In a surprise move, the Civic Hall car park in Pump Lane (pictured) has suddenly reopened. It was closed by Hillingdon Council in readiness for its sale and a plea from the Hayes Muslim Centre to allow parking during the busy prayer period of Ramadan was turned down on safety grounds. Now the barrier across the vehicle entrance has been removed and Euro Car Park signs have appeared.The stairway on Crown Close has also been reopened after years of being closed and I gather that the lifts should be operational within a couple of weeks.

They are charging £1 to park for up to an hour and £3 for up to four hours.

To celebrate International Women’s Day Hayes Hawks BMX Club are inviting girls of all ages to come and give BMX a try at a free session on Sunday 29 March from 1pm to 2pm.

All are welcome – as long as you can already ride a bike This is a great chance to build confidence, learn new skills and meet other girls who love to ride!

The training will be given by skilled coach Harriet Alexander Those taking part must wear long trousers (but not leggings). Jeans are best.

For those who have not been there before, the BMX track is in Lake Farm Country Park near the Dawley Road entrance and the post code is UB3 1EJ.

Places are limited to 12 and you need to book promptly in order not to miss out. Send an email to apply.

A free offer of a very different kind is being made by Minet Infant & Nursery School. It is an invitation for adults to learn English in a 10 week course of two hour sessions. It does not start until September but you need to register an interest well in advance by using this link.

The school is located in Avondale Drive and the post code is UB3 3NR.

Please pass on this information to anyone you know who is struggling to learn English. It's a great offer.

Minet Infants also have free places for two year olds. They started last year with 15 hours and from April they will have 30 hour provision. For more information use this link. To register an interest click here or send an email or call 020 8573 5177. You are welcome to go and visit the school for a look round before making a decision to apply.

Recognising the grave levels of public concern following the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard by a serving Metropolitan Police officer and other deeply troubling incidents, the Met appointed Baroness Louise Casey to lead an independent review of its culture and standards of behaviour. In 2023 she published a highly critical report and made a series of detailed recommendations on what they needed to do in order to improve. Dr Gillian Fairfield is now carrying out an independent review of progress so far.

She is asking Londoners to share their views and has launched a survey to gather feedback on cultural change, standards, and the impact of the improvements made so far. The survey is open to anyone who lives in London or who lived here in the past three years. It takes 10 to 20 minutes to complete, and you don’t need any prior knowledge of the Casey Review to take part. Use this link to give your views.

Many people, including me, often complain about the rubbish-dumping in the Town Centre and other parts of Hayes. According to a report in MyLondonNews a map published by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) shows we are not alone - and many places are much worse.

In the year ended March 2025 there was a total of 1.25 million fly-tipping incidents reported for the whole of England, an increase of 9% on the previous year. Seven out of ten of the hot spots were in London - and they did not include Hillingdon. Croydon came top with 53,268 incidents. Hillingdon was 33rd in the league table with 9846 incidents. Other Boroughs in the top ten were Camden, Lewisham, Hackney, Newham, Ealing and Hounslow. Harrow was not included but the picture of a road in Harrow Weald shows that Hayes has the same problem as many other places.

None of this justifies any form of rubbish dumping and a key message for all who care about the issue is that we should never give up. Please report any that you see to the Council by using this link. Don't leave it to others.

While on the subject of rubbish-dumping, it is worth reciting the experience of one of the members of the Hayes Town Business Forum. Working together with the Chairman of the Forum. he and I have managed to get an Ealing Council Fixed Penalty Notice quashed because of a false allegation made against them.

In November 2025 they were accused of dumping a cardboard box at The Green in Southall. They had done nothing of the sort but it has taken until Wednesday 11 March for Ealing Council to finally confirm the cancellation of the £600 penalty

Like a lot of businesses they keep items for sale in the cardboard boxes in which they arrive from the suppliers. This aids storage and helps the customer when taking the item away. It is also a good example of recycling or reuse. Unluckily for them, the box that somebody had dumped in Southall still included a label with their name and address. After sending a long series of emails and letters getting absolutely nowhere, we wrote on their behalf to the Cabinet member for climate change whose responsibilities include recycling, street cleansing and waste disposal. He undertook to have the matter reconsidered and the case was eventually brought to a close. So the lesson to learn is that if you are a trader and you give items to customers in their boxes make sure your name and address have been removed first.

The Government has introduced a new law that will enable Mayors to charge a levy for overnight stays in hotels and other accommodation. More commonly known as a "tourist tax" it is being pushed as a way to make places more desirable for visitors. It is proposed that the money raised could be spent on public transport, public places, visitor attractions and training and skills development for the hospitality sector. A 3% levy could raise as much as £350 million for London.

A consultation is now taking place on the practical steps needed to introduce the new charge and London Councils, the body that speaks on behalf of the 32 London Boroughs is lobbying for a fair share to go to local authorities. Under the banner "Keep the Levy Local" it is arguing that they should retain at least 50% of revenue raised in their area, to provide much-needed funding for local services for the benefit of local residents, businesses, and visitors alike.

You can read the London Councils briefing by clicking on this link. Hillingdon does not have major tourist attractions but it does have lots of hotels at Heathrow Airport and elsewhere.

Talking of Heathrow, a reader in Harmondsworth has informed me that residents are receiving letters in advance of an expected final approval of the third runway. The letters invite homeowners, landlords and tenants to register an interest in the future property compensation schemes and the home relocation support service. For more information click here.

A compensation scheme operated when government approval to a third runway was previously under discussion and Heathrow bought most of the houses in Sipson. After being given a deadline most people sold up because of all the uncertainty. The community was totally fragmented but a change in the route means that these properties are no longer earmarked for demolition.

Hillingdon Chamber of Trade has announced that the annual Hillingdon Business Expo will take place on Friday 6 June but at a new venue. It will be at ARC Uxbridge, better known by its previous name of Uxbridge Business Park and open from 9am to 4pm.

Last year there were around 100 exhibitors and more than 1000 people attended. Bookings are now open for stalls and also for tickets. Use this link to get more details.

Hayes Town News reported on Monday 9 March that there had been a period of many months of nothing happening to finish the new stairs between Station Road and the station car park. The Hayes Town Partnership wrote to Network Rail asking for a progress report and was told that the job should be completed for the stairs to reopen on Monday 13 April. A day after our latest edition a reader spotted workmen making a connection through the railings as shown in the picture. Nearly there!