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
The campaigning group Better Homes Enfield says plans for construction of new homes on two areas of publicly owned land are not in line with Enfield Council's own policies on the need for family-sized homes and affordable housing. It calls on the council to seize the opportunity to relieve overcrowding in Edmonton by building fewer, but larger, homes at Meridian Water. With regard to the development of former hospital land at Chase Farm, in addition to the questions of housing size and affordability, it criticises outline planning permission granted for homes built at density levels normally seen in more urban settings, but neighbouring on the green belt and without the urban style amenities (shops,cafes etc) which normally support such dense development.
Enfield Council's plan for a low-traffic neighbourhood in the Connaught Gardens area was drawn up after an origin and destination survey using automatic number plate recognition revealed that there are multiple routes through the area used by drivers cutting through between main roads.
Nat Buckeridge from Enfield Council's Place Directorate has sent information regarding an online discussion about the council's heritage strategy on 9th December. He also has news about a Culture, Heritage and Creative Industries newsletter.
Enfield Council has launched a consultation on proposals for the Connaught Gardens quieter neighbourhood. The council plans to use low-traffic neighbourhood (LTN) principles, which would stop drivers using the area's residential streets as a cut-through between Green Lanes, the North Circular Road and Hedge Lane, while still allowing access to all addresses by car.
On the back of polling showing strong public support for measures to create safe space for walking and cycling, transport secretary Grant Shapps has this week allocated a further £175 million for councils to implement new school streets, low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs), cycle lanes and pedestrian improvements. Polling shows that in London a majority support and only 19 per cent of people oppose LTNs. Other polls are in line with this. There is also evidence that people in favour overestimate the level of opposition to measures to reallocate road space.
A year ago more than half the children attending St Monica's school arrived by car and only just over a quarter by 'active travel' - walking, cycling, scooting or skating. Now, after the introduction of a school street and the Fox Lane low-traffic neighbourhood, the proportions are almost exactly reversed. The headteacher has now begun cycling to school and is suggesting that those parents who still drive all the way to school should think about other ways of getting there.
More than 120 medical professionals, concerned about 'the adverse impact that motor vehicles have on our patients and the broader community', have written to the Mayor of London in support of low-traffic neighbourhoods and cycle lanes.
Enfield's planning committee tonight voted to approve the plan to demolish St Monica's Large Hall (aka the Intimate Theatre) to make way for a new parish centre for the adjoining church plus six two-bed flats. There were seven votes for, one against and four absentions.
The planning committee meeting on Tuesday 3rd November will be considering the application to demolish the Intimate Theatre and replace it by a new parish centre and flats for retired clergy. The council's planning officers recommend approval.