Oaks Park High School in Ilford A Redbridge school has been accused of “victimising” union members who campaigned against vulnerable staff being forced to travel into work during lockdown. In January, as reported in the Ilford Recorder, Oaks Park High School in Newbury Park was accused of “bullying” and putting lives at risk by refusing to let staff work remotely. The NEU claimed staff were told to come into work to deliver online lessons, even if pregnant or disabled, or else face being disciplined. After union reps encouraged staff to exercise their legal rights to refuse unsafe work, the school changed its policy but the NEU claims these reps are now being “targeted and bullied”.
Redbridge Lane West allotments (Deborah Williams) An allotment home to a long-running charity project for disabled adults is currently under threat from construction work. Plot holders at Wanstead’s Redbridge Lane West allotments discovered last month that energy company Cadent plans to use the land for up to two years while upgrading security at its neighbouring gasworks. This would entail stripping the site to make way for equipment and a car park, which a petition argues would “ruin the hard work plot holders have put in” and damage the land. The petition calls on Redbridge Council, which owns the site, to refuse to let Cadent take over the plots and has been signed more than 2,600 times in a week.
The sign claimed the funfair had been asked to close this weekend (Katherine Connelly) Waltham Forest Council has denied asking a local funfair to close in mourning for Prince Philip after parents complained. The Lloyd Park funfair was shut on the day of his funeral, Saturday April 17, with a sign stating it had been asked to close by the council “out of respect for Prince Philip”. A number of people questioned why the decision was made, arguing it would upset children and lose the funfair trade. A council spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that they “believe the sign was written in error” as the funfair made its own decision to close.
By Lewis Berrill @LewisBerrill Chief reporter - east London and west Essex
A six-figure investment at the Lord Palmerston has revamped the beer garden and interior. Photos: Lord Palmerston A Walthamstow pub hopes to welcome back some its regulars – and new customers – following a six-figure investment in its garden and interior. With beer gardens reopening across the county on April 12 as the Government took the latest step in easing coronavirus restrictions, draught beers – albeit outdoors – are back on the menu. And the Lord Palmerston in Forest Road is no exception, with manager James Mwansa unveiling the new garden last week.
By Lewis Berrill @LewisBerrill Chief reporter - east London and west Essex
A critical care nurse places a cardiac monitor on a patient. Photo: Karen Chui A doctor and amateur photographer has shared intimate and illuminating images taken on the coronavirus front lines. Karen Chui, an orthopaedic registrar at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, joined her intensive care unit colleagues to document the frontline during the second wave of the pandemic. “When Covid admissions rose dramatically in December, the severity of the situation in critical care units across the country was understood by all NHS workers,” Karen explained.