Havering Council has been forced into making the difficult recommendation of closing three libraries due to the ongoing financial challenges facing the borough.

The decision to close Harold Wood, South Hornchurch and Gidea Park libraries will go before the Council’s Cabinet on Wednesday 5 February, and be subject to review at Council Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Monday 3 February.

The cost saving measure follows last year’s 12 week public consultation, which originally proposed closing four libraries, but following consideration of the public responses and the community impact, three branch libraries are now being recommended for closure.

The closure of the three library sites on 31 March is expected to save £288,000 annually, which is crucial for the Council to meet its wider legal responsibilities and ever increasing social care and homelessness demands.

The three libraries subject to closure represent the lowest footfall of all ten borough libraries, have alternative branches in close proximity to them, and each require significant financial investment in their buildings in order to continue to deliver a service – which the borough cannot afford. Harold Wood Library would close, but with the hope of reopening in a new building as part of future regeneration opportunities.

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Havering Council has moved to tackle the local housing crisis head on with a raft of measures to increase temporary accommodation for local homeless families and individuals.

Cabinet Members approved two papers this week (Wednesday 22 January); to introduce temporary modular housing and to consider transforming office space into residential units, as part of our statutory responsibility to our residents.

With the number of families unable to afford to rent privately, due to the continued rise in the cost of renting, alternative good quality options are needed to source properties that support families and individuals most at risk of homelessness.

Given the Council’s financial challenges, more social housing solutions would also alleviate some of the temporary use of costly private accommodation such as hotels and flats let on a nightly basis. In the last financial year, the Council was forced to overspend its temporary accommodation budget by £6 million.

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Havering Council is looking to roll-out a separate food waste service as part of its weekly collections.

The Government has made separate food waste collections a requirement by law for all Councils to have them in place by March 2026, when it passed the Environment Act 2019. It is giving limited funding to Councils to help them introduce or develop the service, but it will not cover the full cost of implementing the new service. The Leader of the Council will be writing to the appropriate Minster to lobby for more funding.

At the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday 22 January, cabinet members agreed on introducing the service and progressing the purchasing of food caddies and containers for residents to use.

Havering is planning to rollout this service from October 2025 and carried out a survey late last year (2024) to get residents views on how best they can be supported.

The introduction of a borough-wide separate food waste collection service will support Havering’s Climate Change Action Plan 2024-2027 in helping towards reductions in waste across the borough and increase recycling and saving money for residents by producing less waste.

The average household wastes around £470 per year by throwing food away. The food waste collected can be recycled into fertiliser and biogas for generating energy. It is also one way to help reduce carbon footprint.

More information will be available over the coming months here in Living, as well as letters and leaflets to households, and on the Council’s social media channels.

The Council’s waste and recycling teams will also host further engagement sessions to address concerns and questions around the service and relay information on outdoor and indoor caddies plus containers and liners.

Staying healthy and connected can be more challenging during the colder months, and so we are sharing some key tips to not only keep well and warm, but also detail the support available and provide more information if you need it.

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Residents and drivers using Havering’s car parks should be on alert for scammers.

There have been reports of people posing as Council parking enforcement officers with the aim of getting money out of those parking, using a portable chip and pin device. 

Our Civil Enforcement team wear a navy uniform which includes the Council Traffic and Parking Control logo on their jackets. Havering staff will also wear their staff ID badge enabling them to identify themselves.

Officers will NEVER carry any payment device or ask you to pay them directly. If you are approached by someone, walk away and contact the police when safe to do so. 

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Works are continuing on the major restoration of the 570 year-old historic Tithe Barn in Upminster.

Earlier this month, full re-thatching of the roof began by Lexden Contracts Ltd, with experts from specialists Essex Oak Frame and Simply Thatch.

Funding for the works comes from a grant of £650,000 from National Highways via the Lower Thames Crossing scheme and an additional grant of £97,664 awarded by Historic England.

Protecting and securing the barn is part of a shared partnership between National Highways, Havering Council, which is the owner of the barn and Historic England.

The project, expected to last around 12 months, aims to remove the Tithe Barn from Historic England's Heritage at Risk register by addressing urgent repairs

As well as full re-thatching, the works also include structural timber and brickwork repairs to the building, plus works to help reduce water damage. The building itself has been dated to 1430-1450, and is a Scheduled Monument. It is one of the earliest surviving buildings in the borough.

Photo credit: Historic England Archive.

A man was prosecuted and fined a total of £1,474 for littering in a Havering car park.

