Tuesday 13 July 2021
 After yesterday's announcement by the Prime Minister it is clear that on 19 July the Government is removing many of the laws introduced to control the pandemic.
However, it is equally clear that there is an expectation that we will all continue to follow the spirit of the Government's "hands, face, space, and fresh air" guidance.
As the Prime Minister reiterated, this pandemic is far from over. The continuing spread of the Delta variant, as our latest weekly COVID-19 report shows, makes it so important that we use our new freedoms responsibly and cautiously.
Although the link between COVID-19 and hospitalisations has been weakened, I am concerned about the number of cases in Havering. If the Delta variant starts to mutate because of the sheer number of cases, and if that mutation means a new variant where the vaccine is less powerful, we will be in a very difficult place.
Government guidelines will continue to recommend wearing a face covering in many places so look for signage and follow the rules that are in place to protect yourself and others. Even after restrictions go away, I will continue to wear a face mask on public transport and in confined spaces. I urge you to do likewise.
Please be considerate of those who want to continue to take precautions against catching or spreading COVID-19 by wearing a face covering or requesting social distancing.
One of the best ways of helping us all stay safe is by getting fully vaccinated against coronavirus and encouraging those who haven't had a jab yet to do so. It's so easy to do that now. Again this week there are many opportunties to visit a walk-in, no appointment, vaccine centre in Havering. See below for all the details.
Last week I visited our joint venture housing development on the site of Napier and New Plymouth House, in Rainham.
Despite the extra challenges caused by the pandemic, the development is progressing well and in line with our plans to create quality homes for local people.
It was very exciting to see the development taking shape and I am looking forward to the day when we can invite residents back to their new homes. You can read more about this development below.
Lastly, I just want to add my congratulations to the seven pupils of the "Green Dream Team" from Squirrels Heath Junior School.
The children from that school's Class 4 Willow beat off huge competition to be declared the winners of the Mathematics World Cup run by Numberfit, an organisation helping deliver inspiring maths lessons.
More than 30,000 children from countries around the world took part but it was the children from the school in Gidea Park who topped the leaderboard for 2021. Well done to the children who took part and to the School's maths lead teacher, Aoife Bush.
If you want to contact me directly, you can email me.
Cllr Damian White
Leader, Havering Council
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On Monday (19 July) England moves to Step 4 of the Government's roadmap out of coronavirus restrictions.
You should be cautious whilst managing the risks as cases of COVID-19 remain high.
Until Monday Step 3 restrictions still apply.
Find out what will change from Monday and what you should do to protect yourself and others.
Also from 19 July fully vaccinated people returning to England from amber list countries will not need to quarantine.
It has also been announced by the Government that from 16 August if you’re fully vaccinated or under 18, you will not need to self-isolate following close contact with someone who has COVID-19.
You will, however, still need to take a PCR test and self-isolate if it’s positive.
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Last week the Leader of Havering Council, Cllr Damian White, visited the new housing development on the site of the former Napier and New Plymouth House towers, in Rainham.
Project director Keith Ward, from Wates Residential, the Council’s joint venture partner, accompanied him around the development.
The plans for the site have been designed to meet the high demand for affordable housing across the borough. All residents who moved off the site to enable the regeneration have been guaranteed the right to return to the brand-new properties when they are ready, which is estimated to be winter 2022.
A crew from Mediorite, a creative agency and social enterprise working with Havering Council to produce films and social media content on the Council’s regeneration programme, accompanied the visitors.
The redevelopment programme is creating paid work opportunities for young Havering residents, recruited locally, to gain industry experience on a series of projects across the borough.
Georgia Busser, from Rainham, (pictured above left), is the first young person to be involved, and she said that the experience working with Mediorite had helped her to understand what she wanted to do and given her more confidence.
Any Havering resident between the ages of 16 - 25 years interested in applying for an opportunity like this, should send their CV to lucy@mediorite.co.uk.
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Havering Council is sharing photos, videos and clips of your favourite areas in the borough, highlighting the lesser known places, people or activities unique to Havering that only the locals know about.
Havering’s Hidden Gems is a campaign to highlight everything that makes our borough special and unique, from our parks, green spaces and wildlife to our history, local businesses and community champions.
