Tony Bell - Labour Councillor - Talk on changes to Highams Park 5 Mar 2019
Year 9 get involved in local issues
On Tuesday 5th March, our local Labour Councillor, Tony Bell came to speak to year 9 Geography students about the changes happening to Highams Park. This is an exciting time to live in our local area!
Our Waltham Forest Borough of Culture status means that lots of new initiatives are being planned and the council would like young people to have a bigger say in what services and facilities are available for them. We discussed problems too, especially pollution from drivers who let their cars idle at the level crossing. This has prompted a poster campaign to encourage drivers to switch off when waiting in traffic.
In 2021 plans are underway to redevelop the Regal cinema from a currently derelict building into a new community cinema operated by the Rio group. Tony said that this would be a significant development from which young people could benefit.
Year 9 asked Tony questions and then set about on their own investigation. We carried out environmental quality surveys of the cinema and the surrounding area. We also interviewed local businesses on how they feel about these changes. This also gave year 9 a taste of Geography fieldwork and what is expected on them when they study fieldwork skills at GCSE.