Local news

Over the past few weeks the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has welcomed an estimated 26,000 British pilgrims who have come to Saudi Arabia in order to perform Hajj many of them first timers. This is in addition to the more than 100,000 pilgrims visiting from the UK to perform Umrah. Yasmin Qureshi MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on ...

Mayor of Tower Hamlets John Biggs has criticised the government for driving the country towards a no-deal Brexit while at the same time leaving councils out of crucial work to prepare their residents for the possible outcome. New figures show the government is ploughing five times more money into ‘propaganda’ on a no deal Brexit than helping councils prepare. While ...

  A new Wellbeing Hub has been launched this week by Tower Hamlets Council to help people in the borough look after their health and wellbeing. The interactive service will make it easier for people to connect with the resources available in Tower Hamlets that will help them stay well. This includes access to information, referrals to services and support ...

Residents are being asked to look out for their household enquiry form (HEF) which is being posted to every property in the borough. It is a legal requirement to respond to this document to ensure that everyone who is entitled to vote is on the revised Register of Electors when it is published on 1 December 2019. The HEF is ...

  From 2020 anyone in England and Wales who wants to become a police officer will be required to hold a degree or be working towards the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship. This is a huge change in the history of policing and the University of East London (UEL) is poised to be at the forefront of training and supporting police officers ...

Tower Hamlets Council has achieved an 18 per cent reduction in its greenhouse gas emissions compared to last year as its drive to become carbon neutral by 2025 continues. Progress has been tracked as part of a carbon management plan, which commits the council to a 60 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2020, potentially saving more than £2 ...

  Applications worth £10 million received for a £2.7m funding pot. Over 50 local community groups take a share of the Tower Hamlets Local Community Fund. Council commits to dedicated community funding, which many others have ended. Recognition of the dedication and commitment of local organisations to serve the community. The scheme will start to deliver from later in the ...

  Traders and shop owners in Tower Hamlets are taking their traditional sales technique online in an effort to attract new customers. Over the past three months, the council’s high streets and town centres team has arranged for 16 businesses in Watney Market to take part in social media and online marketing training. The programme, delivered by Social Streets, saw ...

Students at four schools have been creating a series of designs to be used on reusable bags to help reduce the use of plastic shopping bags in Roman Road. The council and community group Plastic Free Roman Road partnered up for the ‘borrow-a-bag’ scheme, which will see businesses handing out upcycled fabric bags made by members of the public for ...

At a meeting of Tower Hamlets Council last week, councillors voted overwhelmingly in favour of an ambitious plan to clean up our air and help tackle climate change. The plan, set out in a council motion, lists actions that the council will take to tackle air pollution over the coming months and years. The motion builds on a decision taken ...