Author: Blake Foster

Patients across the borough have helped to rank their local doctors’ as part of the annual GP Patient Survey for NHS England.  The survey asks participants for their feedback on several points, including the ease of phone contact, whether they get to see their preferred GP and more.  Rainham & Upminster Medical Centre has received the worst patient rating.  The surgery, in Upminster Road South, saw 29.49 per cent of respondents report that they have had an overall negative experience.  In particular, patient feedback highlighted that ease of contact via the website and ease of contact with the GP via the…

Regular readers of these wildlife jottings might recall how I’ve bemoaned the paucity of entries on my butterfly list this year. It rarely advances much past 20 in any year but it seemed a tad disappointing to be stuck on just 11 species as I prepared to tear off the June calendar page. Then a decision to go on a butterfly expedition paid handsome dividends. Wild Things: Can you help with this year’s Big Butterfly Count? Friday, June 27 started warm and got a whole lot hotter. My pal Jim and I headed for the RSPB nature reserve at Northward…

The authority is setting up shop in the Harringay district for those who want to talk about things that get their hackles rising — which also include housing repairs, anti-social behaviour, fly-tipping, street lighting and pot-holes in the road. Police and council enforcement officers are out on street patrol all week Monday to Friday, from July 21 to 25. An ‘engagement hub’ is being set up in Hermitage Gardens for two hours each day to talk about issues with council staff. The council’s homelessness and waste enforcement teams are at the arena in Finsbury Park Avenue on Monday, from 2pm…

Commissioner of TfL, Andy Lord, admitted that graffiti has increased on the Central and Bakerloo lines in recent months in a report due to be presented to the transport body’s board next week. He said that every week TfL was currently removing more than 1,000 pieces of graffiti on the Bakerloo line and more than 2,000 tags on the Central line. Across the Tube network, one act of graffiti is removed every 11 minutes on average. “We always remove graffiti from our network as quickly as we can, with offensive graffiti removed as a matter of urgency,” he said. “Our approach…

Commissioner of TfL, Andy Lord, admitted that graffiti has increased on the Central and Bakerloo lines in recent months in a report due to be presented to the transport body’s board next week. He said that every week TfL was currently removing more than 1,000 pieces of graffiti on the Bakerloo line and more than 2,000 tags on the Central line. Across the Tube network, one act of graffiti is removed every 11 minutes on average. “We always remove graffiti from our network as quickly as we can, with offensive graffiti removed as a matter of urgency,” he said. “Our approach…

The Grade II-listed building, which dates back to the 1700s, has served various roles over the centuries, including as a manor house and a military fort. It is a striking a building set within the leafy surrounds of Sidcup Place with grand staircases, high ceilings, and large sash windows. The building offers a sense of scale and presence rarely found in local pubs. Following a major refurbishment, The Star is positioning itself as a food-led pub and events venue, while keeping one foot firmly planted in its heritage. Pete, who also runs the Kings Arms in Bexleyheath, told the News…

In the SM3 postcode, several homeowners are looking to expand their properties. In Taunton Close, plans have been submitted for a single-storey rear extension stretching six metres from the original house (Ref: DM2025/00941), and a loft conversion featuring a rear dormer and front-facing rooflights (Ref: DM2025/00939). For 53 Forest Road, applications are in for both a single-storey rear extension (Ref: DM2025/00922) and a loft conversion with dormer and rooflights (Ref: DM2025/00923). Other properties in North Cheam, Wallington, and Worcester Park have also submitted plans for similar upgrades. A significant redevelopment is being proposed at 28 The Market, Carshalton, which includes…

As well as appearing in print, our death notice pages will remain online as a lasting tribute to the memory of those we have lost. Anyone who wishes to send their own message of condolence can do so by visiting the deceased’s death notice page. Here are the most recent notices placed in the News Shopper: WADEY Pauline 16th March 1935 to 30th June 2025 A Wonderful Lady, wife, mum, nan and great nan. Reunited with your adoring husband , but Sadly missed by all.Read WADEY Pauline’s full death notice More death notices You can see all our death notices…

The Queen’s Park Book Festival, set for August 30 and 31, will celebrate the literary history of the area. The festival will welcome Booker Prize-winning author Alan Hollinghurst, the BBC’s chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet, and award-winning authors Geoff Dyer, Hanif Kureishi, Philip Hoare, and Kit de Waal, among others. Mrs Austen and Mr Austen explores untold family ties at Chiswick Book Festival (Image: Chiswick Book) The unique Queen’s Park Community Tent will once again serve as a platform for nurturing local talent, supporting local artists, and partnering with local charities, featuring a variety of artists, including local refugees, young…

Market Place was once home to a bustling watering hole trade, with at least six pubs recorded to have existed there in the 1930s.  Today just two of these pubs remain, one of them being The Bull.  Havering Libraries’ archives point to the presence of a Bull pub in Market Place since before 1630, when it was referred to in documents as an inn “late called the Bull, and now called the angel”.  This is believed to be in reference to the Angel Inn, just off the High Street.  It is accepted that The Bull has set on its current premises after…