Ellen Owen posted in Havering Museum

Ellen Owen

26 September 23:59

Want to learn how to make jewellery and a fascinator then come to our new workshops on Tuesdays, 9th, 16th and 23 October. Tickets are £12 per session or £35 for all three and this includes your materials. Excellent time to learning how to make Christmas presents for your friends.

Ellen Owen posted in Havering Museum

Ellen Owen 26 September 23:51 Haunted Havering ... and Beyond exhibition opened on Saturday, 24 September and runs through to Saturday, 24 November by Cllr Andrew Curtin. Don't forget to book your tickets to all the different talks, icluding a ghost walk of Romford. Go towww.haveringmuseum.org.uk Havering Museum www.haveringmuseum.org.uk Havering Museum

SPORT IN ROMFORD
A new public sports centre is to be built in Western Road, inside the Ring Road, near the entrance to the shopping centre. The centre will have an 8-lane 25 metre public swimming pool, a new ice rink for hockey and ice dance the same size as the current one on Rom Valley Way, a sauna and steam room, a gym and a dance studio. The new centre will be designed to be inclusive of people with disabilities, and will include a MENCAP "Changing Places toilet. The new five a side football centre at King George’s Playing Fields on Eastern Avenue will open this Autumn. Sports pavilions in Raphael Park will be redecorated externally as part of the restoration of the park.

NAYLAND COURT
Many thanks to residents who contacted us regarding noise nuisance issues arising from "The Edge". We have worked with residents to make progress on these matters.
WATERLOO ROAD
Network Rail will be applying for permission for a Rail Operating Centre and Maintenance Delivery Unit by the railway track on the side of the road that the hospital used to be on. We understand that a new pedestrian crossing may soon be proposed in the section of Waterloo Road between Union Road and Oldchurch roundabout.
VICTORIA ROAD/ HEATH PARK ROAD
Network Rail has removed the width restrictions on the bridge after pressure from residents and the Council.

Transport for London news

Manual boarding ramps will remain post-Games

11 September 2012

Accessible manual boarding ramps, which have helped spectators using wheelchairs travel to the Games by Tube, have been so well received by passengers they will be retained.

The ramps have been used at 16 key Underground stations where there is a gap between the train and platform, enabling wheelchair users to board trains more easily.

They will stay in use for the next few months while a review is carried out to assess whether they are viable on a permanent basis.

Huge accessibility improvements have been made to the transport network in recent years as part of the £6.5bn investment in transport ahead of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The ramps are in use at Hammersmith, King's Cross St. Pancras, West Ham, Westminster, Southfields, Wimbledon, Earl's Court, Fulham Broadway, Stratford, Woodford, Oxford Circus, Queen's Park, Edgware, Morden, Finchley Central and Stockwell Tube stations.

OAKLANDS AVENUE
Residents have reported safety defect in the pavements. We have raised the concerns with the Council, which has arranged for repairs to be made.
KINGSMEAD MANSIONS
We are working with residents, owners and other parties on environmental issues.
THE BREWERY SHOPPING CENTRE CAR PARK
We have raised issues of skate-boarding in the middle of the night and noisy mechanical street cleaning at this site, which is causing disturbance to nearby residents.
ST. ANDREW’S ROAD
Yellow lines at the junction with Queen Street have been reinstated following concerns about safety raised by local residents.

MERCURY GARDENS
We are seeking to establish who is responsible for the drain which often overflows on to the footpath by the Liberty Bell.
SIMS CLOSE/ IVES GARDENS
We have asked the Council whether it might be possible to repair and resurface the pavements here.
MALVERN ROAD
Many thanks to residents who recently gathered a 43 signature petition among neighbours asking for voucher bays at the Park Lane end of the road to be turned in to residents’ bays. We pursued the matter with the Council, which is now going to consult formally on the idea in the Autumn.
REGARTH AVENUE
The Council is to install a "No Through Road" sign at the end of the road after residents raised the issue with us.
KINGSTON ROAD/ ERROLL ROAD/ GILBERT ROAD
We have asked the Council to examine whether it may be possible to repair and resurface the pavements in these streets.

