Traders in Hayes Town Centre were shocked last week to find that the 30 minutes free on-street parking for shoppers has been abolished for non-residents. The change came into operation on Monday 20 June and nobody had seen any advance warning. A bit of detective work has revealed that it was agreed by the Council on 24 February as part of the budget.

The Hayes Town Business Forum sees the free period of parking as a really good way of helping local shops which face difficult times with customers struggling against the effects of rising inflation. It deplores the Council's decision to effectively turn away non-residents and has decided to organise a petition calling for a re-think. 

Parking for 30 minutes is still free for residents but you must have a Hillingdon First card to put in the machine before you can get a ticket. Any resident who does not have a card can find out how to apply for one by using this link. 

Father Matthew Cashmore, Parish Priest at St Anselm's Church in Station Road, left Hayes on Sunday 3 July in a car loaded with items to help Ukrainian refugees in a camp in northern Poland. He will be returning with a family who will live with him and his family in the vicarage. A call-out for funds to meet the costs of getting there and back has already reached its target but I am sure that any extra donations will be well received.

The grant funding promised at last year's 'Hayes Together Stays Together' event is now available and applications opened on Monday 20 June. Proposals are sought which do any of the following:

• improve community safety 
• improve communication, especially with young people
• support the wider community with activities, services, and facilities 

Any local group or individual over 14 years old can apply and the organisers are keen to hear from young people with great ideas. To find out about how to apply click on this link. Briefing sessions will be held on Monday 4 July from 1pm to 2pm and on Wednesday 10 August from 5pm to 6pm. If you would like to take part in either session please send an email. The closing date for the receipt of applications is Monday 29 August at 5pm. Applicants will be asked to present their project ideas to a community meeting to be held on 17 September.

Everyone has the right to feel safe and with this in mind the Metropolitan Police have introduced a new initiative called 'Walk and Talk'. The idea is that you can meet and chat in person with your local Police officers. They want to hear from you if you feel unsafe in a particular area so that they can then work with relevant partner organisations to improve safety on the streets. To register an interest in taking part please send an email.

You can also attend a free self-defence class promoted by the Police and given by staff at Simply Gym in Uxbridge. They are held once a month and to find out how to book a place click here.

As part of Hillingdon's Festival of Archaeology you can learn about the fascinating history of Cranford Park at a special event called 'Parkaeology' on Saturday 16 July between 10am and 4pm. There will be a chance to do some interactive archaeology and it is all free. Click here for more details. 

Also on Saturday 16 July the Cranford Park Friends will be holding a guided butterfly walk starting at 11am. Meet by the lych gate of St Dunstan's Church.

Some months ago readers of Hayes Town News told me of their concerns about the very long queues at the Post Office in W H Smith's. I wrote to the Post Office but this produced no response and so I sought the help of John McDonnell MP. His office has now received a reply which says

"As you know the Post Office is operated by W H Smith from within their store. W H Smith have advised that they have been experiencing staff recruitment issues at the branch. This has also coincided with an increase in the number of customer visits to the branch resulting in longer queueing times. The Area Manager is currently reviewing the staff schedules to better manage the peak times for customer visits, and W H Smith colleagues from other stores have provided cover at the branch counter when there is capacity to share staff.

I am sorry that the service isn’t of the high standard we would expect at the Hayes branch and we sincerely apologise to constituents who have experienced poor service. W H Smith are working to improve staffing levels and will continue to closely monitor the situation at the branch supported by the Area Manager for Hayes Post Office."

Please let me know whether you think there has been any improvement.

The steps between Station Approach and the new Hayes and Harlington Station are now open to the public and work has started on the new layout of the road. Requests for consultation have gone unheard but there are going to be two disabled parking spaces at the entrance to Station Approach plus two for pick up and drop off. This is an improvement on previous plans but the big challenge will be to stop the spaces being misused. Click on this link to see the layout. Lighting and CCTV will also be improved.

A local schoolchild recently asked Councillor Janet Gardner how long it takes from when recycling is collected until it is reused and made into something else. The Council's Recycling Team replied that this varies with the the type of product, the place in the country it goes to for processing and the demand for the new item. Speed is of the essence and the Borough's rubbish is sent to an automatic sorting plant that operates 24 hours a day and 7 days a week as shown in the picture. You can see what happens to it by watching the video on this link.

An organisation called the Digital Poverty Alliance has published a report on how many UK citizens are losing out because of lack of digital skills. It reckons that as many as 11 million people are affected. Age UK has also estimated that 40% of over 75 year olds do not use the internet. This is not to mention people whose first language is not English or those who cannot afford internet access at all. These are real issues in Hayes.

The report makes a number of recommendations on how the situation can be improved. Let's hope that those responsible are listening.

Saturday 9 July will be Eid al-Adha and I would like to wish Eid Mubarak to all our Muslim readers. I gather that it is Arabic for "Blessed feast/festival".

It may be confusing for non-Muslims to hear that there are two Eids. The first festival is Eid al-Fitr and occurs at the end of Ramadan. According to what I have read the one happening in a few days time is an even more significant event in the Muslim calendar and celebrates the willingness of Abraham (Ibrahim) to sacrifice his beloved son in accordance with Allah's command. This test of his faith has special significance in Islam and you can find out more about it from this link. Meanwhile best wishes to all those who will be celebrating on Saturday.