News, comment and features

The Pinkham Way Alliance (PWA) has appealed to members of the public to submit objections to an application by the North London Waste Authority (NLWA) to carry out "tree preservation" at the Authority's Pinkham Way site.  The PWA considers that this is a thinly disguised attempt to diminish the conservation value of this site, which is a Grade 1 Site for the Importance of Nature Conservation and a probable foraging and roosting site for bats. The ecological significance of the site is one.......

Seven borough councils have been forced by a legal ruling to restart the process of drawing up a North London Waste Plan (NLWP) and are inviting members of the public to input their views and suggestions. The first version of the NLWP, which was finalised in 2012, proved highly controversial and prompted the creation of a campaigning group, the Pinkham Way Alliance (PWA).  The original spur to the creation of the PWA was the planned construction of a large waste processing facility on an.......

Following the pubilc meeting on 30th April, which was attended by Enfield councillors and officials, the We Want Local Schools campaign for an increase in primary school places in the south west of the borough is beginning a new phase.  Enfield's Director of Schools and Children's Services, Andrew Fraser, has indicated that he is prepared to work with a group of parents' representatives to seek solutions to the problems and concerns raised. A presentation on Enfield's Primary Expansion.......

Enfield Council have published their proposals for a new 20mph zone which would extend from Winchmore Hill Green in the North to the Palmers Green end of Hoppers Road in the South. Though the consultation documents (available on the Enfield Council website) refer to a "20mph zone in the Palmers Green School area", the proposed zone would be rather larger than that description would suggest.  It would include the whole of Hoppers Road and all roads between Hoppers Road and Green Lanes.......

The official minutes of the April 2013 meeting of the Bowes, Palmers Green and Southgate Green Area Forum have now been published on the Enfield Council website. The meeting covered the following topics: Statistics for vehicle collisions along the North Circular Road between Green Lanes and Bounds Green Road An update from the police on topics including closure of a brothel, seizures of dangerous dogs, burglary hotspots and mobile phone thefts from restaurants and cafes The status of plans.......

"Sunset" by Steve Harrison - winner of the Friends of Broomfield Park photographic competition Visitors to Broomfield Park this spring and summer will find the park rather less colourful than usual.  Funding cutbacks by Enfield Council have led to a two-thirds reduction in the number of bedding plants being planted out this year - across the Borough as a whole the budget allocation for flowers in parks has been reduced from £24,000 to £8,000.  The result will be many.......

This year's Southgate May Fair will be held on Bank Holiday Monday and as usual will be raising funds for several good causes, the main beneficiary of the 2013 Fair being the Teenage Cancer Trust. The charity builds and maintains specialist Teenage Cancer wards in NHS hospitals, allowing teenagers (who would otherwise be treated in paediatric or adult wards) to be treated alongside people of their own age.  The fair will be opened by Enfield-born soul singer and X-Factor star Andy Abraham,.......

Despite vigorous opposition from existing local residents, at its meeting on 23rd April Enfield Council's Planning Committee approved applications from the Notting Hill Housing Trust to build new flats on two locations ("Site 11" and "Site 14") near the junction of Bowes Road and Telford Road on the North Circular. Among the concerns raised by opponents of the scheme are fears that the planned residential density is too high for the location and that there will be insufficient car parking space........

As expected, the proposal to open a new betting shop in the Trios building in Green Lanes, on one side of the Triangle, has met with opposition. The Green Lanes Business Association (GLBA) has reacted by organising a demonstration to be held at Palmers Green Triangle between 1.30 and 2.30 on Friday 19th April, and is expecting attendance by local MP David Burrowes and local councillors. GLBA are asking all local residents who are opposed to the new betting shop to attend if able. Opposition to.......

Notice of an application to convert No 248 Green Lanes into a betting shop has been published in the Legal Notices section of the most recent issue of the Enfield Independent.  People falling into specified categories have until 23rd April if they wish to make representations in writing to the London Borough of Enfield Licensing Team, Civic Centre, Silver Street, EN1 3XH.  The categories are: a person living sufficiently close to the premises to likely be affected; a person who has a.......

Enfield Council is planning to relocate Palmers Green Library to a prefabricated building to be erected on the southern side of the Lodge Drive car park - it would be close to the rear of the Westlake's hardware shop and near one of the entrances to St Anne's High School. The Council submitted a planning application (P13-00552PLA) for the single-storey temporary building on 28th February and it will go before the Planning Committee on 23rd April (for details, see this document).  The.......

Enfield Council are consulting residents about a proposal to create a new zebra crossing on Bourne Hill, close to the junction with Hoppers Road, between the car wash on the northern side and St John's Church Hall on the southern side. There would be a pedestrian refuge in the middle of the road........