Latest news with #CamdenCouncil
Irish Examiner
30-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Examiner
Working Life: 'We're very concerned about the attraction of vapes to young people'
Dr Maurice Mulcahy, regional chief environmental health officer, HSE National Environmental Health Service 'I was born in London after my parents left beautiful West Cork in the 1950s to find work. I moved back to Ireland 30 years ago with my family for a better quality of life. 'My choice of career was prompted by a chance assignment as a clerical assistant to the environmental health service of Camden Council. 'Seeing up close how the service protected and promoted health across a range of environmental health domains — for example, food safety, air quality, housing, pollution — had a big influence on me. 'I've been involved in tobacco control for 20 years-plus. A standout moment was the introduction of the workplace smoking ban. I was in the room in Dublin 22 years ago when Micheál Martin, then minister for health, launched the report on the health effects of environmental tobacco smoke in the workplace. "He then stunned the room and shocked the world by announcing plans for a workplace smoking ban, making Ireland the first country to go 'smoke free'. Dr Maurice Mulcahy, regional chief environmental health officer, HSE National Environmental Health Service at work in Galway city. Picture: Ray Ryan 'My role involves rolling out new legislation and overseeing market surveillance of tobacco and related products across the supply chain, from import to retail level. 'HSE environmental health officers work with businesses nationwide to ensure products comply with the law and, where there is a serious risk to health, issue alerts and take enforcement action. 'We're very concerned about the attraction of vapes to young people and the sale of vapes to U18s. We undertake an annual programme of test purchases, which includes e-cigarettes. Volunteer children, with parental consent, attempt to buy such products to test whether retailers are asking for proof of age. 'The worrying thing, given that tobacco and e-cigarettes/vapes contain highly addictive nicotine, is that we are still finding a high proportion of sales to volunteer children. To date this year, we've prosecuted nine businesses with fines up to €1,000. 'We strongly recommend that those selling e-cigarettes and vapes get details from their supplier of the products' origins and confirm that they are legal. 'It's time to consider what it may mean for our children if sales of vapes go unchecked.' World No Tobacco Day is on Saturday. For further information or to make a complaint about illegal sales of vapes and e-cigarettes, contact
Time Out
21-05-2025
- General
- Time Out
One of the West End's most famous streets is getting a cycle-friendly makeover
Thanks to the city's ever-growing network of purpose-built cycle lanes, London has become a much safer, friendlier place for cyclists in recent years. And soon one of the capital's most famous roads will get easier to use for two-wheeled Londoners, as Shaftesbury Avenue will get new segregated cycle lanes. Plans to make the famously theatre-lined street safer for cyclists were revealed last October, with Camden Council proposing 550 metres of bike lanes between St Giles High Street and Cambridge Circus. As of last week, the plans have been officially approved. Aside from the cycle lanes, which will be on both sides of Shaftesbury Avenue, the scheme also includes plans to make the area greener and more pedestrian-friendly. Nineteen parking spaces will be removed and both Phoenix Street and the top of St Giles Passage will be closed off to motor vehicles. Pavements will be widened and pedestrian crossings will be upgraded, while three cycle hangars will be installed. 'Rain gardens' will also be put in on the south side of the avenue, with the purpose of soaking up rainfall and increasing local biodiversity. The council is yet to confirm when construction will begin on the cycle lane, so watch this space for updates.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Resident's kerbside garden under threat after anonymous council complaint: 'Stupid rule'
