Agenda item

11.1

Motion in the name of Councillor Joanne Laban

This chamber calls on the Deputy Mayor for Policing to resign after the Metropolitan Police Service was placed in a form of special measures by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS).  Enfield has a high level of serious youth violence so it is a necessity that the Metropolitan Police Service is operating at its best. The Metropolitan Police Service requires new leadership at political and operational level to deliver the improvements it needs to combat crime across London.

11.2

Motion in the name of Councillor Chris Joannides

This Council will sign up to the Miscarriage Association's Pregnancy Loss Pledge to tackle the stigma associated with miscarriage and supports the campaign which wants to introduce paid leave for families who experience a miscarriage.

Miscarriage is the most common kind of pregnancy loss, affecting around one in four pregnancies in the UK.

The Council recognises the emotional trauma and loss suffered by parents as a result of stillbirths and miscarriages. As such, Enfield Council aims to improve support for parents by encouraging work environments where employers show empathy and understanding so employees who have been impacted do not have to use sick or annual holiday leave.

11.3

Motion in the name of Councillor Adrian Grumi

Following the speeches by the Mayor and Deputy Leader regarding their support for serving personnel, veterans and cadets in the borough at this years Armed Forces Day Event, Enfield as a borough join many other councils and organisations across the UK in renewing our Armed Forces Covenant that was first signed in 2012.

11.4

Motion in the name of Councillor Stephanos Ioannou

Council notes that on 4^th March the Mayor of London announced his plan to expand the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) from its current boundary of the North and South Circulars to cover almost all of Greater London, including Enfield. These plans would see the ULEZ expanded by 29^th August 2023.

Council notes that, whilst the ULEZ was originally introduced covering the same area and with the same boundaries as the Congestion Charge Zone, on 25^th October 2021 it was expanded by 18 times its original size to its current boundaries. Council therefore notes that this significant change took place less than a year ago and that the ramifications have yet to be fully assessed.

Council notes that expansion would mean that those with non-compliant vehicles would pay £12.50 per day to drive within the ULEZ. Residents would be forced to pay more to get to work, visit friends and family and take advantage of Enfield's local businesses and high streets. This could cost jobs, damage the social fabric of Enfield, and encourage businesses to locate elsewhere.

Council notes this would be a regressive tax, as the less well-off are disproportionately penalised. Council further notes that this expansion would mean many more areas with poor public transport would be included within the zone; this is fundamentally unfair on those Enfield residents, who would be unable to afford to keep or replace their car and would thus be forced to rely on inadequate levels of public transport.

Therefore, Council opposes measures to push up the cost of living in Enfield by imposing taxes and charges on Enfieldresidents who rely on motor vehicles without providing them with realistic alternatives. Council notes that the Mayor of London has set aside almost £400 million towards expanding the ULEZ and related projects, and suggests this money would be better spent on such measures as:

·a faster upgrade to a zero-emission bus fleet;

·increasing the roll out of rapid charging points;

·encouraging more freight consolidation schemes;

·bringing back the previous Boiler Cashback Scheme to encourage Londoners to upgrade their boilers to reduce household emissions;

·financing a generous scrappage scheme to support Londoners in replacing their vehicles.

Council calls on the Leader to send a letter to the Mayor of London calling on him to withdraw his planned ULEZ expansion and instead, to focus the almost £400 million that he has set aside for it on fairer and more effective ways of improving London’s air quality.

11.5

Motion in the name of Cllr Ergin Erbil

Enfield Council has already established a clear record of commitment to Climate Action. The planting of 100,000 trees over the last two years as part of the Enfield Chase Woodland Restoration Project, the largest woodland creation project in London, was recently given the Trees & Water Award by the Forestry Commission.

Enfield Council has also recently introduced beavers as part of our rewilding agenda. We were saddened to learn that one of the beavers died from natural causes. The council are actively planning to introduce a new beaver at the appropriate season.

We note our thanks to local and national partners, such as the Beaver Trust, Capel Manor College and Forty Hall Farm for their efforts in making the project happen.

Enfield Council will also work to deliver similar projects to further enhance our environment to support the green agenda and animal welfare, such as the reintroduction of cattle.

11.6

Motion in the name of Cllr Doug Taylor

Council reaffirms its support for Crossrail 2 as a project which can generate growth for the borough and improve connectivity both into central London but also Northwards.

It is for Government and Mayor of London to create the opportunities for the project, but Enfield will give its support.

11.7

Motion in the name of Councillor Hannah Dyson

Enfield Council agrees to rethink its deal with Tottenham Hotspur Football Club and commit to serious investment in Whitewebbs Park, securing it for future of generations as apark for the community, a centre of ecology, biodiversity and a thriving community hub.

11.8

Motion in the name of Councillor Andrew Thorp

Across Enfield amazing volunteers are running Uniformed Youth Groups teaching young people skills for life and providing them with an opportunity to have adventures.

Recently Squirrel Scouts celebrated its first birthday. This is Scouts for 4-5-year-olds, and it is particularly targeting wards disproportionately affected by the pandemic to help ensure all children have access to the same opportunities.

Non-formal education transforms young people’s lives and directly supports their achievements at school.

This Council thanks our Borough’s volunteers and commits to supporting uniformed youth organisations across the Borough so that they can reach the young people that need it most.

11.9

Motion in the name of Councillor Christopher Dey

The following roads in Grange Park ward urgently need some traffic calming measures to slow the speed of the traffic. Residents do not want a ghastly ‘Low Traffic Neighbourhood’ they do want to be consulted on what can be done to slow the speed of the traffic. The affected roads concerned are Old Park Ridings, The Grangeway, Vera Avenue, Green Dragon Lane, Green Moore Link, Bush Hill. The Council agrees to allocate more funding to road safety projects.

