Hornchurch pensioner leaves the area after living in the borough for more than fifty years-‘Neither Havering nor London are nice places to live in anymore’.

“I was born in Romford over 70 years ago and then grew up in Essex. I moved back to Havering in my 20s when I got married and have lived here ever since,” Alice tells the Havering Daily. “It was a nice place to live in. It was a great community back then, people cared for each other and it was a friendly place to live. We don’t really recognise how it has become now.

“We read the Havering Daily and see how much crime there is, knife crime on our streets everyday. It’s shocking. Myself and my husband avoid Romford as much as we can, but we visited the market place just before Christmas and we were shocked. Really shocked. It used to be such a vibrant, busy place, people, stalls and a crowded area. Now, there was hardly anyone there! Why has it become so run down?”

Alice is also saddened by the state of the local streets.

“Dirty, so much rubbish left. It seems that people aren’t so proud of the area they live in anymore. The pavements and roads look untidy. Behind the shopping area in Hornchurch we saw so much rubbish piled up. Surely this will attract rats? Hornchurch used to have so many nice shops, now all we see are food outlets really. Our shoe shop went, there aren’t really many clothes shops for pensioners like us.

“We know of many people leaving the area and wanting to leave London. The ULEZ expansion I think has also encouraged many people to leave. We used to travel by tube to London a lot when we first retired, but not now. London has changed and not for the better. It isn’t a welcoming place for pensioners.”

After fifty years of living in Havering, Alice and her husband have now bid London and Havering goodbye.

“It was time to move, Havering and London isn’t for us now. We are happier outside of the London area.”

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