A resident who lovingly planted native shrubs and flowers outside her home fears she will have to remove them after an unknown person complained to council saying they were a "visual hazard". Thelma Kilfeather lives in a residential street known for its leafiness in Elderslie, a suburb in Sydney's southwest. She has a well-established front garden, however she told Yahoo News the council has been "targeting it remorsefully" since receiving a complaint and is pushing its "no verge garden" policy onto her "lovely wee flowers". Thelma's friend Tim Pickles, who is a local garden centre owner, told Yahoo she has been contacted by Camden Council five times in four weeks saying the plants in the nature strip outside her home have to go. "They've had one complaint and she doesn't know who it came from," Tim told Yahoo. "They've told her to remove the garden because it's a visual hazard, the idea is that people can't see past it on the road." However, Tim said the plants aren't particularly tall and the nature strip is "not overgrown, it's neatly maintained". "It's not a hazard at all, it's ridiculous," he said. "We should be attracting nature to our nature strips. People should be able to plant trees and shrubs and flowers and even vegetables," he said. "Instead they want it to be turned into a grass slope... or weed-infested mess." 👀 Calls for simple roadside change after council workers spotted in expensive 2.5km act 🌱 Council defends 'disgraceful' road move after residents erupt 😠 'Selfish' nature strip act slammed in angry note Residents are permitted to plant on nature strips in many Aussie councils but often require permission or specific permits to do so. Yahoo News understands Thelma had not asked for or received permission before planting on the nature strip. However, many believe there is unnecessary red tape around something that should be straightforward, with Tim calling it a "stupid rule" and questioning why it's not simply encouraged. "If we attract nature closer to our home, we have better mental health... we should want to encourage gardeners, not find them and prosecute them," Tim said. After sharing details of the issue online, many locals responded and called the decision "crazy". "That's beautiful, it's a pity more people didn't do the same," one said. Camden Council told Yahoo News it has been in contact with Thelma after receiving complaints about her plants in the nature strip. It is unclear if the council received several complaints from the one person or from multiple people. "Following recent complaints, the planting on the nature strip outside the resident's property is under review to ensure it does not pose a safety hazard," the spokesperson said. "The garden is planted on public land and is, therefore, unauthorised." The council said Thelma hasn't been "formally advised" to take action as this stage and it will likely "request the resident trim and maintain the planting appropriately rather than remove it altogether". "Council is currently considering the development of a Nature Strip Maintenance Policy, which would provide guidelines for residents to use their nature strips to plant small plants and shrubs. The development of this policy has been taken into consideration when considering this matter," the spokesperson said. "Council works hard to balance the needs and requests of all residents, as well as consider any risks associated with matters like this." Thelma isn't the first Aussie resident to face this issue with a council before, with Melbourne's Neil McPherson urged to dig out his agapanthus plants from the nature strip outside his home or face an almost $8,000 fine. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Resident's kerbside garden under threat after anonymous council compliant: 'Stupid rule'
A resident who lovingly planted native shrubs and flowers outside her home fears she will have to remove them after an unknown person complained to council saying they were a "visual hazard". Thelma Kilfeather lives in a residential street known for its leafiness in Elderslie, a suburb in Sydney's southwest. She has a well-established front garden, however she told Yahoo News the council has been "targeting it remorsefully" since receiving a complaint and is pushing its "no verge garden" policy onto her "lovely wee flowers". Thelma's friend Tim Pickles, who is a local garden centre owner, told Yahoo she has been contacted by Camden Council five times in four weeks saying the plants in the nature strip outside her home have to go. "They've had one complaint and she doesn't know who it came from," Tim told Yahoo. "They've told her to remove the garden because it's a visual hazard, the idea is that people can't see past it on the road." However, Tim said the plants aren't particularly tall and the nature strip is "not overgrown, it's neatly maintained". "It's not a hazard at all, it's ridiculous," he said. "We should be attracting nature to our nature strips. People should be able to plant trees and shrubs and flowers and even vegetables," he said. "Instead they want it to be turned into a grass slope... or weed-infested mess." 