Film giants coming to Hayes

Starting on Friday 11 July well known movie-makers. Warner Bros, will be setting up in Hayes Town for the filming of a new TV series and the star of the show will be Jenny's Burgers in East Avenue (pictured). Filming inside the restaurant will take place on Tuesday 15 July and it will be closed for a total of seven days.

A number of parking bays will be suspended to allow use by some of the technical vehicles and on the day of the shoot the pavement outside the restaurant will be closed off but with a diversion in place. There will also be an impact on parking in Austin Road and Mount Road.and a rain-making machine in front of Jenny's so that it will look as if it has just been raining.

A briefing has been supplied to Ward Councillors by the Hillingdon Film Office and you can read it here. Any queries can be sent to them by email.

By the nature of the film industry the name and contents of the show are kept strictly confidential. The chances are that when the series appears only those who know Hayes will realise that it was Jenny's.

£300,000 for Town Centre improvements

On Thursday 28 June the Council's Cabinet agreed to allocate £300,000 to Hayes Town projects from money received from the Government's Shared Prosperity Fund. The aim of the Fund is to develop pride in local places and to improve the life chances of residents.

The sum approved will be used to come up with ways to improve the area adjoining the Grand Union Canal (pictured) and the approach to Hayes & Harlington Station. Lighting and other measures will be considered for antisocial behaviour hot spots and there will also be schemes for short-term use of premises for community and sports activities. Further funds will be needed to carry out any major improvement projects.

Other parts of the overall Hillingdon funding of £1.1 million will be used for skills development to help people into work and for small business development. The allocation for Hayes Town has been gained as a result of the work of the Council's Strategic Planning and Regeneration Team and details are included in the agenda reports pack for the Cabinet meeting which can be found from this link.

60th Flower Festival celebrated

On Friday 4 July I had the pleasure of attending the 60th anniversary flower festival at St Mary's Church in Church Road. Besides the usual wonderful flower arrangements there was a theme this year to portray the history of Hayes over the last 60 years. Researched and put together by organiser Kay Wathen it presented a fascinating description of the history of the Church and the surrounding buildings in the original Hayes Village, plus stories of famous local people and the industries of Hayes that have come and gone.

The picture shows a couple of the displays with the one on the right being about EMI. It included an old record player and a picture of Nipper, the dog whose image featured on billions of EMI vinyl records sold around the world.

St Mary the Virgin Church is the oldest building in Hillingdon and well worth a visit if you ever get the chance. There is a brief description of its history here.

Many thanks to Kay and the team of flower-arrangers, cake-makers and tea-brewers for an excellent event.

Build are recruiting

The Build School of Construction in Silverdale Road has a great track record for equipping young people with the skills needed to progress in the construction industry. Due to their success they are expanding and looking to recruit three workshop assistants, one in Hayes and two at their branch in Hounslow.

Build is an independent college and training provider and the new jobs are to provide practical support for their highly-skilled tutors. They are looking for applicants with an interest and/or experience in construction and/or educational work. The School operates during college terms and the salary is £18,375 a year plus six weeks paid leave and other benefits.

To find out more about the job use this link. If you are interested in applying please send an email as soon as possible to Peter Sale. Strategic Director. The start date is expected to be Monday 1 September.

Build are also looking for two people to join their Governance group. Anybody with a background in business, construction or education would be welcome to apply. The group meets three times a year. For further information send an email.

Reminder for Hayes Canal Festival

This is a reminder that the Hayes Canal Festival will take place on Sunday 13 July between 11am and 4pm on the Grand Union Canal and the adjoining piazza at High Point Village in Station Road.

Thousands of flyers have gone out to a total of 15 local primary schools and there are banners and posters displayed throughout the Town Centre.

The free boat and kayak rides and the paddle-boarding sessions get fully-booked very quickly and so you need to turn up early if you want to avoid missing out.

The Canal & River Trust are still looking to recruit volunteers and if you have some spare time it is a great event with which to be involved. Details of the tasks were included in the last edition of Hayes Town News and you can sign up by clicking on this link.

Police get the mess cleared up

One of the officers in the Hayes Town Safer Neighbourhood Team has not just been listening to community concerns about the alley behind Broadway Parade in Coldharbour Lane - he has got something done about it.The alley is a regular dumping ground for rubbish (as shown in the picture) and this has led to it being used over a long period as a haven for antisocial behaviour and crime.

After hearing local concerns Police Constable Oli Pinder arranged for the area to be cleared by volunteer litter-pickers and for the rubbish to be taken away by the Council. It now looks a whole lot better and local business owners and residents are delighted. Well done to PC Pinder and his helpers. Let's hope that those responsible for dumping the rubbish get the message.

