Walthamstow Village in Bloom 2009
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Walthamstow Village in Bloom
Contents Introduction
01
Walthamstow Village in Bloom boundary
02
Annual spring clean
03
Bulb planting
04
Monthly gardening club
05
Village square – Eden Road project
06
Crime prevention
08
Campaigns
09
Adoption of planters
10
Vestry Green flowerbed
11
Plant and seed swap
12
Front garden challenge
13
Beautiful premises challenge
14
Nomination for Community Garden Award – Vestry House Museum garden
15
Sponsors and credits
17
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Walthamstow Village in Bloom
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Introduction Walthamstow Village is an ancient nucleus of present day Walthamstow, located in north east London. The Domesday Book records that Walthamstow, at the time of the Norman Conquest, comprised four separate village settlements. The parish at the time was called Wilcumestou, probably Old English for the welcome place. The Village was designated a conservation area by Waltham Forest Council in 1967. At its centre is St Mary’s Church which was consecrated 900 years ago and a 15th century timber-framed hall house known as The Ancient House. From the 18th century the church common was encroached upon with the erection of the workhouse (now Vestry House Museum), the Squires’ Almhouses and the National School and other notable buildings, many of which are still standing and will be seen in our tour of Walthamstow Village in Bloom. The coming of the railway in 1869 generated a rapid population increase and the railway cutting itself created a physical barrier between the old village centre and the Victorian development. With the houses came the shops and by 1877 Orford and Beulah Roads had become the shopping centre of Walthamstow. The relocation of the Town Hall from Vestry House to Orford Road in 1876 confirmed its status as the centre of Walthamstow. This area is known as the Orford Road conservation area and was designated as such in 1990.
The Village was saved from disfigurement by the opening of the station at the Central which drew commercial development away and the relocation of the town hall to a new building on Forest Road in 1941. In 2003 the WVRA successfully campaigned for Retail Parade Status to be re-granted to Orford Road and, despite the loss of the post office last year, is thriving with new shops and restaurants opening. The Village has a very distinct atmosphere with its quaint buildings, alleys and quirky streets, shops, pubs and restaurants and has a superb community spirit; those living here consider themselves part of a very special area. Walthamstow Village in Bloom includes the Walthamstow Village and the Orford Road Conservation Areas and surrounding streets. It encompasses areas of the Hoe Street and Wood Street wards of the London Borough of Waltham Forest.
Walthamstow Village in Bloom
Walthamstow Village in Bloom boundary
Walthamstow Village
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Walthamstow Village in Bloom
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Annual spring clean In 2003 the newly formed Walthamstow Village Residents’ Association Environment Committee ran its first Annual Spring Clean. The Village was in a terrible state and many complaints received at Open Meetings were about litter, graffiti and the piles of rubbish and fly-tipping that had been accumulating over the years in every nook and cranny, corner, path and alley of the Village. The local newspaper, the Walthamstow Guardian, was running a Pride in Waltham Forest campaign with LB Waltham Forest and so we applied for equipment and a special rubbish collection to spring clean the Village. This first clean attracted 70 volunteers of all ages. We divided people into teams to tackle areas that concerned them, and in six hours, with the help of two local van drivers and lunch laid on by WVRA, we cleaned up the Village. We also removed fly-posting and painted over graffiti. The rubbish that year amounted to many tonnes and included a dumped motorbike, an engine and domestic appliances.
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Over the years the rubbish collected has become less and less. When someone dumps something it instantly stands out and we have encouraged people to report items immediately to Waltham Forest Direct so that it is dealt with before it becomes a problem. The Spring Clean is always a very satisfying, enjoyable and well-attended event and has helped instil pride in the area; it gives everyone a chance to work together, meet their neighbours and improve the Village. 2009 saw our 7th annual clean attended by 40 people. We laid on a picnic lunch on Vestry Green for all volunteers.
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Walthamstow Village in Bloom
Bulb planting In 2003 the local Guardian, under its Pride in Waltham Forest campaign, supplied community groups with spring bulbs to brighten up their areas. The Environment Committee applied for crocuses and daffodils and a group of us planted them in the garden area in the Village Square. We have run a bulb planting event every year since, with bulbs kindly donated by LB Waltham Forest. Thousands of daffodils have been planted over the whole Village area including Vestry Green and down the length of Vinegar Alley that runs along the churchyard. In October 2008, our 6th bulb planting event, 15 residents planted 1000 February Gold daffodils, 500 in Vinegar Alley and 500 in the newly planted raised beds.