Homeless families jump The number of homeless families accommodated in council bed and breakfast establishments has risen by 44% over the last year. The rise comes after ministers warned 20 councils not to house families in B&Bs for six weeks or more. The National Housing Federation, which represents housing associations, found that between January and March 2011 there were 2,750 families nationwide living in B&Bs. In the same period in 2012 this had risen to 3,960, an increase of 44%. Source: The Guardian, Page: 4   Independent i, Page: 22   The Sun, Page: 2

Councils cautious over planning reforms

Councils cautious over planning reforms A national survey by GL Hearn and the British Property Federation has found that 88% of councils believe that the Government’s new planning reforms will lead to no change and may even decrease development. One in eight local authorities believed that the reforms would lead to more homes and economic growth, and 2% thought that the changes would produce a materially faster and leaner system. Private sector parties who were polled were also fairly downbeat. Just under a third said that the changes would lead to the construction of new homes or significant economic growth. GL Hearn also said it had researched the performance of London boroughs when processing major planning applications. It found that no boroughs achieved the Government’s target of processing an application in less than 13 weeks or less. The average across the capital was 35 weeks. Source: The Times, Page: 48:

　
LOGAN MEWS
Many thanks to London and Quadrant Housing for replacing the street gate to these flats.
EASTERN ROAD
The Council rejected a request to reopen Eastern Road at the junction with the Ring Road.
DOUGLAS ROAD/ CRAIGDALE ROAD/ KYME ROAD/ ALBERT ROAD.
The Council has agreed to consider changes to disc parking and voucher parking at the Brentwood Road end of these streets. We would be grateful for views from residents as to whether they feel any changes would be beneficial or not please.
DYMOKE ROAD
The Council intends to resurface the pavements in this financial year.
GEORGE STREET
Residents have raised street cleaning problems with us. The Council is taking action against the source of the problem.

Fall in unemployment

The ONS has reported that the number of people out of work fell by 7,000 to 2.59m in the three months to July. The unemployment rate was 8.1% in the period, down from the previous quarter’s 8.2%. The figures also show that the number out of work for more than a year was 904,000, the highest since 1996. There was a fall of 15,000 in the number claiming Jobseeker's Allowance to 1.57m, the largest drop since June 2010. The number in work increased by 236,000 to 29.56m, a figure the FT notes is virtually back to its pre-recession peak. The Olympic Games is likely to have been a factor as London accounted for 91,000 of them. The total in part-time work rose by 134,000 to 8.12m, the highest level since records began in 1992. Contrasting fortunes in Scotland saw Alex Salmond blaming the lack of an “Olympic effect” for pushing their unemployment rate, which is 8.2%, above the rest of the UK. Source: Financial Times, Page: 3   The Daily Telegraph, Business, Page: 2   The Times, Business, Page: 51   The Guardian, Page: 29   The Herald, Page: 6

Weekend Tube work

Tube upgrade work is to resume from this weekend, following a break during the London 2012 Games.

Closures will be in place across a variety of lines over the coming weekends, although Transport for London (TfL) has said there will be no closures during December.

The work aims to deliver faster and more frequent journeys for passengers, according to TfL, and provide 30 per cent more service across the network.

The programme will include maintenance work on key lines to ensure track, points and tunnel structures remain in the best possible repair.

Brand new signalling will replace the old systems on the Northern, Metropolitan, District and Circle lines.

TfL said at least 80 per cent of stations will remain served and all areas of the capital remain accessible and open for business at all times while work in ongoing.

Key events such as Remembrance Sunday and the weekend of the Lord Mayor’s Show will be protected from closures.

Mike Brown, managing director of London Underground, said: “In recent years, huge improvements have been made on the Tube – with upgraded trains, stations, signals and track. During the London 2012 Games the network successfully kept London moving and carried more people than at any other time in its 149 year history.

“But to continue to deliver for London, we need to keep going with the programme of improvements that will provide the extra capacity to support the city’s growing population and ensure that equipment is maintained and replaced before it wears out and causes failures and disruption.

“I know that all closures are frustrating, and we are making every effort to keep disruption to a minimum and to provide information and alternative travel options.

