Travel
Gallows Corner fully reopens, a year later than planned
Gallows Corner is open in every direction and the diversions are gone. TfL confirmed it on Monday, a year after its own published programme said it would.
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Romford
Jukebox Romford 4am Licence: Police Object, 17 Sept Hearing
The Met, environmental health and the council's own licensing team all wanted Jukebox's 4am bid refused. The sub-committee heard the case on 17 September.
Travel
Gallows Corner Reopening: TfL Targets End of September
TfL has named a reopening target for Gallows Corner for the first time in 18 months, and warned that one final full weekend closure has to happen before it.
Business
Liberty Bell Beefeater in Romford Closes on 10 September
The Mercury Gardens restaurant shuts to the public on Thursday, and so does every other Beefeater. The Premier Inn stays open and guests keep their meals.
Business
7 Days Upminster shut until 1 December over illegal tobacco
The 7 Days store on Corbets Tey Road must stay shut until 4pm on 1 December after a £10,000 seizure, Havering's second such closure in five weeks.
Heritage
Heritage Open Days Havering 2026: 7 free openings and times
Seven Havering places open free this September, from Bower House to Rainham Hall. Dates, times, which need booking and the one walk capped at 20.
Bonfire Night
Romford fireworks 2026: two dates set, no tickets yet
Two Havering displays have 2026 dates: Marshalls Park on Friday 6 November and Coopers' Coborn on Saturday 7 November. Neither has tickets on sale yet.
Christmas
Romford Christmas lights: no switch-on here since 2023
Romford's Market Place switch-on was cut in 2024 and has not returned. The seven Havering town centre events that did run last year, and when 2026 dates are due.
Christmas
Hornchurch panto 2026: Robin Hood dates, times, prices
Robin Hood runs at the Queen's Theatre Hornchurch from 18 November to 2 January. Every performance time, the £14.70 to £36.70 prices and the five access dates.
Remembrance
Havering Remembrance Sunday: 8 Nov, seven parade times
Remembrance Sunday 2026 is 8 November. Romford steps off at 10.30am outside the Liberty, and six other Havering parades and services run to an 11am silence.
Travel
Gallows Corner Handed Back, Closure Now Runs to 30 Sept
The water main is finished and the site went back to TfL on 31 August. TfL then extended its own closure record to 30 September, with no reopening date.
Council
Havering PSPO: 10 New Restrictions and £100 On-the-Spot
Havering wants £100 on-the-spot fines for ten behaviours borough-wide, from busking to catapults. The consultation closes on 23 October 2026.
House Prices
Havering House Prices Hit Record £456,759, 2nd in London
Havering's average home hit a record £456,759 in June, up £17,264 in a year. Only Barking and Dagenham rose faster of the 33 London boroughs, and 19 fell.
Romford has had a market in the middle of it since the thirteenth century, and it is still the town everyone in this corner of east London ends up in. Around it sit places that keep their own names and their own feel: Hornchurch and Emerson Park, Upminster and Cranham, Gidea Park, Collier Row, Harold Wood and Harold Hill, Elm Park and Rainham down towards the marshes.
They all come under Havering, a name that survives from the old Royal Liberty and now mainly means the council. That council decides what gets built, what the bins cost, where you can park and what a licence is granted for, and most of the decisions are published where nobody reads them. We read them, we write down what they say, and we link to the file.
Where to start
- Local Info: house prices, trains to London and roadworks and parking.
- Things to do: what is actually open in Romford, Hornchurch and Upminster, with times and prices checked.
- Planning news: what the record shows, from the Local Plan to Bridge Close and Beam Park station.
Every fact we publish is linked to its official source, so you can check it yourself.