Bower Park Exam Results Success

As a school Governor at Bower Park for over 5 years now, i am truly pleased that the pupils have managed to help the school increase its exam pass rate for the third year running, the same amount of time that Head Teacher Mary Morrison has been at the school.

I was in school as pupils came in to get their results and it was a very emotional time, for both teacher, pupils and me i have to say, watching a 16 year old open the envelope and get the results they were hoping for was just pure magic.

Our top pupil was Tom Clark, who gained four A* grade GCSE's, which I and every member of staff at the school were overjoyed with, it is as credit to Tom and all of the other pupils that gained such good marks.

Bower Park had some amazing results, which i will headline below.

Details will follow later

£2.5million Council Tax Uncollected

Figures compiled by the GMB, a public services union, reveal that £147 million of council tax went uncollected in councils across London in 2006/07.

In respect of Havering council, the amount uncollected in 2006/07 amounted to £2,569,000, a £624,000 reduction against the figure outstanding for 2005/06.

However, the overall accumulated council tax debt for Havering at the end of 2006/07 amounts to £11,526,000, an increase of £321,000 on the 2005/06 figure.

The Council tax collection rate for Havering in 2006/07 was 97.6 per cent (97.5 per cent in 2005/06), this compares with table toppers Richmond Upon Thames at 98.5 per cent and bottom of the table Hackney with 90.5 per cent.

The calculation of the Council tax allows for a 1.5 per cent non-collection rate.

Despite this amount of money outstanding, it has not stopped the Tory Controlled Council spending over £400k on a new car park for the Town Hall, increase in Cabinet Members allowances, Mayors Allowance (suggested in the local press for an increase to their clothing allowance). All of this and almost £11 million outstanding in debt owed to the Council.

The Travellers have moved off Bedfords Park

It would seem that the Summer holidays are over for the Travellers that invaded Bedfords Park in the heart of "Havering Park Ward" just over 10 days ago, they ignored the Section 77 notice served on them to leave by 12 noon last Wednesday, unfortunately, they ignored this and Havering Council were preparing to go back to Court to get a summons to remove them legally.

Cllr Mann was in the park this afternoon as they started to leave and was able to see some of the damage and rubbish that was left behind. It is to early to see exactly how much damage has been done, however, it does not seem as bad as it could be, but then I did not go round the whole park to see what had been thrown in all of the bushes in the surrounding area.

Now that they have gone, we can start to ask some questions on how they got in, were the gates locked in the park and was enough done to remove the Travellers as soon as possible. The issue of park gates not being locked is something the Residents Association has raised in the past and we will continue to push for our parks to be kept locked and secure at night.

Squirels Heath By-Election

Following the death of Conservative Councillor, Eddy Cahill, a by-election will be held this Thursday (the 24th) in Squirrels Heath Ward in Romford.


The Residents Association candidate is Denis Stevens, a long standing R.A campaigner, who stood in Pettits ward in 2006 and polled 1379, the fifth highest vote in that ward. Denis also helped out in Collier Row with our No Car Park charges campaign.



To read the election address of Denis and the Residents Association here.

Discount on Home Insulation

Residents in Havering can get a £100 Council Tax rebate by insulating their home. Havering Council has launched an initiative offering Havering householders the opportunity of a £100 rebate on their council tax if they install energy efficiency measures.

Thanks to a partnership with British Gas, householders that install cavity wall or loft insulation can claim the £100 rebate and reduce their annual energy bills by up to £220 a year, which is equivalent to a 40% saving on the average annual gas bill.

Furthermore the Council has negotiated substantial subsidies with British Gas for the cost of the loft or cavity wall insulation. For example the average cost of cavity wall insulation for a three bedroom semi-detached house would be £430 but if it is installed by British Gas through this subsidised scheme it would cost £250 plus your council tax will be credited with £100.

You don't have to be a British Gas customer to benefit from this scheme which runs until 31st December 2007. The full £100 rebate is open to the first 500 installations.

To arrange for a free no obligation survey residents should ring British Gas on 0845 971 7731 and quote HAVE.

Update on the Travellers

I was interviewed by Havering's Time F.M radio yesterday about the latest situation in the park concerning the Travellers who have invaded Bedfords.