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Monthly gardening club The Walthamstow Village Residents’ Association monthly Gardening Club started in August 2004 to tend the garden on the corner of Eden and Orford Roads (later becoming the Village Square) and other areas around the Village. We meet on the first Saturday of each and every month and have a year-round list of activities that includes weeding, planting and pruning, litter-picking, painting out and cleaning off graffiti, painting street furniture and clearing and cutting back vegetation from footpaths. The Gardening Club also maintains the brick-built planters. Sometimes we work on specific projects such as clearing the Vestry Road flowerbed or the green area by The Ancient House. We have a core group of stalwarts who turn up every month, come rain or shine. Before each gardening day
a reminder email is sent to the 200 people on the WVRA contact list; some of whom come along if they are available and if they want to participate in a certain project. Those who join in include families with children and people of all ages, abilities and from a variety of backgrounds. Volunteers bring their own tools and gloves and we are supplied with bags by LB Waltham Forest.
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Village square – Eden Road project In July 2003, fed up with the appalling state of the garden on the corner of Orford and Eden Roads, the WVRA Environment Committee decided to run a gardening day to weed and clean up the area. There was no litter bin, the benches were broken and shabby and were inhabited all day by street drinkers and the beds were full of weeds, strewn with rubbish and were being used as a toilet. Once we had cleaned up we envisaged that the garden, paved in the centre, with its beds and trees, could become a very serviceable village square to be used and enjoyed by all. We approached Waltham Forest council who told us about their Adopt-an-Open Space scheme and WVRA were given the go ahead to adopt the area. We then applied for a Living Spaces grant via the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for new benches, a bin, plants, topsoil, mulch, bird and insect boxes and a notice board for the use of residents and local voluntary groups. All street furniture had to be approved by the LBWF Conservation Officer and we had to apply for permission for the installation of the notice board in a conservation area. The WVRA paid for the public liability insurance that the ODPM required that we held. (continued)
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Village square – Eden Road project In February 2005 we learnt that we had been awarded £3,970 to cover the cost of the items needed. Of course all the labour had to be supplied by residents and we were supervised by John Chambers, a local builder who collected the materials we needed in his van. A second bench was donated by a family in memory of a resident who had sadly passed away. Each month we carried out a different job and, despite being tied up in some red tape regarding the notice board, we eventually completed the Eden Road Project in February 2006. These monthly activities led to the birth of the WVRA Gardening Club.
(continued)
Since 2005 LB Waltham Forest has donated a Christmas tree and lights for the Village Square and the WVRA holds an annual carol singing event that is attended by 200+ residents. The notice board is well used by local groups and residents and now people know where to come to seek information about events and local news. The square is used in the summer months for craft events, the Plant, and Seed Swap and also by the Safer Neighbourhood Team for their crime prevention stall. The Square has become one of the focal points of the Village; full of flowers, clean and well-cared for, it is a pleasant place in which residents and shoppers can meet or sit.
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Crime prevention Walthamstow Village is a quaint area that has many old paths and alleys and a large churchyard. Unfortunately, over the years there have been spates of muggings and robberies and even a murder that have taken place in these areas. At Open Meetings residents called for action to be taken and the police carried out an Environmental Audit. On the advice of the Metropolitan Police the Monthly Gardening Club has carried out work to “eliminate recesses, blind corners and hiding places” and remove traces of graffiti and ‘tagging’.
• regular removal of graffiti and fly-tipping
This has included: • a clearance of the overgrown area of the churchyard, with congregants of St Mary’s
• reporting fly-tipping and graffiti on the railway
• clearance of ivy and laurels from the green adjacent to The Ancient House
and maintenance of verges in Vinegar Alley
• removal and painting over of graffiti and tagging on walls, signs and street furniture
• reporting, and encouraging residents to report lighting defects and street problems to Waltham Forest Direct embankments to Network Rail
• cutting back of vegetation blocking sightlines and pathways
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Campaigns The WVRA and the Environment Committee has instigated a number of campaigns to enhance the environment: • Council Special collection Leafleted properties and written articles in each newsletter to inform residents of LBWF’s free rubbish collections to cut down on fly-tipping and the dumping of household goods in the street.
