Letters, contributions and comments sent in from Recorder readers this week.

No majority supporting park plan

Les Kaye, Save Our Green Spaces Campaign, full address supplied, writes:

In response to Sheila Coles' letter regarding the planned building at Manford Way Park.

Firstly she refers to "people like us" - what exactly does this mean? Because our campaign has never been personalised against individuals, but simply focused on reasons why green spaces and parks should never be built on.

We have never mentioned the aspect of who might be moving into these containers as a concern.

The point made to her about it being opposite a school would simply be to illustrate that the children that attend this school will be the ones deprived of the exact green space being taken away from them.

There is no other concern about it being opposite a school as she suggests.

Finally she speaks of the " silent majority" being in favour of this development.

I would like to ask how she knows this because if they are silent then they are obviously not telling anyone. Is she a mind reader or making a wild assumption?

The truth is there is no majority for these plans, silent or otherwise.

The facts are that 5,000 people signed a petition to object to the plans, the vast majority living in Hainault, there were 1,250 written objections to the council to consider at planning, and there were just two letters of support, both from outside the ward.

In finishing I would emphasise that the campaign to save our park has no other motive than to preserve our green spaces for our children, and future generations to enjoy as we were lucky enough to do in our childhood, and we will not rest as a community until these ill thought out plans find their rightful place in the bin .

As a campaign group we meet on a regular basis and we would welcome Ms Coles to come to one of our meetings so she can better understand our focus and why our parks are important to us and should never be built on and we would welcome her support, because as a group we will be turning our attention to helping the homeless once this battle is won.

Station platform toilets closed

Richard Enever, officer, Brentwood Bus & Rail Users Association, full address supplied, writes:

TfL has posted me a letter saying that the toilets on Platform 4 of Ilford station are permanently closed.

I wrote to them on May 13 following an embarrassing situation which I suffered the previous evening. I needed to relieve myself quickly and had to do it out of sight on Platform 5.

TfL insisted there was a sign on the door of the toilets on Platform 4. There was nothing and I couldn't get to Platform 3 toilets on time.

Our association has campaigned hard for toilets on Crossrail. TfL and the government said no. TfL pledged that toilets would be available on all platforms at every station platform at every station.

This is a breach of undertaking as it is anticipated that many people will be travelling from Heathrow or Reading.

Is a parent going to be happy when faced with this situation?

Declare climate emergency now

Cllr Paul Donovan, for Wanstead Village, writes:

Along with councillor Jo Blackman I am bringing a motion to Redbridge Council on June 20 calling for the declaration of a climate emergency.

The most crucial word in this motion is emergency. The recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change gave us 12 years to make sure climate warming does not rise above 1.5 degrees.

Well we have wasted the first year talking about it. What is needed now is action.

We hope by bringing this motion to council that the whole question of addressing climate change will be brought up to the top of the priority list.

This council needs to produce a report on Redbridge's impact on climate with an appropriate action list to stop climate change that will go to cabinet for approval within three months, including measures to:

- Make the council carbon neutral by 2030 and being carbon free by 2050, in line with commitments already made by over 40 others other councils, from Newham and Waltham Forest, to Somerset and Scarborough

- Undertake a green audit of council services. Prioritise action to tackle air pollution caused by car emissions, in particular, around schools

- Reduce the emissions associated with waste collection and disposal by encouraging more reuse, minimising waste and increasing opportunities for recycling

- Eradicate single plastic use from council premises and promote the eradication of single plastic use in Redbridge.

- Look to make new and existing council owned property as energy efficient as possible

- Encourage renewable and sustainable energy in Redbridge, through the council's planning, estate management, investment and procurement policies

- Explore municipal renewable energy companies alongside other London boroughs

- Improve biodiversity and carbon storage (e.g. tree planting)

- Provide advice on how residents and businesses can operate in a more environmentally friendly way

- Establish a corporate panel that will track the council's progress on tackling climate change and make additional recommendations to cabinet.

Cancer nurses need support

Ed Tallis, head of services, London, Macmillan Cancer Support, writes:

The shortage of nurses could have dire consequences on those caring for cancer patients in London.

There are over 1,000 Macmillan health and social care professional posts in London, often based at hospitals and in the community supporting people with cancer and their families.

It is therefore worrying (but not surprising) to hear that two-thirds of nurses feel they are struggling to provide good care to patients who are dying as a result of staff shortages, as Marie Curie has recently warned. Too many nurses find themselves compromised, trying to make sure patients are comfortable but unable to go the extra mile due to increasingly heavy workloads.

Difficulties in recruiting to the social-care workforce also mean that people with cancer who want and need personal care to support them to remain in their own home are not always able to get it.

The government must make delivering a plan for our workforce, which realises the ambitions of the NHS long-term plan, an urgent priority.