10. Time called for Springfield 1 o’clock Club
11. Freedom Pass Campaign
12. Voluntary Sector - funding concerns yet again
13. Disposals continue
14. Rainbow Nursery not 4 sale
15. Shoreditch Centre sell-off
16. Democratic Fiasco
17. Postal ballot verdict
18. Diary Dates

10. Time called for Springfield 1 o’clock Club
After a campaign to try and persuade the Council not
to close this club, parents and carers have formed the
Springfield 1 o’clock Club Committee and are trying to
obtain funding to guarantee the survival of the club.
The Council delayed closing the club for a month and
have said that parents can take over running it.
However it is a huge undertaking to deal with the
expenses and organisation of the club when parents
have no funds and little time at their disposal.
The club is the only safe, educational environment for
children and their carers to play and socialise in a
run-down and deprived area. The Equal Play centre for
disabled kids, which is next door to the club, is
already closed. The Committee is appealing for help
to anyone who can help with fundraising bids.
Meanwhile, another desperately needed facility closes.


11. Freedom Pass Campaign
The Freedom Pass Campaign Group continues to fight on.
An excellent bus demonstration was held, with an
occupation of Social Services in Morning Lane. They
raised various issues with management, including the
vexed question of whether applications need a
consultants’ letter or not.
The Group continues to support lead cases. There is
concern at the assessment procedure, which is
sometimes inappropriate and misleading, particularly
for applicants with variable conditions. The Council
may be pursued for compensation -for delays in
re-issuing freedom passes.
The Group proposes to meet Max Caller, Chief Executive
of LBH, Mary Richardson, Director of Hackney Social
Services and local MPs to discuss freedom pass
renewals. They also plan to make posters for GP
surgeries.
Contact:  hackneyfreedompass@lycos.com


12. Voluntary Sector - funding concerns yet again
Yet again voluntary groups in Hackney face a period of
uncertainty, but this one may never end. Hackney
Council have outsourced their funding of such groups
to the Association of London Government. Groups are
very concerned that any funding they do receive under
the new procedure will only be for 18 months and will
create undue uncertainty for staff and users of the
facilities. The Clapton Park Play Project lost two
out of four of its staff after funding cuts last year
and consequently can only accommodate 20 instead of 40
children. The project took many years of hard work to
establish itself in a refurbished building and needs
less than £50,000 to keep going. It covers an area of
great social need with no other facilities for kids
and young people. If it closes, parents will be
forced to give up jobs or college because no
reasonably priced child care is available.
The ALG will be announcing its funding decisions in
October while the Play Project for one will have
already closed as its funds will have run out.


13. Disposals continue
Car parks, garages, playgrounds, tenants halls, green
spaces and a nursery will all be sold off in the
latest of a series of auctions of council property.
These form part of a longer list of properties for
possible sale published in May. The auction will take
place on 22 October at a top hotel in one of the most
expensive parts of London. The sale will raise money
to help make up the council budget shortfall but the
sites, most of which are still being used, will be
lost to public ownership for good. Two of the
playgrounds were put up for sale in February but were
withdrawn at the last minute due to public protest.
In a crowded urban environment, such spaces are
important and will never be available again.
There is a consultation process underway, so if you
see a ‘For Sale’ sign up in your area, let the Council
know if you don’t like their policy.

October 22 - auction of Council properties at Le
Meridien, Grosvenor House, Park Lane, London W1 at
2.30 pm. Contact: 020 7544 2241 for a catalogue.


