An estimated 800 people turned up to watch the decision-making process which the council had moved from a committee room to the much larger Assembly Hall. Half the available seats were reserved for UCKG supporters and half for supporters of McGuffin which has campaigned for the building to be restored as a cinema and public entertainment venue. About 200 people were left outside and their chanting could be heard inside the chamber at points during the meeting.

The UCKG, which bought the building in 2003 is now expected to appeal the decision. Meanwhile the newly formed Waltham Forest Cinema Trust (see separate story) which wants to bring the building back to its former use will try to start negotiations to buy the EMD building but this won’t succeed if the UCKG is not prepared to negotiate.

Walthamstow MP, Stella Creasy, welcomed the news and called for urgent action to be taken by English Heritage and the government to support moves to restore the cinema. She pledged to continue to support the Cinema Trust and to lobby the secretary of state to reject any appeal by the UCKG of the local authority decision.

She said: “The UCKG’s proposal to turn the EMD Cinema into a church has now been rejected twice, demonstrating the clear and settled will of the residents of Walthamstow that they wish to see this building restored as a cinema. But I am all too aware that we’ve been here before, and it would be a travesty if the current owners of the site were now able to continue holding on to a precious piece of Walthamstow’s heritage and allow it to deteriorate further without consequences.

She said she would be writing to English Heritage and seeking a debate in Parliament on the matter to hold ministers to account for their actions.

The Waltham Forest Cinema Trust, a not-for-profit group, wants to restore the historic movie house and re-open it as a cinema and entertainment venue. With councillors due to decide on the 18th of May whether to let the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UKCG) convert it to a church, this could be the last chance to save the building as a facility for the benefit of the whole community.

The former Walthamstow MP, Neil Gerrard, the McGuffin Film Society’s  Bill Hodgson, Mark Godfrey of the Soho Theatre and Roxanna Silbert of the Royal Shakespeare Company have all joined the new Trust. The group says it has developed a strong business model for the revived cinema which would be financially self-sustaining and would not require any funding from the council.

The venue is a Grade II* listed building and has a rich heritage, being one of the finest and rarest early cinema buildings of its type still surviving in the country.  It also has a history of big concerts and in its heyday artists including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Duke Ellington and Johnny Cash played there.

The Trust says it wants to buy the EMD from the UKCG and run it as a mainstream commercial cinema with a restaurant /bar and live performance venue. The newly formed group says the re-opening of the cinema would act as a catalyst for the regeneration of Walthamstow town centre and provide many more benefits for Waltham Forest, including employment opportunities for young people.

Local MP, Stella Creasy, who supports the Waltham Forest Cinema Trust’s efforts, says: “I believe this could not only offer a way of celebrating the heritage of this site but also make a vital contribution to Walthamstow’s night-time economy. I hope Waltham Forest Council will look positively at these proposals.”

The meeting on the evening of 18^th May when the planning issue is to be decided is expected to be crowded, with as many as a thousand people reckoned likely to compete for the 100 seats in the council chamber’s public gallery.

The site’s owners, London and Quadrant (L&Q), have made public the details of the proposed development in the face of widespread opposition from local people, London’s mayor Boris Johnson who wants to see dog racing brought back to the Stow and local MP Stella Creasy who wants the government to make sure the listed buildings are protected (see separate stories).

The plan is to build a community of 300 homes including 5- and 6-storey flat blocks and houses laid out on a plan approximately following the route of the dog track. Parking will largely be hidden under landscaped gardens.

The two listed buildings would have new uses with the iconic tote board being restored and the landmark fluorescent lights once again shining out over Walthamstow. The building would house various leisure rooms, a nursery and a cafe. These amenities are intended to be run by a community trust which would decide how they should develop.

The dog kennels would become storage for the 35 allotments sites that will be created. This ensures a permanent use for these listed buildings.

L&Q are expected to submit a planning application in the next few weeks and it is likely to go to the council’s planning committee in the autumn.

Heritage minister, John Penrose, agreed to an invitation made in the House of Commons by Creasy after she told MPs about the poor state of the cinema and her concerns for the derelict Stow stadium.

Creasy described to the Commons her efforts to stop a recent attempted rave at the Hoe Street cinema when she discovered that serious water damage was happening inside the building and added: “Every day that I pass the Walthamstow dog track and I see the derelict state that it has now become I fear for its future.”

