Full Council Meeting report
At last night’s (17 November 2021) Full Council Meeting, Havering Councillors voted to endorse or approve the following –
- Havering Climate Change Action Plan
- Local Government Association Independent Race, Equality, Accessibility, Diversity and Inclusion (READI) Action Plan
- Adoption of the Havering Local Plan
Due to time constraints, none of the Members Questions were able to be heard and all Motions For Debate went straight to a vote, without being debated. Full details of these, and a link to the video of the meeting, should be available in due course on the Council – Wednesday 17 November 2021 webpage.
Upminster and Cranham Residents’ Association (UCRA) Councillors submitted the following questions and have since received written replies (below in italics) –
Allotment Leases
To the Cabinet Member for Environment (Councillor Osman Dervish) From Councillor John Tyler
Residents’ Association Councillors have been contacted by allotment plot holders concerned that new leases being proposed by Havering Council do not give their allotment sites Statutory protection, and therefore leave the sites vulnerable to being closed and redeveloped. Would the Cabinet Member for Environment clarify what the position is regarding the new contracts and whether Statutory protection will be provided for all of Havering’s allotment sites?
Answer
Havering is very fortunate to have such a wonderful selection of allotment sites allowing residents to grow their own fruit and vegetables.
The sites in the borough are long standing and well established, bringing communities together and enabling residents the option of living more sustainable lives.
It is the intention of this administration to increase the number of allotments in the borough to not only add to the community benefits but also as a measure to help respond to the climate change challenge. This will be a feature in the forthcoming parks strategy consultation.
The current renewal programme of Allotment Agreements (leases) does not reference or affect the status of any of the sites. They are renewals of the previous agreements with no amendments that affect the use of the land and are being completed in partnership with the various allotment societies.
Out of the 27 allotment sites in Havering 23 are statutory and 4 have temporary status and this has been the case since they were first created.
Reporting Dangerous Conditions on Roads and Pavements
To the Cabinet Member for Environment (Councillor Osman Dervish) From Councillor John Tyler
Following an incident in Deyncourt Gardens (Cranham Ward) in February this year, where a car left the road in icy conditions and demolished the front wall of a house, I asked officers to look into providing a fast-time telephone number on the Havering Council website, for reporting dangerous stretches of roadway or pavement. I was told that this would be looked into, but there is still no number currently shown. Bearing in mind that we are now coming into the winter period, would the Cabinet Member commit to providing such a number on the website by the end of November this year?
Answer
The Council can be contacted 24 hours a day. During normal working hours residents can use the general enquiries line of 01798 434343 and out of hours can call the out of hours emergency contact number of 01708 433999. Where accidents have occurred residents should call the emergency services on 999 first.
The Councils winter service standby operation started on 1 November and is ready 24/7 to respond to forecourts of snow and icy weather and grit the roads and pavement after those conditions are experienced.
The service works in priority order to ensure our resources are targeted to areas of greatest need first. This includes the busiest areas, transport hubs, hospital and emergency services depots and main roads. This ensures vital services can continue to operate; however an emergency call out service is also operational.
As stated above, where an accident does unfortunately occur, or where residents wish to report emergency situations, they can contact the Council’s out of hours duty officer via 01708 433999. This number is published on the Councils website (https://www.havering.gov.uk/contactus), about halfway down the page and under the heading “out of hours emergencies”) and is always staffed out of hours.
Pay & Display Machines
To the Cabinet Member for Environment (Councillor Osman Dervish) From Councillor Linda Van den Hende
Can the Cabinet Member please confirm that the ability to use cash for parking in pay and display machines will continue to be available in all locations?
Answer
I can confirm that there are currently no plans to remove the payment of cash at pay and display machines. Customers wishing to can also may payment via the Council’s cashless payment system operated by RingGo.
New ticket machines will also include contactless card payment and the Council is currently reviewing the use of existing PayPoint terminals provided in shops as a means of paying for parking, maximising the offer and convenience to residents and visitors.
Where appropriate, UCRA councillors will be taking these matters further, particularly where we feel we have not received a satisfactory answer.
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