East Ham (beautiful) South is the ward I’ve represented for the past seven years. It’s the tail end of East Ham, the last stop before Newham crosses the A13 and becomes Beckton. Travel east and you’ll find Wall End; to the west, Boleyn, and north, East Ham Central.

It’s a family ward, home to three great primary schools (Vicarage Lane, Brampton and Roman Rd) as well as soon-to-be-outstanding nursery – Oliver Thomas. Our one secondary, Brampton Manor Academy, is the school famous for winning more Oxbridge places than Eton.

East Ham South is also a surprisingly green ward. I deal with a lot of casework around Central Park which lies a mere stone’s throw over the border, but our residents also have Brampton Park to kick back in.

Gooseley Lane Fields might be more tucked away, but those who do make the trip will be rewarded with tennis courts, a petanque patch and even a BMX bike track.

East Ham Southers are a really proactive bunch. Over the years they’ve delivered the quarterly Greatfield market selling homemade foods and crafted gifts as well as the East Edge Sisters Women’s Institute.

Local artist studio Red Door offers a monthly pop-up café with occasional music evenings and exhibitions and the gorgeous St Mary’s Church hosts a nature reserve and green gym.

More than this, though, we are an inclusive community. When the pandemic struck, our ward mutual aid group united the Somali Association with the Muslim-run local community centre and the Bonny Downs Community Association – a charity that has grown out of a local church, dedicated to community resilience offering a food bank, advice for those facing homelessness or debt issues’ and activities for young people, children and families.

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.