The first of the town centre lamppost banners has gone up in Upminster town centre. The Residents Group on Havering Council had opposed these, but the council decided to go ahead with them. Do they spoil Station Road, or do they blend in reasonably well?

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Not quite sure what these are planned to be. So, what would be an improvement? Perhaps a shelter on platform 2 that covered the portion of the platforms where many of the longer trains now stop (that was removed in the 1990s). How about departure boards on platform 3 to let passengers interchanging with c2c know where the next Underground train goes from. What other improvements would you like to see?

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Upminster is lucky enough to have two cultural attractions, Upminster Windmill and the Tithe Barn Museum. Both have very restricted opening times and it is worth planning a visit whilst the opportunity is there. The first opening dates in 2011 for both places are in April.

The Tithe Barn Museum is open from 10.00 am to 4.30 pm on April 2nd and 3rd.

Upminster Windmill is open from 2.00 to 5.00pm on April 2nd, 3rd, 16th and 17th.

Entry is free at both locations. You can find out more dates for the rest of 2011 here Tithe Barn Museum and here Upminster Windmill.

*** UPDATE *** 

The Tithe Barn first opening date of 2011 has been pushed back to May, see the website for details.

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Upminster receives terrestrial television from the Crystal Palace transmitter. It is planned that the analogue broadcasts will be switched off next year. From then onwards a digital receiver will be required. Here are further details.

London_yr_out_leaflet.pdf Download this file

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From Monday 6 February 2011 the opening hours of London Underground station ticket offices will change. For most stations it is a reduction in hours. Here is how it affects tube stations in Havering:

• Upminster - unaffected, ticket office managed by c2c
• Upminster Bridge - unaffected, there is no staffed ticket office
• Hornchurch - new hours, Monday to Friday 0645-0845, Saturday 0930-1030, Sunday closed
• Elm Park - new hours, Monday to Friday 0630-0900, Saturday 1200-1300, Sunday 1130-1230

Most London Underground tickets and services can be found at Upminster station run by c2c or at newsagents.

opening-hours.pdf Download this file

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So, we’ve heard quite a bit about the cuts nationally and perhaps even a little from Havering Council. But what we really want to know is how the cuts in public services, following the comprehensive spending review in 2010, are going to affect Upminster itself. It is still very early in the process, but some things are already clear.

Council administration

Havering Council initially gave broad indications that the cuts would be absorbed by efficiency savings. A theme of national political discussion about local councils budgets is that services, especially ‘back office’ should be shared between councils. In December Havering announced that it would integrate IT support systems with Newham Council.

Democratic process

Perhaps in preparation for the squeeze on spending, the Upminster Area Committee was abolished. This removed a local opportunity for residents and councillors to make decisions, scrutinise council policy and be informed. Since July Havering Council has claimed to have a replacement in the works, but as yet nothing has materialised. It is a bad time to remove this as it would give us a local forum to find out how these cuts would impact on us.

Libraries

In local authorities around Havering there are plans for libraries to close. As yet, there are no plans to close any libraries in Havering, so Upminster Library looks perfectly safe. Havering also cooperates with other London borough councils as part of the London Library Consortium. The London mayor Boris Johnson has indicated he would be prepared to step in to save libraries at risk.

Parks and open spaces

The Thames Chase Community Forest, whose administrative centre is based in Upminster, draws funding from a range of sources nationally, in Greater London and in Essex. Havering Council provides 10% of the funding. Any loss of funding could make the project unsustainable and, it has been suggested that the removal of Havering’s contribution could close the centre on Pike Lane.

Schools

Coopers' School criticised government plans to reduce funding for school sport. In a reversal of policy, they were able to claw back some, but not all, of the lost funding.

Health

Although the NHS is supposed to be immune from cuts, the reality is that spending is now severely limited. Recently Queen's Hospital, our nearest district general hospital, was in the news for turning away patients.

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It may feel like the coldest winter on record, with temperatures regularly below zero, but Upminster has experienced weather like this before, with worse results. The London Historian's Blog reveals:

The Great Frost of 1709 was believed to be the coldest winter for 500 years with temperatures measured at -10 Centigrade in Upminster. Widespread death of people, livestock, flora and fauna resulted.

Read on...

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A recent funding announcement from the Mayor of London means that the Ingrebourne Valley walking and cycling route planned to run north-south through the borough of Havering, following the River Ingrebourne, will be completed as planned. Since the Comprehensive Spending Review in November, where funding was reduced, some local schemes have been at risk. 

Details of the route:

London's Ingrebourne Valley route starts in the Weald Country Park (site of Olympic mountain bike events) and runs all the way from north to south to join the Thames on the edge of the Rainham Marshes, which are now being turned into a huge wildlife and open space area. The route passes through Harold Hill, Hornchurch, Upminster and Rainham.

One of the challenges of the scheme is crossing the c2c and District line at Upminster. The route is parallel to LOOP section 22, part of a walking route that encircles the whole of London. The full Ingrebourne Valley Greenway route from Harold Hill to the River Thames is expected to be complete by 2013.

