Unfair fare increases

We were out at Stoke Newington station this week highlighting Boris Johnson's fare increases as Londoners were returning to work.

These latest fare rises mean that since 2008 (when Boris Johnson was elected as Mayor):

• A single bus ticket has increased by 50%, from 90p in 2008 to £1.35 in 2012. This year's increase alone is £1.30 to £1.35 for a single journey.
• A weekly bus and tram pass has increased by 45%, from £13 in 2008 to £18.80 in 2012. In 2012 alone the increase is 5.6%, from £17.80 to £18.80 for a weekly pass.
• A weekly zone 1-2 travelcard has increased by 21%, from £24.20 in 2008 to £29.20 in 2012.
• A weekly zone 1-4 travelcard has increased by 21%, from £34.60 in 2008 to £41.80 in 2012
• A weekly zone 1-6 travelcard has increased by 20% since 2008 from £44.60 to £53.40 in 2012

This is despite the fact that TfL has a significant surplus on its operating budget, which increases every year.

Ken Livingstone has pledged to cut fares if elected and keep them down, saving Londoners an average of £1,000 over four years. You can find out more here.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! Just a quick reminder that festive collection times are still in place until Monday - recycling is the same, but there are some changes to waste collection - all the details are here.

The Council's waste and recycling team have also issued some guidance on reducing festive waste - including what to do with your Christmas tree.

• Cardboard packaging, empty jars, foil, wrapping paper and Christmas cards can all be recycled through the Council’s Green Box scheme or at recycling banks on estates.
• Residents can help reduce global warming and the money spent on landfill tax further by using the Council’s Blue Bin or estates food recycling services. Freezing leftovers, or using them to make new meals, will also help save money.
• Real Christmas trees can also be recycled once they have served their purpose. In Hackney, trees are taken to a facility in North London and made into compost which is then used on the borough’s parks and green spaces.
• Residents with a garden waste recycling service can leave their trees next to their Brown Bin on their regular collection day. Christmas trees can also be taken to Millfields Depot, Millfields Road, E5 0AR, for recycling. Residents can drop off trees between 8am and 3pm, Monday to Friday, and 8am to 12noon on Saturdays throughout January.
  

Christmas opening times

All the details for festive opening times, recycling and refuse collections and parking enforcement are on the Council's website here.

Recycling collections are as normal, but there are a few changes to refuse collections and parking enforcement so it is worth checking!

Season's greetings to all Stoke Newington residents! It's been another busy year for the three of us - thank you for all your support and we look forward to continuing to work with local residents to improve our local area in 2012!

The Old Fire Station is advertising for a development officer

The Old Fire Station on Leswin Road is hiring - are you interested in helping to take forward the future of this local building? Details below and here.

The management committee of the Old Fire Station is looking for a flexible, creative and entrepreneurial individual / organisation to deliver a business development contract to develop:

• Short-term measures to increase use of the building (temporary hire and long-term use);
• A phased and costed plan for building improvement, from immediate low-cost measures to long-term refurbishment;
• Long-term strategy and business plan;
• Identification of possible sources of funding and fundraising.
  

The contract has a budget of £5,000 and is expected to run for 3 months from 1st Feb 2012; we hope to extend the contract, depending on success attracting new users and funding.

To apply, please send a covering letter, CV and outline of initial ideas (no more than 2 sides) to Nick Saltmarsh - info@oldfirestation.org - by 5pm on 20th January 2012.

For more information, please contact Nick Saltmarsh: info@oldfirestation.org / 020 7241 3468

Clissold House opening in January

Hackney's ambitious project to develop Clissold Park and restore the historic Clissold House is due to be completed in January 2012.

Clissold House and its new cafe will open to the public on 3 January. The House will include a new caf矇, beautifully restored function rooms and smaller meeting rooms for private hire and community use.

Free guided tours will be offered throughout January and February 2012. Bookings for tours and function rooms in the House are been taken now. You can find out more here.

Hackney Homes tenancy consultation

Don't forget to have your say on proposed changes to Hackney Homes tenancies!

A number of changes have been proposed to update the Hackney Homes conditions of tenancy. These changes include new legislation and also best practice.

If you are a Hackney Homes resident you should already have received a consultation form through the post in order to have your say on these new conditions.

If you have not received the form you can pick one up at your local neighbourhood housing office. You can also complete the form online if this is more convenient.

The new conditions of tenancy are available in full here.

The consultation form is also online here.

If you require further information on these changes please call 020 8356 2060 or email tenancyconsultation@hackneyhomes.org.uk or visit your neighbourhood housing office.

