Valley Ward, Waltham Forest.

Valley Ward

Our Ward

Valley is part of Waltham Forest. It runs from the North Circular in the south to Lambourne Gardens in the north. Our green spaces include Chase Lane Park, and community spaces include South Chingford Community Library, Age UK Waltham Forest Resource Hub and Salisbury Manor Community Centre. Our ward takes in one side of Chingford Mount (our main high street) and we think Valley is best approached as one side of South Chingford. Our candidates in Valley and Larkswood will work closely together to deliver for our area, ensuring a coherent approach to services and needs.

Your Candidates

Matt Romo was born at Whipps Cross and raised in Chingford. Since 2018, he has worked across health and social care in the NHS, local authority and third sector, supporting people with disabilities, learning difficulties and complex needs. Now a Patient Leader for Waltham Forest, Matt is committed to amplifying lived experience and strengthening community engagement. As a disabled person, he brings a strong focus on access, inclusion and tackling isolation.

Saqeeb Howlader, a new father and local resident, is standing to help build a community where everyone can thrive and feel a genuine sense of belonging. He believes we cannot simply wish for a better community; we have to be the ones to help build it. With a professional background in financial planning and analysis, alongside an MBA and his Fellowship of the ACCA, he brings expertise in governance, financial oversight, and accountability. His experience as Chair and Treasurer of local sports clubs equips him to help protect vital services and ensure the responsible use of public resources.

Simon Deville has lived locally for almost 10 years and works in higher education supporting student wellbeing. A lifelong trade unionist, Simon is standing as an independent to promote community-led politics and tackle growing inequality. He supports the development of local People’s Assemblies to give residents a direct voice in shaping the future of South Chingford and the wider area. As a councillor, he would work to strengthen community connections and ensure residents’ priorities are clearly represented.

Our Work

Your candidates are active in the local community. In the last four years, we have campaigned for local voices to be heard at a local and national level, been active volunteers in our green spaces and climate resilience projects, and in running local sports clubs. We attend ward forums and community events, and listen to the voices of our neighbours.

Our Pledges

Vote for us in the local elections on Thursday 7 May and we pledge to:

1 Ensure the community has a say. For too long, the needs of South Chingford have been ignored, and many of us locally feel that we have no voice. We pledge to hold People’s Assemblies for South Chingford, working with local community associations and the voluntary sector to support and empower the volunteers and community groups that serve our area and bring the community together.

2 Develop a community plan for South Chingford. Our area is poorly served for community services and public transport, and our town centre is run down. We will work with local community groups to create a South Chingford Area Plan that reaches beyond Chingford Mount, considering the needs of everyone living here.

3 Hold developers to account. South Chingford needs more housing, but it also needs development that invests in the local community. We pledge to hold developers to account on delivering quality local homes, including social housing, alongside the amenities that will improve our area.

4 Develop a climate resilience plan. Flooding, overheating and extreme temperatures which put our homes and families at risk are associated with the climate emergency. We pledge to embed climate resilience in everything we do, protecting our green spaces like Larks Wood, developing flood resilience across South Chingford and supporting home insulation and solar panels to cut living costs.

5 Improve youth safety and services. Many of you have told us of your anxieties about crime and the impact on the safety of our young people. We pledge to work with youth groups, community support teams and others to create safe spaces for young people and reduce the risk of anti-social behaviour and crime.

6 Call out the delays in replacing Whipps Cross Hospital. Our hospital is falling apart and now won’t be replaced for at least ten more years. We will campaign for the new Whipps Cross our community so desperately needs now.