Uxbridge Gazette
Mayor told to ‘break stigma’ in getting prisoners to work
PRISONERS in London should be allowed out for short periods to work in order to better prepare them for life after detention, Sir Sadiq Khan has been told. Fewer than one in three Londoners leaving prison are in employment six months after release,...
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A brush with poverty
THE sorry state of London’s hygiene poverty crisis has been laid bare, with almost a third of residents aged 16 to 55 struggling to live their life normally because they cannot afford basic products. According to data, around three out of ten women in...
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Police target the hotspots
A TARGETED police crackdown in 20 hotspots across London reduced crime by 18 per cent and resulted in a third more arrests compared to last year during the summer, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) can reveal. The Metropolitan Police...
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LIFE IN THE SLOW LANE
SLOWER bus speeds are sparking a dramatic decline in ridership in London which will have a knock-on effect on the Mayor’s active transport goals and Transport for London’s (TfL) revenue, the London Assembly has been told. Average bus speeds on the...
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‘Pepper spray’ used in airport suitcase theft
21 PEOPLE – including a three-yearold girl – needed treatment by ambulance crews after a group of men used pepper spray on a woman they had robbed of her suitcase at Heathrow Airport. Police were called at 8.11am on Sunday after reports that multiple...
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Village facing doom and gloom from airport expansion
RESIDENTS in a village which could be partly demolished as part of plans to build an extended third runway at Heathrow Airport have said they are worried they will be left with nowhere to go. The Government announced on Tuesday last week that it will...
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Mayor set to get tourism tax powers
THE Mayor of London has cautiously welcomed reports that he will be granted the power to impose a tourist levy on visitors staying overnight in the capital, and a report outlines how such a tax could work in London. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is...
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EV charges ‘will be a step backwards’
SIR Sadiq Khan has been accused by motoring experts of a “backward step” after confirming electric vehicles (EVs) will lose their exemption from the capital’s congestion charge. The Mayor of London, who announced the change will take place from...
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King Charles pays tribute to the fallen
THE King has led the nation in honouring those who have died in conflict on Remembrance Sunday at a ceremony attended by thousands of veterans. Charles took centre stage and laid the first wreath at the Cenotaph in recognition of the fallen from...
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‘His memory will live on in community’
THE partner of a dog walker killed in a triple stabbing in West London has said she is “heartbroken” over his death. Wayne Broadhurst, 49, died at the scene in Midhurst Gardens in Uxbridge on Monday (October 27). His partner Ann Newman has paid...
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POLICE LOOK TO THE SKIES
A NEW trial will see drones launched remotely in London to support police officers responding to emergencies. The Metropolitan Police has launched the trial which will see drones feeding intelligence to assist both officers on the ground and in a...
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Families pay price for the cost of living
THE soaring cost of living and childcare, gentrification, and a dearth of social housing has led to families being priced out of the capital, the London Assembly has been told. The number of births in London in 2023 was 20 per cent lower than the peak...
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FATBERG IS WIPED OUT
A BLOCKAGE estimated to weigh 100 tonnes has been cleared from a west London sewer. It took a team of Thames Water specialists – wearing gas monitors for their own safety – more than a month to remove the fatberg that was more than 10 metres below...
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A breath of fresh air
Sadiq Khan has celebrated the success of ULEZ as new Government data reveals for the first time London has met legal expectations for cleaner air. Sir Sadiq expressed his delight at this “historic milestone” for London over toxic nitrogen dioxide...
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‘We don’t want to create panic’
HOUNSLOW Council failed to disclose a three-year police probe into an alleged west London grooming gang that was dropped last year, despite being asked if there were recent concerns in the borough, a MyLondon investigation has found. This week, the...
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Closing police front counters ‘pragmatic’
LIVE facial recognition is a “gamechanging tool” that has led to more than 700 arrests so far this year, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has said of the technology that was first trialled in Croydon last year. There were 50 registered...