Christmassy events locally!

Quite a few Christmas events happening locally over the next few weeks.

Here are a few we've been told about:

A Festive Feast at Stoke Newington Town Hall. A whole range of events including a Christmas market this weekend, a swing dance, silent disco, Proms, the Gay Men's Chorus. All the details are online here.

Chatsworth Road Christmas Market Sunday 11 December 11am – 4pm

Chatsworth Road will be holding a special Christmas market which will see the road closed to traffic and a host of activities taking place. There will be the usual array of stalls from street food to vintage clothes and furniture, accompanied by carol singing, mulled wine and mince piesYou can also visit Santa or pick up a bargain at the sample sale with clothes donated by Topshop / Topman. More info here

Christmas Carols outside the Fire Station on Church Street - Thursday 15th December - 6.30pm. Organised by the Stoke Newington Business Association and there will be mulled wine and mince for the adults and juice and biscuits for children. We've heard Father Christmas will be visiting too...

Of Cabbages and Kings Christmas Market - Sat 17th and Sun 18th in Abney Hall
A different selection of artists, designers and crafts people we be at the hall each day offering an abundance of cards and prints, decorations, stocking fillers, festive fashion, designer homewares and other crafty bits.

St Paul's Church Carol Service - Sun 18th 6pm
A service of traditional carols and readings followed by mince pies and mulled wine

New Licensing application - Cafe Mostra

Cafe Mostra, 86 Stoke Newington High Street, N16 7PA have put in an application to vary their premises licence to:

• extend the supply of alcohol from 7am-1am Sunday to Thurs and from 7am-2am Friday and Saturday
• include late night refreshment from 23.00-1am Sunday to Thurs and from 23.00-2am Friday and Saturday

If you wish to make a representation these must address the licensing objectives:

• prevention of crime and disorder
• prevention of public nuisance
• public safety
• the protection of children from harm

A guide to making representations can also be downloaded here. The deadline for making representations is 28th December. Representations can be made in writing to The Licensing Service, 263 Mare Street, London, E8 3HT or by emailing licensing@hackney.gov.uk. Please contact us if you have any questions.

Hackney Homes Garden Swap

Hackney Homes has launched a Garden Swap initiative.

The idea is to join people up to help each other to look after and spruce up their gardens. If you have a garden and are unable to look after it due to health or other reasons, you can sign up to Garden Swap and Hackney Homes will match you up with someone who is green fingered and wants to help others.

If you don't have a garden, you can donate your time to someone else and help to create a beautiful garden in Hackney. You can grow food and vegetables or just flowers to make the space an inviting and welcoming area to be enjoyed.

For more information and to get involved see www.hackneyhomes.org.uk/gardenswap.htm or pick up an application form from your local housing office.

Save our station staff in Hackney!

We've been working with other local community groups in Hackney on a campaign to defend Hackney's train station staff. Lots of residents in our ward use Stoke Newington and Rectory Road stations - both of which are under threat.

There is a meeting on Monday 12th December at 6.30pm at the Old Fire Station on Leswin Road.

Jennette Arnold, the Assembly Member for our area on the Greater London Assembly, speakers from the TSSA rail union, the Green Party and Hackney Disability Backup will be there as we discuss how to continue campaigning and raising awareness of this issue. A spokesperson from Abellio, the train operator taking over from National Express in the New Year, has been invited to speak.

Please do come along - those of you have lived in this area long enough will remember the old Silverlink trains when the stations were unstaffed and how unpleasant and dangerous they were.

All the details from Together for Transport below:

A community coalition is launching a campaign to defend Hackney’s train station staff after government proposals to cut ticket office staff were exposed. The McNulty report recommends that smaller stations across the country lose their ticket office staff. In Hackney, this would mean cuts to all ticket office staff at Hackney Wick, Homerton, Rectory Road, Stamford Hill and Stoke Newington stations. Ticket office staff would be cut at Hackney Central, Dalston Kingsland and Clapton. Community activists believe that without staff, Hackney’s train stations will become dangerous, unwelcome and inaccessible places.

A spokesperson for Together for Transport, a founding member of the community coalition, said: ‘Everyone in Hackney who uses the trains and Overground will be dismayed to hear talk of unstaffed train stations. We don’t want to go back to the bad old days of unreliable trains and dangerous train stations. This public meeting will be a chance to show how bad this move would be for Hackney, and plan a community response.’’

More information about the McNulty report and its recommendations on ticket office staff here

Anybody wishing to attend the meeting or find out more information should email info@togetherfortransport.org