The vaccine programme is being sped up following the emergence of a new variant (Photo: Pixabay) The Covid-19 vaccination programme in Harrow will be “accelerated” following the spread of the Indian variant. Sean Harriss, chief executive of Harrow Council, told a council cabinet meeting yesterday (Thursday, May 27) there are plans in place to speed up the delivery of the vaccine to combat variant B1.167.2. This includes bringing second dose dates forward, so they are administered within eight weeks as opposed to 11 and creating a series of pop-up sites across the borough over the next couple of weeks to support the mass vaccination centre in Byron Hall.
Cllr Sachin Shah (inset) will no longer sit on Harrow Council s planning committee (Photo: Newsquest/Dick Barnatt) A former Harrow Council leader stepped down from his role as chairman of the planning committee due to a potential conflict of interest. Cllr Sachin Shah resigned after a brief stint heading the committee – for which he did not preside over a single meeting – after acknowledging his job outside the council could make his position “problematic”. In his register of interests, most recently signed off in November 2020, the Queensbury ward councillor disclosed he works for Curtin and Co, a “specialist consultancy in planning politics and community development”.
The council and emergency services have discussed the LTNs (Photo: Atish Anand/Pexels/Newsquest) The leader of Harrow Conservatives has called for low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) in the borough to be removed “as a matter of urgency” after seeing a letter from the London Ambulance Service (LAS). Cllr Paul Osborn wrote to Harrow Council’s chief executive, Sean Harriss, asking him to “rectify the defects” in the LTN programme, which was implemented as part of plans to promote active travel and assist the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. He said they could cause serious problems for emergency services in terms of getting to those in need and suggested, if they are not addressed, this could lead to legal issues.
Harrow Civic Centre (Photo: Newsquest) Harrow Council apologised after failing to follow up on a complaint about a poorly maintained property. It acknowledged it did not adhere to recommendations made by the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO), which advised it to say sorry to the concerned resident and pay £200 for his trouble. The man complained the council had not taken appropriate action against his neighbour’s home, which was empty, had overgrown gardens and was in a state of disrepair. Following an LGO report, the council agreed in February to apologise and pay the compensation. However, the LGO said this had not been done, despite several attempts to contact the council’s chief executive, Sean Harriss.