The following open letter is the lead article in Bromley Council’s Update e-newsletter.
Dear Residents,
What a summer this has been so far.
Whilst I hope as many of you as possible have been able to enjoy the glorious sunshine, yesterday’s torrential downpour obviously came as welcome relief to virtually everybody, particularly our avid gardeners, allotmenteers and the members of the emergency services braced to deal with further local wildfires.
Hopefully the storm’s passing will mark a return to a more seasonal weather pattern as we clearly need more water given Thames Water’s recent drought announcement and there is more on that elsewhere in this newsletter.
At national level, the ongoing outrage of Russia’s war in Ukraine continues to dominate the headlines. The response of Bromley’s residents, our voluntary sector, schools and Council officers has been and remains both remarkable and humbling, with over 500 Ukrainians now being sheltered by residents ‘stepping up’ to assist with the crisis and there is more on that in this edition too.
As we await an announcement as to who the new Prime Minister will be, what policy direction they decide upon and how today's Energy Price Cap announcement could impact over the coming months, we are obviously conscious that these are potentially very tricky times financially for some households, especially with Autumn and its colder days approaching, and if this does apply to you, could I please encourage you to seek help and ask for advice early. With that in mind, may I also draw your attention to this recently launched Council webpage at www.bromley.gov.uk/supportingresidents, which will hopefully provide a helpful steer.
Finally, a small request. I would be extremely grateful if you could please continue to water any recently planted sapling you see near you as often as you can if it appears to be struggling.
With our help today, they will become beautiful trees in just a few years' time, helping to improve our street scene and natural environment for everyone's benefit, and that surely has to be a vision that we can all get behind and support.
Kind regards and all best wishes for a happy Summer Bank Holiday,
Councillor Colin P. Smith
Leader of Bromley Council
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ENDS
For media enquiries, please contact Susie Clark, Public Affairs, on 020 8461 7911 or email susie.clark@bromley.gov.uk