News, comment and features

Another local project to add to the four that I listed last week.  To vote visit community-fund.aviva.co.uk/ and register. Enfield Community Transport:  Supporting the older generation Funding level: £5,001 to £10,000 ECT has been successfully providing a Community Transport Service to the residents of Enfield for thirty years. We recently reviewed our service to see what new services could be provided which would meet the needs of our community. Following.......

Actress Helen Lederer's grandfather fled to Britain from Czechoslovakia to escape the Nazis.  Save Trent Park have posted a clip from the TV series War Hero in my Family in which she finds out about other relatives who failed to escape and about her grandfather's role as a Secret Listener at Trent Park........

Enfield Council has funded 16 new police officers to work as an additional resource to tackle crime on Council housing estates. The officers, who began patrolling at the start of September, will be based on estates where residents have reported higher levels of criminal activity and will be a clear visible presence that any crime or anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated. The extra officers are fully funded by Enfield Council and have been supplied by the Metropolitan Police and MOPAC.......

"Towards Alexandra Palace" by Christine Matthews - an entry in the 2016 Friends of Broomfield Park photo competition Voting is now under way for the 2016 Fields in Trust award for the UK's Best Park and Broomfield Park is among 30 London parks that have been nominated this year. Voting will close at 5pm on Wednesday 9th November. The park with the most votes in each of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will be shortlisted. Their nominators will be invited to attend the.......

Healthwatch Enfield is running an online survey to gauge the level of satisfaction with opening hours at GP surgeries. Online.......

Joan Ryan, MP for Enfield North, has launched an online petition calling on the Government to take immediate action to ensure that we have the number of GPs we need in Enfield for the size of our population.  She is calling for a plan for at least 84 more GPs in Enfield by 2020, as recommended by the Royal College of General Practitioners. The petition is online at joanryan.org.uk/moregpsforenfield.......

The Mayor of London has launched the second phase of his consultation on proposed measures to improve air quality in the Capital. The consultation phase, which runs until 18 December, invites the public to comment on detailed proposals for an Emission Surcharge payable by drivers whose vehicles do not meet stipulated conditions when driving in the Congestion Zone.  It also asks for feedback on the possible earlier introduction of an Ultra Low Emissions Zone and its possible enlargement to.......

Campaigners have launched an online petition aimed at persuading Haringey Council to rethink their decision to sell the former Hornsey Town Hall to an overseas company who plan to convert it into a "boutique hotel" and build housing on part of the site. The 1930s building, situated in Crouch End, near the clocktower, is a Grade II* listed building,  but has been neglected and is on Historic England's At Risk Register. The petition set out by the Hornsey Town Hall Appreciation Society.......

Enfield Clinical Commissioning Group is proposing to close the paediatric assessment unit at Chase Farm Hospital and instead introduce a "new model of care".  Members of the public can give their views - the deadline for responses is 15 January 2017. Paediatric assessment unit consultation We want to hear your views about our proposed changes to the Paediatric Assessment Unit at Chase Farm Hospital The Paediatric Assessment Unit (PAU) at Chase Farm Hospital is open from 9am-9pm, every.......

Winchmore Hill library will be reopening after refurbishment on Tuesday 1st November as a "community partnership library".  There has been no announcement about the identity of the "partner" organisation, but presumably this will be occupying part of the accommodation previously used by the library. Opening hours will be: Monday: ClosedTuesday: 9am to 7pmWednesday: 9am to 6pmThursday: 9am to 6pmFriday: ClosedSaturday: 9am to.......

SDCT members show off their Civic Day Award. L-to-R: Chris Horner (coordinator of Civic Week), Elaine Tyler, Graham Davis, Jane Maggs (SDCT Secretary) Southgate District Civic Trust has won the 2016 Civic Day Award, awarded by the national charity Civic Voice for its "outstanding effort for Civic Day". Civic Day has been held every summer since 2011 and so far has involved more than 1000 community events countrywide.  But Southgate District Civic Trust weren't satisfied with one day -.......

Voting for this year's Aviva Community Fund has now begun.  You can register with the website and cast ten votes - either for a single project, or divided between two or more. Here are some projects that are well deserving and local to us. Ruth Winston Centre Nominated by Coversure - Palmers Green Yvonne Quigley writes:  "As an independent charity we see the needs of the older population increasing and we want to help reduce isolation, improve health and mobility, raise.......