West Ham Ward Councillor report: Week ending 28/6/26

This is a factual round‑up of my recent activities as one of your West Ham Ward Councillors. Please feel free to share with neighbours, community groups, and WhatsApp chats.

Safeguarding Induction – Adults & Children

On Monday evening, Cllr Kwarteng and I attended an in‑person induction session on Adults’ and Children’s Safeguarding delivered by Newham Social Services. The training covered our responsibilities as councillors and corporate parents, and what steps we must take when we encounter safeguarding concerns in the community.

Residents can find more information here:

• Safeguarding Children: https://www.newham.gov.uk/children-families/safeguarding-children

• Safeguarding Adults: https://www.newham.gov.uk/health-adult-social-care/sg-raising-alert/2

Pension Committee Training

On Wednesday evening, I joined a mandatory online training session for members of the Council’s Pension Committee. Although I’ve served on various pension bodies over the years, it was helpful to revisit the fundamentals and ensure full compliance with current governance requirements.

Maud Gardens Walkabout

On Thursday lunchtime, I cycled to Maud Gardens to meet residents, Council officers, and Cllr Kwarteng for a walkabout focused on anti‑social behaviour, cleaning issues, and estate improvements. A number of concerns were raised, and several practical actions were agreed. We will be circulating an action plan to residents and arranging a follow‑up meeting. Further walkabouts will take place across West Ham ward and elsewhere in Newham.

Weekend Community Checks & Reporting

We had planned a mobile street surgery on Saturday morning, but due to the extreme heat we decided not to knock on doors unless responding to specific issues.

Instead, I joined local ward activist Pravin to carry out checks in St Stephens and Abby Road, reporting communal issues using the Love Clean Streets app: https://lovecleanstreets.info We logged:

• Litter in play areas

• Overflowing communal bins

• Overgrown shared garden areas

• Defective entry doors

After completing her 2½‑hour surgery at Vicarage Lane Community Centre, Cllr Kwarteng joined us and we door‑knocked a road affected by recent missed domestic bin collections, likely linked to British Gas works. Residents confirmed collections had resumed, but we will follow up to ensure service failures do not recur.

Newham Fabians - Active Design: Building Healthier Cities (Thursday 3 Feb)

I have just signed up for this event here https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/active-design-building-healthier-cities-tickets-242390746247 (open to all)

How can we design a healthier, active built environment?

“We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us,” said Sir Winston Churchill in his speech to the meeting in the House of Lords, October 28, 1943.

A University of Cambridge study found that about 676,000 deaths in Europe each year were down to inactivity and eliminating inactivity in Europe would cut mortality rates by nearly 7.5%.

People have the power to design our built environment. But how we design our homes and cities can also have power over us, from our health to how we socialise.

How can we design a healthier, active built environment?

Come join us as we find out!

On Thursday the 3rd of February Newham Fabians will be joined by:

1. Kris Sangani, London Cycling Campaign Trustee and former coordinator for Redbridge LCC,
2. Councillor Clyde Loakes, Deputy Leader of Waltham Forest Council, and
3. Prof Catherine Thompson, Professor of Landscape Architecture.

This event is free to attend.