• Poop Scoop Joined the Dogs’ Trust and has run anti-dog mess and responsible dog ownership campaigns during National Poop Scoop Week; the WVRA paid for laminated posters for a campaign with Henry Maynard School PTA in 2008.
• Recycling
Encouraged residents to recycle Christmas trees with a poster campaign.
• Council Meetings
Since 2004 attended the Walthamstow and Lea Bridge Community Council meetings to ensure Village residents’ voices are heard and was instrumental in getting 8 new litter bins for the Village.
• Letting agents
Written to estate and letting agents to get redundant boards taken away.
• ENCAMS
Joined ENCAMS who run the Keep Britain Tidy Campaign.
Recycle ‘real’ Christmas trees
Walthamstow Village Residents’ Association
WALTHAMSTOW VILLAGE RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE Dear Resident,
This year, residents can recycle ‘real’ Chistmas trees in three ways.
We carried out a Spring Clean of the Village over the weekend and noticed the items at the front of your property. Did you know that Waltham Forest Council provide a free collection service for bulky
Take your tree to a recycling centre
items or other household waste that is not suitable to be collected as part of the weekly household refuse collection?
Christmas trees can be taken to one of our three main recycling centres:
The Council will provide three free special collections each year to each domestic household. The
Dear Resident, Did you know that Waltham Forest Council could provide you with 3 FREE collections of bulky household waste per year?
year runs from 1st April to 31st March.
o o
o
Kings Road Recycling Centre in Chingford South Access Household Waste and Recycling Centre in Walthamstow Leyton Reuse and Recycling Centre in Leyton (near Asda store)
When you request a collection you will be told the day when your bulky waste will be collected. Forest Direct:
Email: wfdirect@walthamforest.gov.uk
What do special collections pick up?
You can request a special collection for Christmas trees:
o
o
Requests are made by calling 020 8496 3000 before Monday 8 January 2007 The trees will be collected between Monday 8-Friday 12 January 2007 This Christmas tree collection will not count as one of your three free special collections for large items
•
up to 10 light sacks of household, OR
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garden waste, OR
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a 3-piece suite, OR
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a dining room suite (table and 4 chairs), OR
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one double, or two single wardrobes (upright or collapsed), OR
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Use your Brown Bin
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a bed and mattress, OR
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You can use the Green Waste Collection Service (Brown bin scheme) to recycle your tree: o
Telephone: 020 8496 3000
Request a special collection
o
Examples of what can be collected on a special collection:
This will be within a maximum of 6 days. To request your special collection, contact Waltham
up to 10 light sacks of household or garden waste, or a 3 – piece suite, or a dining room suite (table and 4 chairs), or a bed and mattress, or a cooker/fridge/freezer
Ring Clarence and list the items you wish to be taken away and their adviser will tell you whether your rubbish equates to one, two or three collections. You may request all 3 free collections at the same time. To request a Special Collection please call CLARENCE on freephone 0800 23 23 23.
one item of white goods (such as a fridge, freezer, cooker, washing machine, spin dryer, dishwasher, or similar appliance)
•
Only items that you have asked to be collected will be removed
If you require any further information or help, please call me on 8503 6308. Thank you,
If you are in the green waste collection scheme, you can use your brown bin to dispose of your tree Please ensure the tree is cut into manageable pieces so that the lid will close
We respectfully ask that, at your earliest convenience, you would kindly arrange to have the waste removed. Yours faithfully, Environment Committee
Helen Lerner Environment Co-ordinator Walthamstow Village Residents’ Association.
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Walthamstow Village in Bloom
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Adoption of planters Around the Village are several brick planters, built by L B Waltham Forest as part of a general improvement programme in the early 1980s. Rather than enhancing the area these planters were an eyesore; the brickwork was damaged, the dense shrubs had far outgrown their situations and they blocked light and sightlines of roads and pavements. They were also a magnet for litter and the dumping of drug paraphernalia. Between 2003 and 2007 the WVRA, on numerous occasions and on the advice of the police, approached LB Waltham Forest to deal with the planters but there was no available budget. The Gardening Club tried to tackle them but it proved an industrial-sized job and we couldn’t make much of an impression. Then, at the end of 2007, the LBWF ran an initiative to enable residents to adopt a flowerbed. We applied and it was agreed we could adopt seven. The council emptied them of plants and the brickwork collapsed! As they are situated in a conservation area they had
before
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to be rebuilt using identical and expensive bricks and the Conservation Officer granted part of his budget to do this. The WVRA agreed to use ÂŁ2,700 from its funds for the planting of six planters with Fullers Builders sponsoring planting and maintenance of one as well. Graham Sherman of Outer Space Gardens designed wonderful, mixed planting plans for each planter to provide year-round colour and interest. The plants had to be hardy and drought-tolerant to stand up to the challenging conditions of the exposed sites. Work was completed in autumn 2008.
