Author: Blake Foster

Havering Council has put forward a proposal for a new shared use route through the Centre of Engineering and Manufacturing Excellence (CEME) campus in Marsh Way, as part of a wider active travel scheme in the area. The path would allow pedestrians and cyclists to travel from the entrance to the site at the A13 westbound slip road, to the exit road at the junction with Marsh Way.  READ MORE: Plans submitted for new housing development opposite Rainham Tesco store There is currently no public footway that through the CEME campus connecting with Marsh Way, which Havering Council describes in the planning documents…

Epping Forest District Council asked a judge to grant a temporary injunction, claiming that Somani Hotels Limited, which owns the Bell Hotel, had breached planning rules. Mr Justice Eyre granted the injunction on August 19, stating that while the council had not “definitively established” that Somani Hotels had breached planning rules, “the strength of the claimant’s case is such that it weighs in favour” of granting the injunction. Somani Hotels is seeking to appeal against the ruling, which ordered it to stop accommodating asylum seekers at the site by September 12. Court listings show that the firm will have its bid to appeal against…

Currently, more than 17 million people in the UK have a Boots Advantage Card, equating to almost a quarter of the population (24%). For every £1 you spend, you earn three points on your card. Each point is worth 1p, so for example, 1234 points on your Advantage Card equals £12.34 to spend. You can then use your points value instead of cash at Boots. The rule that could lose Boots customers’ Advantage Card points But Boots customers are being warned that their Advantage points will expire unless they use their card within a year. Compare Banks explains: “Advantage points will expire unless you use…

Iwuh, who used his job to gain the trust of his victim before luring her to his home and raping her in June 2022, went on to work at two London NHS Trusts after the allegations came to light – the Central and North West London Foundation Trust and the Chelsea and Westminster Foundation Trust.  The Met Police first contacted the NMC in September 2022 to make it aware of the investigation into Iwuh following his arrest.  But the NMC took no action and Iwuh continued to work as a nurse, The Independent reports.  It wasn’t until October 2023, a…

Earlier this month David Lloyd Clubs submitted a planning application to Havering Council for a large scale development at its Gidea Park site. The plans include the conversion of four existing tennis courts into three padel courts, an outside terrace seating area with booth seating and a TV screen, an external spa garden with a sauna, plunge pools and fire place and a kids play area. Planning documents include images that show how the development might look if approved by the council. A planning document claimed padel to be one of the fastest growing sports in Europe (Image: David Lloyd) According to David Lloyd’s…

Brian Hunt died at an address in Wellmeadow Road near Hither Green Lane at around 1am on August 24.  His next-of-kin have been informed and are being supported by specially-trained officers.A post-mortem examination held on August 25 gave the cause of death as compression of the neck.Vasile Iosebica, 47, of Wellmeadow Road, Lewisham, was arrested on suspicion of murder and was subsequently charged today (August 26).  He will appear at Bromley Magistrates’ Court today. The victim and Iosebica were known to each other. This is a breaking news story more to follow.  Source link

Anthony Fear, 63, ran a company which supplied meat which was not deemed fit for human consumption to Azar Irshad, 40, who ran a cutting room to prepare the meat in south London. The meat, including whole chickens and lambs’ testicles, was either intended to be thrown away or used in pet food, but instead was prepared to be sold as meat for customers to eat. Trading Standards officers investigated after people living near a business on Walworth Road, Walworth, had complained of the stench of rotting meat coming from the “disgustingly filthy” shop in 2020, Inner London Crown Court previously heard. Residents…

Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court heard the defendant told the two youngsters “he wanted to have a baby with each of them” before attempting to kiss them. (Image: Elizabeth Cook/PA) Prosecutor Stuart Cowen said Kebatu had recently arrived in the UK and his “advances” were rejected by the 14-year-olds. Mr Cowen told the court the case has “attracted quite a lot of publicity because of the defendant’s personal circumstances” – with the alleged incidents sparking protests and counter-protests outside the former Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex. Similar protests have been held outside hotels across the country housing asylum seekers. Somani Hotels Limited, which…

Data from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) reveals that Barking & Dagenham had the eighth largest overall debt in the UK at the end of March 2025. This stood at £1,523,750,000 – a rise of more than £202 million, or 15 per cent, from the same time the previous year. Analysis of these figures from the BBC Shared Data Unit shows that this debt rise equates to £909.09 per person in the borough, which is 13 times the national average. READ MORE: Barking riverside bar owner ‘gutted’ to close due to financial struggles This is also the third largest…

Paige Solomons, a registered nurse in the children’s emergency department at Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust (PAHT), was named the DAISY Award winner for May 2025 after being nominated by the child’s parent. The parent praised Ms Solomons for making a “difficult situation feel safer and more manageable,” and for placing her young patient’s comfort at the centre of her care. Sharon McNally, chief nurse and deputy chief executive at PAHT, said: “The nomination clearly demonstrates how Paige puts the patient at the heart of all she does, but also the importance she places on supporting the parents too. “A…