14. Rainbow Nursery not 4 sale
Rainbow Community Nursery has been providing quality
childcare to local children since 1973, and has
occupied a site in Nevill Rd since 1983. Ever since
moving to Nevill Rd, Rainbow have occupied a
Portakabin, which is only supposed to have a life of
10 years, but they have been trapped in their leaking
accommodation because the council has consistently
refused to give them a lease. Rainbow understood that
its land and the adjoining children's play area had
been passed to Hackney when the GLC was abolished, but
a recent trip to the Land Registry failed to show any
relevant documents.
Over the years, Rainbow has paid for all repairs and
improvements to the site, and the council has taken no
interest in it, until they suddenly decided to snatch
the land back to sell. On the basis of its business
plan (the sort of thing the government approves of)
Rainbow raised substantial sums for rebuilding and
developing the nursery, but this money has been lost
because of the uncertainty regarding the land.
At a recent meeting with parents at Rainbow,
Councillor Rita Krishna (Labour) was challenged about
what she would do to help save the nursery. She
refused to make any commitment, and told the meeting
that an audit showed that Hackney owned more land than
any other council, and so the government was forcing
them to sell it off. This must be why Tony Blair chose
to visit the Ann Tayler nursery last week to launch
his annual report on how to tackle poverty ... just
getting a few ideas, eh?
Contact Rainbow at 020 7254 7930 for copies of the
petition.


15. Shoreditch Centre sell-off
Residents near the Shoreditch Centre (behind Hackney
Road bingo hall) are objecting to the Council’s
recent sale of this centre for people with
disabilities. The building will be demolished and the
site sold to developers for 22 high density flats.
Residents feel that the area is already overcrowded
and community resources should not be lost just to be
replaced with flats that will be very expensive as the
area is now seen as trendy. The Hells Angels, whose
London HQ is opposite the site, are also opposed!
Council sources claim that the Shoreditch Centre was
sold to speculators for a mere £526,000. The agents,
Bridge Estates of Clerkenwell, who are dealing with
the resale of the building, told one enquirer that the
site will be resold to a developer for around £1.4
million. They said that they had been assured by
Hackney Council that obtaining planning permission
would be a mere formality. This means that the
speculators will make around £1 million within a few
months.
Over the years adults with mental illnesses made the
centre their home, with beautiful gardens, and a range
of creative activities. They are still unsure where
they will be moved to.
Residents are asked to raise the issue with local
councillors, who will be making a planning decision in
September.
Contact: 020 7729 8677,  si54321@hotmail.com



16. Democratic Fiasco
Despite recent changes to Hackney Council’s
decision-making arrangements, lack of concern for
basic democratic principles does not seem to have
improved. For a second time, the Council refused to
hear a deputation of library users and workers on an
issue that is affecting huge numbers of people
throughout the borough - the closure of libraries on
Saturdays. Where are such issues meant to be debated
if not at Cabinet or Council meetings? A casual
observance of the new arrangements since May suggests
that debate is very low on the agenda and the
separation of Cabinet and Scrutiny functions fits this
very well.
It feels like an up-hill struggle just to follow the
meetings. The agenda on the website is not up to date
– like the rest of the site. At the Cabinet meetings
papers are scarce or unavailable to the public, who
have to sit so far from the Councillors that they can
hardly hear a thing.
As to access to the papers beforehand, Cabinet papers
are only freely available on the website - even if
you are lucky enough to be able to access them,
downloading all of them would cost an arm and a leg if
your computer doesn’t crash first. However, no papers
for other committees are on the site, including those
of the Scrutiny Committees, which are meant to be
performing a vital role in the process of making the
Cabinet’s decisions accountable. If you want hard
copies of papers for any meetings, these are rarely
available in advance, and you can only get your hands
on them if you phone up and request one. Surely this
is a strategy to deter all but the most determined.
And we can say from experience that they are still not
guaranteed to arrive.
Apparently it is no longer the Council’s policy to put
committee papers in libraries or even the First Stop
Shop. This small effort wouldn’t break the bank and
would show some willingness to make vital information
available to the public.