“We have reduced the effect of the closures by 10 per cent compared with last year and at least 80 per cent of stations remain served at weekends, and key periods, including the run-up to Christmas, will see no line closures at all. We will also be using every possible way of communicating with our customers to keep them fully informed of the best way to get around.”

TUDOR GARDENS
Close analysis of responses to recent consultation on car parking reveals that residents are concerned to see the pavement parking bays more clearly marked in the road, and are concerned at poor sight lines in Repton Drive when driving out of Tudor Gardens. The Council is to re-mark the parking bays in Tudor Gardens and take measures to tackle the safety issue at the junction with Repton Drive.
TUDOR AVENUE
The Council is to consult residents on the idea of installing a "kiss and ride" drop off bay at the Balgores Lane end of Tudor Avenue, limiting parking in the bay to 10 minutes.
REPTON GARDENS
Many thanks to residents who highlighted potholes in the carriage way to us. Orders have been raised for their repair.

Repton Avenue consultation

REPTON AVENUE
Following recent consultation which showed that, though residents in Repton Avenue were evenly divided on whether they felt there was a car-parking problem in their road, residents at the very end reported serious problems the Council is to propose action to seek to ease the problems experienced by residents at this end of the road only. Some residents in Repton Avenue also raised safety concerns about the bend in the road between Repton Gardens and Balgores Lane. Bearing in mind that opinion was sharply divided on this issue, the Council is to consult residents on action which could be taken to respond to the problem if, in consultation, residents feel that they would be of benefit.

Olympic boroughs lag London Hopes that the Olympic and Paralympic Games would boost house prices in East London have been dashed, according to research from the Royal Bank of Scotland. The bank said that on average the prices in the five host Olympic boroughs increased at an annual rate of 4% since 2005, this compared with an overall London average of 5%. In the most exclusive boroughs, prices rose by 9% during the same period. While house prices have not increased quickly in the Olympic boroughs, the average price of rent climbed by about 36% between July 2010 and 2012.   Source: The Times, Page: 36

Greener Hornchurch

PARK LANE RECREATION GROUND
The Council is to take measures to permanently protect Park Lane Recreation Ground and guarantee it is always a green space for nature, sport and the community as part of the Queen Elizabeth II Playing Fields scheme to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
HYLANDS PARK
Hylands Park has retained its "Green Flag" for excellent maintenance and environmental standards again this year. For more information on the Green Flag scheme, please see the paragraph about Cottons Park at the start of the newsletter. The Council works with Hylands Park Action Group (www.hylandspark.co.uk) at the park.
LANGTONS GARDENS
The Council has been successful in the first stage of a two stage process for securing funding from Heritage Lottery Fund for the restoration of this important historic garden. The Council works with Friends of Langtons Garden at the park.
HARROW LODGE PARK
Maintenance has been improved to strengthen the role of the park and River Ravensbourne as a centre for nature conservation and to provide more effective nature conservation links to nearby Thames Chase Community Forest land.

Protecting sporting facilities Lord Moynihan, the chairman of the British Olympic Association, has argued that councils should be forced by law to provide sports facilities for people in their area. He said reducing facilities deprived people inspired by the Olympic Games of the “opportunity to really engage in sport” and added that their provision should be a “statutory requirement”. Lord Moynihan has also called for the first Government audit of leisure and sporting facilities. A survey for the BBC found that out of 369 councils in Britain, 126 said they had reduced sports provision. Flick Rea, of the Local Government Association, questioned whether legal protections would have any effect. She said councils were fully aware of the importance of such facilities, but warned that 28% of cuts into a £1.8bn leisure and sport budget inevitably meant that in some areas these services will have to be reshaped. Source: The Daily Telegraph, Page: 9   The Independent, Page: 14   Independent i, Page: 57   Daily Mirror, Page: 8

Transport today

Transport

Trains

As usual public transport will be particularly busy during this evening’s peak so avoid travelling around Games venues where possible. The Jubilee line from Waterloo to Stratford, Central line from Holborn to Stratford and DLR will all be busy.

