 My Cabinet has now begun a root and branch review of how Havering Council works and spends its money.
There is much to learn and it will take a few months before we are fully up to speed with all the challenges and start looking at solutions. It is a marathon, not a sprint to get this right.
Some of those challenges include making savings while delivering front line services to those who need them most.
However, some of the promised changes have already been made. The number of Council committees has been reduced. This will allow councillors to be more focused to better challenge decisions. It will also save money. I welcome my administration being scrutinised, challenged, and held to account.
Another change I have made is to encourage ward councillors to be the first line of contact for their local residents rather then everyone writing to me as Leader. This is why they are elected. I also want Havering Council to listen and engage more with residents.
What is important is that we need to make sure we are open and transparent in all that we do. I look forward to updating you as we continue to get to grips with the challenges ahead and work to build the Council you want and deserve.
Have a great weekend.
Cllr Ray Morgon
Leader, Havering Council
 Unfortunately, Office for National Statistics estimates show that in Havering the percentage of people infected with coronavirus is increasing.
On 24 June it was estimated that 3.17 per cent of people in Havering had COVID-19.
Read our newly published monthly COVID-19 report for more details on infection rates, hospital admissions and deaths.
A meeting of Havering Council's Full Council will be held on Wednesday 13 July.
The meeting will include the appointment of councillors to fill vacant positions on various committees, questions to Cabinet members, and debate motions.
The agenda for the meeting is published on our website.
You can watch proceedings from the public gallery at the Town Hall in Main Road, Romford from 7.30pm, or follow the meeting online with our webcast.
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Havering Council and Wates Residential are celebrating four years since contracts were signed and work began to regenerate 12 council estates across the borough.
The aim is to make Council properties in Havering fit for the future.
Phase one of the Havering ‘12 estates’ regeneration programme, will see residents moving in from this winter, with the Napier and New Plymouth developments in Rainham (pictured) the first to be completed.
At that site 197 high-quality homes have replaced two outdated 13-storey tower blocks to improve the supply of affordable homes for local people.
This will be followed by the Waterloo Estate in Romford and the Solar, Serena and Sunrise Courts developments in Hornchurch. All residents who have been moved off the sites to enable the regeneration are guaranteed the right to return.
School support
Thanks to help from Wates Residential staff and colleagues from one of their sub-contractors, MadiganGill, raised flower beds, outdoor benches and tables have been installed at Towers Junior School.
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The school is close to the site of the re-development of the old Solar, Serena and Sunrise Court apartments into a new retirement community village.
Plants and greenery were also installed by the team from MadiganGill who worked alongside Wates Residential staff, and pupils and teachers from the school (pictured).
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 Children's reading can 'dip' during the summer holidays if they don't have regular access to books and encouragement to read for pleasure. This can then be a problem for schools to put right in the new term.
The Reading Agency’s annual Summer Reading Challenge helps by getting children regularly into libraries over the summer.
Gadgeteers, Summer Reading Challenge 2022 is a celebration of innovation and invention, in partnership with The Science Museum Group.
From this Saturday (9 July) children aged 4-11 can sign up at their local Havering library, then read any six library books of their choice to collect special stickers and rewards along the way – all for free.
This year three library visits are needed, one to pick up a pack and two more to return completed book reviews and talk about the books the children have read in order to receive a medal and certificate.
Havering Council joined hundreds of other organisations in celebrating Pride in London for the very first time last Saturday (2 July).
Pride in London is the UK’s biggest march of its kind and a platform for London’s LGBT+ communities to campaign and raise awareness of LGBT+ issues.
The march marked 50 years since the very first Pride march, with the parade retracing the historic route taken in 1972.
Havering representatives joined thousands of others in the parade (pictured) which started on Park Lane and travelled down Piccadilly, before turning towards Trafalgar Square and Whitehall.
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 To submit events for possible inclusion in this section of the newsletter, please use the form on our website or send an email
La Salette Catholic Social Club, located in the grounds of La Sallette Church on Rainham Road, by Dovers Corner, offers live entertainment on Saturday nights. There's lots of parking available, and they welcome new members.
The club can also be booked for events, Monday to Friday, daytime or evening, with or without bar.
If you need space for a meeting, party or rehearsal contact the club by email or call 01708 555420.
