This St George's Day (Saturday, 23 April) you can enjoy free family fun in Romford Market.
The day will include performances from the Royal British Legion Band and Corps of Drums Romford, children's characters wandering around the market, and free face painting.
The fun will be happening between 12 midday and 4pm.
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All seats on Havering Council will be up for election on Thursday 5 May.
All Havering residents who are registered to vote in local government elections can take part, including European Union citizens.
Following a review of Havering's electoral boundaries the number of wards in the borough has increased from 18 to 20. See who is standing for election on our website.
If you vote in person, then your usual place of voting may also have changed.
Please check your poll card carefully for instructions on which polling station you should attend to cast your vote.
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Don't forget that due to the Easter holidays refuse collection days have changed this week.
See details of these changes on our website.
Please remember to put your orange and black sacks out by 7am on the morning of your revised collection day. Collections return to normal on Monday (25 April).
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More than 90 per cent of children getting ready to start primary school in Havering have been offered their preferred choice of school.
Parents across the borough received emails earlier this week letting them know whether their child has successfully received their preferred school place.
The new figures published on Tuesday 19 April showed that the number of successful school places offered in the borough is 1 per cent higher than last year.
It places Havering in the top 10 rankings for allocating preferred schools in Greater London.
In total, more than 95 per cent of children starting school this September were given one of their first three preferences of school.
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Advertorial
 Havering Council's Waste and Recycling Team will be at the Liberty Shopping Mall on Tuesday (26 April) to offer information and advice on how to get started with reusable nappies.
They will also have a few sample nappies to demonstrate just how easy they are to use.
Can’t make it? You can join a Real Nappies for London free virtual event. Click here for more information.
Apply for a free sample pack and for more information.
This feature shines a light on local businesses that were winners at the recent Havering Small Business Awards.
This time it's the winner of the "Best Newcomer" award.
In recent years Havering has been recognised as the "start-up capital of Britain" with so many new businesses setting up for the first time in the borough.
From small online shops to start-up tech SMEs, the best newcomer award recognises the best new small business in Havering that was set up in 2021.
The winner was Simply Wafflez, based in Hornchurch.
Husband and wife owners, Dayo and Lara, said the win helped to build their confidence and prove that they had a great business.
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 Every Thursday between 2pm and 4pm you can get help and advice on tracing your family tree.
Go along to Upminster Library in Corbets Tey Road and a volunteer will show you where to start, or help you with any problems you may have encountered. You will be able to access Ancestry and Find My Past for free.
For more information contact the library on 01708 434933.
You can enjoy singing on St George's Day (this Saturday afternoon, 23 April between 2pm and 5pm) with the Havering Singers Come and Sing choir under the direction of Jonathan Rathbone at St Peter’s Church, Gubbins Lane, Harold Wood.
Turn up on the day with a pencil and a bottle of water. Sheet music will be provided. If you enjoy the afternoon you could sing with the choir at a summer concert on Saturday 16h July. You can find out more from a member of the choir's committee after this Saturday's event or online.
If you are feeling isolated and would like to meet some new people then the Romford Shopping Hall's friendship group is for you. It’s free to attend - you just pay £1 for tea.
The group is made up of a bunch of Havering Residents aged 55 plus who love to get out and about. They meet every Thursday morning between 10am and 11am at the Sunrise Café on the first floor of the Shopping Hall. They also hold quizzes, invite speakers and arrange days out.
To find out more call Michelle on 01708 740492, or just turn up.
Upminster Library in Corbets Tey Road provides weekly IT Help and advice sessions. You can get help and advice on laptops, mobiles, iPads and more, every Thursday between 10.30am and 12.30pm.
If you attend one of the sessions, please bring your device along with a charging cable. Spaces are limited, so booking is essential.
Based on Sue Townsend’s best-selling book, a new joyful musical adaptation of The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole Aged 13 ¾ - the Musical will be playing at Queen's Theatre Hornchurch from 28 April until 21 May.
Produced by the team that brought Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Made in Dagenham to Hornchurch, this new production of the hit West End musical is based on the classic novels which also inspired the iconic ITV series.
For ticket details visit the Theatre's website.
A singalong club for young children on the autism spectrum will be held at Harold Hill library between 11.30am and 12.30pm this Saturday, 23 April. There will be singing along to live nursery rhymes and the use of sensory toys.
This event is for children aged up to 10 years. Parents can stay with their
children or leave them for the hour under the supervision of a qualified and DBS checked youth leader. For more information on this session, or the following one on Saturday 7 May, contact Harold Hill library on 01708 434973.