I have also this week, spoken with the Executive Director for Public Realm concerning the situation and received an update from her on what her staff have been doing to resolve the situation. The Travellers have been given notice to leave by today (Wednesday), however if they do not leave, the Council will need to go to Court to get a warrant for their removal.

The trouble with Travellers is they are often protected by law, not helped by this Governments Human Rights Act im afraid, as the Council have to do all the running for them to be removed. It seems wrong that the Council as land owners do not have the power to say "Excuse me Travellers, off you go, get off our land and dont come back"

Its to Early to say how they got in and were able to set up camp so easily, both myself and the whole Residents Association Group in the Town Hall have highlighted the lack of park gates not being locked and we will be looking closely again at this park to see what happened.

I will wait with baited breath to see that the Gypsies (or Travellers) are moved on today and will update the site with any new developments.

Travellers Invade Bedfords Park

Residents Association Councillor for Havering Park Ward, Andrew Mann has hit out at Travellers who have invaded Bedfords Park in Broxhill Road, Havering-atte-Bower turning it into no go zone area for locals and left it looking like a scrap yard.

Cllr Mann said “I have been inundated by residents complaining about the situation in the Park, I came home from a week’s family holiday on Friday and moved straight away to get Council Officers to deal with this terrible situation”

It’s the first time in many years that Travellers have invaded the Park; previously they almost destroyed Havering Country Park back in the late 90’s, they were there for week and the local Councillors took weeks to resolve the situation. It’s the destruction that they leave behind which is normally worse than them actually being there.

Cllr Mann said “In a week when we should be celebrating Bedfords Park being awarded a “Green Flag” (see story below) by the Government for being an example of one of the best parks in the Country, we wake up to this nightmare on our doorstep”

“I am also disappointed that my Tory colleagues, rather than addressing the issues to hand, use it to produce a leaflet blaming the whole situation on everyone apart from themselves, but it is the Tories who in fact actually run the Council, or had they forgotten that, it is after all a Conservative controlled Council”

It is suggested in their leaflet that I failed to act when asked by residents, but that is a lie, as I have said, I arrived home from holiday on Friday and moved straight away to deal with the situation, I have written to the Executive Director of Public Realm at Havering Council (the person responsible in the Town Hall) to use all of the resources that her department has to deal with this problem and to call on the assistance of the Police and legal department to do so.

Bedfords Park has been neglected by the two local Conservative Councillors since the local elections in 2006. The park has only moved forward with the hard work of the “Friends Group” and the Parks department and Essex Wildlife Trust.

To back up this claim, I would ask you to write to Cllr Binion and ask her how many times she has attended a meeting of the “Essex Wildlife Trust – Bedfords Park Management Committee”, which is the committee that I sat on for almost four years, but the Tories voted me off using the majority in the Town Hall. In the first 12 months, she failed to attend one single meeting !

1000 Scouts descend on Bedfords Park

Havering Park Ward Councillor, Andrew Mann (Residents Association) was on hand at Bedfords Park last week as almost 1000 scouts from around the world visited as part of the World Jamboree being held at Hylands Park, Chelmsford to carry out environmental community work.

Cllr Mann, who is also a Scout Leader with over 15 years service said "It was fantastic as a local Councillor and a Scout Leader to be invited up to Bedford Park to see the work being carried out by hundreds of young people from around the world"

"As someone that was lucky enough to take part in a World Jamboree myself (in Sydney, Australia, 20 years ago this Christmas) I can understand the energy and commitment these young people have for cleaning up the old walled garden in Bedfords Park, they have done a fantastic job and deserve all the credit, along with Lois Amos and the Friends of the park group and Essex Wildlife Centre for all their work"

Worked carried out by the young people included clearing old scrub and overgrown bushes and trees, clearing the tons of rubbish that had been dumped over the years and recovering any useful bits of old green house and equipment that could be used in the park again.

Approx 150 Scouts from all round the world (the day I was in the park, they were from USA, Italy, Croatia, Brazil, France, Scotland, and many more I did not get to talk to) have been visiting each day and have been working in clearing the old walled garden in the park, doing environmental clean up work and nature walks with Essex Wildlife.