Cllr Roy Emmett will be the new mayor of Redbridge for 2021/22.
- Credit: Redbridge Council
A new mayor of Redbridge has been selected for 2021-2022.
Cllr Roy Emmett (Lab, Hainault) was nominated as mayor at the virtual annual council meeting on Thursday, April 29.
He will take over the reins from Cllr Zulfiqar Hussain (Lab, Clementswood), who served as mayor for an unprecedented two years after taking the position in 2019.
The transfer of the mayoral position was cancelled last year due to the pandemic, so Cllr Hussain continued in his role for another 12 months.
After a small ceremony overseen by interim chief executive Lesley Seary, Cllr Emmett said: Thank you to my fellow councillors for entrusting me with this honourable position.
Cllr Roy Emmett (Lab, Hainault) said he was amazed to see a chalkboard for suggestions placed in the park untouched by the usual graffiti, while Cllr Farah Hussain (Lab, Valentines) said residents “who live nowhere near Fairlop” had told her how excited they were.
She added: “This is a piece of work that has captured the imagination of people far and wide in the borough.
“It’s a great opportunity to bring back some green space but also potential income generation. It’s right next to a Tube station so could be used for sustainable development.”
The council is converting 250 acres of depleted gravel quarries into open space, nearly doubling the size of the park.
Eyva Turkish Grill and Meze Bar A Goodmayes restaurant owner has lost his licence after his restaurant was used as a “lookout to evade police. Police claim the owner of Eyva Turkish Grill and Meze Bar on Goodmayes Road “knowingly aided and abetted” a shisha bar’s attempt to stay open past curfew on October 31 last year.
On January 12, Redbridge Council’s licensing committee heard reports the owner of the bar below Eyva was watching for police from inside the restaurant when they arrived at 10.30pm. PC Matt Brown said he followed what he believed to be the bar owner’s route through the restaurant and down into After Hours Shisha and found 12 customers still inside.
Basement Shisha Lounge in Goodmayes Road A shisha bar appears to have closed permanently after losing its alcohol licence over an illegal party where attendees told police they were celebrating the death of an officer. Police were called to Basement Shisha Lounge in Goodmayes Road, Goodmayes, on September 26 and found around 70 people inside, breaking Covid laws. Officers told Redbridge Council they were sprayed with a fire extinguisher while trying to shut the party down and that attendees claimed to be celebrating the fatal shooting of PC Matt Ratana the previous day. On December 15, the council’s licensing committee met to decide what to do about Basement Lounge. The venue’s owner, Ajmal Ali, did not attend.