Friday 18 June 2021
 It's a bit of a mixed bag weather-wise this weekend but whether you are enjoying the outdoors, or watching the football, please do so safely.
If you do visit a pub or restaurant use the NHS COVID-19 app to check-in. It's an essential element of the national strategy to fight the spread of coronavirus. Doing this is really important right now as, unfortunately, the Delta variant spreads rapidly in England. Checking-in means that contact tracing can be far more effective in nipping COVID-19 outbreaks in the bud.
Another key pillar in our defences against coronavirus is vaccination. If there's anyone 18 or over in your household who hasn't yet received their first vaccination do encourage them to attend the mass vaccination centre at West Ham United's London Stadium tomorrow (Saturday). Read more about this below.
The third vital weapon in combating COVID-19 is testing. To keep the people you live or work with safe, take a test twice a week – even if you feel fine and even if you’ve been vaccinated. More details on how to do that can also be found below.
You can also read in today's newsletter about the action of our enforcement team to fine people who illegally dump waste.
Fly-tipping is a serious crime which negatively affects our residents, businesses and the local environment. The money we spend on clearing up this waste could be better spent on critical frontline services, improving the lives of our most vulnerable residents, as we look to recover from the fight against coronavirus.
Stay safe, and have a great weekend,
Cllr Roger Ramsey
Havering Council Cabinet Member for Finance and Property
In the last year, Havering Council has been cracking down on fly tippers and litter louts, by issuing over £21,000 in fines.
Since June 2020, the Council has issued 200 Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) to fly tippers, and 147 FPNs for littering and failure to dispose of waste properly.
This includes:
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Jutsums Lane, Romford - In February 2021, dumped rubbish was found at the foot tunnel near Jutsums Lane and Nursery Walk. That dumped rubbish was traced back to a nearby address and a FPN for £400 issued.
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East Hall Lane, Upminster – In March 2021, two separate FPNs were issued for cardboard waste being dumped in the area. Each fine was for £400.
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Phillip Road, Rainham – In April 2021, following a report being received via the Love Havering app, Havering Council's investigators tracked down the person who did it and issued a fine for £400.
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Angel Way, Romford – In December 2020, another report via the Love Havering app (pictured) was received that enabled officers to investigate and then issue a FPN totalling £400 for the offence of fly-tipping.
You can report fly-tipping via the Love Havering app.
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Havering Council staff have been out across the borough today (Friday) making sure gullies and drains are clear to avoid flooding.
They have also been working with the Environment Agency to monitor water levels in the River Ingrebourne and River Rom that have risen due to the heavy rainfall.
If you spot any flooded roads or blocked drains, please report them by calling 01708 434605.
If you have any concerns over flooding near your home, please call Havering Council's out of hours emergency line 01708 433999 for help, or the Environment Agency helpline on 0345 988 1188.
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Proposals for 1,380 new homes at Waterloo and Queen Street in the heart of Romford have been approved by Havering Council’s Strategic Planning Committee.
The plans to bring the creation of a community one step closer.
It includes over 550 affordable homes for local people, in the form of 1, 2, 3 and 4 bedroom homes built from high-quality and traditional building materials, more than doubling the number of council rented homes currently on the site, and, in addition, providing 146 low cost home ownership opportunities.
In all, this will mean a trebling of the affordable housing currently on the existing estate.
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With the longer hours of daylight noise from gardens, and houses with open windows, can be more of a nuisance at this time of year.
Excessive and regular noise can have a heavy impact on the lives of people who are trying to work from home, sleep before undertaking shift work, or caring for babies.
Because of this, Havering Council can sometimes get involved if there is no other way to resolve the issue.
On our website you can find advice on tackling noise nuisance together with helpful tips.
Please remember that asking us to intervene - before speaking to the neighbour causing the nusiance - may damage your relationship with that neighbour.
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New analysis by Public Health England shows for the first time that two doses of COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective against hospitalisation from the Delta variant of the cornonavirus.
The analysis suggests that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is 96 per cent effective against hospitalisation after 2 doses, and that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is 92 per cent effective against hospitalisation after two doses.
That's why it is vital that as many people as possible receive both doses of a vaccine before Step 4 on the roadmap out of loackdown is reached.
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Getting vaccinated is one of the key ways to get things back to normal and will protect you, your friends and your family from COVID-19.
