Housing and Homelessness in Redbridge

This is a guest post by the Redbridge Faith Forum

Redbridge Faith Forum hosted an interesting, informative and uplifting open forum on ‘Homelessness’, at the Salvation Army on Thursday 13th June. The Deputy Mayor Tanya Solomon and her consort, councillors and nearly 70 participants from all faiths and none listened intently to the excellent panel of speakers.

Karen Shaw from the Housing Dept gave very clear guidance on the role and responsibilities of the local authority and also highlighted some worryingly high statistics on the numbers of homeless in Redbridge. Phil Herbert of the Welcome Centre, John Clifton of the Salvation Army and Mankamal Singh of the Gurdwara Singh Sabha London East outlined the wonderful work they undertake in responding to the needs of the homeless and rough sleepers in the borough. Through them many survived the rigours of the last winter and continue to benefit. They work from their deeply held faith convictions which include the duty to care for those without resources to care for themselves.

Rita Chadha of RAMFEL rounded up the evening with an explanation of the oft misunderstood terms of asylum seekers, refugees and migrants. She highlighted the desperate situation many find themselves in. She addressed the many misconceptions relating to preferential treatment of groups in housing, work and benefits. There are multiple reasons for homelessness. Communities in partnership and with the help of a large number of volunteers are working continuously in addressing the needs of the homeless. The evening was much appreciated by those who attended: 'It’s inspiring to hear from the people who put faith into practice ' several commented on the value of work of the homelessness.‘It was a wonderful example of working partnerships between statutory, voluntary and community sections’.

Where There’s Muck … Part 1

Cash, Voodoo Dolls and Wedding Dresses:

Strange Things Found in Everyday Rubbish

One of the UK's leading waste management companies has released a list of the strange, bizarre and downright unusual items found in its waste collections.

UK-wide commercial refuse and recycling company BusinessWaste.co.uk asked staff on collection lorries and recycling centres what were the strangest items they'd seen, and were astounded by the replies.

Bizarre sights included cremation urns, a human skull, and a huge consignment of unused condoms. "Whenever you think you've seen it all in the waste business, something new comes along and shocks you," said Business Waste's Operational Director Mark Hall, "Sometimes it raises a laugh, but there have been occasions when we've had to drop everything and call the police."

"We like to encourage people to recycle as much of their waste as possible, but sometimes you wonder if the message is getting through."

According to workers contacted by BusinessWaste.co.uk, things found in waste collections and recycling centres include the following. Comments are those of people we interviewed:

• Dead animals – "More common than you think"
• A cremation urn (happily re-united with anxious relatives)
• Unsold royal wedding merchandise with "Kate" spelled "Cate"
• Money - one operator said he finds about £500 year in old clothes. Another team once found £5,000 in used notes, which they gave to charity after nobody came forward
• Voodoo doll covered in blood
• Box of "Free Nelson Mandela" T-shirts – "This was only last year. Can't think why they hung on to them for so long"
• Hundreds of undelivered newspapers – Operators suspect a kid is dumping his paper round every week and pocketing the money
• Wedding dress, engagement ring, and complete wedding cake – "We hung on to them for a while, but nobody claimed them"
• Human skull – "The police came along. Turned out to be a prop from a theatrical company having a clear-out"
• Box of unused breast implants
• A consignment of 10,000 unused but out-of-date condoms
• Winning lottery tickets

"Collecting and recycling waste is tremendously hard work," said Mark Hall, "It's a tribute to everybody in the industry that they keep a sense of humour even when they come face-to-face with something horrible."

Zero Grazing

How can anyone in their right mind expect these conditions
to be hygienic and  disease free?

Since the UK government (pictured) has ignored all the scientific evidence and decided that shooting badgers can get them out of a hole of their own making I just want to pick out a couple of bits from a previous post from Worldwatch Institute and follow on with some examples:

Vital Signs 2012 also highlights the rising consumption of animal protein, as well as destructive industrial livestock practices that help make this growth possible. As more people in developing countries enter the middle class, meat consumption is rising and the intake of processed meat is shifting to unhealthy levels. Meanwhile, the expansion of factory farming to meet increasing meat demand fosters the spread of diseases such as avian influenza, swine flu, and mad cow disease.