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Work begins to take down Grenfell
A LIKELY two-year process to deconstruct Grenfell Tower is under way. The Government announced earlier this year that the remains of the building – where a deadly fire broke out in 2017 and claimed the lives of 72 people – will be brought...
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Sadiq’s success or blight on our city’s drivers?
Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan has hailed his controversial Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) policy as ‘bold’ and ‘transformative’ two years after its expansion to the outer boroughs. Kumail Jaffer takes a look at what’s happened since the expansion, and...
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Celebration on the streets
COLOURFUL costumes, dancing and music have filled the streets of London for Notting Hill Carnival. The carnival, Europe’s biggest street party and an annual extravaganza over the summer bank holiday weekend, helps celebrate Caribbean culture and...
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‘A long way to go in fighting capital crime’
MAYOR of London Sir Sadiq Khan has admitted there is a “long way to go” when it comes to fighting crime in London, despite a drop in some serious offences like robbery and burglary. The Mayor boasted of “record funding” for the Metropolitan Police as...
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Shrinking Met retreat from front counters
SIR Sadiq Khan has been accused of failing to honour a manifesto promise to maintain a police front office counter in all 32 London boroughs. In his manifesto prior to last year’s election, the Mayor of London pledged to “ensure the Met is able to...
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Council ‘to run out of cash in eight months’
A WEST London council at risk of bankruptcy is due to run out of money by March 2026. A damning report says financial reserves are “projected to be negative” within eight months. Hillingdon Council has been under immense financial pressure since it...
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Garden centre loses battle to stay open
A WEST London council has rejected a proposal that would allow a garden centre facing closure to stay open, with a senior councillor saying “we’re not in the business of selling plants”. The Rural Activities Garden Centre in Uxbridge, which is...
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Champions of the world
REECE James felt Chelsea made “a big statement” to their rivals by producing a major upset to beat Paris St Germain in the Club World Cup final. Cole Palmer scored two brilliant goals and created a third for Joao Pedro – all in the first half – as the...
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‘Blaze was preventable’
ENERGY watchdog Ofgem has launched an investigation after a report found a fire that caused the shutdown of Heathrow Airport was due to a preventable technical fault. The report by the National Energy System Operator (Neso) said an “elevated moisture...
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Council shows ‘disrespect’
HILLINGDON Council’s cabinet has approved plans to close a “vital” garden centre in West London maintained by volunteers with learning difficulties, however two key decision makers were notably absent. Both the Leader of the Council, Cllr Ian Edwards,...
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‘Social care’ service pleads with council
TWO men who built a West London garden centre “brick by brick” say it’s been a victim of council underfunding for decades, as they call for it to be saved from closure. They have urged Hillingdon Council to reverse plans to close the Rural Activities...
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‘We have still had no justice’
GRENFELL bereaved and survivors shouted for justice in what is likely to be the final anniversary in the shadow of the tower as it stands, ahead of work to begin its demolition. The Government announced earlier this year that the remains of the...
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‘Improvement is still needed’
A WEST London hospital operating in rundown buildings has been told it still needs to improve by the health watchdog, but it has made clear progress since the last inspection. Services at hospitals operated by Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust...
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WATER FIRM’S RECORD FINE
THAMES Water has been fined £122.7million after two investigations into wastewater and dividend payments – the largest penalty Ofwat has ever issued, the regulator said. The utility giant will pay £104.5m for breaches of rules relating to its...
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‘Don’t close vital centres’
WEST London parents have called on their local council to u-turn on plans to close 12 children’s centres in the borough. A demonstration was held on Wednesday (May 14) with parents, centre staff and opposition councillors attending. Ealing Council...
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FIRE RAVAGES YOUTH CENTRE GARDEN –
A West London youth centre has been left with a £10,000 bill after a fire broke out in a neighbouring building. Hounslow Phab youth centre manager Debbie Falconer-Barnett, 52, says the blaze has devastated the building – and came perilously close to a...
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Power outage still a mystery
AN INTERIM report into the power outage which shut down Heathrow Airport for most of a day last month has raised “important questions”. No flights operated at the west London airport from just after 1am on March 21 until around 6pm that evening, after...
