0:00:00 > 0:00:00That's all from the BBC News at, so it's goodbye from me -
0:00:00 > 0:00:13and on BBC One we now join the BBC's news teams where you are.
0:00:13 > 0:00:14Welcome to BBC London News.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17I'm Sarah Campbell.
0:00:17 > 0:00:21Waltham Forest Council is believed to be the first employer
0:00:21 > 0:00:23in the country to give extended leave to the parents
0:00:23 > 0:00:25of premature babies.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28New parents normally start their leave the day
0:00:28 > 0:00:31after their baby's born, but now the council will grant extra
0:00:31 > 0:00:33leave to cover the period of time their babies
0:00:33 > 0:00:34are in hospital.
0:00:34 > 0:00:43Tolu Adeoye reports.
0:00:43 > 0:00:48I came across the campaign last autumn. I was very moved. I wanted
0:00:48 > 0:00:53to know why parents were not getting extra maternity or paternity leave
0:00:53 > 0:00:57and pay when they were already going through such emotionally challenging
0:00:57 > 0:01:04times would quite often very sick babies. I came back to Waltham
0:01:04 > 0:01:08forest, I asked my HR department if there was something we could do,
0:01:08 > 0:01:12they actually said there was no reason why we couldn't do something.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16What are the practical changes you have made?The practical changes we
0:01:16 > 0:01:21are making art that for every week before the due date, the parents
0:01:21 > 0:01:27will be entitled to full pay and leave the maternity and paternity,
0:01:27 > 0:01:34so if a child is a week early, they will get the extra week. Four weeks
0:01:34 > 0:01:38early, the extra four weeks.What has the response been like from
0:01:38 > 0:01:42members of staff?The response has been really good. Locally through
0:01:42 > 0:01:48social media and a huge outpouring of support for Waltham forest
0:01:48 > 0:01:51council for doing this. The case does not stop here. We want to start
0:01:51 > 0:01:56working with some of our contractors and partners to get them to put
0:01:56 > 0:02:02voluntary steps in place to support their staff who may have premature
0:02:02 > 0:02:06babies going forward. We want more councils and employers across the
0:02:06 > 0:02:09country to follow this lead.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11An investigation's begun into the cause of a fire that's
0:02:11 > 0:02:13destroyed a paint factory in North London.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15The flames could be seen across large parts of the city
0:02:15 > 0:02:17and local people were advised to keep their doors
0:02:17 > 0:02:18and windows closed.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21It took three hours for almost 100 firefighters to get
0:02:21 > 0:02:22the fire under control.
0:02:22 > 0:02:27Victoria Cook reports.
0:02:27 > 0:02:32The Fire Service are still hear this lunchtime using aerial ladders as
0:02:32 > 0:02:37you can see behind me to damp down hotspots in the factory. I am joined
0:02:37 > 0:02:42by the station manned danger. 100 firefighters last night, quite a big
0:02:42 > 0:02:49fire?-- I'm joined by the station manager. Yes, it was. It was a 15
0:02:49 > 0:02:57bonfire by 20 past ten, with 100 firefighters. -- 15 pump fire. They
0:02:57 > 0:03:03worked very hard to stop it spreading.Quite a concern because
0:03:03 > 0:03:08chemicals, they were inside the factory, also very explosive and
0:03:08 > 0:03:12flammable.Yes, that probably accounts for the massive intensity
0:03:12 > 0:03:17of the fire initially. The cruise worked to remove additional storage
0:03:17 > 0:03:23away from the building and also to protect the surrounding areas.The
0:03:23 > 0:03:26Environment Agency are here now. We have seen surrounding the site blue
0:03:26 > 0:03:32paint flowing from the factory, the water from the Fire Service has
0:03:32 > 0:03:37leaked through and it is running down the road. Is this a concern?It
0:03:37 > 0:03:42is. We have been working with the Environment Agency, blocked off the
0:03:42 > 0:03:45surface water drains because unfortunately the surface water
0:03:45 > 0:03:50around here runs down into the reservoir so there is some pollution
0:03:50 > 0:03:54to the reservoir but also we have stopped the flow and they will
0:03:54 > 0:04:03tanker away the affluent.At the moment, does anyone know the cause
0:04:03 > 0:04:07of the fire?Still under investigation at this point.For
0:04:07 > 0:04:11now, thank you. At the moment, they do not know how long they will be
0:04:11 > 0:04:15here for, the Fire Service, but certainly for the rest of today.
0:04:15 > 0:04:20Victoria Cook there.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22Cycling campaigners in Stevenage say it's disappointing that their town
0:04:22 > 0:04:25has far fewer people using bikes than a Dutch town which it
0:04:25 > 0:04:26helped to inspire.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28Almere, just outside Amsterdam, based key parts of its cycling
0:04:28 > 0:04:31network on how Stevenage looked back in the 1970s.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33But now, the Dutch city has over ten times more journeys
0:04:33 > 0:04:34by bike than in Stevenage.
0:04:34 > 0:04:40Tom Barton reports.
