Hello Everyone, It’s been week of a rain in Newham despite the whiff of early spring – but despite the weather every day is always filled with energy and optimism in getting things done, dusted and delivered for residents like you, who we are privileged to serve. Time and again, I am reminded how working in partnership with our residents and valued partners, we deliver on our promise of opportunity - a vital part of the Building a Fairer Newham agenda we’ve been advancing over the past energetic four years! I’ve been very much housing focused this week, and kicked off with heading over to the Royal Docks to see another completed scheme that we’ve enabled through working in partnership through our planning team, developers, land owners and social housing providers – with the Queens Cross development, comprising of 80 genuinely affordable homes, now handed over where Newham Council has nomination rights, so we can offer homes to our people that they can afford. These homes contribute to our vision for the Royal Docks, Canning Town and Custom House. It’s inclusive growth for Newham residents and Londoners providing well-designed and spacious homes. On Tuesday, I was pleased to attend the Eco7 Plastic Free Forest Gate certificate ceremony with cabinet lead for Air Quality and Climate Action, Cllr John Whitworth presenting certificates to Forest Gate businesses that are leading the way in reducing their use of single-use plastics and helping to create a plastic free community. Not only are they helping residents cut down on plastic waste, but they are also setting a powerful example for other businesses across the borough. Everyone can play a part in creating a cleaner, and greener future for Newham – so huge thanks to them! While on this subject, I want to do a shout-out to our wonderful street cleaning teams who work so hard to keep Newham clean and tidy. They know all about plastic waste as it makes their job much tougher. It finds its way into corners and waterways, blocks drains, damages soil and, when incinerated, even affects the air we breathe. We have also increased street cleansing across Newham, with extra staff focused on litter hotspots in Plaistow, Green Street, Stratford, Little Ilford & East Ham, alongside two Rapid Response Teams tackling fly-tipping. We all have a role to play in keeping Newham clean – that’s why we’ve launched our Let’s Love Newham Campaign, and please do get involved – find out more here. As well as all of us playing our part in keeping Newham clean, we also have a role to play in making sure that we all live healthier lives. That’s why this week I convened a special meeting of Cabinet to approve the West Ham Park People Friendly Streets scheme. Despite boasting one of the lowest rates of car ownership in London - with fewer than half of our residents owning a private vehicle - our borough suffers the most toxic air in the capital. This environmental injustice is fuelled by 596 million vehicle miles being driven in Newham in 2024, an increase of 45 million from the year before, much of it driven by commuters using our residential neighbourhoods as high-speed conduits. The human cost is staggering: 115 deaths every year and 4,500 children hospitalised with severe respiratory conditions. To govern Newham is to confront a crisis where the simple act of breathing has become a hazard. This cannot be ignored and to do so is unconscionable. In response, this administration has pioneered "People-Friendly Streets" including the ‘West Ham Park’ scheme. You can read more about that here. We’ve also pioneered a range of interventions to improve air quality in our borough, including our Healthy School Streets scheme now in place across 25 schools in Newham. Following a recent evaluation, I am really pleased to say that every single school neighbourhood showed a significant reduction in air pollution, in terms of both nitrogen oxides and particular matter, and in some cases the quantity of emissions was more than halved. In total, annual savings of 92.5 kg/yr for NOX and 9.1 kg/yr for PM2.5 were measured at the 25 schools! Cleaner air means better health outcomes - and the health of our schoolchildren is beyond price. I ended the week over in Stratford this morning, welcoming a group of secondary school pupils to the Carpenters Estate. They had come from out of town to learn more about one of the largest regeneration schemes in the UK for their geography GSCE’s! I also showed fellow councillors how work on this major estate restoration and regeneration programme is progressing, with works commencing to drive a landmark new neighbourhood where 50 percent of homes will be at social rent. We are building opportunity Newham and its future – everyday and it literally can be seen! Until next week, look after yourself and please pass on my regards to your family! Best wishes, Rokhsana Fiaz OBE Mayor of Newham Follow what I am up to via X/Twitter/Insta: @rokhsanafiaz | 
