Exclusive: We had difficult decisions to make and we only want the best for our community’.
Havering’s leader of the council councillor Damian White has spoken exclusively to the Havering Daily about the council’s recent decision to review the borough’s increase in parking charges and the saving of the green spaces.
Councillor White said ‘I think the residents across Havering appreciate the difficult situation the council was in last year. We now have a new Prime Minister, we now have a new spending review and as Boris Johnson has said austerity is over which means the cuts and reductions in savings for local Governments that we have had to make will be lessened.
‘We now have the breathing space to to be able to review those difficult decisions that we took earlier this year and do what we can to support and put money back into our high streets.
‘The council is doing a lot, we are going to be investing £30 million in upgrading the environmental element of our high streets, giving each high street across the borough the same treatment that Hornchurch benefited from five years ago.
‘So I’m really pleased that we are doing everything we can, I appreciate that it is not universally popular but we had difficult decisions to make and we only want the best for our community.
‘We have ridiculously high housing targets given to us by the Labour London Mayor Sadiq Khan. He is forcing us to deliver and if we don’t deliver those targets we are going to be financially penalised and next year we are losing £2 million because the private sector has not met and delivered those targets.
‘However, because of the council’s new estate regeneration programme we are taking tired former council estates, regenerating them and building brand new communities with high density and new homes; it means we can pause and find additional units on those sites and we can protect those greens which really do matter for our residents for access to quality amenity.
‘It was a difficult decision, we have to operate as an authority within the confines of the law. We are only on the first rung of the ladder so quite often we get told what to do and how to do it but I’m delighted that I was able to announce that we are going to save those two greens and ensure that no development will take place certainly whilst I’m the leader of the council.’
Gooshays Green and New Zealand way are no longer going to be built, on – which is great news, but what about the mini gold course in Upminster? why has he not pulled development there?
How much damage has been done to the Hornchurch, Upminster and Cranham (the ONLY wards to lose their free parking out of 18 wards)? Even if the free 30 minutes is given back, it will take time for the businesses to recover if they can recover.
Let us look at the overnight charges and the Sunday parking charges – have they brought in money and also improved the area? I do not think so.
Damien is clever with his words and can make bad decisions sound plausible.
No I want to turn my attention to what he describes as ‘The investment in Hornchurch’ if he is describing the changes to the town centre – which makes it a nightmare for Fire, Ambulance and the Police to get through!! Well done sir, those changes were really well thought though. They spend money making traffic slower and impede the emergency services. Money well spent,
I thought the work in Hornchurch town centre was funded but TFL?
The fact is that parking charges were only changed( Allegedly) in wards without a Tory councillor Mr White!!!! Nothing to do with budgets.