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Vestry Green flowerbed Following the advice of the police and Hoe Street Safer Neighbourhood Team after a spate of muggings and a murder in the churchyard, at the end of 2008 the Gardening Club cleared the terribly overgrown flowerbed on the green outside the Vestry House Museum. This was another bed that was blocking sightlines from Church Path and Church End and providing cover for anti-social activity. Being left untended for the best part of 20 years, it was well-overdue for drastic treatment. Martyn Cox, a horticultural journalist, donated a box of thousands of bulbs and the Gardening Club planted these to make a terrific spring display. Identified as a key area in the heart of Walthamstow Village, in May 2009 the WVRA voted to spend ÂŁ1,600 on a planting scheme designed by Graham Sherman of Outer Space Gardens. Before
Walthamstow Village in Bloom
Plant and seed swap In March 2009, to encourage residents to improve their front gardens, window boxes and planters, and to enter Walthamstow Village in Bloom’s Front Garden Challenge, we held our first Plant and Seed Swap on the Village square. Hundreds of packets of seeds, made up by Graham and Teresa, were given out and people brought their left-over seeds to swap. Graham answered gardeners’ queries and identified plants that people had brought. Children were given packets of marigold, sunflower and love-in-a-mist seeds. John and Shaun ran free workshops showing people how to make window boxes from reclaimed wood. Terracotta and plastic plant pots of all shapes and sizes were also swapped. The day was such a success that we have decided to run a Plant and Seed Swap in autumn and spring each year.
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Walthamstow Village in Bloom
Front garden challenge We launched the Front Garden Challenge 2009 at the annual Spring Clean to encourage residents to participate in Walthamstow Village in Bloom. Leaflets containing an entry form, information, news, our aims and some encouragement and advice were distributed to each address within our in Bloom boundary. There are three categories: • Front gardens • Balcony • Hanging baskets/containers/window boxes More news, articles and details of the judging date will be included in the June edition of the WVRA newsletter. All entries will receive a certificate of participation and we will choose an overall best entry for nomination in the London in Bloom Front Garden Award. Residents are encouraged to use peat-free products, to use water wisely and to attract wildlife.
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Walthamstow Village in Bloom
Beautiful premises challenge To encourage non-residential premises to participate in Walthamstow Village in Bloom we launched the Beautiful Premises Challenge 2009 and leafleted businesses, schools, organisations, alms and sheltered housing communities and religious and community groups within our in Bloom boundary. There are three categories: • Gardens/grounds • Display/shop front • Hanging baskets/containers/window boxes The leaflets, as well as containing an entry form, information, news, our aims and some encouragement and advice, contained ways in which businesses may wish to help by sponsoring a display or making a donation. More news, articles and details of the judging date will be included in the June edition of the WVRA newsletter. All entries will receive a certificate of participation and we will choose overall best entries for nomination in the London in Bloom Business Premises and Pub and Restaurant Award.
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Nomination for Community Garden Award: Vestry House Museum garden
E S U O H Y R T VES MUSEUM The Garden at
THE
WITH INVESTMENT FROM e , th Heritage Lottery Fund se ou H garden at Vestry ed Museum was transform a from a bare space into its ng new garden, taki th inspiration from the 18 e Century workhouse, th useum M se ou H home of Vestry 35. 19 in since it was founded
ICIPATION T R A P Y IT N U M M O C in ools are very interested
� Local sche garden in their visits to the
including th e plants and keep museum. We label all th and medicinal ary a record of their culin usage. thin unity meeting room wi to � The comm all for le ab ail av the museum garden, is eciated, especially hire, and is much appr the local residents’ at ‘Apple Day’ and at ‘Garden Party’.
one of their d taking a break during The volunteers picture monthly meetings.
ed by a group of
en is maintain � The gardtee ing rs who meet for a work
local volun ltham Forest Council party every month. Wa er at the had the garden made ov has been pivotal up millennium and this gro ng scheme nti pla e in ensuring that th uld have been there reflects that which wo e. when it was a workhous everyone, 5 days to en op is en rd ga e � Th l spot to sit in and per week. It is a peacefu children to run all completely safe for sm around.
