Night Czar hits Romford
The Night Czar Amy Lamé, appointed by the London Mayor Sadiq Khan, visited Romford on Friday to find out more about Romford Town Centre - the biggest nightlife scene in greater London.
Amy Lamé was appointed in 2016 to improve the safety of the capital’s £26 billion night-time economy and on Friday (23 February) she visited Romford.
Throughout the night, the Night Czar was introduced to all the work carried out by the Havering Community Safety Partnership which is led by staff from Havering Council, and includes the police, London Fire Brigade, health services, and other organisations, as well as the Safe and Sound partnership.
Ms Lamé’s first visit was to the brand new Sapphire Ice and Leisure complex, to witness the late night ice disco which was full of teenagers and young adults.
London’s Night Czar was then taken to the Brewery to hear about the future development plans which includes a new TGI Friday’s and Prezzo.
Towards the early hours of the morning, Ms Lamé met volunteers from Havering’s Street Watch Team, Street Pastors - who celebrated their 10th year anniversary last year, and the Deeper Lounge team, who offer hot drinks and light food to local revellers on South Street in Romford. Ms Lamé also visited Romford’s biggest nightclubs including Fiction and saw how safety measures such as knife arches and drug dogs.
The Safe and Sound Partnership also showed the Night Tsar how Taxi Marshalls work to ensure all party-goers get home safely.
“The community spirit in Romford has struck me the most, the way they all work together to ensure everyone in Romford has a good and safe night out is amazing,” said Amy Lamé, London’s Night Czar.
Councillor Osman Dervish, Cabinet Member for Community Safety, said:
“It’s been an absolute pleasure to host London’s very own Night Czar in our borough. Our night-time economy is huge and will continue to grow. Therefore, it is our duty to continue to work in partnership with the police and other organisations to keep our residents and visitors to the borough safe. We want all to have a good but safe night out.”
Superintendent Mark Long, East Area Basic Command Unit said:
“It’s great to be able to showcase partnership work in Havering. I’m very pleased that the Night Czar is here, as this give us the opportunity to demonstrate every aspect of our work and what we all do to keep our town centres safe.”