https://romfordtoday.co.uk/Local news, what's on and the information you need for Romford, Hornchurch and Upminster.en-GBMon, 05 Oct 2026 09:58:49 +0000https://romfordtoday.co.uk/romford-halloween/https://romfordtoday.co.uk/romford-halloween/Sun, 04 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000What's OnHalloween in Havering for 2026: £5 pumpkin carving and a ghost trail at Rainham Hall, Spooky Sunday at Upminster Windmill on 25 October, and what is sold out.https://romfordtoday.co.uk/romford-roadworks-travel/https://romfordtoday.co.uk/romford-roadworks-travel/Sat, 03 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000Local InfoThe A12 at Romford loses a lane to 11 October for Thames Water. Emerson Park and Harold Hill roads close 5 to 9 October, and c2c's drought timetable carries on.https://romfordtoday.co.uk/havering-london-in-bloom-2026-gold-awards/https://romfordtoday.co.uk/havering-london-in-bloom-2026-gold-awards/Sat, 03 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000NewsRaphael Park, Langtons Gardens and Upminster Park are among 13 Havering golds at London in Bloom 2026, with two category wins. The full list, park by park.https://romfordtoday.co.uk/launders-lane-fires-remediation-notice-rainham/https://romfordtoday.co.uk/launders-lane-fires-remediation-notice-rainham/Tue, 29 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000NewsHavering says Arnold's Field fires in Rainham could run two to three more years while it prepares legal action. The £200,000 fallback and dates ahead.https://romfordtoday.co.uk/cool-rowings-indoor-regatta-mercury-romford/https://romfordtoday.co.uk/cool-rowings-indoor-regatta-mercury-romford/Mon, 28 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000What's OnMore than 150 Romford children raced dry-land boats at The Mercury until 3 October for Comic Relief, in a regatta run by the first ITV Gladiators champion.https://romfordtoday.co.uk/whats-on-romford-this-month/https://romfordtoday.co.uk/whats-on-romford-this-month/Mon, 28 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000What's OnOh Zeus! opens at the Queen's Theatre on 7 October, and fireworks are set for 6 and 7 November. 40 dated Romford and Havering events, with times and prices.https://romfordtoday.co.uk/havering-planning-committee-call-in-ends-31-october/https://romfordtoday.co.uk/havering-planning-committee-call-in-ends-31-october/Sun, 27 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000NewsFrom 31 October Havering councillors can no longer call a planning application in to committee. One five-seat committee replaces two, and a two-person Gateway decides what it hears.https://romfordtoday.co.uk/havering-knife-bin-1152-surrendered-harold-hill/https://romfordtoday.co.uk/havering-knife-bin-1152-surrendered-harold-hill/Sun, 27 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000NewsHavering's first knife bin, at Harold Hill's Central Park Leisure Centre, took 1,152 knives and blades in a year. A second opened at Romford Town Hall in August.https://romfordtoday.co.uk/havering-crime-figures-july-2026/https://romfordtoday.co.uk/havering-crime-figures-july-2026/Fri, 25 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000NewsHavering logged 24,479 crimes and ASB reports in the year to July 2026, flat on last year. Rainham shoplifting tripled; Harold Wood burglary fell 64%.https://romfordtoday.co.uk/harold-hill-jobs-fair-myplace-october-2026/https://romfordtoday.co.uk/harold-hill-jobs-fair-myplace-october-2026/Fri, 25 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000NewsA free jobs, skills and apprenticeship fair runs at MyPlace, Harold Hill, on Thursday 15 October, 9.30am to 12.30pm. No need to register. What past fairs led to.https://romfordtoday.co.uk/romford-santas-grotto/https://romfordtoday.co.uk/romford-santas-grotto/Fri, 25 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000What's OnThe Mercury's grotto in Romford was £10 last year with no booking. Christmas Land in Hornchurch runs 27 November to 2 January, grotto £8 a child.https://romfordtoday.co.uk/rainham-hall-winter-opening-times/https://romfordtoday.co.uk/rainham-hall-winter-opening-times/Fri, 25 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000What's OnRainham Hall opens Thursday to Saturday, 11am to 4pm, through winter and closes 24 to 31 December. Prices from £3.25, the Sense and Sensibility show, RM13 free.https://romfordtoday.co.uk/havering-small-business-awards-2026-winners/https://romfordtoday.co.uk/havering-small-business-awards-2026-winners/Thu, 24 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000NewsPaul Perfect Heating is Havering Small Business of the Year 2026. Here are all nine category winners, their sponsors, and where three of them trade.https://romfordtoday.co.uk/wingstop-romford-brewery-licence-hearing/https://romfordtoday.co.uk/wingstop-romford-brewery-licence-hearing/Thu, 24 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000NewsHavering