Leader's update - Friday 16 January 2026

Published: 16 January 2026

This week, I spoke with BBC London Radio about the Freedom Pass, to reassure Londoners that Redbridge, along with the majority of London boroughs, is to continue with this vital provision. Older residents rely on their right to free travel across the bus and Tube network, and we fully support that.

Today, I visited Janice Mews to see the progress of the work to the new Voluntary Sector hub.  I have met various groups who tell me that they need a space to hire once or twice a week and we are doing just that here in Redbridge.  In the next few months we will be providing details on how you can book and pay for the space right here in the Town Centre. 

I also met with Redbridge Sports and Leisure in Fairlop to discuss how we can boost participation and increase usage by residents. We also discussed how we can work together to bring new 5G football pitches to the borough so more local clubs can have access to match time.

There is absolutely no reason to fly-tip in Redbridge - we offer a free bulky waste collection for households. This week, we were pleased to announce four successful court prosecutions resulting in two Redbridge based businesses and six local residents being issued with fines totalling £25,000 between them for waste and fly-tipping offences.  We all need to do our bit to keep Redbridge clean and you can help by reporting any issues via the council’s report it page or via the Love Clean Streets app.

Have a good weekend,

Cllr Kam Rai,
Leader of the Council