Forum topic: Developers to exhibit details of proposed Arnos Grove station housing scheme

"Local democracy report"??!! What's the when it's at home? Is that an actual job title for his coverage requirement in the EI or just what localist anti-development campaigners are now calling themselves....??

No, you're barking up the wrong tree completely. The Local Democracy Reporter scheme was set up in 2017 to help plug the huge gaps in the reporting of local democracy issues in the UK. Local papers had been reduced to simply regurgitating press releases and did very little proper journalism. There are now 150 or so Local Democracy Reporters, paid for by the BBC but employed by local papers around the UK. Their job is to provide balanced reporting on local authorities and other local democratic institutions. The car park housing controversy is exactly the kind of issue they are meant to cover.

Simon Allin has been the LDR at the Enfield Independent for the last couple of years and as a result the paper's coverage of important issues has improved considerably. (However, the Independent seems to have got rid of the reporters that they had previously, which wasn't really the idea!) His stories can also be used by the Enfield Dispatch. I'm pondering registering to use them on PGC, if I can qualify.

For more information see enfielddispatch.co.uk/local-democracy-reporting-service/

My own unresolved reaction to this proposal was helped at the weekend by a press article highlighting a new 1000 people / 636 household estate in the USA. It’ll be car free and parking nearby will be banned under terms in your lease. The space that would have been for parking will be turned over to shops, green space and a plaza. There’ll be designated spots for ride sharing pick-ups. Residents are to be encouraged to travel by foot, bike, scooter, bus or taxi.
The aim, “to remake cities for people not cars” and “we want our residents to see life from their doorstep, not struck behind a windshield”. As the developer also added, “we are seeing the first generation of people choosing not to own cars”.
Putting your money where your mouth is I guess.

My approach to this is very straightforward: London needs homes more than stimulants to drive a car about shedding minute fragments of tyres and, currently, exhaust gases, which are good for no one's health. And bear in mind that down in the heart of London the Mayor is busy finding ways to limit car use there.

Integrated policies for a city must be a good thing.

There is though a problem. Which is that people who currently park near the station may well have chosen their current homes knowing that the parking will be available. Which in turn may mean adjustments of bus routes or other approaches I haven't thought about, plus secure cycle storage - I have a white-collar neighbour who rides a small motorbike into central London every day. There is a lot which can be done.