Many KLPA members have previously supported the five-year campaign to turn a former waterworks near Lea Bridge Road into a community owned park, including two free-to-access bathing ponds.  This support has included donations to a crowdfunder which raised over £0.5m towards the purchase of the land, to create the East London Waterworks Park (ELWP). 

At the end of January ELWP volunteers received the shocking news that the government (which currently owns the site) is making a last-ditch attempt to use if for a different purpose, this time for a secure children’s home.  This is despite the site being designated as Metropolitan Open Land, where new building can only happen in exceptional circumstances, and being situated on a level 3 flood plain.  The proposal has not yet turned into a planning application, but this is expected to happen any day soon.  When this happens ELWP will mobilise its supporters to submit planning objections, but there are actions which you can still take in the meantime.
 
Waltham Forest, which is one of the councils supporting the proposal for a secure children’s home, is also the planning authority which will decide upon the eventual planning application.  Every London borough appears to be behind this project as part of a consortium led by Barnet Council, but information is not being made public about which other sites were considered.  This is the only site where the East London Waterworks Park can happen, but is surely not the only site where a secure children’s home could be built in London. Once this site is built upon, it will be lost forever for the local community.  Supporters of the ELWP project still have time to stop this happening.
 
If you have previously donated to the campaign, if you have been receiving regular updates because you signed up as a supporter, or if you have only just heard of the project and wish to support it, there are actions which you can take to help keep this dream alive:

1. If you live, work or study in the London Borough of Waltham Forest, please sign this petition.  ELWP is aiming to exceed the minimum 3000 signatures needed, to ensure a sufficient number of postcode-validated signatures to trigger a full council debate. Over 2,900 have signed already.
    
2. Anyone opposed to using this site for a secure children’s home can sign the petition here. Over 6,800 have signed already.
    
3. As all London boroughs are signed up in principle to this proposal, it is legitimate to contact your local Ward Councillors if you live in ANY London borough. Find out who your Ward Councillors are by going to your local council website or by checking here.  Please ask your Ward Councillors why their council is supporting the scheme to build a secure children’s home where the local community wants to create a community-owned park. You could also ask at what level in the council the decision was taken to support this proposal.
    
4. Email the London Mayoral candidates before the elections on 2 May 2024 and ask them to commit to supporting the creation of East London Waterworks Park using the attached downloadable template. Candidates’ email addresses include:
   • campaign@susan.london (Conservative)
   • office.zoegarbett@greenparty.org.uk (Green)
   • london@labour.org.uk (Labour)
   • campaigns@londonlibdems.org.uk (Lib Dem)

 More information about the East London Waterworks Park campaign can be seen here.