Large numbers will be changing at London Bridge and trains passing through Chancery Lane and St Paul’s will be busy this evening.

Avoiding Canary Wharf Station from 5-7pm, Oxford Circus from 5.30-6.30pm and North Greenwich, Stratford and Canning Town stations are expected to be busier than normal after9pm as spectators return home from events.

Public transport around Games venues will remain busy over the weekend, so avoid the usual hotspot areas.

Jubilee line trains passing through Bermondsey, Mile End and Canada Water are expected to be busy tomorrow morning between 7.30am and 9.30am.
The Mayor’s Thames Festival begins on Saturday and stations north and south of the river between Westminster and Tower Bridge will be busier than normal.

Roads

The PRN will be serving venues across east and south-east London including ExCeL, the Olympic Park and North Greenwich Arena.

The PRN will also be operation from central London to Weymouth.

Don't get caught out by the Paralympic Marathon tomorrow in central London. Roads will be closed along and around the route.

The Mayor's Thames Festival starts Saturday and will finish Sunday, with a parade on Victoria Embankment on the final evening. Blackfriars Bridge will be closed to traffic from 6pm. Victoria Embankment and some surrounding roads will remain closed between Blackfriars Bridge and Westminster Bridge after the Paralympic Marathons have finished until around midnight.

Don't forget Our Greatest Team Parade takes place Monday 10 September during the afternoon. The Parade will travel from the City of London to Westminster. Road closures will be in place so plan travel in advance.

Avoid driving around the PRN routes and venues, particularly around the Olympic Park in Stratford and on the A102 approach roads north and south of the Blackwall Tunnel

Please check www.bbc.co.uk/travelnews/london before you begin any journey home after work. When serious travel delays are reported alerts will be uploaded to the website and intranet, but these are not continually updated. You can also checkwww.GetaheadoftheGames.com before you travel.

Councils may lose planning rights Councils could lose their power over planning applications if they hold up new housing developments. The Communities Secretary Eric Pickles warned that he would not hesitate to strip individual local authorities of responsibility for planning if MPs thought they were unduly in slow in approving developments or making the wrong decisions. Applications would then be handled by the Planning Inspectorate. The move comes as part of Government push to make it harder for residents to object to new developments. Councils will also be encouraged to allow building on green belt land. Sir Merrick Cockell, chairman of the Local Government Association, countered that the block to construction projects was not planning red tape but the economy’s weakness. The LGA said it had granted planning permission for 400,000 projects, but developers and householders had not pressed ahead with them. Housebuilders said a lack of demand, amid a shortage of affordable mortgages, was the real blockage. The Planning Officers’ Society said that removing the mediating role of councils over planning issues could create more neighbourhood rows. Elsewhere, the Times carries a feature for readers on how to get their plans approved by council planning departments and Simon Jenkins, in the Guardian, writes that it is not the fault of the countryside that planning applications are refused.   Source: Financial Times, Page: 3    The Times, Page 16-17   The Times, Page: 10-11  The Daily Telegraph, Page: 10, 27   The Guardian, Page: 8, 32   The Independent, Page: 5   Independent I, Page: 7   Daily Mail, Page: 8   Evening Standard London, Page: 14   Daily Mirror, Page: 14

Upcoming events

Key events taking place on 8, 9 and 10 September The Mayor’s Thames Festival takes place on the Southbank on Saturday and Sunday, finishing with a Parade on Sunday evening at Victoria Embankment from 19:45 – 22:00. Blackfriars Bridge will be closed to traffic from 18:00 – 23:00 The Paralympic Games Marathons take place from The Mall to The City and back on Sunday from 08:00 – 14:15. Roads in central London and Tube stations along the route will be busy The Paralympic Games Closing Ceremony takes place at the Olympic Stadium on Sunday from 19:30 – 22:30. The area will be very busy from 17:30 onwards Our Greatest Team Parade takes place on Monday from 13:30 – 16:00. Athletes from Team GB and ParalympicsGB will parade through The City to Buckingham Palace. Most roads affected by the event will close at 11:00 with those around Guildhall and Gresham Street closing at 06:00. Large crowds of spectators are expected For more information on event routes and road closures of the 3 central London events, please visit tfl.gov.uk/2012roadevents Motorists are advised to avoid driving in central London on Sunday and Monday. A number of buses will be on diversion. If you are travelling to any of the above events by public transport, please allow plenty of time. To plan your journey, please visittfl.gov.uk/journeyplanner

