Councillor's Charity Skydive

Later this month Councillor Carole Williams will take part in a fundraising skydive for the charity, Crisis.

Along with other volunteers Carole will jump out of a plane at 10,000 above the Oxfordshire skies in a bid to raise a minimum of £1000 for the homelessness charity which she has supported for many years. To date she has raised nearly £600. If you would like to support the work that Crisis do and help her to reach her target, you can make a donation via the secure website here.

All money raised will go toward the costs of running the winter shelters across London which Crisis run each year.

Coalition Cuts to Bus Routes 349 and 149

We have been very disappointment to learn that despite vigerous objections to the Boris Johnson's proposals to reduce bus services along routes 349 and 149 through Hackney, that he has ruled against Hackney residents.

From Saturday 16 October there will be changes to bus routes affecting the way that Hackney residents get around the borough for work and leisure.

Buses along route 149 will change from the articulated 'bendy' buses to conventional double-deckers. Although a few more buses will run in the weekday peak hours, at all other times the service will be less frequent, resulting in lower passenger capacity on the new service.

Route 349 from Ponders End (through Seven Sisters) will be cut back from Stoke Newington Common to Stamford Hill, removing the service between Stamford Hill Broadway and Stoke Newington town centre. The service on the new shorter route will also run less frequently.

We are disappointed that the Mayor of London has taken this regressive step, putting in place a service that is not fit for purpose.

Murray Grove Post Office Update

The post office on Murray Grove closed last year following a hard fought campaign by Hoxton Councillors. You can read the details of our campaign in previous blog posts here.

Hoxton Councillors are pleased that our long campaign has finally resulted in an announcement by Hackney Council that the post office is scheduled to reopen in November 2010.

After a tendering process, Hackney Council has decided that they will go into partnership with Chandrakant Patel of Murray’s Chemist, Murray Grove, which will move from its current location.

Local businesses on Murray Grove have taken a hard knock following the closure of the post office and we hope that this will make a positive contribution toward supporting local trade.

We would like to thank everyone that responded to the consultation on reopening the post office and ask that you support the new post office when it re-opens.

You can read more on this story on the Hackney Council website here.

Thomas Fairchild School Update

Hoxton Councillors have recently met with the Learning Trust to ensure that the voices of all local residents are heard when considering the re-provision of Thomas Fairchild School, which was destroyed in a fire in July 2009.

We have not underestimated the vital importance of a school that generations of Hoxton residents have attended and that is why we have worked hard to ensure the concerns of local residents about the re-provisions of the school have been heard at the highest levels. We have asked the Learning Trust go further than consulting with teachers, parents and school children. We want to ensure that all local residents have an opportunity to have their say.

We expect the school to reopen in September 2012 and it will become an important local resource for the entire community and we believe that the entire community must have the opportunity to have their voices heard.

Consultation on the re-provision of the school will start soon and we will keep you posted of developments on our blog, on our twitter account as well as via our newsletter.