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Today we visit Havering Country Park that lies between Collier Row and Havering-atte-Bower.
If you enter the park via Wellingtonia Avenue, just behind St John The Evangelist Church, you will have a chance to take in a glorious view on your right over open Essex countryside (pictured).
Either side of Wellingtonia Avenue you will see huge trees.
These are Giant Redwood or Sequoia trees, one of only two such plantations in the UK. A few of them are shown in the picture below taken earlier this year.
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At the end of Wellingtonia Avenue it meets Clockhouse Lane. Turn right and follow the lane up the hill.
At several points you will have uninterrupted views of London, such as the one pictured below.
With good eyesight, or using binoculars, you will be able to make out the skyscrapers in Docklands, the O2 Arena, the Gherkin, The Shard and many other famous city centre landmarks.
For this Hidden Gems campaign Havering Council has partnered with Mum’s Guide to Romford, a local information website for parents and carers.
They will be sharing some of their content around the best parks to visit and favourite activities for parents and families in the borough.
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Jane Ward, the Manager at Mum’s Guide to Romford, has made a short video to show some of the gems you can find in nearby Bedfords park, also in Havering-atte-Bower.
If you would like your photos or videos to be a part of this campaign, please email your submissions to the Communications Team with "Hidden Gems” as the subject line.
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 The COVID-19 Local Support Grant has been extended, which means Havering Council can continue to help eligible families with school meals for the summer holidays with £90 per child.
If you have received money via the scheme previously (for October, December 2020, February, April and May 2021 school holidays), you do not need to reapply. The money will be paid into your nominated bank account automatically by Monday 26 July.
If you haven’t previously applied, but need to, please check eligibility before completing the form.
Applications for new claims will open from 9am on Monday 19 July, closing at 5pm on Friday 23 July. Money for new approved claims will be paid into applicants' bank accounts on Thursday 29 July.
The Government has announced that from 2030, new petrol and diesel cars will be prohibited from sale within the United Kingdom.
Over the next decade, the number of electric vehicles within the country and in Havering is expected to significantly increase.
In order to meet this challenge, the Council is considering the options available and wants to know your views on where electric vehicle charging points could be located.
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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.
Read more about vaccines.
If you are aged 18 or over you can book appointments at a larger vaccination centre or pharmacy now, or use one of the walk-in centres shown above where no appointment is required.
If you book online, you'll need to book appointments for both doses.
If you have had your first dose through your GP surgery, you'll be contacted when it's time for your second dose.
Our vaccine bus opened its doors last week at Tesco, Gallows Corner and was a huge success with 47 people getting the jab in a few hours.
If you’re over 18 and waiting for your first or second jab, you’ll be able to find the vaccine bus again at the same location on Wednesday (14 July) between 4 and 7pm.
ID is not essential, but your name, date of birth, and postcode will be needed. You can have a second dose if your first dose was over eight weeks ago.
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Havering Council staff are working in partnership with the NHS to invite residents in the first nine priority groups for vaccination who have not yet had both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, to get their jabs as soon as possible.
Havering Council and the NHS will support them in getting vaccinated by providing, where necessary, transport and online booking.
If that is you, or a friend or relative of yours, please expect a call from Havering Council on 01708 434343.
The people making the calls do not have access to any resident's medical details, so cannot discuss anything other than support to get a vaccine appointment.
- If you receive a call from another number you don't recognise, that requests money or personal details from you and that you believe may be fraudulent, you can report it on the ActionFraud hotline: 0300 123 2040 or online. Action Fraud is the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime run by City of London Police.
- If you want to check whether something is a scam you can also visit the Citizens Advice website.
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 Every week Havering Council publishes a report on coronavirus in the borough on its website.
It includes data on infection rates and testing, as well as the vaccine roll-out. It also compares the success of that programme in Havering with other parts of London and the rest of the country.
The graph above is taken from the report. It shows the number of Havering residents testing positive for coronavirus each week since 6 March last year.
There were 567 cases reported in the last week,193 more than the previous week.