Everyone over 18 is now able to book an appointment to get their vaccination.
Read more about vaccines.
There is an opportunity to book an appointment for tomorrow (19 June) when a mass vaccination event will be held at the London Stadium in Stratford (pictured).
From 10am to 8pm the stadium in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford, E20 2ST will be open to anyone aged 18 or over who has not yet had a COVID-19 vaccination to get a jab. However, you must book in advance. Walk-in appointments are not available.
If you wish, you can book as a family or a group of friends to have your first doses of the vaccine together. Or you could combine it with a visit to the Olympic Park or visit to nearby Westfield shopping centre.
According to health officials, aound 21,000 people in North-East London under 40 years of age who have underlying health conditions (which put them at higher risk of serious disease and mortality from COVID-19) are yet to be vaccinated. If that figure includes you, please don't miss miss out on this opportunity to protect yourself against the more infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus.
Useful information:
If you are travelling to the Stadium from Stratford Station, marshals and signage will direct you to the vaccination site. The Stadium is a 15 minute walk from Stratford Station.
Please turn up on time, rather than early, so we can make sure people are socially distanced. Please only bring a small bag with you, for security reasons people with suitcases and big bags can't be allowed in.
If you can, bring your NHS number with you - this will help the NHS record your vaccination quickly. If you don't know it, you can find it online but you can still get your jab without your NHS number, or if you don’t have one.
After your jab your vaccination status will be updated on the national booking service within 10 working days of this event and you will be able to book or manage your second dose appointment through that link.
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As life seems more back to normal, please remember that we need to continue to take precautions.
COVID-19 is still with us, and we are still at risk of catching the virus and spreading it to others. To help make sure you're not passing on COVID-19 without knowing, regular, twice-weekly rapid testing for people without symptoms is available for everyone in Havering.
You should still use testing even if you have had one or both doses of the COVID-19 vaccination.
You can order a test kit online or pick one up from over fifty places in Havering. Find your nearest testing site and collection point.
If you aren't sure how to do a rapid test at home, visit one of these centres first and be shown by the professionals. You can then take a test kit home with you to use in subsequent weeks.
Have symptoms?
It remains vitally important to book a test if you have COVID-19 symptoms.
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Anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19 must isolate for 10 days.
It is important that you and the people in close contact with you self-isolate so that you don’t risk passing the infection on to others.
Havering Council is working with NHS Test and Trace to stay in contact and help you throughout your isolation, including visits and calls with trained officers.
Self-isolating can be difficult, but there is lots of support available, either online, or by telephoning our COVID-19 hotline on 0800 368 5201.
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
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Last year a number of councils adopted the practice of allowing grass verges or parts of open spaces to grow without frequent cutting due to the impact of COVID-19 on staff numbers.
This reduction in grass cutting was proven to encourage and support local native species (both plants and insects), and proved popular with conservation groups and some residents.
Havering Council's Grounds Maintenance team has now selected a number of grass verges or open spaces where it may be possible to create urban meadow areas by reducing the frequency of grass cutting. 17 sites have been identified which contain 89 verges in total, equating to 10 per cent of the borough’s highways grass.
Areas selected include Upper Rainham Road – from Central Depot to Cardrome on The Chase nature reserve side only, Lowshoe Lane at the junction of Rodney Way, and North Street in Romford at its junction with the A12.
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There are just two weeks left to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme.
If you are an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen who was living in the UK prior to 31 December last year, applying to the scheme is a necessary step to ensuring you can continue to live, work, study, access free healthcare and benefits after the end of this month.
As face-to-face advice had to be suspended during the pandemic, there are still people yet to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme who need help. Some people may have forgotten that they also need to apply for any children who don't have British nationality.
This weekend (18 and 19 June) the Mayor of London and legal partners Here for Good Law and Settled, will be offering free legal advice on the EU Settlement Scheme at the EURO 2020 Football Village.
If you need help with your application to the EU Settlement Scheme, or have any questions on it, please make use of this opportunity.
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It's also now just two weeks to go before the deadline for small and medium sized businesses in London to apply for funding to help them adapt to new customs and tax rules when trading with the EU.
The £20m Brexit Support Fund, which closes 30 June, enables businesses who trade with the EU to access up to £2,000 of funding for practical support including training and professional advice on new customs, rules of origin and VAT processes.
