Author Archives: racheltripp

Rachel writes… A few years ago I was idly reading nonsense online – I mean ‘doing some important research’ – when I first came across the concept of Guerilla Gardening. I immediately loved it. The website explains it all much … Continue reading →

Rachel and Seyi writes… After we’d both had various complaints from residents, some impassioned discussion on Facebook groups, reporting on LoveNewham, taking more photos of the area than I care to remember, chatting with the ward enforcement officer, raising the … Continue reading →

Rachel writes… One of the unexpected pleasures (ahem) of being a councillor is being added to every organisation’s email list, ever. Meaning that when I sit down to get on with my casework or other ongoing bits and pieces, I … Continue reading →

Rachel writes… One of the things I was most excited about in this year’s Council budget was the idea of ‘Keep Newham Moving‘. We want to improve all of the borough’s roads, pavements and lights, and make a real and … Continue reading →

Rachel writes… I feel as if I should write a standard opening paragraph for all my blog posts which says ‘I have been meaning to blog about this for ages’. But that would be tedious in the extreme. I will … Continue reading →

Rachel and Seyi write… Congratulations, Anam Islam! It’s with great pleasure that we welcome Anam to the Forest Gate North team. He was elected last Thursday and we can’t wait to get to work together, to continue Ellie’s good work … Continue reading →

Rachel writes… After housing / homelessness, and of course the dreaded parking, one of the most common things that people contact Seyi and me about in our roles as councillors is about the physical appearance of Forest Gate. Whether that … Continue reading →

Rachel and Seyi write… Occasionally, but regularly, residents email or tweet us with a picture of on-street bicycle parking, usually from Waltham Forest. Normally accompanied by a friendly message saying, roughly paraphrased, ‘How about having this in Newham?’ Now, we … Continue reading →

Rachel writes… At the weekend, the Gospel Oak to Barking Line, sometimes known as the Goblin line, closed temporarily for electrification works. Although we hope that in the long term this will give us a better service, the long closure … Continue reading →

Rachel writes… This coming Friday the 20th of May Space East, a yoga and pilates studio in a railway arch off Cranmer Road, is hosting two fund-raising classes for the Forest Gate Festival. Full details are in the flyer linked above.  Pilates … Continue reading →