’ celebration. at the annual ‘Apple Day One of the many stalls
ort of a group of
ve the supp � We now ha ies and s with learning disabilit
young adult 247 Centre’, who their carers, from ‘The own area of the come and work in their have started to ey garden every week. Th les and also help to grow their own vegetab keep whole garden tidy.
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Nomination for Community Garden Award: Vestry House Museum garden (continued)
HORTICULTURAL E
� The garden is a collection of beds
arranged into different su inspired by the heritag bjects which are e of the workhouse life. � The garden has a number of areas with specific challenges, inc luding the shadow of some large trees to cope th. � We also aim to providewiint erest of an aesthetic and education al nature over a long season, indeed ye ar round, while also allowing the volunteers some flexibility to grow plants that intere st them. � One solution to the problem of continuity of interest is to evergreen foliage i.e. cu grow plants with rly kale and ruby chard, which maintain s its bright red stems throughout the year. � Of particular horticultu bed which concentrates ral interest is a on e plants. � The good drainage from dy the raised beds makes cultivation of Me diterranean plants possible but snails are a major problem; we try to control these wi th non-chemical methods such as crush ed eggshells.
Dyer’s chamomile, onc e used to make yellow dye .
of the garden takes into ac count environmental issues. We which are environmenta use materials lly safe and from sustainable sources. � We also use complimentary planting to deter garden pests. � A recent area was cleared of weeds by covering with protective fle use of chemical weed kil ece rather than lers. � We have areas of untou ched garden to maximise biodiversity , and maintain an area of ‘meadow grass’ which is seeded with wildflowers and cut at the end of the season. A further sunny area is pla known to sustain a varie nted with species of butterflies. � We encourage recyclinty g, through our own recycling of green waste wi and leaf-mould area, an th our compost d also through the Council’s green waste rec ycling for larger volumes. We display inf ormation notices advising school groups an how they can recycle th d other visitors eir green waste.
Ruby chard can provide colour throughout the year.
� Our team have a diverse level of sk ills, and are learning from each other about what will grow well he re. � We try to sustain the interest in th e garden with a balance of and annuals, in addition perennial plants to the vegetable varieties.
ENVIRONMENTAL C
� The maintenance and development
XC E L L E N C E
ONSIDERATIONS
� We also respect the mu within the garden area seum objects an museum staff to ensure d work with the the garden contributes to visitors’ understanding of the heritage value of th e local area.
The two compost bins and the leaf-mould con tainer.
Walthamstow Village in Bloom
Sponsors and credits Fullers Builders
Sponsor of planting and maintenance of brick-built planter on the junction of Beulah and Grosvenor Rise East
Janice Tildsley Associates
Sponsorship of Vestry Road flowerbed
Dan O’Connor – Eat 17
Sponsorship of Vestry Road flowerbed
John Chambers Plumbing & Building
Sponsorship of leaflets
Abbey Lithographic
Scanning and copying and good humour
Martyn Cox
Bulbs
Outer Space Gardens
Graham Sherman
Lisa Peachey
Portfolio design
Jeremy Williams
Photography
London Borough of Waltham Forest
Help with equipment, rubbish disposal, spring bulbs and floral lamppost baskets
Walthamstow Village Residents’ Association Committee
Funding most projects, support
Nick and Sarah Trivuncic
Poster design
Waltham Forest Guardian (Newsquest Media Group)
Permission to reproduce news cuttings
Kier Group
Donation of gardening equipment (to VHM)
WVRA – Walthamstow Village in Bloom Committee Helen Lerner Teresa Deacon Graham Sherman John Chambers Monthly Gardening Club Regulars Helen Lerner Teresa Deacon Ivan White Megan Whitear Colin Stinton Yvonne Cross Paul and Sophie Gasson Steve Josh Lerner (tea boy and weeding)
And to all the good folk who live or work in Walthamstow Village for their remarkable community spirit and encouragement, support and enthusiasm for our Walthamstow Village in Bloom entry.
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