As part of our ‘Helping you in tough times’ campaign, which provides support and advice around the cost-of-living crisis, we have produced a new directory.

Our 16-page magazine is packed full of expert advice on wide-ranging issues including money management tips from the consumer brand Which? and how to reduce energy and keep power bills low by charity Home Energy Efficiency Training (HEET). Find out how to save money on clothes and food by our Neighbourhoods team, how to improve your health and wellbeing in free and inexpensive ways, and how to improve your CV and LinkedIn profile to boost your job prospects by Work Redbridge.

There’s also lots of links and telephone numbers of organisations that provide help in all sorts of ways to different sectors of our population. Get the most out of our useful resource by visiting our cost-of-living hub.

In preparation of its demolition in April, the Ley Street car park will be closed from Monday 20 March.

We know a lot of staff use the car park for easy access to our Lynton House office and Ilford Town Centre, and benefit from the staff discount.

We’re happy to confirm that the staff discount code can also be used at Mildmay, and the car park next to Lynton House under the flyover. Please check out the online map to find all the car parks across the borough where staff discount applies.

We know that a number of staff work across the borough and worry about receiving a parking ticket. Managers are working with Directors to ensure these staff members names and cars are registered on the system.

We are also aware that some services need to bring and collect vulnerable people to Lynton House. Facilities will provide access to the car park at the back as required.  

The demolition will take about six months. It is hoped that the site could be used as a car park before being developed. We will keep you updated with any changes.

The bidding for National Management Trainees (NMT) is now open. Be quick as there are only five NMT’s looking for a new placement, which will start after Easter.

The National Graduate Development Programme’s (NGDP) is the Local Government Association’s flagship management trainee programme which offers councils a unique opportunity to grow their own local government leaders through a broad two-year programme that includes four six-month placements at Redbridge Council.

If your team would like to get that project you’ve been discussing for ages off the ground, one of our graduates can help.

The bidding process involves interactive sessions, organised by the NMTs, for interested managers and leaders across the organisation to meet the NMTs to advertise and discuss their placements. Make your bid by using our online form and send it over to the OD and Strategy Team by 5pm on Friday 17 March. You can find out more about the scheme and what the graduates are looking for with their placements on the intranet.

To ensure that IT systems continue to operate effectively, essential maintenance is scheduled to take place on Sunday 19 March as detailed below:

• VMWare Remote Desktop Solution (VDI) – 8am to 12pm
• Netloan Service – 8am to 9am
• Always on VPN and DirectAccess for remote working –            12pm to 2pm
• Revenues & Benefits System – 8.30am to 10am
• Housing System – 9am to 10.30am
• Planning – 9.30am to 11am
• Agresso – 10am to 12pm

There may also be some general disruption to other IT systems between 8am to 5pm. To minimise impact, we recommend that you avoid using these systems for those hours, but if you have no alternative then please ensure you save your work regularly.

Please contact the ServiceNow IT if you have any further queries.

Redbridge Institute have been offering courses to Redbridge residents for 120 years, educating one million people during this time.

Redbridge Institute is recognised as one of the most outstanding institutes in the country, and their current flexible courses in Ilford, Gants Hill, Hainault and online are designed to suit your lifestyle.

Our corporate plan has a major emphasis on local education jobs and skills. Whether you are looking to gain skills or qualifications, to re-train or boost your career, we offer a wide range of learning opportunities – and most of our courses are completely free, paid for by the Mayor of London. We enrol thousands of adult learners each year onto our part-time courses in Ilford, Gants Hill and Hainault, which run in the daytime, evenings, weekends and online to give you flexibility to fit your learning around your work and life.

To celebrate, they held a range of events, including yesterday’s Careers and Education Fair where people had the opportunity to meet employers and attend workshops.

Find out more about Redbridge Institute's range of qualifications, skills for life and personal development courses on their website. 

In the fightback against wasteful fashion, Redbridge Council’s Neighbourhoods Team have launched a new Love Your Clothes section on the Council’s website to support local people with reducing clothing waste in the borough.

Packed with information, advice and tips, the dedicated webpage highlights ways to reuse and recycle clothes, as well as how to dress for less the eco-friendly way. Find out how you can help the planet, as well as your purse.

The team have also partnered up with UK clothing charity TRAID to offer local people a free, bookable, doorstep collection service for unwanted clothes.

In the picture to the right are members from our Civic Pride team with Cllr Jo Blackman and a member of TRAID.

Donated items go to TRAID’s charity shop, dedicated to selling pre-loved clothes with sale proceeds helping fund and resource social projects, and activities aimed at tackling clothing waste. So, if you live in the borough and have unwanted clothes, book a clothing collection now.