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 'mixed' feedback from residents, Enfield Council have removed the 'point no entry' scheme in Stonard Road. A review of options for the locality is to be carried out and a new consultation is anticipated before the end of the year.
As Enfield Council puts in place the infrastructure for a new batch of school streets, including schemes in Hazelwood Lane and outside Bowes School, the Clean Cities Campaign asks, 'Could you do an 'active' school run?'
More details are available about the Individual Circumstance Exemptions that can be applied for and will allow vehicles to drive past camera-controlled filter points in the Bounds Green low-traffic neighbourhood and the two other LTNs that Haringey Council is introducing in the near future.
Rod King, the founder of 20's Plenty for Us, sets out the case for a standard urban and village speed limit of 20mph and describes the road to getting there.
Enfield Council is consulting residents about its plans to introduce a further six school street schemes, including two in Palmers Green - outside Hazelwood Schools and Bowes Primary. At the times that pupils arrive at and leave schools school streets are closed to all motorised traffic other than residents and other drivers with exemptions.
E-scooters could play a role in ensuring a green and sustainable future for London, helping people to use private cars less. Yet many worry about their use, fearing an increase in accidents and reduction in physical activity.
The newly published results of a study by the environmental charity Possible shows that excessive car use on London's roads causes significant delays to fire engines and ambulances and is likely to contribute to deaths of patients. The researchers took advantage of the huge drops in traffic during the 2020 lockdowns to compare emergency service response times during these periods with response times and before and since. During lockdowns response times fell dramatically, particularly for inner London fire stations. The research does not support claims that cycle lanes and low-traffic neighbourhoods cause delays to emergency services.
Enfield Council is planning to make changes to the Fox Lane and Bowes low-traffic LTNs, aimed at easing access for disabled people and emergency services. Some bollards will be replaced by camera-controlled restrictions and blue badge holders and dial-a-ride buses will be allowed to drive past them. In addition, the council is seeking views on the future of the restriction in Meadway and about possibly switching the access points for the Bowes LTN.
Following 'call-ins' by opposition councillors, Enfield Council's scrutiny committee will be discussing the council leader's decisions to make two active travel schemes permanent: the Fox Lane low-traffic neighbourhood and a small scheme in Bull Lane near the North Middlesex Hospital. The meeting on 28th February will also discuss a petition calling on the council to 'take down the flower beds and wooden blocks in the middle of the road for all of the palmers green and Winchmore Hill area'.
In the first of a series of webinars organised by the charity Playing Out, Kim Leadbeater MP talks about how play streets can help build more resilient communities.