Later the MP said: “As proposals exist to restore both the cinema and the dog track and so save these buildings for the local community, I’m determined to do all I can to support them. I want ministers to help us make sure that these cultural assets are not left to decay and that urgent action is taken to repair and protect them.”

The EMD/Granada Cinema, a Grade II* listed building and one of the country’s best examples of a 1930s super cinema, was bought by its current owners, the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, in 2002, so they could turn it into a church. In 2003 the government ruled that the building should be retained as a cinema but the church has resisted calls to sell it and applied again for planning permission in 2009, a matter that has still to be decided by the council.

The kennels, the entrance and totaliser board at the Walthamstow Dog Track were all grade II listed in 2007, the listing describing the stadium as the “best surviving and most architecturally interesting vintage greyhound stadium in the country” and “a nationally loved building type expressive of developments in inter-War mass culture and entertainment”.

The £3m project includes building a new learning centre, tearoom, library and meeting room at the museum of the Arts and Crafts Movement in Lloyd Park, Forest Road. Refurbishment of the gallery space will allow far more works of art to be displayed and the Grade II* listed building that houses the collection will be conserved and enhanced. Half of the money has come from the Heritage Lottery Fund and this has been matched by the council.

The museum is the only public gallery devoted to William Morris, the world renowned 19^th century designer, craftsman, writer, socialist and conservationist, and his Arts and Crafts Movement associates. Morris was born in Walthamstow in 1834 and lived at the house which is now the gallery from 1848 to 1856.

The museum will close its doors on Sunday 3^rd April for at least 15 months.

Stella Creasy, Walthamstow, and John Cryer, Leyton and Wanstead, are calling on the education secretary to remove himself from the decision-making process about the future of the borough’s schools after the High Court branded his original decision to cancel the building projects as “an abuse of power”.

The axing by Michael Gove of 58 school projects worth £1bn in six local authority areas was ruled unlawful because he failed to consult properly with councils. The education secretary must now reconsider the decision but it is unlikely that the £263m that was to be spent on 16 Waltham Forest schools will be written back into the budget.

The leader of Waltham Forest Council, Chris Robbins, said the court ruling was a victory for common sense and fair play: “We have said all along that we want to sit down and have an amicable discussion with the government about the difficulties our schools face. We are hopeful that this judgement will now open the door to a real and constructive conversation about improving schools for Waltham Forest’s young people.”

Ms Creasy and Mr Cryer say they don’t think Mr Gove is capable of making an impartial decision and should not review something on which he made the initial decision. They have written him a letter suggesting that, “for the confidence of all concerned, the final decision should be made by a party independent from the original process”.

In a joint statement the two MPs said: “Last July we invited Michael Gove to visit some of the 16 schools in Waltham Forest that were due to be refurbished under Building Schools for the Future, to see for himself how urgently these schools needed investment in order to address problems of asbestos, leaky roofs and lack of space – but he declined to take up our offer.”



In the decade that Dv8 training has been in operation they have supported over 2000 young people, with former Dv8 students gaining employment across the media sector at employers such as MTV, Myspace and Adidas as well as creating opportunities for students to perform alongside recognized artists such as N-Dubz, Devlin, Chipmunk and new pop RnB trio, Code Red (which includes two former Dv8 students). Alexis enthuses: “This is the reason that I want to go to work every day. The experience and services that DV8 provides is unique and we are very successful in supporting young people. When you hear about the success stories, it’s a great feeling.”

Pointing to the recent government figures which show more than 15% of young people in the UK are not in education, employment or training (NEETs), DV8 is determined to reach out to as many of these young people as possible.

Bukola Dagiloke benefited greatly from DV8 Training and has gone on to create her own company, Be 360 Design, as well as becoming a tutor on the Dv8 Training programme. She says: “Teaching design skills to the young people at DV8 is very rewarding. It’s great to see them develop their ideas and show them how to represent them visually. It’s great to see the students developing and making their dreams become a reality.

“DV8 offers a supportive, small scale environment with specialist resources and a very practical approach to learning. This suits many young people who are NEETs and provides them with a first step to achieve again, develop their creativity and map out their future.”

