Although we understood they had launched an appeal, Tyreworld appears to have closed down this week; the shop is empty and their sign has been removed. Let’s hope the premises is soon occupied – but this time by a retail outlet.

Team Fire & Ice, winners of a Waitrose Goody Bag

Prizes were won by Team Fire & Ice (overall prize), Team Pyall (Youngest Member and Fascinating Fact), Team Scooby (Bonus prize) and Team Towers (Most Enthusiastic Team). We all had great fun – everyone had a prize from Flash’s lucky dip and we played quoits, giant jenga and football during the picnic.

We also had a lovely write up in the local paper.

Click here to see photos from the event – are you pictured?

Description: 2 men pretending to be from the Water Board; they then left the front door open for a third man to enter while they kept the occupants talking.

The men are described as mixed race (probably Asian-mixed race) and in their 20s.

Please keep an eye out for three men of this description, and if you have an elderly neighbour, please look out for them – remind them about distraction burglaries and also not to keep cash in the house.

This is also a good time to remind you that if you need them, we have security tins (that look like baked beans) if you do want to keep valuables or cash – hide them among your tinned veg! We also have 24-hr segment timers, chains to secure your wallet to your belt or handbag, and UV pens to mark your property. These are all supplied by the police and if you would like any of these items, please just contact flash@fara-leytonstone.org.uk or drop a note to 1 Davies Lane.

NATIONAL CRIME RESEARCH GROUP

One of our members received a call from a young man claiming to be carrying out phone research on behalf of the ‘National Crime Research Group’. Being suspicions of the questions he was asking, the resident ended the call. Subsequently we discovered it relates to this scam. See news story in the local Guardian.

SAS FIRE AND SECURITY LIMITED

Our Neighbourhood Watch coordinator tells us these people are offering a deal on burglar alarms that sounds too good to be true … and it is. They will normally ring up and say they are recommended by the police, local authority and Neighbourhood Watch and offer a deal on the system for a very small amount of money. They then tie people into a rip-off service contract that lasts for years.

If a similar approach is made to you, DO NOT sign anything but get in contact with Consumer Direct on 08454 040506 and let them know the circumstances.

A point to remember is that any reputable security company will not cold call as they do not need to. If you are interested in getting an alarm system you can find a company on the National Security Inspectorate website http://www.nsi.org.uk/.

Thanks from FARA to Davies Lane School for hosting the exhibition, to local councillor Clyde Loakes for announcing the prizes and to all the entrants for their lovely photos!

He's bigger than me! (by Evie Edworthy)

Winners by Category

At Work and Play
Winner: Evie Edworthy
Runner up: Brian Hopson

Nature and Wildlife
Winner: Flash Bristow
Joint runner up: Anne Slough
Joint runner up: Hilary Douse

Favourite Places
Joint winner: Luke Girling
Joint winner: Tim Foster
Runner up: Anne Slough

Crisp morning stroll on Wanstead Flats (by Luke Girling)

Junior Prize
Winner: Toby Dixon

Some comments from exhibition visitors:

‘Lovely pictures of our everyday life’
‘The quality gets higher every year’
‘The photos were imaginative and interesting’
‘Heaps of fabulous photos, especially in the nature & wildlife category’
‘Very welcoming – very good standard – well done’
‘A great celebration of our area – keep it up’
‘This is something I look forward to every year’
‘OOOooo…lovely!’

All the competition entries will be on display in the windows of the One Stop Shop from Saturday 11 September for about two months. You can also see them online at http://faraphotocomp.fotopic.net

• Family Learning
• Dietician Sessions
• Speech and Language Groups
• Midwifery Services
• TOPS and Toddler Groups
• Family Activities

Contact the children’s centre for more information on 020 8539 2466, or view the website at
www.davieslanechildrencentre.org/index.htm

We at FARA would like to express our appreciation for the support Mario has given by publicising local events and generally acting as a focal point for the community for many years. We wish him a happy retirement, and good luck to Costa and the barber shop.

Grounds for refusal were:

1. The proposed retention of tyre sales fitting centre would result in unacceptable conflicts of vehicle and pedestrian movements for uses of the site including public foot path and bus stop. The development would be likely to create a danger for pedestrians and road users and affect the free flow of traffic contrary to Policies BHE4 and TSP4 of the adopted Waltham Forest Unitary Development Plan (2006).

2. The use of the premises for tyre fitting will have a detrimental impact on the occupiers of the upper floors flats and neighbouring business by reason of general activity, noise and congestion. The proposal is contrary to Policies BHE3 and BHE4
of the adopted Waltham Forest Unitary Development Plan (2006).

This is good news for residents who have been campaigning against the unauthorised change of use by Tyre World, but of course they have the right to appeal this decision, so we will have to wait and see whether they do this.

Their premises used to be the Age Concern shop, and currently they are trading without permission, as the shop only has planning permission for retail use (Class A1). They are applying to change it to Light Industrial.

We do not believe this is appropriate – there have already been many near-accidents as cars cross the pavement into Tyre World. All other properties in the parade between Davies Lane and Ferndale Road are cafes, restaurants or shops.

If you wish to comment or object to the plans you should write to Planning Department, Sycamore House, Town Hall Complex, Forest Road, London E17 4JF.

Letters must be in by 8 April.