Paralympic Games travel update Transport to and around East London is expected to remain busier than usual until the Paralympic Games end on Sunday. Public transport From 07:30 – 09:30 and 16:00 – 19:00 the following lines are expected to remain very busy; the DLR between Canning Town and Prince Regent until Saturday and the Jubilee line between Waterloo and Stratford and the Central line between Holborn and Stratford until Sunday. Please avoid Canary Wharf from 17:00 – 19:00 and Oxford Circus from 17:30 – 18:30 tomorrow if possible, as they are expected to very busy. Canning Town, North Greenwich and Stratford are expected to be busy, particularly as spectators leave events from 21:00 daily, until Saturday evening. Roads Monday 10 September is the last day that the Paralympic Route Network (PRN) will be in operation. It is being removed as follows: Midnight tonight – Royal Artillery Barracks, Woolwich area Midnight Saturday 8 September – ExCeL and North Greenwich Arena area Midnight Monday 10 September – remaining PRN network The A2, A12, A13, Upper Thames Street and Lower Thames Street are expected to be busy again tomorrow in the morning peak. Roads east of St. Paul’s, including those in and approaching the City of London, and around Games venues are also busier than usual. Although not affecting Games traffic, a burst Thames Water main on the A406 North Circular Road at Brent Cross caused serious disruption yesterday. Two out of the five westbound lanes have now reopened, along with the full eastbound carriageway. TfL and Thames Water continue to work around the clock to fully reopen the road. Drivers are urged to still avoid the area if possible. For real time traffic updates, follow us on twitter@TfLTrafficNews

At the Paralympics 6th September

Today's Paralympic news:

The debates concerning the medal table can begin… now!

Great Britain is currently third in the medal table, despite having the second highest number of medals. Go figure. Well, it is because we have 25 gold medals, to Russia’s 29. As a result we are currently sitting third, despite having 93 medals to their 74 overall. The Chinese are truly dominating the Games with 64 gold and 167 medals overall.

Once you have settled that argument within your teams at work, how about tackling this one. Oscar Pistorius returns to the track today calling for the rules governing blade lengths to be changed. He has the support of a number of athletes. South African officials have also written to the world governing body with suggestions that some athletes were switching blades mid-competition.

So far today we have seen Paralympic GB’s medal haul increase by one bronze, as Bev Jones threw a season’s best 30.99m in the women’s F37 discus.

A number of our athletes are also through to finals, including:

On the track:

Ola Abidogun making his Paralympic debut qualifies for the final of the T46 men's 100m.

Olivia Breen is through to the final of the T38 women's 200m.

Hannah Cockcroft and Melissa Nichols are through to the final of the T34 women's 200m.

Shelly Woods and Jade Jones qualify for the T54 women's 1500m final.

In the pool:

James Crisp qualifies for the final of the men's SM9 200m individual medley.

Louise Watkin, Claire Cashmore and Stephanie Millward are through to the final of the women's SM9 200m individual medley.

Josef Craig and Jonathan Fox qualify for the final of the S7 men's 400m freestyle.

Susannah Rodgers qualifies for the final of the women's S7 400m freestyle.

Dan Pepper and Aaron Moores qualify for the SB14 men's 100m breaststroke final.

Sean Fraser and Thomas Young qualify for the final of the S8 men's 100m freestyle.

Andrew Mullen qualifies for the final of the S5 men's 50m backstroke.

What's happening when you finish work?

This evening there are loads of events taking place at the Olympic Park. They include finals in the men’s shot put and discus at the Olympic stadium, men’s goalball semi-finals taking place in the Copper Box, swimming events continue until 9pm and mixed wheelchair rugby, aka, MURDERBALL is taking place at the basketball arena, so as per usual, Stratford will be very busy.