11.10

Motion in the name of Councillor Maria Alexandrou

Enfield Council values skateboarding and recognises the health benefits of this sport and undertakes to maintain the A10 skateboard park to a high standard and investigate installing a new skateboard park at Broomfield Park.

11.11

Motion in the name of Councillor Paul Pratt

Our Borough of Enfield is fortunate to house many heritage buildings of national and local importance. Indeed, the Council is in fact the owner of several of these. In terms of energy efficiency, Historic England and other heritage organisations draw our attention to the fact that heritage buildings are some of the most inefficient in the UK. This is in part due to certain Energy Efficiency Measures not aligning with guidance for Listed Building Consent. Almost every person and organisation are working towards net zero, whole house retrofitting is a key component of this. It is important that targeted advice and guidance with respect to this matter is provided to residents of Enfield who live in heritage properties.

Regrettably, one of the Council’s heritage properties, Broomfield House, is in such a state of disrepair that it is considered beyond saving in its entirety. This is despite the endeavours of community groups over the last decade and beyond to engage with the Council, to secure the future of Broomfield House. Colin Younger, Chair of The Broomfield House Trust, states; ‘it is disappointing that Enfield appears to have side-lined both groups’.

·         In March 2019 the Council set up a workshop to discuss the possibility of the exterior of Broomfield House being rebuilt.

·         Between 2019 and 2020 the Council funded a proposal from The Regeneration Practice, which later in 2020 was rejected by the Council. This was despite their funding of this proposal.

·         In 2021 it was the view of experts that a Broomfield House project would not score highly enough with the National Lottery Heritage Fund, even though the Borough of Enfield is a priority for NLHF. The conclusion being that it was likely Broomfield House would be demolished and 'memorialised' in some way.

·         Recently there has been an update from the Council, detailing a plan to submit an 'Expression of Interest' to NLHF for improvements to the heritage parts of Broomfield Park which will include proposals for the House.

·         Part of this plan is for there to be a programme of consultation with key stakeholders including relevant organisations.

Enfield Council agrees to engage with both, Broomfield House Trust and Friends of Broomfield Park, at all stages of this consultation. There are no other stakeholders who are more deserving based on their efforts over the last decade and beyond.

11.12

Motion in the Name of Councillor Alessandro Georgiou

This council is concerned about the cost of living is having on the residents of Enfield and notes that domestic electricity and gas prices are predicted to rise by almost 50% this year. Increased energy costs will impact prices of many other products and services.  This Council notes that HM Government has recently announced a bold £15 billion package targeted to the most vulnerable households to alleviate the impact of energy prices. In addition, it continues to deliver the Levelling Up initiative to provide opportunities for all, both locally and nationally.

This Council resolves to:

1.    Write to the Prime Minister to request that she delivers all the Brexit promises to deliver additional savings to all households and to assist in the delivery of the Levelling Up initiative.

2.    Work closely with HM Government to deliver Enfield’s share of the £500m Household Support Fund on a timely basis.

3.    Continue to develop and support the Proactive project to identify and help those most in need or at greatest risk of hardship to ensure they are fully aware of the help and assistance that is available and to ensure they receive that assistance.

11.13

Motion in the name of Cllr George Savva

Enfield Council congratulates the England Lionesses in their amazing achievement, winning the 2022 Euro final, beating Germany 2-1 and bringing football home.

11.14

Motion in the name of Cllr Ergin Erbil

Enfield has a strong and long-standing community of Gypsies and Travellers who live in the borough and Enfield Council is proud to have observed and celebrated Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller History Month during June of this year.Through celebration, education and awareness raising, the event helps to tackle prejudice, challenge myths, and amplify the voices of Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller people in wider society.

The borough does not currently have any allocated sites for gypsies and travellers although it is legally required to assess the accommodation needs of all people living in the area, they are responsible for, and this includes gypsies and travellers. An assessment of Enfield’s traveller accommodation needs in 2020 found that there is an overall need in the borough to provide 21 permanent pitches and 6 transit pitches in the period to 2036 to provide for the needs of those identified as meeting the travelling criteria set out in the Government’s Planning Policy for Traveller sites. If the wider cultural definition of a gypsy and traveller is taken this need rises to 23 permanent pitches. Gypsy and Traveller accommodation needs is currently under review as part of the plan-making process, and this is an important step towards addressing the discrimination faced by the Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities of Enfield. 

This Council resolves that accommodating the borough’s gypsies and travellers’ accommodation needs should be considered via allocations in the emerging Local Plan.

This Council also pledges to work closely with Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities to ensure that we are meeting their identified housing needs, helping them access public services, and tackling the hate crime and discrimination they face.

11.15

Motion in the name of Cllr Nesil Caliskan

Enfield Council is committed to supporting Ukrainian nationals placed in our borough and we pay tribute to the generosity of the people of Enfield who have offered to share their homes as part of the Homes for Ukraine scheme. To date 119 Ukrainian refugees, including 28 children, have been placed in Enfield. 

Enfield Council will continue to offer our full support to Ukraine refugees, and we call on the government to prioritise the safeguarding of refugees and to provide further links to wider support networks nationally.

11.16

Motion in the name of Cllr Alev Cazimoglu

The Adult Social Care Reforms announced by the government have been a long time coming.

Given the delay in getting the legislation through Parliament, a significant amount of work remains to be done in a relatively short period of time.

Despite the proposed introduction of the Care Cap for some older people, in some parts of the country, it will do nothing for those of working age who have disabilities or other care needs, or for unpaid carers.

There is no significant new funding to end delays and stabilise the system, no clear and costed transformational plan for social care and no workforce strategy or improved pay and conditions for 1.5 million care workers.

This Council calls on the government to rethink these reforms to include a comprehensive plan to address all the issues facing the sector.