has withdrawn the 2 October hearing on Wingstop's licence at The Brewery, Romford. The hours it asked for, why the council objected, and when it opens.https://romfordtoday.co.uk/gallows-corner-fully-reopened/https://romfordtoday.co.uk/gallows-corner-fully-reopened/Tue, 22 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000NewsGallows 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.https://romfordtoday.co.uk/havering-house-prices-july-2026/https://romfordtoday.co.uk/havering-house-prices-july-2026/Tue, 22 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000NewsHavering's average home cost £448,648 in July, up £9,260 in a year while London fell 3.3%. Only three of the 33 boroughs grew faster; 21 went backwards.https://romfordtoday.co.uk/havering-6-75m-high-cost-services-fund/https://romfordtoday.co.uk/havering-6-75m-high-cost-services-fund/Sat, 19 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000NewsHavering is one of 14 councils sharing £91m to overhaul costly services. The government named what seven of them will spend it on. Havering was not one of them.https://romfordtoday.co.uk/havering-claimant-count-august-2026/https://romfordtoday.co.uk/havering-claimant-count-august-2026/Sat, 19 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000NewsHavering's claimant count rose to 7,705 in August, the highest since June 2025. The entire year-on-year rise is among people aged 50 and over.https://romfordtoday.co.uk/como-street-car-park-138-homes-decision/https://romfordtoday.co.uk/como-street-car-park-138-homes-decision/Tue, 15 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000NewsOfficers backed 138 homes on Romford's Como Street car park with no affordable housing, despite 121 objections. The committee met on 17 September.https://romfordtoday.co.uk/havering-food-waste-collections-delayed-april/https://romfordtoday.co.uk/havering-food-waste-collections-delayed-april/Tue, 15 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000NewsHavering's food waste service now starts in April, not this autumn, a council budget report shows. It also puts this year's emergency borrowing at £54.2m.https://romfordtoday.co.uk/gallows-corner-full-weekend-closure-18-21-september/https://romfordtoday.co.uk/gallows-corner-full-weekend-closure-18-21-september/Sat, 12 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000NewsNo vehicle gets through Gallows Corner from 10pm on Friday 18 September to 5am on Monday 21, and the flyover shuts overnight on Thursday 17 first.https://romfordtoday.co.uk/jukebox-romford-4am-licence-hearing/https://romfordtoday.co.uk/jukebox-romford-4am-licence-hearing/Sat, 12 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000NewsThe 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.https://romfordtoday.co.uk/gallows-corner-reopening-date-final-weekend-closure/https://romfordtoday.co.uk/gallows-corner-reopening-date-final-weekend-closure/Tue, 08 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000NewsTfL 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.https://romfordtoday.co.uk/liberty-bell-beefeater-romford-closing/https://romfordtoday.co.uk/liberty-bell-beefeater-romford-closing/Tue, 08 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000NewsThe 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.https://romfordtoday.co.uk/7-days-upminster-closure-order/https://romfordtoday.co.uk/7-days-upminster-closure-order/Sat, 05 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000NewsThe 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.https://romfordtoday.co.uk/heritage-open-days-havering-2026/https://romfordtoday.co.uk/heritage-open-days-havering-2026/Sat, 05 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000What's OnSeven Havering places open free this September, from Bower House to Rainham Hall. Dates, times, which need booking and the one walk capped at 20.https://romfordtoday.co.uk/romford-fireworks-bonfire-night/https://romfordtoday.co.uk/romford-fireworks-bonfire-night/Sat, 05 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000What's OnTwo Havering displays have 2026 dates: Marshalls Park on Friday 6 November and Coopers' Coborn on Saturday 7 November. Neither has tickets on sale yet.https://romfordtoday.co.uk/romford-christmas-lights-switch-on/https://romfordtoday.co.uk/romford-christmas-lights-switch-on/Sat, 05 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000What's OnRomford'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.https://romfordtoday.co.uk/hornchurch-pantomime/https://romfordtoday.co.uk/hornchurch-pantomime/Sat, 05 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000What's OnRobin 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.https://romfordtoday.co.uk/havering-remembrance-sunday/https://romfordtoday.co.uk/havering-remembrance-sunday/Sat, 05 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000What's OnRemembrance 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.