This corresponds to an incidence rate on 9 July of 218 new cases per 100,000 population. This is lower than the London (263/100,000) and the whole of England (335/100,000) figures. There has been a very large increase in the incidence rate in Havering since the beginning of June.
Sadly, there was one COVID-19 related death locally in the week ending 2 July. This means that a total of 925 people in Havering have now died with COVID-19.
Vaccines
The latest data shows that by 11 July more than 77 per cent of all adults in Havering have had at least one dose of the vaccine.
More than 58 per cent of all adults in Havering have now received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Hospitals
As of 10 July there were 25 inpatients admitted due to COVID-19 to our local hospitals.
The trust that runs those hospitals, BHRUT, also publishes weekly data on the number of patients it is treating.
The Government also provides daily COVID-19 data broken down by town or even postcode level. For example, you could check the data for the RM7 7EP part of Romford.
As we edge nearer to 19 July and Step 4 on the Government's roadmap out of coronavirus lockdown restrictions, please remember that we need to continue to take precautions.
COVID-19 is still with us, and infection rates have increased in recent weeks in Havering as our weekly COVID-19 report shows.
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 many places in Havering.
Have symptoms?
It remains vitally important to book a test if you have COVID-19 symptoms.
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On Friday our local BHRUT NHS hospitals Trust announced the appointment of a new permanent Chief Executive.
He is Matthew Trainer and he joins BHRUT from Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, where he has been CEO for the past three years.
He takes over from Tony Chambers.
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New City College (NCC) lecturer Sunny Bamra (pictured) has received a Jack Petchey Lockdown School Hero Award for going ‘above and beyond’.
Sunny, who leads the Engineering and Automotive department at NCC’s Ardleigh Green and Rainham campuses, was nominated by one of his students for the support he gave during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
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 Havering Singing for the Brain 2020 will be holding a music and social group for
people living with dementia and their carers in Cranham starting on 26 July.
COVID-19 regulations permitting, you will be able to enjoy live music, singing and dancing every Monday from 2 to 4pm (except Bank Holidays).
The venue will be the Cranham Community Centre, 115A Marlborough Gardens, Upminster, RM14 1SR.
Evidence of both COVID-19 jabs or medical exemption will be required at your first
visit. New members are very welcome and their first session is free.
Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch is staging a musical this summer. Love Letters runs from 30 July – 21 August.
Lucy Benjamin, (pictured below) who is best known for playing Lisa Fowler in TV show EastEnders and Maggie in the BAFTA award-winning BBC Four series Detectorists, has been cast in Love Letters.
The musical tells the story of an unposted love letter meant to be sent between a passionate young couple dating, only to be delivered sixteen years later.
The show includes songs from many of Essex's best artists with hits ranging from the 60s to today.
Music featured is by Alison Moyet, Billy Bragg, Billy Ocean, Blur, David Woodcock, Depeche Mode, Jessie J, Olly Murs, Sandie Shaw and The Tremeloes.
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 Are you a parent or carer living in Havering with a child or children under the age of five?
If that's you, please take part in the School Readiness Survey.
The last year has been tough and this is an opportunity to help the Council understand the impact of the pandemic, as well as some of the general challenges around ensuring children are ready to start school.
The survey should take no more than ten minutes to complete. It's open until this Friday (16 July).
The Havering Local Plan (2016-31) was submitted to the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government for independent examination on 27 March 2018.
A Local Plan sets out the vision for future development in the borough. Every area in England and Wales should have an up-to-date Local Plan in place and review it at least every five years.
Examination hearings took place in October 2018 and May 2019 under the direction of a Planning Inspector.
A consultation on what were known as the "Main Modifications" to the Local Plan was carried out in September and October last year.
The Planning Inspector has now proposed some changes known as "Further Main Modifications".
You now have the chance to comment on these further changes in a consultation that is open until 26 August 2021. You can read more about the history of Havering's Local Plan and previous comments on our website.
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If you receive tax credits HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) please remember that you must renew any tax credit claims before the end of this month.
You should have received an ‘auto-renewal’ reminder or a ‘reply required’ notice.
All ‘reply required’ customers must renew their claims or contact HMRC to notify them of any change in circumstances ahead of the deadline to continue receiving tax credits payments.
Claims can be renewed online.
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