Tomorrow (Friday, 8 July) at 7.30pm the Cappella Singers of Upminster will perform their summer concert at Trinity United Reformed Church, Upminster, RM14 2UD.
It's an informal, free concert of songs and music to celebrate a summer's evening. Donations will be welcomed.
This Saturday (9 July) Gareth Morgon and three friends are taking on the challenge of cycling 100 miles from Chelmsford to Cambridge (and back). They are raising awareness for Men's Mental Health and fundraising for Havering Mind, a charity that provides advice and support for anyone experiencing a mental health problem.
You can find out more about why Gareth and his friends are taking the challenge, and help them raise money for Havering Mind, by visiting Gareth's JustGiving page.
Also this Saturday (9 July) you can enjoy an Historic Havering vintage bus tour.
Organised by the Land of the Fanns Landscape Partnership Scheme working with the DiscoverME project, the tour takes place on a 1950s single decker bus.
Beginning at Thames Chase Forest Centre at 10am, the Historic Havering round trip visits five properties to reveal their history and connections to the landscape.
Those properties are the Old Chapel built in 1800 as a Protestant Dissenters Chapel, Upminster Windmill dating from 1803 and one of the best remaining English smock mills, Havering Museum housed in the old Romford Brewery, and the 15th Century Tithe Barn in Upminster (pictured).
The tour returns to Thames Chase Forest Centre on the site of Broadfields Farm with a grade II listed barn and a Victorian stable block.
Tickets are £10 for adults, £5 for those aged 16 or under. Book online.
United Singers Choir will be performing this Saturday evening (9 July) at 6.30pm. The choir will sing popular hits of the seventies and eighties at Upminster Baptist Church, 1 Springfield Gardens, Upminster RM14 3EH.
Tickets are £12 for adults, £10 for concessions, and it's free for under 18s. More information on the choir's website.
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Thames Chase Forest Centre (pictured) is hosting a Wellbeing Day on Wednesday 13 July.
From 10am to 3pm you can enjoy a variety of taster sessions including yoga, mindfulness, meditation, cycling, and guided walks.
All abilities are welcome.
The aim of the day is to encourage wellbeing and use of green space and highlight the activities available at Thames Chase Forest Centre, Broadfields, Pike Lane, Upminster RM14 3NS.
A musical, based on a popular 2001 film, comes to the Queen's Theatre Hornchurch next week.
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Legally Blonde The Musical, presented by Havering Music Makers, follows the transformation of fashionable sorority queen, Elle Woods.
Elle's perfect life is turned upside down when her boyfriend dumps her and heads to Harvard Law School.
With a lot of determination and a couple of new friends, Elle tackles stereotypes, uncovers scandals, and proves that being true to yourself never goes out of style.
It plays from 14 to 16 July. More details and tickets online.
Havering Singers Summer Concert will be held at 7.30pm on Saturday 16 July at St Peter’s Church, Gubbins Lane, Harold Wood, RM3 0QA.
It's your chance to enjoy a selection of songs from the 60’s including The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Cliff Richard, Sandie Shaw and many more.
See the Singers' website for more details and tickets.
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Local mental health charity Havering Mind is running two summer events to help raise funds for their services for local people who are experiencing problems with their wellbeing.
The Essex Tribute Fest (poster pictured) will be on Saturday 16 July and Essex Family Fest on Sunday 17 July.
The Tribute Fest is an open-air concert which will take place in Harrow Lodge Park, Hornchurch. The Essex Family Fest takes place the next day and has something for everyone including a car show, performances and shows throughout the day, a children’s fun fair, petting zoo and even dinosaurs.
Advance tickets are available online for both events
Charity SMILE London and Essex is holding a series of school uniform swop days in Romford.
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Between 10am and 3pm, from 26 to 29 July, on the ground floor of the Romford Shopping Hall in Market Place, you can swop all sorts of school uniform including blazers, shirts, blouses, ties, trousers, PE kits and shoes.
It's just £2 to enter and it's first come, first served.
Lastly, on Sunday 14 August, between 1pm and 5pm a Summer Fair will be held at Langtons in Hornchurch. There will be food and craft stalls, music and performances, croquet, plus lawn games to enjoy.
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Romford BID are bringing a festival to the streets of Romford across the weekend of 9 -11 September.