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Victory in Europe celebration
SENIOR royals have joined thousands of people in London to observe a military procession to begin commemorations marking the end of the Second World War in Europe. Nato allies joined 1,300 members of the UK armed forces for the parade, with the words...
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Police fear a carnival crush
MAYOR of London Sadiq Khan has been asked to review attendance numbers for Notting Hill Carnival amid fears of a ‘mass casualty event.’ The request comes following concerns raised by the Metropolitan Police about the possibility of individuals being...
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Government backs £1.5bn new hospital
THE government has approved up to £1.5 billion for construction of a new hospital in West London. In 2023, the Health Secretary described the hospital as the ‘worst I’ve seen.’ This marks a milestone for Hillingdon Hospital, which for years has been...
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‘We must break this cycle of violence’
A QUARTER of convictions and cautions for knife crime in London were given to boys last year, recent figures show. A knife crime prevention charity said the crime statistics show a “deeply entrenched problem”, adding targeted interventions to address...
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Mayor wants more police on city streets
MAYOR of London Sadiq Khan has outlined plans to put more police officers on London’s streets to reduce robberies. The proposals comes as part of the Mayor’s new Police and Crime Plan launched on Friday March 28, aiming to revitalise neighbourhood...
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Airport faces legal action for shutdown
HEATHROW is being threatened with legal action by a body that represents 90 airlines following the closure of the airport after a fire at an electrical substation. A total of 1,300 flights and around 200,000 passengers were disrupted by the closure...
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‘It looked like a bomb had exploded’
HEATHROW Airport had “enough power” from remaining substations despite Friday’s shutdown, the chief executive of National Grid has said. John Pettigrew said two substations were “always available for the distribution network companies and Heathrow to...
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Clean break for capital’s waterways
SIR Sadiq Khan has announced more than £7m of funding from City Hall and Transport for London (TfL) to stop road run-off pollution entering waterways, as he pursues his pledge to create “swimmable rivers” across the capital. It comes after the Mayor...
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‘HS2 has great value’
HS2 will “prove its worth”, the boss of the company building the highspeed railway has claimed. Mark Wild, chief executive of HS2, said the project has “great value, intrinsic value”. He made the comments days after an influential group of MPs...
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‘We owe it to the memory of those who died’
THE Government has announced plans to establish a single construction regulator after backing all 58 recommendations from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s final report. The new regulator will be responsible for monitoring building safety and sign-off...
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‘We are faced with tough choices’
THE UK’s biggest police force says it is still facing a £260 million budget shortfall and “substantial tough choices” over cuts despite funding increases from central and local government. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan announced a £10m boost for the Met...
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COUNCIL TARGET LIGHTS TO SAVE CASH
A PLAN to dim street lights across an entire London borough to save money has been branded “madness”. Hounslow Council is proposing to review street lighting as one of several ways to plug a £30 million shortfall in finances. The proposal to turn off...
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Grenfell Tower remaining ‘not a possibility’
AIRLINES using Heathrow Airport are calling for “urgent and fundamental” reform of its charges as they expect passengers to be hit by a further rise in costs to pay for a third runway. The bosses of British Airways’ parent company IAG and Virgin...
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‘Don’t destroy our villages’
WHEN residents of an idyllic village in West London bought their homes decades ago, they did not expect that they would be forced to uproot and sell their homes in their retirement. However, for residents of Harmondsworth, minutes away from Heathrow...
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Third runway plans prepare for take-off
RACHEL Reeves suggested the full Cabinet must back any potential expansion of Heathrow Airport despite previous opposition from senior Government figures, as she all but confirmed plans to endorse a third runway. The Chancellor refused to be drawn on...
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WILSON’S HAVING THE TIME OF HIS LIFE
FULHAM winger Harry Wilson feels he is enjoying one of the best spells of his career. The 27-year-old has been in fine form of late and has been key in helping the Cottagers rise up the table with two goals and two assists in his last five...