Despite the economic climate, Alexis is determined to expand DV8 Training so that many more young people in London can benefit from the organisation. “There are plans to develop a DV8 base in south east London. The other short-term goal is to try and achieve grade one status at our next Ofsted inspection. This will be the stamp of approval to credit all of the great work that goes on at DV8,” he says.

Come down and register on the 31st January.

The Outset
2 Grange Road
Walthamstow
E17 8AH

Tel: 020 8509 6070
Email: ian@dv8training.co.uk
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The mayor said: “London has a rich tradition of dog racing and it is lamentable that some of its iconic stadiums have suffered decline and closure in recent years. I urge Londoners to support this increasingly endangered pursuit and the owners of the remaining stadiums to preserve these in active use for dog racing for the benefit of Londoners.”

He added: “I urge the owners of Walthamstow Stadium to take full consideration of the needs and wishes of local people with regard to the future of this sporting venue.”

The mayor’s comments came just days before the Stow’s owner, housing association, London and Quadrant (L&Q) was due to hold a three-day consultation with residents regarding the site’s future. His support offers a major boost to the pro-dog racing campaign being spearheaded by local group, Save our Stow, and MPs Iain Duncan Smith and Stella Creasy.

The two MPs said in a joint statement: “We welcome this breakthrough in trying to progress the future of Walthamstow Stadium – Boris joins us in wanting to see this site being brought back into use for the benefit of the local economy and the local community and being concerned at the antics of the housing developer who currently owns it.

“We hope London and Quadrant gets the message loud and clear that they need to start talking seriously to developers like Mr Morton to see if a deal can be done to restore the track and bring housing to the area – the patience of the people of Walthamstow and Chingford will not stand for anything less”, they added.

Bob Morton, a local businessman whose offers to purchase the site have so far been rejected by L&Q, remains keen to make an offer. Mr Morton said: “I want to give the local community what it wants: greyhound racing, housing, full leisure facilities and a multi-use stadium for the use of all residents. I want to work with the council, residents and politicians to give the iconic stadium the respect this major landmark of the  East End deserves.” He plans to now offer L&Q what he has been advised is the stadium’s market value. Failing this, Mr Morton is willing to work in partnership with the current owners to champion residents’ wishes and ensure dog-racing is a core part of future developments.

At present, L&Q has cancelled its resident consultation after just one day. The meetings have been cut-short after the housing association claimed it felt threatened by the members of the Save our Stow campaign. The campaigners have refuted the claim, saying its members were on good terms with the L&Q representatives at the December 2^nd meeting.

Waltham Forest’s cabinet member for corporate resources, business  and  employment, Cllr Afzal Akram, said: “Media is becoming an increasingly popular career choice for many people and the competition is extremely tough, so opportunities like these are a great way of making sure you

stand [ a line return I can’t remove] out from the crowd. I’d urge anyone who’s looking to crack the media industry to have a chat with our Worknet team to discuss their options. Even if you don’t think broadcasting’s your thing but would like to get some employment advice they can help with that too.”

To get involved, contact the council’s Worknet partnership programme by phone: 020 8558 1558, e-mail: worknet@walthamforest.gov.uk, or by visiting the office at 2-4 Cathall Road, Leytonstone.

Royal Marine, Alex Mutch, now back home from his tour of duty, adopted Dave after finding him with both his ears cut off while on foot patrol with 40 Commando in Afghanistan. A campaign to raise £4,000 to bring Dave home was so successful it collected nearly twice as much and the remaining cash is being given to the Charity, Nowzad, which helps rescue injured and abandoned animals from Afghanistan and Iraq.

After their happy reunion, Dave and Alex were parted again, Dave to six months in quarantine and Alex back to the Somerset base of his regiment.

The Marine’s sister Heather Mutch, who coordinated the rescue campaign, says her brother has been staggered by the public’s generosity. She told Walthamstow Now that she visits Dave at least once a week where he’s being kept in Essex: “Whenever Alex comes back up from Somerset we both go and see him. Alex definitely misses Dave and he just can’t wait till March when they will be reunited for good.”

Dave was named by Marine Mutch and his colleagues in 40 Commando in memory of a comrade, David Hart, killed in an explosion in July.