There will be a carnival procession on the afternoon of Sunday 11 September following a route around the pedestrianised areas of the town. There will be prizes for the best group or individual entry.
Local schools, community groups and talent are welcome to be a part of this walking parade, and help to make it as colourful and entertaining as possible.
The festival marks the 775th anniversary of Romford Market which originally began life as a cattle market.
There will be marshals and stewards in attendance, but they will not be responsible for any under 18s taking part in the event.
If you would like to take part in the parade, any other part of the weekend, or would like further information, send Romford BID an email.
All entry enquiries must be received by 31 July.
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On Havering Council's website you can see details of any applications to change a Premises Licence.
You have a right to object to an application for a new premises licence or club premises certificate, or if an application is made to vary the licence or certificate.
There are currently three applications open for consultation.
These applications come from Queen's Hospital in Rom Valley Way; Intelligent Trade Limited at 49 Essex Gardens, Hornchurch; and Aveley Leisure Ltd at Ingrebourne Links Golf and Country Club, New Road, Rainham.
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In 2020/21 more than 107,000 people were diagnosed with high blood pressure (hypertension) in Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge.
In Havering, 30 per cent of those under 80 years old with hypertension do not have their blood pressure under control, and it is estimated that 30 per cent of those with hypertension do not know they have it.
NHS North East London wants to hear your views on how it can help prevent local people getting high blood pressure, and improving treatment for those who already have it.
They have created an online survey that is for both those who have been diagnosed with high blood pressure and those who haven't.
Help the NHS develop its local services to combat high blood pressure by respnding to that survey by midnight on Friday 29 July. The survey should take no more than 10 minutes to complete.
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If you receive tax credits from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), and you haven't renewed them for the year ahead, you have until the end of this month to do so.
More than 300,000 people receiving tax credits across the UK have yet to renew.
If you don't renew by 31 July your payments will stop.
Tax credits help working families with targeted financial support – so it’s important that you renew before the deadline to ensure you don’t miss out on money you're entitled to.
You can renew your tax credits for free online or by using the HMRC app.
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Transport for London (TfL) are consulting about proposals to make changes to bus routes into central London and would like to hear your views.
The changes being consulted on are intended to cause as little disruption to passengers as possible, while making the savings required by the Government.
See which bus routes are included in TfL's proposals and, if you wish, complete an online survey.
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The Land of the Fanns has published a new book.
Researched and written by local historian Sue Smith (pictured),The Land of the Fanns and its history is an essential guide for all students of this area on the London/Essex borders that includes agricultural land, urban settlements, industry and green spaces.
Sue spent more than five years gathering information, searching old records, and making site visits to produce a detailed account of human activity in the Land of the Fanns.
Throughout the book are ideas for projects and activities for children and young people. The book is guided by the national curriculum and can be used by teachers to translate the past in a meaningful way for their students.
To get a copy of the book you can go online or call into the Thames Chase Forest Centre in Pike Lane, Upminster.
There is a suggested donation of £20 per copy.
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Resurfacing work in Kingsmead Avenue in Romford will continue until tomorrow (8 July), and take place in Gloucester Road in Romford on 11 and 12 July.
Shelley Avenue, Tennyson Way and Milton Avenue, all in Romford, will be resurfaced from 13 to 15 July. Work will be carried out between 8am and 5pm and during the work the roads will be closed to vehicles.
Lastly, road resurfacing work will take place in Ardleigh Green Road in Hornchurch between its junction with the A127 and number 154 on the nights of 18/19 and 19/20 July. Work will be carried out between 7.30pm and 6am.
While this work is happening a repair will also be made to the bus stop outside the Ardeligh pub.
Public transport
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Due to overhead line work by Network Rail between Barking and Grays, c2c train services will not be running this Sunday (10 July) on the Rainham line.
Rail replacement buses will run between Upminster and Grays via Rainham.
Also, due to to overhead line work by Network Rail between Ockendon and Pitsea on Sunday (10 July), c2c train services will start and finish their journeys at Ockendon.
Rail replacement buses will run between Ockendon and Pitsea via Tilbury.
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The festival of Eid al-Adha is expected to begin this Saturday, July 9, and Muslims around the world are already preparing for the celebration.
Eid al-Adha is the second and biggest of the two main holidays celebrated in Islam.
Eid Mubarak to all our Muslim readers.
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