Objection to Police Mustering, Briefing and Deployment Centre turned down.

Just after the report that the Epping Forest and Commons Committee of the City of London will NOT be considering the application for a Lottery Funding (see here), we now have received the news that the House of Lords will not be considering our application against the Legislative Reform (Epping Forest) Order that will allow a police "muster station" be erected on Wanstead Flats for the 2012 Olympic.

Ms. Chris Bolton at the Private Bill Office of the House of Lords has sent correspondence which includes the following statement :  "As you will see the Committee decided not to recommend that a select committee be appointed to consider the Order.  That means that the hybrid instrument process has now come to an end.  As the Committee did not recommend a select committee be appointed the report does not need to be agreed by the House."

So - in both cases the big guns of the City of London and the House of Lords have decided that the  wishes of local people and their regard for Epping Forest be overwhelmed by outside interests. I'm not much of a political person, so I shall leave it to more vociferous others to make statements expressing at the very least - I suspect - their disappointment. In the meantime Epping Forest as a whole, Wanstead Park in particular and Wanstead Flats now and certainly in 2012 will continue to suffer, and will be under increasing threat in the future.

Paul Ferris, 24th May 2011