Knife bin returns

Another good news story about community safety in Hayes is the installation of a knife bin in the Pump Lane surface car park. The previous one was suddenly removed "temporarily" in March 2024 after it was discovered that deposited knives were not dropping fully through in another of the bins. This came as something of a surprise to me as I had been responsible more than 20 years ago for installing knife bins in Council car parks because they seemed a more likely place for people to hand in knives than at police stations.

Their removal because of safety concerns was understandable but until now there has been no move to replace them. I gather that this has come about because the coordinator of the Making Hayes Safer Project, Kirsty DeSouza, has been talking with children and young people about what would help them feel safer and one of the items identified was the return of a bin for the safe disposal of knives. It is only one of the possible answers to the problem of people carrying knives but it is a very positive response to the views of those consulted. It is going to be there on a one year trial and so please spread the word.

Understanding cholesterol - 17 July

Almost half the adults in this country have raised levels of cholesterol in their blood. Many do not know and those that do are not sure what can be done about it.

HEART UK is the only cholesterol charity in the UK which is dedicated to preventing early disease and deaths from cholesterol and other blood fat conditions. It is organising an Understanding Cholesterol Together event on Thursday 17 July between 6pm and 8pm, supported by Benecol. It will take place at Yiewsley & West Drayton Community Centre 228 Harmondsworth Road West Drayton UB7 9JL.

This is a free informal event where you can have your cholesterol tested, learn more about steps needed to manage your cholesterol, and have the opportunity to ask a panel of experts questions that you want answered. Registration is required in advance and you can do that here.

Understanding Police encounters - 18 July

On Friday 18 July there will be an event with a slightly similar sounding title but on a very different subject. An organisation called Family Lives will be presenting a guide for parents and young people on how to handle encounters with the Police. It will be held at the Hayes Muslim Centre in Pump Lane and run from 7 30pm to 9pm.

Topics covered will include stop and search, online safety and school truancy. Further information is available from this link. To register please send an email or call Maeve on 07949 889802.

Revealing Cranford Park's past - 19 July

A key part of the Lottery-funded scheme for the improvement of Cranford Park has been an exciting archaeology project aimed at discovering the history of the site including the long-demolished Cranford House. The dig ended in 2024 and was led by Les Capon of the AOC Archaeology Group. On Saturday 19 July he will be revealing what they discovered after five years of community excavations.

Called 'Parkaeology', this free event will feature a slide show and talk in the old stable at Cranford Park, a 'show and tell' of various finds and an hour's guided walk. This will take in park locations of some of the key finds during the digs. These include

* The foundations of a thatched ice house in a wooded copse;

* Part of a Tudor manor house predating one owned by the Earls of Berkeley for 300 years;

* A 2000-year-old settlement of ancient Britons who farmed beside the river during the Roman era.

There will be two sessions, starting at 12 noon and 2pm and each one will last two hours. Booking is essential. Please send an email stating your name, the number of people attending and your preferred time. Make sure to wear suitable footwear. There is free parking or you can take the E6 bus to Roseville Road.

Other events coming up at Cranford Park include an open day on Sunday 13 July to see the Secret Garden and the Stables at any time between 10am and 2pm. On Sunday 27 July will be the annual Cranford Park Family Day between 11am and 4pm. They are both free to attend and there is no need to book.

All three Councillors still contactable

Last week's edition of Hayes Town News broke the story that Councillors Janet Gardner and Peter Curling had not been selected as Labour Party candidates for the 2026 Council elections and that they had both resigned as members of the Party. They are now members of the Hayes Independent Party Group. Some residents have expressed uncertainty about whether they will carry on doing their work as Councillors and it is confirmed that this will be the case. They will continue to hold advice surgeries at Botwell Green Library and details are shown here

The third Councillor for Hayes Town Ward is Councillor Robin Sansarpuri and his position is unchanged as a representative of the Labour Party. He does not currently hold separate advice surgeries but he can be contacted by email or by phone. Contact details for all three Hayes Town Councillors are on the Council's web site.

Home-Start making a real difference

Home-Start Hillingdon provide support for families going through challenging times and help improve their lives and the futures of their children.They have just published their Impact Report for the 2024-25 financial year and this shows that they made a real difference for local families. During the year they

:

• Supported 130 families
• 100% of families reported coping better after their support
• Families reported an average improvement of 52% compared to their original coping score
• 92% reported improvements in their mental health
• 90% reported feeling less isolated

You can read the full report on their web site. It is shown just below the section on volunteering. There is a separate section on how to seek their help for yourself or someone you know.