Hello everyone,
Last month, I was thrilled to attend the official reopening of Hitchin Close Green in Harold Hill after weeks of work to clean up and refresh the site.
You may have seen that the Council recently put forward a number of green spaces across Havering to be granted village green status. Village green status protects land from any future housing developments 'in perpetuity', meaning no development will ever be allowed to take place on that land.
Hitchin Close Green is one of five sites the Council has earmarked to receive official village green status. If approved, future generations will be able to enjoy the green space.
You can read more about the work that has taken place further in this bulletin, and watch the video of our ribbon-cutting ceremony below.
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 Last month, I also attended the beginning of demolition works on the old Abercrombie House hostel site. The area is being cleared to make way for our new state-of-the-art Family Welcome Centre, offering the best care and support for homeless people across the borough. You can read more on the project below.
Since our last issue, the Council has launched a Cost of Living Updates newsletter, ensuring residents receive the latest news and advice relating to the cost of living, energy prices, financial support and more. You can sign up to receive free updates on our website.
You can also take a look at our extensive Cost of Living support page, where you'll find advice and further guidance on benefits, energy efficiency, budgeting and more.
If you have any concerns, please do get in touch with me directly.
Best wishes,
Paul
Councillor Paul McGeary
Cabinet Member for Housing
 Demolition has begun at the former site of Abercrombie House in Harold Hill, which is set to become Havering’s new Family Welcome Centre and Health Centre.
Councillor Paul McGeary, Councillor Graham Williamson and Councillor Patricia Brown, visited the site with Council officers last month to see the start of this first phase of improvements under the Harold Hill Town Centre Masterplan vision, which also includes the redevelopment of the Farnham and Hilldene Estate and Chippenham Road.
Under the plans, the welcome centre will have 74 self-contained flats in a variety of sizes, with the largest size accommodating up to eight family members. The site is set to replace Havering’s existing hostels.
Designed as a U-shaped building, a landscaped central courtyard will sit at the heart of the centre, creating an attractive and secure space for families – including a play area for children.
Internally, the centre will include several shared spaces, such as recreational spaces for residents and families, as well as support facilities and private areas.
A Health Centre on the ground and first floors, positioned along Hilldene Avenue, will also deliver accessible health services to the wider local community.
Havering Council has teamed up with SupergutterVac, our new contractor that will be carrying out gutter cleaning across our residential blocks from September, in preparation for winter.
We will be writing directly to residents to let you know when works will be taking place on your block. This will include contact details in case you need to raise any concerns about the gutters in your block, or have any general queries.
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Our popular Community Fun Days are back for another year this summer.
Join us for a whole range of fun activities for all ages, including bouncy castles, sporting games, arts and crafts, face painting, and a petting zoo.
There will also be free lunch available at each event.
The Community Fun Days are open to all residents, and are completely free to attend.
The events kick off 12noon until 3pm on Wednesday 26 July at Central Park, Harold Hill, and then run every Wednesday through the summer holidays.
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Wednesday 26 July - Central Park, Harold Hill RM3 8PU
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Wednesday 2 August - Upminster Park RM14 2BE
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Wednesday 9 August - Harrow Lodge Park, Hornchurch RM12 4QU
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Wednesday 16 August - New Zealand Way, Rainham RM13 8JP
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Wednesday 23 August - Park Lane Rec Ground, Hornchurch RM11 1EJ
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Wednesday 30 August - Sapphire Jubilee Centre, Collier Row RM5 3BW.
Various Housing and Youth Services staff will also be on hand for a friendly and informal chat with anyone that needs it.
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 Havering Council has officially reopened the newly revamped space at Hitchin Close Green in Harold Hill, following extensive restoration works last month.
The work included clearing out rows of overgrown brambles, shrubs and weeds, as well as installing new fencing along the roadside to create a bright and safe place for residents to spend time.
As part of the works, contractors spent two days clearing out the stream that runs through the site, removing any litter and dumped rubbish, as well as overgrown vegetation that is known to cause flooding on the green.
To cap off the project, the Council installed a brand new entrance archway along the Noak Hill Road entrance, welcoming visitors to the new Hitchin Close Green. New flowerbeds and waste bins have been added along the path to encourage residents to keep the green clean and tidy for everyone.
 Entries have been coming in thick and fast for this year’s Havering in Bloom competition.
By taking part, you will be helping to make the borough a brighter and more attractive place to live, work, visit and go to school.
Find out how to enter on the website. Entries close on Friday 1 September.
Work continues on our borough-wide Estates Improvement Programme with our contractor BTS Property Solutions.
At Dartfield Trowbridge Estate, works should be complete by the end of this month.
Works continue to progress at Malan Square with demolition of the poorly used pram sheds, which were leading to anti-social behaviour, and replacement with alternative storage options.
Works at Fyfield Road and Writtle Way are now complete, following the addition of window replacements at Writtle Way.
At Chudleigh Road Estate groundworks, balcony works and decorations are progressing on schedule.
The Shenstone estate drainage renovation works are now complete, and should ease some of the flooding on the estate and at Gallows Corner. We are currently consulting leaseholders on the wider block and estate works.
Larger projects
We continue to make good progress with a project to renew a further sixteen lifts in blocks around the borough, consulting with the London Fire Brigade over how the new lifts will work with the fire strategies for each block.
We are also progressing with another lift project to install 10 lifts at three low-rise sheltered blocks where there are currently no lifts. This will make dozens of additional homes accessible to people with mobility issues.
The window and door renewal programme with contractor Equans is going well with almost 100 properties having received new windows. We are now starting the next wave of the the programme for the 2023/24 financial year.
We have also installed approximately 1,000 new fire doors to date.
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Similarly, our Kitchen and Bathroom replacement programme continues, which will bring much-needed improvements to hundreds of homes.
Work has begun on the Cottons Court sheltered housing scheme, carrying out important fire safety works, new dementia friendly decorations and carpets throughout and the new entrance lobby doors will increase security for the residents.
Finally, our programme to bring poorly used garage sites back into use at a number of locations around the borough continues to progress well. In some locations the existing garages are completely refurbished and re-let. In other locations, where there is less demand, the garages are being removed and the areas set up as parking, or considered for alternative uses.
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