Since launching in March, 613 businesses in London have submitted applications.
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 You can join a local history walk on Monday 21 June from 10am - 12:30pm.
History at Ingrebourne is a walk around Hornchurch Country Park and a guided trip through 100 years of history. You will be able to view artefacts and take a step back in time.
The session will be spent outside and a lot of walking will be involved. Children must be accompanied by an adult. There is a small charge of £5.
Read more and book online on the Essex Wildlife Trust website.
Havering Libraries organise weekly online Baby Bounce sessions every Thursday from 2 to 3pm.
It's free to take part and sing along to your favourite nursery rhymes and songs, with time to chat at the end.
To book your place send an email.
 Havering Council is encouraging residents to make their own pop-up card for Armed Forces Day.
Email us photos of your cards to be included in a community collage, honouring all veterans living and deceased, by Wednesday 23 June.
This will be posted on Saturday 26 June as part of our Armed Forces Day virtual event.
Mediorite is a youth-led social enterprise film agency. They make films for clients, run free training and offer work experience for young people who want to get into film.
They also tackle youth unemployment by offering paid roles for young people on the films they produce.
They will shortly be working with Havering Council to produce films on the regeneration taking place in the borough.
If you’re a young person aged between 16 - 25 years, looking for work experience in the film and production industry, please email Mediorite your CV along with a paragraph on why you’re the perfect person to assist the crew on their next film shoot in Havering.
The deadline for applications is 2 July.
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This summer the standard petrol grade in the UK will become E10. Currently, UK petrol is E5, meaning it contains up to 5 per cent bioethanol. E10 petrol will see the amount of bioethanol increase to 10 per cent.
Petrol cars manufactured after 2011 and most modern motorcycles are E10 compatible. However, around 5 per cent of petrol vehicles made before 2011 will need to continue to use E5 petrol which will remain available as the super grade petrol option at the pumps.
Using E10 fuel in an incompatible petrol vehicle will not cause immediate harm but continued use could damage your engine’s parts. If in doubt about the compatibility of your vehicle, you can use the online E10 vehicle checker or seek further advice from your vehicle manufacturer or garage.
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Oldchurch Road in Romford will be resurfaced overnight next week. Work on the section between Rom Valley Way and Crow Lane will run from Wednesday 23 June until Saturday 26 June, and on Monday 28 June for the section between Waterloo Road and South Street (eastbound only).
South Street, Romford, will be closed between its junctions with Victoria Road and Eastern Road between 10pm on Sunday 27 June until 6am on Monday 28 June. This is to allow railway bridge inspection work to be carried out.
Carriageway resurfacing of Orange Tree Hill in Havering-atte-Bower has now been re-scheduled to take place beginning on Tuesday 29 June and ending on Friday 2 July. When the work is taking place the road will be closed to through traffic with diversions in place.
To allow a high-friction, anti-skid road surface to be laid Strathmore Gardens, Elm Park, will be closed at its junction with Upper Rainham Road between 9.30am and 3pm on Monday 28 June with Chestnut Avenue, also in Elm Park, closed the following day (Tuesday 29 June). Upper Rainham Road will be closed northbound at its junction with Roneo Link on 30 June overnight for the same purpose with diversions in place.
Leamington Road in Harold Hill will be resurfaced between 5 and 9 July during the day. During this period the road will be closed to through traffic with diversions in place.
Traffic order
On Monday 21 June an experimental traffic order will come into force to prohibit vehicles travelling south on Wingletye Lane from making a left turn into Minster Way.
The same order will also introduce a left turn only for motor vehicles from Minster Way at its junction with Wingletye Lane. You can view full details online.
On the tracks
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Due to Network Rail undertaking track maintenance work between Barking and London Fenchurch Street on Saturday 19 June, c2c services will be diverted to start and terminate at London Liverpool Street
c2c tickets will be accepted on District Line services between Tower Hill and Barking, and Jubilee Line or Docklands Light Railway services between West Ham and Stratford.
Due to Network Rail undertaking engineering work in connection with the Barking Riverside Project, c2c services will not run on the Rainham line on Sunday 20 June. Rail replacement buses will run between Upminster and Grays via Rainham.
District Line tube trains will not run this weekend (19 and 20 June) between Tower Hill and Barking. Replacement buses will operate.
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