Men’s quarter-final Boccia (a bit like bowls, where balls have to be thrown close to a target), men’s sitting volleyball and men’s team table tennis are being held at the ExCeL competition venue. Paralympic GB men’s wheelchair basketball team is taking on Canada at the North Greenwich Arena. Wheelchair tennis matches will be held at Eton Manor.

London: public transport

·         Public transport serving the Olympic Park is expected to be very busy on Friday as the Olympic Stadium opens for Paralympic events. Up to an additional 80,000 people in both the morning and afternoon will visit the Olympic Park compared to yesterday. Plan ahead and avoid travelling in the busiest places at the busiest times.

·         Public transport serving Games venues will be particularly busy on Friday, especially on the Jubilee line from Waterloo to Stratford, the Central line from Holborn to Stratford and the DLR in the periods 7.30-9.30am and 4-7pm. If possible, consider using alternative lines at busy times or retiming your journey to avoid the crowds.

·         Jubilee line trains passing through Bermondsey and Canada Water are expected to be particularly busy with spectators between 7.30-9.30am.

·         North Greenwich, Stratford and Canning Town stations are expected to be busier than usual after 9pm as spectators return home from events.

·         Large numbers of spectators are expected to interchange at London Bridge and Bank to get to Games venues. If possible, try to avoid interchanging at these stations between 7.30-9.30am and 4-7pm.

·         If you are not going to a Paralympic event, try to avoid the stations that are close to venues as these stations are expected to be busy.

London: driving and roads

·         Avoid driving around the PRN routes and venues, particularly around the Olympic Park in Stratford and on the A102 approach roads north and south of the Blackwall Tunnel.

·         Congestion is being seen on the A2, A12 and A13, particularly in the morning peak. If driving is your only option, travel at a different time if possible or allow more time for your journey.

·         Roads east of St. Pauls, including those in and approaching the City of London, and roads around Games venues will be busier than usual, so plan your journey and allow more time.

·         Don’t get caught out by the Paralympic Marathons on Sunday 9 September in central London. Roads will be closed along and around the route.

Areas outside of London

·         Road closures for the Paralympic Cycling Road Races at Brands Hatch will remain in place until midnight on Saturday 8 September. For details on the location of road closures, visithttp://kent.gov.uk/roads_and_transport/highway_maintenance/closures_during_the_olympics/paralympic_road_cycling_road.aspx

Please check www.bbc.co.uk/travelnews/london before you begin any journey home after work. When serious travel delays are reported alerts will be uploaded to the website and intranet, but these are not continually updated. You can also checkwww.GetaheadoftheGames.com before you travel.

Keep us informed

Staff are reminded that the BOCC (Borough Olympics Coordination Centre) is operating during the Paralympics and any information regarding travel or other issues around the Games should be passed on via either 01708 434 992/993 or by email toBOCC@havering.gov.uk

Paralympic update 5thSeptember

Today's Paralympic news:

GB's Mark Colbourne won silver in the C1 Individual Time Trial at Brands Hatch to go with thegold and silver he won on the track.

AND

Sarah Storey got her third gold in the C5 Time Trial. An incredible achievement.

Great Britain is holding onto second place in the medals table, behind China. To date - that means that Paralympics GB has won: 24 gold medals, 31 silver and 26 bronze.

David Weir looks set to win a gold medal in the 800 meters after blitzing the heat today. In the T37 200 meters team-mates Bethany Woodward and Jenny McLoughlin recorded the second and third-fastest times to reach tomorrow's final. Sophie Kamlish, the 16-year-old single-leg amputee who runs with one blade, reached the T44 200m final behind a world record time of 26.97 from Dutch athlete Marlou van Rhijn. GB's Stef Reid, who won Paralympic bronze in the event for Canada four years ago, is also through after securing one of the two fastest-loser positions.

Britain's sailors are guaranteed at least a silver and a bronze medal as they head in to the final day of the London 2012 Paralympic Sailing Regatta tomorrow.Helena Lucas - the only woman in the class - is guaranteed at least a silver medal in the 2.4mR one-person keelboat class. But she currently sits in gold medal position with a nine-point advantage over German Heiko Kroger with one race to come tomorrow. Alexandra Rickham and Niki Birrell are also guaranteed at least a bronze medal in the SKUD two-person class.

