The release of sky lanterns is causing a major impact on the environment and a danger to human and animal life due to wild fires. Over 188 Councils have already banned the release of sky lanterns from their land, including neighbouring authorities such as Essex County Council and the London Borough of Redbridge.
There are similar risks associated with the outdoor release of helium balloons, and unauthorised fireworks displays.
Havering Council carried out a consultation activity from January 2023 to February 2023 to ask the public for their thoughts and comments on banning the following activities from Council owned and managed land:
512 responses were received to the consultation. The majority of responses were fully supportive of the Council’s proposals.
Sky Lanterns
Helium Balloons
Fireworks
Havering's Cabinet met on 8 March 2023 and agreed to adopt a policy on the Release of Sky Lanterns, the Release of Helium Balloons and the Unauthorised Use of Fireworks on Council Owned or Managed Land.
Havering Council launched a consultation on our Budget 23-24 draft proposals, which set out how the Council propose to save money whilst still providing vital public services. We asked for feedback on how these proposals would affect Havering’s residents.
3188 responses were received to the consultation, plus an additional 11 paper copies that were not available to be included in the full Public Document Pack at the time of publishing.
We asked for feedback on our proposals which we grouped into themes:
Havering's Cabinet met on 8 February 2023 and agreed proposals for the Council's 2023/24 budget.
As a direct result of feedback:
The Council will continue to fund the Havering Citizens Advice Bureau for another year, as it is clear that they provide a vital role for residents.
The proposed closing of the Elm Park Children's Centre which is home to a children's nursery, will continue to stay open as it was clear that closing the site at this time would have put parents and their children at a disadvantage.
Public safety remains a large concern for residents and as part of the proposals, we have committed £3.5 million to push through the new CCTV upgrades, as well as pledged a further £260,000 to continue the Council-funded Section 92 police officers to help keep our streets safe. These officers are extremely successful in what they do and it is important they continue to help reduce crime in the borough.
Please see the full Public Document Pack Here which includes the 2023/24 Council Budget Setting Report.
Havering Council carried out a consultation activity from September 2022 to November 2022 seeking residents’ views on our parks and open spaces. These include Havering’s traditional parks, small open spaces, formal gardens, playing fields, country parks and allotments, which deliver a whole range of benefits for local communities; providing places to relax, exercise, hold events and to learn and to play.
We asked residents and park users to help us set out Havering’s priorities for its parks and open spaces over the next 10 years in order to meet the objectives set out in national, regional and corporate plans and policies.
1488 responses were received to the consultation.
The survey results have been reviewed and recorded and they will be included in a draft report to inform our new Parks Strategy.
The Government announced that from 2030, new petrol and diesel cars will be prohibited from sale within the United Kingdom. Over the next decade the number of electric vehicles within the country and within the borough is expected to significantly increase.
In order to meet this challenge, Havering Council carried out a consultation activity from July 2021 to July 2022 seeking residents’ views on having Electric Vehicle Charging Points (EVCPs) publicly available and asking where residents would like to see them installed, if they owned an electric vehicle and if they planned to buy one.
356 responses were received to the consultation:
The survey results have been reviewed and recorded and they will help with planning the future roll out of the EVCPs across the borough.
Since the survey went out Havering Council has received £346k of Government funding from the Office of Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) to deliver 68 Charge Points in Council operated car parks and up to 80 on street charging points across the borough in 2023. The Council will soon begin a procurement exercise to appoint a Charge Point Operator and the intention is to begin delivery of the charging infrastructure in the coming months.