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Loitering taxi drivers in ban
TAXI and private hire drivers have been banned from waiting for Heathrow jobs in Hillingdon neighbourhoods surrounding the airport. Hillingdon Borough Council’s Cabinet voted on Thursday for new measures to combat the antisocial behaviour, including...
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Knight & New Year’s Day
THOUSANDS of people saw in 2025 on the banks of the River Thames as London defied weather concerns with a spectacular firework display. The weather forced outdoor celebrations in Edinburgh and other places across the UK to be cancelled, but London’s...
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‘It’s the best Christmas gift’
WEST London theatregoers can rest easy this Christmas as the future of the Beck Theatre has been secured. Hillingdon Council has announced a 15 year deal with Parkwood Theatres, with the option to extend the deal by 10 years. The Hayes theatre was...
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NHS staff are being ‘pushed beyond limits’
HOSPITAL staff in Hillingdon have been taking more than 200 days off a year for mental health reasons as they are “pushed beyond their limits”. Over the last three years, people employed by the Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which employs...
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Saddled with e-bike problem
TRANSPORT for London (TfL) is asking the Government for increased powers to tackle e-bike parking issues on London’s roads and pavements. Dockless e-bikes, which do not need to be parked in bays, can cause serious problems for pedestrians when parked...
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BILLPAYER CASH WILL NOT PAY BONUSES
TROUBLED Thames Water is among nine water companies prevented from using billpayer money to fund £6.8 million of “unjustifiable” bonuses under new powers handed to the regulator. Ofwat said owners and shareholders of the water firms will instead have...
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Raw sewage being flushed directly into rivers
LONDON is in the grip of an unchecked environmental disaster as raw sewage from some new-build developments is being flushed directly into rivers due to apparent blunders during construction. Environmental charity the Friends of the River Crane...
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We will never forget
THE King has led the nation’s tribute to the country’s war dead during a poignant service of remembrance watched by the Princess of Wales. Charles laid the first wreath at the Cenotaph in recognition of the fallen from conflicts dating back to the...
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‘Don’t take away our lifeline’
28 years ago, Sheila and Ray Kelly went to the Beck Theatre for the first time to see their son, Stuart, as one of the twins in Peter Pan. The couple quickly fell in love with the venue and began attending much more frequently. Now, almost three...
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‘Better safe than sorry’
THE London Fire Brigade has warned against people hosting their own fireworks displays after a surge of incidents last year. Bonfire Night in 2023 saw a 14 per cent increase in emergency calls from the previous year. Over the whole period between...
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Tube workers set to strike
LONDON Underground workers including drivers are to stage a series of strikes next month in a dispute over pay. Members of Aslef, working as Tube drivers, instructors, management grades, and those in the engineering section will walk out on different...
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Is West London Orbital plan still on track?
MAYOR of London Sadiq Khan has provided an update on when plans for a new leg of the London Overground are set to progress. West London Orbital would utilise railway lines that are currently used for freight only, and serve customers in Barnet, Brent,...
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‘There is still much more to do’
LONDON Fire Brigade said it accepts in full the recommendations directed towards the service from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry final report, exactly a month since its publication. The capital’s fire chief acknowledged that while positive changes have...
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Pledge to clean up city’s rivers
THE Mayor of London has committed to cleaning up London’s rivers in an “ambitious 10-year plan”. The pledge follows analysis from City Hall which found five times more sewage flowed into London’s rivers in 2023 compared to previous years. The plan...
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THEATRE FACES FINAL CURTAIN
THE Beck Theatre in Hayes is facing closure at the start of next year, after its lease with building owner Hillingdon Borough Council expires. In July of this year the agreement between the theatre and the council was extended until December, with the...
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‘Devastating’ impact on city
HOMELESSNESS and the housing crisis are having a “devastating impact” on Londoners and “wreaking havoc” on boroughs’ finances, councils have warned. “Skyrocketing” numbers of homeless people requiring temporary accommodation and the growing strain on...
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