I’m proud of how council has responded to financial pressures

Set against the backdrop of Covid-19 and our borough’s recovery from the pandemic, the budget proposals include boosts for important areas such as investment in the borough’s roads, with £10m for our highways improvement programme over the next two years, as well as more investment in community safety – with £5m for new CCTV systems.

This is along with our continued commitment for better enforcement, and even better parks and leisure facilities – which will see us open a new multimillion pound leisure centre in the south of the borough at Rainham in 2022.

Council leader Damian White says draft budget plans have been approved (Image: Havering Council)

Despite the need to make £17.1m in savings we are still investing in the things which will improve our community while at the same time delivering the services that matter most, like weekly rubbish collections, street cleaning and libraries, as well as support for the most vulnerable.

I’m proud of how the council has responded to the financial pressures we face. The cabinet have agreed a budget that ensures residents continue to receive the everyday services they value and rely on. It will also enable us to take the borough forward as we come out of this dreadful pandemic.

I’m so grateful to all those taking part in the local vaccination programme. Over a quarter of our borough’s population has now had their first dose of the vaccine. This is thanks to the incredible local professional and volunteer teams who are making this happen and doing their bit.