So far today there has been 83,867 tweets about the games.

What's happening when you finish work?

From 4pm there are finals in archery, followed by events in power lifting. Starting at 5.30pmthere are finals at the aquatics centre and from 6.30pm finals in wheelchair fencing as well as road cycling. The athletics finals start from 7pm. GB's world recorder holder Johnny Peacock goes in the first T44 100 meters heat against the American, Jerome Singleton and Oliveria from THAT final on Sunday. Only two runners can go through to the final tomorrow. Oscar Pistorius will also be taking part - so there may be controversy ahead! Other highlights could include Rob Welbourne in the S10 400 meters final at the aquatics centre at 5.48pm.

London: public transport

·                     Public transport serving Games venues will be particularly busy, especially on the Jubilee line from Waterloo to Stratford, Central line from Holborn to Stratford and DLR in the periods 7.30-9.30am and 4.00-7.00pm. If possible, consider using alternative lines at busy times or retiming your journey to avoid the crowds.

·                     London Bridge and Waterloo stations are expected to be very busy today with spectators travelling in the morning peak. If possible, try to avoid these stations between 7.30-9.30am.

·                     Trains passing through Canada Water, Bermondsey and Bethnal Green are expected to be particularly busy between 7.30-9.30am. If possible, try to avoid these stations at busy times.

·                     Large numbers of spectators are expected to interchange at London Bridge and Bank to get to Games venues. If possible, try to avoid interchanging at these stations between7.30-9.30am and 4.00-7.00pm.

·                     Trains passing through Chancery Lane and St Paul’s are expected to be particularly busy with spectators in the evening peak. If possible, try to avoid these stations between 4.00-7.00pm.

·                     North Greenwich Stratford and Canning Town stations are expected to be busier than usual after 9.00pm with spectators returning home from events. If possible, consider re-timing your journey to avoid the crowds.

·                     London Bridge and Bank stations are expected to be very busy with large numbers of passengers throughout the Paralympic Games – particularly this week as the school term begins. Try to avoid using these stations at peak times between 7.30-9.30am and 4.00-7.00pm. Consider retiming your journey or using an alternative station.

·                     Javelin services to and from the Olympic Park will be busy during the Paralympic Games. If you are heading to or from the Olympic Park, consider using C2C, District and Hammersmith & City lines to or from West Ham and access the Park via the Greenway or Greater Anglia services between Stratford and Liverpool Street. This will help you avoid the crowds. Anyone with reduced mobility should use Stratford station, where assistance is available.

London: driving and roads

·                     The A406 North Circular in Hendon is currently (Weds 5 September 15:00) closed and traffic is queuing in both directions between the A1 Great North Way (Barnet by-pass) Henly’s corner junction and Staples corner flyover.

·                     Avoid driving around the PRN routes and Games venues, particularly around the Olympic Park in Stratford and on the A102 approach roads north and south of the Blackwall Tunnel

·                     During the Olympics there was congestion on the A2, A12 and A13, Upper Thames Street and Lower Thames Street, particularly in the morning peak. We expect the same during the Paralympics. If driving is your only option, travel at a different time if possible or allow more time for your journey.

·                     Roads east of St. Paul's, including those in and approaching the City of London, and roads around Games venues will be very busy so plan your journey and allow more time.

·                     Don’t get caught out by the Paralympic Marathons on Sunday 9 September in central London. Roads will be closed along and around the route.

Areas outside of London

·                     Road closures for the Paralympic Cycling Road Races at Brands Hatch will remain in place until midnight on Saturday 8 September. For details on the location of road closures, visithttp://kent.gov.uk/roads_and_transport/highway_maintenance/closures_during_the_olympics/paralympic_road_cycling_road.aspx

Please check www.bbc.co.uk/travelnews/london before you begin any journey home after work. When serious travel delays are reported alerts will be uploaded to the website and intranet, but these are not continually updated. You can also checkwww.GetaheadoftheGames.com before you travel.