17. Postal ballot verdict
As we gear up towards the election for Hackney’s first
mayor, this is a good moment to remember what happened
in May’s elections - a pilot postal ballot both to
elect councillors and decide between the somewhat
restrictive choice of a mayor or council leader.
Why was Hackney allowed to stage a prototype postal
ballot when it hardly has the credentials to
mastermind such an innovation? The Electoral
Commission report into the May elections suggests a
number of causes for concern despite no overwhelming
evidence of fraud or malpractice. However, the report
does say that in reality there was no opportunity for
staff opening the ballot papers to check the validity
of the declaration meant to guard against fraud.
The report’s concerns include the Council’s very tight
deadlines and the publication of incorrect dates which
meant at least one party missed the nominations
deadline and voters missed the registration deadline.
Some of this delay was a result of government
inaction. Complaints about the voting process ranged
from lack of consultation with communities to the
complexity of the ballot papers, particularly given
the ethnic diversity of Hackney. How much information
about leadership options was available in other
languages?
The mayoral referendum question itself left no doubt
how the ‘powers that be’ wanted us to vote. It began
“Would you like to see a change in the way Hackney is
governed?” Well, who wouldn’t?! But, in conjunction
with the question we were actually voting on, “would
you like an elected mayor?”, it suggests that change
can only come about with an elected mayor. For many,
saying ‘no’ may have felt like saying no to change.
Information about alternatives to a mayor were not
available in the literature, so people had to have
read about them beforehand elsewhere.
Of the one third of those eligible to vote who did so,
only 24,697, representing 19.2% of those eligible,
said ‘yes’ to a mayor. Another 10,547 (8.2%) voted
no, and a staggering 5,656 (13.5%) papers were
spoiled, mostly because the declarations were not
correctly filled in. Many people were therefore
effectively disenfranchised by the use of the postal
ballot.
‘Significant pockets of non-delivery’ of ballot papers
were recorded and 2000 were returned undelivered. Some
people who requested replacement ballot papers on the
final day were unable to get them, due to legislative
restrictions. There is concern that people were
encouraged to vote without delay and so unable to hear
more of what little debate their was. The use of
lists of party sympathisers is more open to abuse as
party workers not only directly encourage supporters
to vote but actually act as a postal service. Perhaps
this was a major factor in Labour’s increased
majority.
In the forthcoming election for Mayor in October,
the declaration will be simplified with pictorial
explanations used. There will also be Braille copies.
Bar codes will be used on voting papers and spot
checks will be made both before and after the
election. Officials will be able to issue replacement
voting papers up till 5pm on Polling Day.
As the postal ballot system brought no more
participation than usual, raised many concerns over
the details of its operation, gets more expensive the
higher the turnout and does nothing to engage voters
with the issues, its use is still very much open to
debate.



18. Diary Dates
5 October – National demonstration and rally marking
one year since the start of the library dispute. 12
noon, rally 1.30pm, The Bullion Room, Wilton Way E8
(behind Hackney Empire).
9 October - All trade unionists are welcome to the
Hackney Trades Union Council. 7.30pm at the Marcon
Community Hall (junction of Marcon Place and Amhurst
Road E8).
22 October - auction of Council properties at Le
Meridien, Grosvenor House, Park Lane, London W1 at
2.30 pm. Contact: 020 7544 2241 for a catalogue, or
HN4S if you want to protest about it.

Election dates
28 September - booklet containing a message from all
candidates will be delivered to all electors.
2 October - last date to change address of where you
want your ballot paper delivered.
3 October - Hackney Town Hall, 7pm - Mayoral Campaign
Public Meeting ('hustings'). Candidates for the
position of Hackney's elected Mayor will be answering
questions.
5-6 October - you should receive your ballot paper if
you are on the register (Royal Mail delivering this
time).
11 October - you can apply for another ballot paper if
you have not received one.
6pm 17 October - last date for your vote to reach
Hackney Town Hall.


Let the Council know what you think should be
prioritised in Hackney ...they’re asking for your
views!! Labour Hotline: 020 8510 3600.


Hackney Not 4 Sale
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Contact us at Hackney Not 4 Sale:
Box 7, 136-138 Kingsland High Street, London, E8 2NS.
Tel: 07950 539 254
Email:  hackneynot4sale@yahoo.com