Harold Hill Library at 19a Farnham Road also holds Baby Bounce sessions every Tuesday morning during school term time between 10.30am and 11am. Email the library if you would like to know more.
St Thomas’ Church at Noak Hill has a Communi-Tea Catchup every fourth Saturday of the month between 2pm and 4pm, with the next one on Saturday 23 April.
If you fancy a cuppa and would like to enjoy the company of others and chat, go along to the Church Hall, Church Road, Noak Hill, RM4 1LD. It’s free and there is off-street parking.
The Havering Live Well with Dementia programme is a series of sessions for people who have had a recent diagnosis of dementia, or are in the early stages of their diagnosis.
For further information send the team running the programme an email.
Havering Chamber of Commerce's networking breakfast will be hosted this month at Storm In A Teapot in Collier Row. It's on Wednesday 27 April from 8am to 9.30am. It's free for members, £5 for guests. You can reserve a place online.
To sign up for the Chamber's newsletter, or get more information about the Chamber, send an email.
Gidea Park Bowling Club are holding open days on Sunday 15 and Saturday 28 May from 10am to 4pm at Gallows Corner Sports Ground. The clubhouse will be open and there is off-street parking available.
Come along and have a go - just bring flat soled shoes and club members will show you around. For further information contact Gill on 07790 297413 or Des on 07941 674938, or email the club.
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A major tree planting initiative has taken place across Havering’s New City College campuses in an effort to increase biodiversity, off-set the carbon footprint, and improve the local environment.
The college received 109 native English trees, including Hazel, Crab Apple, Downy Birch, Goat Willow and Hawthorn from The Woodland Trust.
These were planted using equipment from the charity Tree Musketeers, in designated areas at Havering Sixth Form in Wingletye Lane, Hornchurch, Ardleigh Green campus in Ardleigh Green Road, Hornchurch, and at NCC Construction & Engineering Centre in Rainham.
Volunteer students at colleges including Havering Sixth Form (pictured) planted the saplings.
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Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch will be celebrating 30 years of nurturing and showcasing young talent through its youth theatre group, QYouth, this July.
To mark the event the Theatre has specially commissioned a brand-new musical, Never Never, which will be performed on the Theatre’s main stage between 28 and 30 July.
Set to be Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch’s biggest youth theatre production to date, the show will feature 180 young people aged 6 - 18, representing every ward of the borough.
The production provides a 1960's twist on J.M. Barrie's novel Peter Pan and Wendy.
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For World Earth Day tomorrow (Friday 22 April,) Havering Volunteer Centre (HVC) is planning to carry out ‘flash mob style’ clean ups.
They will be targeting small public areas across Havering and giving them a freshen up.
HVC is looking for extra volunteers to take part so if you're interested contact Rebecca Mazrreku, the HVC's Operations Manager, at Community Reach House, 32-34 The High Street, Romford, call 01708 922214, or send an email.
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Broadway in Rainham, between the War Memorial and the Phoenix pub, is closed to road traffic until around 23 May while developers Persimmon Homes carry out essential building works on the site of the old Rainham Library.
Cadent Gas will be working in Station Road, Romford until 24 April. Three-way traffic signals will be in use during the work.
A contractor for EE will be working in the footway of North Hill Drive at the junction with with Wincaton Road in Noak Hill until Saturday (23 April). Temporary traffic signals will be in use during the work.
A fire damaged bus shelter in Corbets Tey Road, Upminster, will be replaced on Tuesday (26 April). Temporary traffic signals will be in use during this work.
Work by telecoms operator EE in Wincaton Road may continue until this Saturday (23 April). During this work temporary traffic signals will be in use.
Resurfacing work by Marlborough Highways on behalf of Havering Council will begin tomorrow (Friday, 22 April) in Rush Green Gardens, Romford. The work is expected to be completed on Monday 25 April.
Spey Way in Romford will be resurfaced on Monday, 25 April, King Edward Road, Romford will be resurfaced on 26 and 27 April, Thorn Lane in Rainham on 27 April, and Kenley Gardens and Hacton Lane Service Road in Hornchurch on 28 and 29 April.
Lastly, Cadent Gas will be doing carriageway patching work in Brentwood Road at its junction with Marwell Close, on Sunday 8 May.
On the tracks
There are no planned works on TfL, London Overground, District Line or c2c train services in Havering this weekend (23 and 24 April).
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Trains are often used by young people who may be vulnerable to exploitation.
If you see something that doesn’t feel right, report your concerns by texting British Transport Police on 61016, calling the Police on 101 or reporting to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Criminal exploitation doesn’t just affect boys. Girls are being targeted by criminal networks to run drugs using public transport as they’re less likely to be spotted in the community.
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