Romford by night

On Friday I took part in a tour of Romford by night as part of the Crime & Disorder Committee's "Night Time Economy" topic group. We're looking at crime and disorder issues (well, that figures) and the aim of the visit was to meet bar and nightclub managers, door supervisors, police, taxi marshals and the new(-ish) street pastors. I think we were all impressed by the level of professionalism of those working in what can at times be a challenging environment. Probably the concern we heard most often was about the level of lighting in a few parts of the Town Centre, and the Council is already working on this. We were offered tours of several venues, but only had time to see inside the newly refurbished Yates and Liquid & Envy (the old Time & Envy). The street pastors were interesting to talk to (I hadn't realised they are all members of different churches) and we saw first-hand that they are indeed a generally accepted presence. Also impressive was the taxi-marshalling system which is credited with a significant improvement in getting people home in an organised fashion (and anyone who has used that rank at that time of night, like myself, will probably agree that the marshals are a great step forward). Our topic group will be publishing a report in due course, but in the meantime it's worth noting that the Council has been shortlisted for national 'Beacon' status (i.e. an example of good practice) in the "After Dark" category for its management of the Romford "night-time economy".

Yours truly and two of the Street Pastors