Officers in Havering Council’s CCTV team had spotted the offender, Anthony O'Farrell from Bedfordshire, dropping litter in Slaney Road car park in Romford in March last year.

This area had a CCTV camera installed as it was identified as a littering and fly-tipping hotspot.

Havering’s enforcement officers then issued a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) to the owner of the vehicle, which if paid in time, meant they would avoid prosecution in court.

No payment or response was received by the Council and in December last year, the Council took the case to Barkingside Magistrates Court, where O'Farrell received a £600 fine, and was ordered to pay a £264 victim surcharge and £550 prosecution costs, totalling £1,474.

Report fly-tipping and littering

Nominations for the Mayor of Havering Civic Awards close next Friday, 31 January.

Know an unsung hero who has gone above and beyond to better their borough?

Or someone whose achievements are helping to make Havering a better place to live, work or study? We want to hear about them.

Make a nomination to the Mayor of Havering’s Civic Awards and help recognise, celebrate and reward the special people of our borough.

Nominate now

The following NHS winter flu and COVID-19 vaccination clinics are available in Havering with no booking required.

Check your eligibility by visiting winter vaccinations and winter health - NHS.

• Sunday 26 January (9am to 1pm), St Edward the Confessor RC Church, 5 Park End Road, RM1 4AT
• Thursday 30 January (10am to 1pm), Hornchurch Library, 44 North St, RM11 1TB
• Friday 31 January (12noon to 4pm), Harold Hill Library, 19a Farnham Rd, RM3 8ED
• Friday 31 January (2pm to 6pm), Raphael House, Pettits Lane, RM1 4HP (Children’s clinic).

Havering Museum is holding a talk on The Household Cavalry tomorrow Saturday 25 January, 1:30pm to 3pm. Derek Redding from the Household Cavalry Museum will be sharing the amazing history and accomplishments of the regime which includes a ceremonial guard role and an armoured reconnaissance unit. 

Havering Museum is also hosting a Havering Parks and Open Spaces talk on Thursday 30 January, 1:30pm to 3pm. Find out more about how Havering Council develops its open spaces and parks with James Rose. Book your tickets at the museum, or by calling 01708 766571. 

Box Up Crime will be taking place at MyPlace on Dagnam Park Drive, every Friday from 5.30pm to 7.45pm, delivering free boxing and fitness sessions for children and young people. No booking required, find out more information online.

Havering’s annual Holocaust Memorial Day Service will take place at 2pm on Sunday 26 January in Coronation Gardens, Main Road, Romford, ahead of actual Holocaust Memorial Day on Monday 27 January.

This important event gives us the opportunity to stop and remember the millions of people who have been murdered, or whose lives were changed beyond recognition during the Holocaust, Nazi persecution and in subsequent genocides including those in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.

The theme for this year's Holocaust Memorial Day is ‘For a better future’, and it marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration camp complex, and the 30th anniversary of the genocide in Bosnia. You can find out more about Holocaust Memorial Day online. 

Romford BID is celebrating Chinese New Year in style, welcoming in the Year of the Wood Snake with a range of free family-friendly activities in Romford Town Centre. 

The festivities take place tomorrow, Saturday 25 January from 12noon until 4pm, and include a selection of live shows and performances, music and drumming, and calligraphy and origami classes. There will also be delicious Chinese cuisine on offer in the Market Place and Romford Shopping Hall. 

Read more information on the Romford BID website.

Upcoming road closures 

Lodge Lane in Romford will be closed daily at its junction with Litten Close for maintenance works, 8am to 6pm from Monday 27 January to Friday 31 January. 

Suttons Gardens in Hornchurch will be closed daily adjacent to number 2 to the rear of number 142 Sutton Lane for a new water connection, 8am to 6pm from Monday 27 January to Friday 31 January. 

Leyburn Crescent in Romford will be closed daily outside number 52 for sewer repairs, 9am to 5pm from Monday 5 January to Monday 3 February. 

Fen Lane in Upminster will be closed around Home Farm for maintenance works, 9:30am to 3:30pm on Wednesday 29 January. 

Aveley Road in Upminster will be closed daily from outside Damyns Cottage to the junction with Bramble Lane for drainage works, 8am to 5pm from Thursday 30 November to Monday 3 February. 

Ongoing road closures

Airfield Way in Hornchurch remains closed nightly between its junctions with Rochester Road and South End Road for resurfacing works, until 6am tomorrow, Saturday 25 January.