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News for Havering residents, 31 Jan 2018
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 Havering Council's biggest
leisure regeneration project comes to fruition this Saturday (3 February). The long-awaited new facility will provide the first public swimming pool in Romford for more than 20 years and also sees the Raiders ice hockey team return to play their first match in their home town since April 2013.
The Leader of Havering Council, Cllr Roger Ramsey, said; "This has been a lengthy and difficult project
involving great fortitude and determination of both officers and members and I
pay tribute to all those involved."
All residents are invited to join Colin Jackson CBE and Dancing on Ice star Ray Quinn on Saturday as the doors open to the public for the first time. There will be free activities throughout the day and the former Olympic hurdler will be putting his abilities to the test in the new 100-station gym and setting visitors a series of fitness challenges.
 Havering Council has installed eight new hi-tech bins in a bid to reduce litter in Romford Town Centre.
The Big Belly bins are solar powered and have a special compacting mechanism which crushes litter. They hold up to eight times more rubbish than a normal bin and have been installed in South Street near the station.
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 There's still time to have your say in the Council's budget
consultation which is open until Friday (2 February). Havering Council currently has a budget gap of £4.26m in
2018/19. This has been affected by the reduction in government grant funding,
an increased demand for housing and a significant increase in the number of
adults and children who require Council services.
This year Havering Council is consulting
on proposals for savings across the five-year period of 2018/19 to 2022/23
of around £11m.The proposals can be seen on the Council's website.
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 A workshop is being held on 22 February in Collier Row with useful advice from the London Fire Brigade on how to make your living space fire safe and clutter free.
The free event is being held at the new Sapphire Jubilee Community Centre in Bolberry Road, between 6.30pm and 8pm.
All are welcome to attend. Please book in advance.
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Work
to upgrade stations, track, and other parts of the TfL Rail route between
Liverpool Street and Shenfield will continue at weekends in the first few
months of 2018, in advance of Elizabeth line services commencing later this year.
Until March a number of essential
weekend closures will allow improvement work to be carried out and buses will replace trains along the route.
The Elizabeth line
will transform transport in London and provide travellers using the three Elizabeth line stations in the borough (Romford, Harold Wood and Gidea Park) with quicker, easier and more accessible
journeys across London once fully operational in December 2019.
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Voting for the national youth parliament
is now underway.
All secondary schools in Havering support this initiative,
so if you have children of that age please encourage them to vote for their preferred candidate.
For the first time all six candidates this year are female.
You can view each candidate's speech online.
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 Havering residents held a Holocaust Memorial service on Sunday.
The service, led by Rabbi Lee Sutherland from Romford and District Synagogue, was held at the Holocaust War Memorial in Coronation Gardens, Main Road, Romford, and was attended by the Mayor of Havering. The theme for the day was the Power of Words.
You are invited to come and have
a friendly chat this Thursday 1 February in Stratford with east London adoption agencies, to
find out about how to adopt and the children waiting for a family.
Drop in
between 5pm and 8pm and meet the friendly social workers.
 Havering has some of the best quality air in the capital but there are still hotspots where the air quality must be improved to protect the health of our residents.To do this the Council has produced a draft air quality action plan and is inviting your comments by 15 March.
If you're a member of the Green Points scheme you can spend points you earn in the London Green Points
shop on a range of sustainable products, or you can donate them to local
charities.
There are nine charities for you to choose from: Friends of Cottons
Park, Harold Hill Food Bank, Havering Mind, Havering Music Makers, Motorvations,
Romford Salvation Army, Saint Francis Hospice, Tapestry and the Tweed Way Hall
Community Association.
See how many points you have by logging in to your account.
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 Over 40
venues across London will be celebrating Discover’s London
Children’s Book Swap’s seventh
birthday on Saturday
10 February. Their doors will open to anyone wanting
to recycle children’s books – and give children new books to read.
Hornchurch Library is this year's Book Swap centre for Havering, from 10.30am to 2pm. Bring an old book and pick up a
different book to take home for free.
We’re bidding to become the London Borough of Culture in 2020 and we need your help. Retweet our tweets using the hashtag #BacktheBidHavering.
 Over 60 businesses across the borough have entered the prestigious Havering Business Awards which will take place next week on Thursday 8 February.
Tickets for the awards ceremony at CEME Conference Centre, Rainham are on sale now. You can expect fabulous entertainment, pre-dinner drinks, a three course dinner with wine plus an opportunity to network with other Havering businesses.
 The first mental health group to support new parents and parents-to-be has launched in Havering.
Butterflies is held every Tuesday morning at the Collier Row Children's Centre.
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