Cllr Loakes, who has served 26 years as a councillor of Leytonstone ward, is known for his passionate advocacy of walking and cycling and support for ‘Mini-Holland’ and low-traffic-neighbourhood schemes, reports Marco Marcelline
The longstanding Waltham Forest councillor Clyde Loakes has been awarded a Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) from the King in recognition of his services to local government.
Cllr Loakes, who has served 26 years as a councillor of Leytonstone ward, is known for his passionate advocacy of walking and cycling and support for the ‘Mini-Holland’ low-traffic-neighbourhood scheme.
Cllr Loakes has also served as the council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for climate and air quality for twelve years.
The councillor said he was “absolutely delighted” to receive the MBE, which he described as a a “huge honour and privilege”.
He added: “I’ve been a councillor working in local government for 26 years and I am grateful to my party, as well as the people and organisations that I have had the honour and privilege of working with and being supported by during this time. I’d like to also thank council staff past and present for their years of support.
“Most importantly though I’d like to thank the people of Waltham Forest and my own ward, Leytonstone, for their faith, trust and confidence in me, which has allowed me to serve both as a cabinet member and ward councillor. I’m forever humbled by that.”
Waltham Forest Council leader Grace Williams congratulated her deputy saying: “I’m delighted that Clyde’s outstanding record in local government had been recognised with an MBE. It is richly deserved for someone that was first elected as a local councillor in 1998 and has been serving our borough ever since. My fellow councillors and I have learned a huge amount from his approach in this time.”
She was joined by Will Norman, Transport for London’s (TfL) walking and cycling commissioner who complimented the “world-leading” work that Cllr Loakes has done in “improving walking and cycling options” in the borough.
He continued: “His work has inspired similar projects not just in other London boroughs but in cities all over the world, and I look forward to continuing working with Clyde to build a better, greener London for everyone.”
The mini-Holland cycling and low-traffic neighbourhood scheme that Cllr Loakes introduced recently celebrated its tenth anniversary. Since 2014, the council has built 34 miles of dedicated cycle lanes, established 22 “school streets”, built or improved 180 road crossings and installed eleven cycle hubs at stations and 760 secure bike hangars.
Two streets, Orford Road in Walthamstow and Francis Road in Leyton, have been part-pedestrianised. The scheme has also resulted in the removal of the Whipps Cross gyratory, and building of dedicated cycle lanes along the entirety of Lea Bridge Road and Forest Road.
While positively received by many, the scheme has also been met with significant backlash. When the traffic restrictions in Orford Road were rolled out and made permanent in 2015, protesters brought out a coffin to show the “death of Walthamstow Village”.
Residents have also written to the Echo to argue that LTN-related residential road closures have caused arterial roads to clog up with traffic. Writing in the November 2023 issue of the Echo, Walthamstow local Carlos Sanchez said he was concerned about the level of traffic that “constantly” builds up on Shernhall Street because
He wrote that the traffic was “loud, polluting and dangerous”, and felt that the council wasn’t listening to his and others’ concerns.Cllr Loakes is also chair of the North London Waste Authority, which runs the much-criticised Edmonton Incinerator.
Cllr Loakes also sits on the board of directors for London Energy Ltd, which delivers waste and resource management services across north London.
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