👀 Calls for simple roadside change after council workers spotted in expensive 2.5km act 🌱 Council defends 'disgraceful' road move after residents erupt 😠 'Selfish' nature strip act slammed in angry note Residents are permitted to plant on nature strips in many Aussie councils but often require permission or specific permits to do so. Yahoo News understands Thelma had not asked for or received permission before planting on the nature strip. However, many believe there is unnecessary red tape around something that should be straightforward, with Tim calling it a "stupid rule" and questioning why it's not simply encouraged. "If we attract nature closer to our home, we have better mental health... we should want to encourage gardeners, not find them and prosecute them," Tim said. After sharing details of the issue online, many locals responded and called the decision "crazy". "That's beautiful, it's a pity more people didn't do the same," one said. Camden Council told Yahoo News it has been in contact with Thelma after receiving complaints about her plants in the nature strip. It is unclear if the council received several complaints from the one person or from multiple people. "Following recent complaints, the planting on the nature strip outside the resident's property is under review to ensure it does not pose a safety hazard," the spokesperson said. "The garden is planted on public land and is, therefore, unauthorised." The council said Thelma hasn't been "formally advised" to take action as this stage and it will likely "request the resident trim and maintain the planting appropriately rather than remove it altogether". "Council is currently considering the development of a Nature Strip Maintenance Policy, which would provide guidelines for residents to use their nature strips to plant small plants and shrubs. The development of this policy has been taken into consideration when considering this matter," the spokesperson said. "Council works hard to balance the needs and requests of all residents, as well as consider any risks associated with matters like this." Thelma isn't the first Aussie resident to face this issue with a council before, with Melbourne's Neil McPherson urged to dig out his agapanthus plants from the nature strip outside his home or face an almost $8,000 fine. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ed Miliband's neighbours in uproar over heat pump noise fear
Six 'noisy' heat pumps are at the centre of a neighbourhood row involving Ed Miliband's wife, The Telegraph can reveal. The energy secretary is spearheading the mass adoption of heat pumps and has a target of installing 600,000 a year in Britain by 2028. However, dozens of Mr Miliband's North London neighbours have objected to a planned five-storey block of flats over noise pollution concerns related to the heat pumps included in the designs. Mr Miliband's wife, Justine Thornton, is among those to object to Camden Council about the development in Dartmouth Park, a wealthy suburb in the Prime Minister's constituency. Sherlock actor Benedict Cumberbatch has also opposed the plans. She previously called the design 'too tall, too bulky and too dense', although she has not commented specifically on the inclusion of heat pumps. But the eco devices come up several times in objections lodged by neighbours and published on Camden Council's website. Local resident Kim Roper said: 'The inclusion of six ground-level heat pumps near adjoining residences raises serious concerns about long-term noise pollution.' Jerome Gautrais similarly raised concerns over 'noise pollution risks from six external heat pumps close to living spaces.' Katrina Silver said: 'Six noisy heat pumps and space for bicycles is simply 'greenwashing'.' Mr Miliband has already been left red-faced by his wife's involvement in the so-called 'Nimbyism' row over the flats as it goes against the Labour's repeated promises to end 'challenge culture' whereby communities block new developments. Sir Keir Starmer previously pledged to 'take on the Nimbys.' But, the latest revelation offers fresh embarrassment to Mr Miliband, who has sought to quash anxieties around heat pumps and even has one installed in his own home. Air source heat pumps, which are positioned outside a home, can produce a low constant hum of between 40 and 60 decibels, which is similar to the level of noise made by a fridge or dishwasher. They will typically run continuously throughout winter. A noise impact assessment by ALN Acoustic Design found that it would be possible to achieve a low level of noise at the Dartmouth Park development. It said it would 'avoid causing any significant impact at the neighbouring residential properties.' But, resident Harry Raikes called the noise impact assessment 'inadequate'. He added: 'It does not properly evaluate the potential for continuous or intermittent noise, particularly affecting neighbouring gardens and internal living spaces. 'Without robust mitigation measures and clear assurances that noise levels will remain within acceptable limits, this element of the development poses a risk of ongoing noise pollution, further impacting residents' quality of life.' It comes months after The Telegraph revealed that Parliament paused a planned rollout of heat pumps amid concerns over their noise and effectiveness, Camden Council and the Energy Department were approached for comment. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