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This document details the areas in the borough that should be gritted by Havering Council in case of severe winter weather.

grit_roads3.doc Download this file

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Links to the Openly Local website are now added to the ward map. The Openly Local mission is "making local government more transparent" and aggregates a range of information about local demographics and democracy.

Click on a ward to access links to the data. Current datasets are:

• Results for the 2010 Havering Council election
• Neighbourhood statistics from the 2001 Census
• Metropolitan Police crime figures
• NHS Havering health profiles
• Openly Local information

View Wards in a larger map

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Founded in 1907 as the Upminster Horticultural Society, the 1,000 strong group unfortunately no longer puts on any horticultural shows. However there is a programme of lectures (currently ongoing) and garden visits. Their website also has a collection of old images of Upminster. 

Lectures are held at New Windmill Hall, St Mary's Lane, Upminster

Website: http://www.upminsterhorticulturalsociety.co.uk/

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c2c (Fenchurch Street-Southend)

• Xmas Eve last train from Fenchurch Street is at 22:00
• No service Xmas Day or Boxing Day
• Runs to a Sunday service on Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 December 2010
• New Years Eve last train from Fenchurch Street is at 02:25
• Late starting Saturday service on 1 January 2011

National Express (Romford-Upminster)

• No service Xmas Day or Boxing Day
• No service Monday 27 or Tuesday 28 December Bank Holiday
• Runs to Saturday timetable on Wednesday 29, Thursday 30 and Friday 31 December
• Late starting service on 1 January 2011 with last train from Upminster at 01:07

London Underground District line

• No service Xmas Day
• No service Boxing Day between Dagenham East and Plaistow (and Boxing Day strike planned)
• All night service on New Year's Eve

London Buses

• No service Xmas Day
• Routes 5, 248 and 252 will operate through the night on 31 December 2010

Transport for London Xmas and New Year Travel Guide

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There is a Christmas gate sale at Steward Avenue Allotments on Saturday 18 December 2010. But there are also regular sales, as the website notes:

Gate Sales continue to run throughout the winter (on the third Saturday of each month), with sales of our jams, chutneys and marmalades. Normal produce sales resume in 2011.

The rules of membership are published for those interested in producing as well as consuming.

203-stewart-avenue-allotments-upminster.pdf Download this file

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HearFromYourMP is a service that delivers news directly from the local MP to constituents. From the about page:

HearFromYourMP is a site which allows you, the constituent, to sign up to get emails from your local MP about local issues. When your MP writes to you and other constituents, we give you the chance to discuss what has been said in a simple online forum.

So far, 208 people have signed up to HearFromYourMP in the Hornchurch and Upminster constituency. The site has sent two messages so far in this Parliament, asking Angela Watkinson to send an email to her constituents. The site will automatically request again when the list in this constituency reaches 300.

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Is there a problem with your street that you would like to report? Perhaps someone else has already and you would like to check?

• FixMyStreet - Cranham
• FixMyStreet - Upminster

The website sends your report to Havering Council.

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April ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2nd & 3rd, 16th & 17th

May ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 7th & 8th, 14th & 15th

June ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 4th & 5th, 18th & 19th

July ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2nd & 3rd, 16th & 17th

August ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 6th & 7th, 20th & 21st

September ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3th & 4th, 17th & 18th

October ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1st & 2nd

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There is a great article from Hidden London on the Upminster brick industry, centred on Pot Kilns.

From 1708, this was the centre of the Upminster brickfields, one of the largest employers in the district. The first brick kiln was built in 1774. Tiles were also produced, and a variety of pots – hence the locality’s name. These were mainly chimney pots but also flower pots and kale pots, which were used for making broth or pottage.

Although some of the names are almost forgotten, Upminster once consisted of the main village and a number of smaller dispersed settlements including Hacton and Corbets Tey.

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Both the c2c (Fenchurch Street - Southend) and National Express (Romford - Upminster) routes publish new timetables today. The changes from the previous timetables are minor. Timetables for all National Rail operators are routinely updated in May and December each year. The next major revision of the c2c timetable is expected before the 2012 Olympics, but after signalling work is completed at West Ham in 2011.

Fenchurch Street to Southend route (c2c):

c2c_Winter_2010_TT_Bklt_final.pdf Download this file

Romford to Upminster route (National Express):

2_-_Romford_to_Upminster.pdf Download this file

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The way waste management works is a bit confusing at times. Some boroughs operate independently whilst others group together to form waste authorities. Havering groups with Barking & Dagenham, Newham and Redbridge to form the East London Waste Authority. The waste authority publishes information about recycling as does Havering Council. 

There are bring banks around Cranham and Upminster at the following locations (click to see what they accept):

LBH-Gerpins-Lane-Protocol-20.10.08.pdf Download this file

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It goes without saying that Upminster would not have become a thriving suburb without the railway. Until Upminster station opened in 1885 travelling by train required a trek to Romford or Rainham. Perhaps surprisingly the arrival of the railway at Upminster was not followed by immediate building over the farmland and the first 24 suburban houses were not constructed until 1909. There is an illustrated talk by Adrian Wright called Essex Railways in Victorian Times on Saturday 11 December at 2:15pm in the Roope Hall, Trinity Church, Station Road.

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