Organic agriculture: Challenges such as rising farmland prices, inconsistencies in organic standards, and higher prices of organic foods continue to impede a broad global shift to sustainable agriculture.

Factory farming: Factory farming has contributed to a tripling in global meat production over the last four decades. It is associated with heavy use of chemical inputs, the spread of disease, antibiotic overuse and resistance, massive water consumption, and declines in human health.

In the UK most dairy cows still have access to grazing on pasture for part of the day in summer, but more cows are being kept indoors for longer, or even all year round. This is known as ‘zero grazing’, and is increasingly used in North America and parts of the UK for large and high yielding herds.

Compassion in World Farming report:

A report has recently been published by DairyCo, an organisation set up to support dairy farming, stating that pasture-based dairy is economically sustainable. This is fantastic news – backing up our argument that higher-welfare dairy farming can still deliver a decent living for farmers. Indeed figures in the report show that pasture based systems make nearly twice as much profit per litre of milk than intensive ones. This shows that pasture-based dairy is not only good for cows, but economically good for the farmer too. There is no need for a shift towards intensive zero-grazing systems.

We also have encouraging news to report on the planning application for a 1000-cow mega-dairy in Powys. The application has been ‘called in’ by the Welsh Government, after we urged them to do so. This means it will be given the proper scrutiny it deserves, and if the plans are turned down by the Welsh Assembly this could even set a precedent in the UK for this type of application. Latest news here.

And from Four Paws UK:

Since 1st of January 2012 conventional battery cages for laying hens have been banned in all EU member states. However, according to research conducted by the international animal welfare organisation FOUR PAWS, farms in 12 member states are still using illegal battery cages. Countries that do not comply with the EU Directive on minimum standards for the protection of laying hens are: Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Spain. FOUR PAWS appreciates that several EU-countries have intensified their efforts to shut down conventional battery cages.

Meanwhile: Chickens are set to take over from cats and dogs as the favourite pet in the UK.

Caption Competition X

Havering introduce roadside Air Quality warning signs …

Multi-Tasking and Right First Time in #Redbridge

A few days ago the residents of Marston Road acquired a new water feature – a fountain and a new river. This was the result of a burst water main erupting through the surface of the road and spewing gallons of water which flowed down the road and was too much for the first drain so carried on to the second and third.

To be fair Thames Water responded rapidly. The Hole Diggers arrived the next day to dig a hole in the road and expose the offending piece of water pipe. They then left leaving a hole full of water overflowing into the aforesaid river. On the next day the Pipe Menders arrived and repaired the pipe leaving the hole in the road and exposing a large pothole a couple of feet away where the water flow had washed away the tarmac.

On Tuesday the Hole Filler Iners arrived and filled in the hole making a rather neat and tidy job with the surface tarmac, but completely ignoring the adjacent large pothole that the problem had created.

As you can see Independent Fullwell Cllr Harold Moth took the opportunity to get himself onto the Glum Councillors site which records sad faced councillors pointing at things. The pothole was “repaired” early the following morning, but it’s not up to the standards of the workmen who filled in the hole the day before. You can see the cracks around the edges and I do not expect the repair to last long.

Meanwhile in Chalgrove Crescent. Back in January, in the snow, a car misjudged the bend and knocked down a lamp post and two garden walls. Presumably the snow covering obscured the central white line and “SLOW” markings that were arranged by Cllr Moth under delegated authority and at my request. The lamp post was replaced but not in the same position. Normally lamp posts are positioned towards the edge of the kerb by the kerb stone. Not this time. It was replaced about midway between the kerb and the front garden wall of the fronting property. I thought it was rather odd but did not say anything. Anyhow, something is going on and I suspect the lamp post is being relocated to its original position. I shall be keeping watch on what happens.

At this point I will remind readers of this post back in June 2010.