on our mailing list, you can sign up on-line (http://eepurl.com/bPJDH) to receive regular updates.

Many thanks

John Page
Secretary
Hackney Unites

A Family Friendly Concert

Recommended by one of our residents:

Sunday, December 18th 2011 Elements of surprise: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons

Venue: Assembly Hall, Stoke Newington Town Hall, Stoke Newington Church Street, London

N16 0JR

Elements of surprise: Vivaldi's Four Seasons

Hackney Proms present a family-friendly, Sunday morning
concert in the Assembly Hall of the beautifully refurbished
Stoke Newington Town Hall.

In this original programme, period-instrument ensemble
Battuta explore the four Classical elements—Air, Fire, Earth
and Water—and their representation in the Baroque period.
Thunder, lightning, storms at sea and the fiery descent into
hell are depicted in thrilling music by Rameau, Rebel and
Telemann, and the more earthly delights of nature by Vivaldi's
most famous work, Le quattro stagioni (The Four Seasons).

Hackney Proms are relaxed, informal Sunday morning
concerts, with coffee and croissants available at the interval.
Children are welcome.

For tickets and more information about Hackney
Proms and Battuta, visit www.hackneyproms.co.uk

Ticket prices:

Adults: £12 • Children over five: £5 • Children under five: free
Senior citizens, full-time students, disabled & unemployed: £8

To book tickets:

Online: www.hackneyproms.co.uk

In person: Bridgewood and Neitzert, 146 Stoke Newington

Church Street, N16 0JU

The Workshop, 77A Lauriston Road, E9 7HA

Broadway Bookshop, 6 Broadway Market, E8 4QJ

Or pay by cash or cheque on the door

Upcoming Events and Local News

Our latest newsletter has been sent out to over 80 email addresses and the number is slowly climbing which is good news! You can also read them here on the blog - just click on the Newsletter heading above.

A few dates for the diary this month:

Last chance to catch -

- Concrete Skin - 
5th - 27th November

Address: Unit A, Leswin Place.

This autumn BHVU Gallery presents Concrete Skin, an exhibition exploring domestic dynamics and ways in which our behaviour within the home is motivated by social expectations. Concrete Skin brings together four internationally recognised artists whose selected works explore the intimate and emotional experiences that we often struggle to put into words.

For more information on this please visit their website www.bhvu.co.uk

This Saturday sees the first of the School Winter Fairs:

- Benthal School Winter Fair - Saturday 26th November 1.30-4pm

- Jubilee School's winter fair is on Friday 9th Dec 3.30 - 5.30 pm,

- William Patten School Winter Fair is on Saturday 11th December from 12.30 - 3.30pm

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- West Hackney Recreation Ground

Do you want to get involved in the future of West Hackney Recreation Ground?

Come along to a meeting of the West Hackney Recreation Ground User Group

The next WHUG meeting with mince pies and mulled wine is on

Monday 5th December at St. Paul's Church Hall. 7.30pm start.

Everybody welcome.

St Paul's Church, Hackney Council and Groundwork are worikng together to bid for the second stage of Heritage lottery funding to transform the park and surroundings of St Paul's Church.

Please contact the User Group on whrgusergroup@gmail.com or 07794 637870 for more information. We want to hear your views and get more local residents involved with the park.

From one User Group to another, it's good to hear from Clissold Park User Group that the Mansion House and Cafe will finally open on the 3rd January.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you haven't discovered it yet - go take a peek at The Chocolate Factory Open Studios....

- The Chocolate Factory Open Studios Weekend - 3rd/4th December 11am-6pm; Private View - Friday 2nd 6.30-9pm all welcome!

Farleigh Place, N16 7SX www.chocolatefactoryn16.com

Good news from Hackney Unites about the Sainsbury controversy:

Stoke Newington has been up in arms about the proposals for a massive Sainsbury development in Wilmer Place. Now, following intense local pressure from the community, the developer of the Wilmer Place site has shelved their original plans and is developing new proposals. We also have confirmation that the housing association One Housing will not now be involved in the development. The new proposals will be subject to public consultation before the developer submits a planning application. This is fantastic news, although it does not guarantee that the revised proposals will be acceptable, it does demonstrate that as a community we can have an influence on what happens to our area. Hackney Unites will continue to work with the Stokey Local campaign, but you can get more info from their website: http://stokeylocal.org.uk/latest-news/

...and finally a word of warning from one local Tyssen Road resident:

'I'd just like to alert everyone in the area to something that happened to me last week. I was at home, having just seen my daughter off to school. the doorbell rang and and I answered it. There stood a stocky-looking guy in a high-viz jacket, apparently rather agitated, who told me that he was doing some work on the road on the high street and they had gone through a gas pipe and didn't know how many houses were affected - would I run the tap to check my gas supply was OK? I went down to the kitchen and did as he asked. By the time I got back to the door, having shouted back that the gas was fine, he was gone. And so, as it turned out, was my iphone which had been on the hall shelf.

I failed to ask for ID; someone I told this story to suggested as an alternative simply shutting the door in their face while making the check, and then reporting back to them. It's not how most of us would choose to behave towards other people, but this kind of experience does make one more wary of doorstep requests.

Anyway, please be alert to lightfingered, opportunist, bogus workmen. This one probably won't risk returning to the area, but others may.'

AGM - Minutes

Apologies for the delayed posting of our AGM minutes - but here they are. Letters have also gone out across the neighbourhood - so please feel free to get involved and send us your email address for updates:

Leswin Area Residents Association (LARA)
MINUTES

AGM
St Paul’s Hall, Amhurst Road, N16
7pm, September 2011


Present Jim Westwood (Chair), Guada Marengo (Treasurer), Fiona Fieber (Secretary), Andrea Jung, Anne Towndrow, Maureen Diffley, Helen Rawlinson, Jamie Elliott, Gavin Smith, Niall Weir
Apologies Chris Dennis


Election of Officers

Chair Andrea Jung
Secretary Fiona Fieber
Treasurer Guada Marengo

Heartfelt thanks were expressed to the out going chair, Jim Westwood, for all his hard work in setting up and leading LARA since 2009.
Congratulations to the newly elected Chair, Andrea.
Gavin Smith joined the committee as a member.


Agenda

Big Lunch
Fiona reported LARA’s second Big Lunch on Sunday 5th June 2011 had been a great success. Individual contributions had covered the costs. Agreed LARA will create some events to fundraise.
Big Lunch 2012 is on Sunday 3rd June.

20 mile an hour zone
Consultation – recommend keep on putting views to LBH re the consultation.
LBH Cycling Officer has acknowledged LARA’s views and comments.
The traffic lights at the Evering/Rectory junction are problematic, especially for children.
Suggested LARA teams up with Friends of Benthal School.
Involve Cllr Louisa Thomson.

Sainsburys
No news yet regarding planning permission.
Jamie outlined some of the issues and controversies re the process.
Proposal: LARA takes a position against the proposed development for Sainsburys on Wilmer Place.
Tell Stokey Local - Jamie

West Hackney Rec
Niall said Stage One of the application to Heritage Lottery Fund has gone through and provided some funding to support a consultation and development period.

AOB
Gary reported a spate of late night muggings around the Brooke/Bayston Road area.
Call for greater neighbour awareness and engagement.
Contact the Safer Neighbourhood Police Team.
Anne said she would take it to the next CAP meeting.





If you wish to add any comments or want to raise any issues within the LARA area, please write below - thank you!