0:04:40 > 0:04:46Rush-hour in the Dutch town of Almere. Barely a car in sight.
0:04:46 > 0:04:51Hundreds of people on bicycles. Going to work and to school. Built
0:04:51 > 0:04:56in the late 1970s, this new term is a cycling success, the third of all
0:04:56 > 0:05:02journeys here taken and a pedal power on a 300 mile network where
0:05:02 > 0:05:06bikes and cars are kept almost entirely separate.It is good for
0:05:06 > 0:05:14the environment and in this city, it is also much faster than by car.The
0:05:14 > 0:05:19success of the cycle path is down in no small part to the bicycle network
0:05:19 > 0:05:26in Stevenage. 200 miles away. Britain's first Newtown, Stevenage,
0:05:26 > 0:05:30built in the 1950s and at its heart was the cycle network allowing quick
0:05:30 > 0:05:35travel between home and work. It was on a visit Democrat in the light
0:05:35 > 0:05:431970s Almere's founding fathers were inspired -- it was on a visit there
0:05:43 > 0:05:51in the late 1970s.The slope is often fairly steep, so Stevenage has
0:05:51 > 0:06:01helped us to take the same system in Almere.But while he cycling has
0:06:01 > 0:06:05flourished, in Stevenage, it has floundered. Despite the historic
0:06:05 > 0:06:09cycle network, fewer than 3% of journeys to work are made by bike.
0:06:09 > 0:06:14Jim Brown is from the local cycling club.It is a disappointment. There
0:06:14 > 0:06:20is a lot everybody could do. The two councils, schools, so on, employers
0:06:20 > 0:06:25as well, and there is a shift.Back in Almere, they are hoping the
0:06:25 > 0:06:29advent of electric bikes will see more people choosing two wheels
0:06:29 > 0:06:33instead of four. Certainly the authorities in Stevenage could learn
0:06:33 > 0:06:39from the lessons of the town they helped inspire. Tom Barton, BBC
0:06:39 > 0:06:44London news, Almere.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have chosen Brixton as the location
0:06:47 > 0:06:49of their second official royal engagement together.
0:06:49 > 0:06:50The couple will visit Reprezent Radio Station
0:06:50 > 0:06:54which was set up in 2008 in response to an increase in knife crime.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56As well as tackling issues on-air, such as cyber-bullying and mental
0:06:56 > 0:06:59health, the station is also being seen as a hotbed of new talent
0:06:59 > 0:07:00for the music industry.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03The royal couple will meet some of its staff and presenters.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06I think they are going to be really cool and down-to-earth
0:07:06 > 0:07:10which is the thing I'm most excited about.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13I keep saying though, like, with Harry, I feel like I will be
0:07:13 > 0:07:16able to speak slang to him and he would understand what I'm
0:07:16 > 0:07:18saying because he seems like a very cool guy.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20Even if they don't ask, I'll volunteer for no fee
0:07:20 > 0:07:22at all to DJ at their wedding.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25I will learn just for them anything Harry wants to hear,
0:07:25 > 0:07:26I am down to play it.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30I would also like to do a special rap dedicated to them as well.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34If they are up for it, I am here to do it.
0:07:34 > 0:07:36Applications to Kensington Palace!
0:07:36 > 0:07:37Now let's check on the weather with Kate Kinsella.
0:07:41 > 0:07:46Yet another cold and cloudy day and that theme will continue this
0:07:46 > 0:07:51afternoon. Not much in the way of brightness. It stays like this this
0:07:51 > 0:07:59afternoon as well, a blanket of rather grave, doll cloud. The called
0:07:59 > 0:08:02air is trapped underneath. Compared to yesterday, the wind a little bit
0:08:02 > 0:08:08lighter, coming from the south-east. As I said, it is still going to feel
0:08:08 > 0:08:12cold. Heading into this evening, conditions do not really change. A
0:08:12 > 0:08:16lot of cloud around, gradually the breeze will strengthen a little bit
0:08:16 > 0:08:21and it brings through rain, at first, Apache, then more persistent
0:08:21 > 0:08:30in the second part of the night. -- patchy at first. Rather damp start
0:08:30 > 0:08:35for many of us tomorrow morning but it will clear quite quickly. Showers
0:08:35 > 0:08:40to follow. Then at last we should see some brightness, sunny spells,
0:08:40 > 0:08:47dry weather tomorrow afternoon. Feeling a little milder as well. As
0:08:47 > 0:08:52we head over night, Wednesday into Thursday, I'm afraid all things
0:08:52 > 0:08:57resume, mist and fog developing and the cloud moving back in, quite
0:08:57 > 0:09:05murky start into Thursday. If you get the and fog, fairly slow to lift
0:09:05 > 0:09:09-- to mist and fog. Still feeling quite cold. Night-time temperatures
0:09:09 > 0:09:11staying above zero.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13That's about it from me.
0:09:13 > 0:09:18Riz Lateef will be here with our 6.30pm evening programme.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22Plenty more news, travel and weather on the website at the usual address.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26But for now, from us all, a very good afternoon.