For best viewing experience of this website Please enter a place name in the search bar After provisionally the warmest May Day on record in the UK higher than average temperatures will subside over the weekend Environment Agency Updated: 06:00 (UTC+1) on Tue 6 May 2025 A cloudier day for many. Breezy and feeling cool. After a cold and bright start, with some sunny spells, it will turn increasingly cloudy from off the North Sea, although it will stay dry. Some bright or sunny spells developing by evening. Feeling cool, with a brisk northeasterly wind. Maximum temperature 17 °C. A fine end to the day, with some evening sunshine. Staying dry with some lengthy clear skies overnight. Turning chilly with a touch of grass frost in places. Light winds. Minimum temperature 1 °C. Largely dry with variable amounts of cloud and bright or sunny spells on Wednesday. Chance of a few light coastal showers. Feeling cool, with a brisk northeasterly breeze. Maximum temperature 19 °C. A few showers are possible on Thursday. Otherwise, largely dry, with variable amounts of cloud and bright or sunny spells throughout the period. Some chilly nights, but warm by day. Fairly typical weather for the time of year is most likely through this period. Overall, fine and dry weather is more likely to dominate although this will be interspersed with occasional spells of rain and showers, with a risk of heavy rain and thunderstorms in places. Overall, temperatures will most likely be near to or slightly above average. Havering Council leader Ray Morgon and deputy Gillian Ford. Credit: Havering Council (Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Sebastian Mann) Libraries in South Hornchurch, Gidea Park and Harold Wood will be closed to save money, cabinet members agreed on Wednesday, 5th February. The three centres were chosen due to their low footfall, the council said. In their place, councillors plan to open new community venues and a centre for respite care. The council hopes to see an extra floor built on the South Hornchurch community centre, and a new care facility to complement a planned special needs school in Gidea Park. Councillors are also in early talks to continue library services in Harold Wood through community centres. The town hall had faced a sustained local campaign against the plans, which were announced last May, over concerns children and families would be deprived. Residents and campaigners previously said the closures would hit the “poorest and most vulnerable” the hardest. Numerous demonstrations were held outside the town hall, with hundreds of residents calling on the council to “save our libraries”. Deputy leader Gillian Ford told councillors and residents last night the council needed the £288,000 their closures would save, in light of a £71million budget gap it faces in the coming year. She said the council had “no other choice” but to make cuts to its services. Havering Council was forced to borrow £32.5m from central government last year, and is expected to borrow millions more to balance this year’s budget. Keeping the libraries open would cost the council around £850,000, Cllr Ford said, based on surveys and estimated repair costs. She told councillors and residents that “no one in the chamber came into local government to close libraries”. She said that, if the libraries were to stay open, the other libraries would be “at risk” of deterioration. The deputy leader also pointed to the previous Conservative administration, voted out in 2022, for having not set aside a budget for library maintenance. East Havering Residents Group leader Martin Goode said the impact on residents’ quality of life had not been considered and they were being “let down”. He said: “We can play around with figures all night long, but the cost and devastation it’s going to have for residents who use these libraries, I don’t think you can measure. “It won’t equate to the amount of money you will save.” A representative from trade union UNISON said that the council closing any libraries did not reflect that the council had listened to the residents’ “clear message”. She said: “The message to residents in Havering is that [the consultation] was a waste of time.” A spokesperson for the union said afterwards the move was “profoundly disappointing”. The decision to specifically close the libraries was challenged by Conservative group leader Keith Prince, who questioned why it was necessary to “affect so many residents”. He also asked the leadership why they were “ignoring” the results of the consultation, after 82% of residents said they did not want to see “any closures”. During a lengthy debate, Cllr Ford said the savings were already written into the budget and the council needed to prove to the government it was making savings, after borrowing such a large sum last year. Finance director Kathy Freeman added it would be “very difficult” to make substitutions due to the “intense” scrutiny from Whitehall. Romford Central Library, Harold Hill Library, Hornchurch Library, Upminster Library and Rainham Library will all remain open. Collier Row Library had also been put forward for closure, but the council opted to keep it after residents said they would be travelling an “excessive” distance to their nearest service. Esrael Farrel was last seen yesterday (credit: Redbridge Thousands of children found out which place they'd been An assault took place in Marlborough Gardens (credit: Havering Council produced a report identifying significant The stolen cars included two Porsche’s, a Mercedes A45 The snake was found in a back garden in Shaw Avenue The victim was killed inside a car in Upton Park (credit: There are calls for Sadiq Khan to investigate safety issues © TIME107.5fm 2015-2025. All rights reserved. Anniversary celebrations to begin with procession and Red Arrows flypast WATCH: Patrick Christys reflects on one of Britain's 'darkest' days Residents of an East London borough have spoken of fears of being stabbed and robbed as their area faces a major redevelopment has seen an abandoned housing development has gone up in flames twice in the past year with rows of boarded-up shops and major chains deserting the once-bustling area manager of The Alderman pub said: "One of my eldest granddaughters is 14 she's told to come home straight after school people being stabbed or phones being nicked." along with the rest of the Farnham and Hilldene estate near Harold Hill town centre is set to be demolished as part of a regeneration scheme The first phase will see the pub and nearby flats in Chippenham Road replaced by 150 new homes "For many people this is the only place they can chat to people," she told MyLondon they sit down for a few hours and have a cup of tea or coffee Elderly people often come here in the morning for this reason But we're the last ones clinging on." Police data reveals Harold Hill experiences more violent crime than surrounding areas with Heaton and Gooshays recording 61 and 57 violent and sexual offences respectively last October These figures are more than double those reported in Harold Wood and match levels seen in Romford town centre The Pompadours pub stood derelict for years before being partially demolished Estate agent Rosemary Dawson says elderly residents remain traumatised by the death of 78-year-old Bernard Fowler who was beaten to death at Harold Wood station last February are too scared to walk the streets when it's dark," she told MyLondon owner of F Cooke pie and mash shop on Farnham Road has witnessed the area's decline firsthand Why would anyone come shopping here?" she said "There were queues out the door for NatWest and Santander Those people in queues would then come here or go to the butchers or do their weekly shop That doesn't happen now," Cooke added A row of Boarded up houses in Chippenham Road The area has lost major retailers including Woolworths A Havering Council spokesman said empty properties have been secured to prevent anti-social behaviour and will be demolished "as soon as possible" under the Harold Hill master plan The council launched its Clear Hold Build initiative in December 2023 to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour in the area with reported offences down by 50 per cent in Farnham Road and nearby areas "We fully support and are working with the residents and businesses of Harold Hill with any concerns they raise with us," the spokesman added.