While we admire and support the Christmas campaigns that we see pop up in December, we also know that help is urgently needed all year round, each and every year. As some people pack away after the festive break, we are still here.
Our support is not limited to a food package, but it leaps beyond - we form connections, we listen and respond to everyone who steps through our doors. We open up a warm, safe, environment which aims to feel like a home away from home.
For us to continue to thrive and grow, and keep supporting as many people as possible, we are asking you to become a Friend of Cooking Champions. Even a donation of just £5-10 per month can make a HUGE impact on the lives of those who come through our doors.
Pop to our People's Fundraising page to donate, and we promise to keep you updated with how your support is making a difference. Thank you, we appreciate you! Team Cooking Champions
Following the official launch last week of the borough's new Heritage Strategy, Enfield Council is encouraging community groups to propose ideas for local heritage projects that could attract funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF). Recent changes to NLHF priorities mean that projects in Enfield should stand a higher chance of success when bidding for funds.
Enfield Council have secured additional funding to install more cycle parking in #Enfield, including bike hangars on residential streets. They want to know where you would like to see extra cycle parking.
For two days in mid-November a vacant shop at the heart of Palmers Green will be transformed into PG Vintage Flea - a veritable emporium selling all things vintage.
The long drawn out process of finalising the North London Waste Plan is continuing. The next important stage - the examination in public by the planning inspector - is scheduled for November. Its outcome has the potential to determine whether or not a waste processing plant is built on an important nature conservation site - the woodlands adjacent to the Pinkham Way section of the North Circular Road.
At the recent meetings about reviving Palmers Green town centre a suggestion made from the floor was that PG needs a 'community hub'. So what might a community hub look like? A couple of months ago I visited Social Spider, the community interest company that publishes the Enfield Dispatch. Their offices are in Walthamstow, in a building called The Mill. The Mill is a perfect example of one possible type of community hub.
Palmers Green's first ever pop-up parklet event, on Sunday 15th September, was a great success. There were plenty of visitors, the weather was ideal (believe it or not, there was a time not so long ago when it didn't rain every day), the location - at the Green Lanes end of Devonshire Road - was well chosen, nearby businesses joined in - Stitch! even opened on a Sunday specially - and the council was cooperative. But most of all, the event succeeded because of hard work and careful planning by a team of around 20 people and because it was such a great idea!
Enfield Council is continuing its work aimed at reviving the borough's town centres and last week launched a community engagement programme inviting people to 'participate in a conversation about Enfield Town and create a vision for its future'. Next week a council committee tasked with finding ways to improve Enfield's shopping areas will be meeting - the agenda and accompanying documents provide some insight into the council's emerging ideas for its town centres, in particular Enfield Town and Palmers Green.
Campaigners opposed to the indiscrimate conversion of offices into flats have welcomed support from both sides of the political divide on Enfield Council, among them council leader Nesil Caliskan. Council officers are currently investigating whether there is a strong enough case to apply for an 'Article 4 direction'. This would remove 'permitted development rights' which allow developers to carry out such conversions without obtaining planning permission.
Transport for London (TFL) are carrying out research into new cycling infrastructure in LB Camden, LB Enfield, and LB Waltham Forest and are seeking volunteers. They would like to understand the experiences of older and disabled people, particularly when getting on and off the buses where pedestrians and cyclists are having to share the same space.
On Wednesday 11th September Fox Lane & District Residents' Association will be hosting a special meeting about the council's ideas for regenerating Palmers Green town centre. The meeting is open to everyone from PG - no need to live in the Fox Lane area.