Hello Everyone,
I hope you had a lovely weekend and as we approach mid-March, I hope you enjoy the wonderful sunshine yellow daffodils springing up around Newham – including on the Greenway. If you haven’t already experienced the Greenway, head there when you can! It’s a wonderful 6km of walkway for running, cycling and rollerblading of course; but the stretches of wildflower verges designed to improve the natural environment and biodiversity are a delight! Taking the time to explore the wildflower trail there or across one of Newham’s many award winning green spaces will do you the world of good as warmer temperatures come our way.
This year, Keep Britain Tidy’s Great British Spring Clean marks its 70th anniversary. What better time for residents, local groups, schools and organisations from across Newham to get involved, pledge to pick up a bag of litter, or more, and make a difference to our local communities.
The nation’s biggest mass-action environmental campaign will take place from 15 – 31 March, and we’re supporting our local residents to organise their litter picking events from start to finish; if you are planning to take part, please complete the litter picking form to request litter picking equipment and to receive the link for waste collection at the end of your activity.
This is a great occasion for communities to come together and contribute to the cleanliness of our local parks, streets and shared spaces. Together, let's show our commitment to a cleaner, greener Newham!
I want to thank you and everyone from across Newham for backing our bid to become the next London Borough of Culture in 2025. While we weren’t awarded the title this time, we are grateful for the work that went into the bid and for everyone who supported us through this process. Newham's cultural journey is far from over…in fact, it's just getting started. So watch this space for more updates and you can read more about what we are planning next here.
Last week was one of reflection, as I attended a Service of Reflection to honour those who lost their lives during the Covid-19 pandemic alongside council members, staff and residents as we gathered at our wonderful Covid Memorial Garden in Plaistow Park. We paid tribute to all those loved ones we lost here in Newham during the Covid-19 pandemic; as well as the heroic efforts of our frontline workers who did all they could to keep us safe. We also took a moment to celebrate the unity we showed as we came together during those extraordinarily unprecedented times. You and your loved ones can visit the garden in Plaistow whenever you want; and if you or anyone you know is going through a bereavement, please find support here.
On Thursday, I joined mum Keisha McLeod and her family to unveil a tribute to her much loved and forever missed son, Corey Junior Davies, over at the Stratford Youth Zone. Many of you will remember CJ, as he was lovingly called, passed in the most harrowing of ways when his young life was brutally taken at the age of 14 years following a shooting in Forest Gate in 2017. The unveiling of the plaque is to remember Corey as the bright young man his family loved and cherished. This is why this plaque is an important memory of an ‘unforgettable dancing star’.
Our borough is a poorer place without Corey and without all the young people who have fallen victim to senseless attacks in our borough. My thoughts are always with their families and loved ones as they bear the burden of enduring loss and pain.
Later this week, BBC Crimewatch Live will be making another appeal to find the perpetrators that caused Corey’s death, so that justice can be served for his mother and family. We welcome the renewed appeal into Corey’s tragic and senseless murder; and I thank the police and BBC Crimewatch for supporting Keisha as she continues to mourn the loss of her child. I urge anyone with information about his death to do the right thing and come forward.
I will never forget Corey, as I never forget all the innocent young lives lost by brutal acts, such as another 14-year old - Fares Maatou who was murdered in Canning Town in 2021. Following Corey’s death in 2017, the Council was subject to a serious case review; and the learning from the review into Corey’s death has led to important changes to how the Council safeguards children and adolescents in Newham from what’s called ‘extra-familial’ harm. This includes improved partnership delivery; the establishment of the Youth Safety Board and closer work with young people to ensure their voices are part of everything we do as a Council. The Article 2 inquest into the death of Corey, which commences later this year, will be important learning for the Council as well.
We must never be complacent or think we are doing enough; and that’s why it’s my job as the Mayor working with cabinet members to ensure that the Council is constantly improving, to deliver the best for our residents across every area of its work. That’s why our recent Local Government Association (LGA) Corporate Peer Challenge report, which we published earlier this month, is really welcome news. You can read it here, and it’s the result of a 3-day visit last November, when we invited an LGA peer team to undertake a corporate peer challenge review of the Council; which I’ve been wanting to do since 2019/20 – but Covid-19 got in the way.
As part of our response to the report, we are developing an Action Plan and we’ll be publishing the final version in May, working with councillors, residents and local partners as well! So keep an eye out for that, as it will be a really important document that sets out a raft of things we’ll be doing to continue to improve our dedicated public service to you.
Talking about public service, look out for our spring issue of Newham Magazine which is being delivered to all households across the borough and you can also read it online. There’s a powerful feature about amazing local residents who are making a difference in Newham through our People Powered Places programme with their projects. There’s also an update on our cleaner borough plans, alongside tips for a healthy spring; how we’re supporting residents at a time of pressure on household budgets because of the cost of living crisis and an update on our budget plans for the 2024/25 financial year.
Finally, before I sign off I wanted to flag that tomorrow marks the start of the pre-election period countdown for the Mayor of London and London Assembly elections taking place on Thursday 2 May. It's important to remember that you need valid photo identification to vote - for further information visit the Newham Council website.
So until my next missive, stay well and have a great week ahead.
Best wishes,
Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz OBE
Follow what I am up to via X/Twitter: @rokhsanafiaz | 
