09/01/2018 London News

That's all from the BBC News at,

so it's goodbye from me -

and on BBC One we now join the BBC's

news teams where you are.

Welcome to BBC London News.

I'm Sarah Campbell.

Waltham Forest Council is believed

to be the first employer

in the country to give extended

leave to the parents

of premature babies.

New parents normally

start their leave the day

after their baby's born,

but now the council will grant extra

leave to cover the period

of time their babies

are in hospital.

Tolu Adeoye reports.

I came across the campaign last

autumn. I was very moved. I wanted

to know why parents were not getting

extra maternity or paternity leave

and pay when they were already going

through such emotionally challenging

times would quite often very sick

babies. I came back to Waltham

forest, I asked my HR department if

there was something we could do,

they actually said there was no

reason why we couldn't do something.

What are the practical changes you

have made?

The practical changes we

are making art that for every week

before the due date, the parents

will be entitled to full pay and

leave the maternity and paternity,

so if a child is a week early, they

will get the extra week. Four weeks

early, the extra four weeks.

What

has the response been like from

members of staff?

The response has

been really good. Locally through

social media and a huge outpouring

of support for Waltham forest

council for doing this. The case

does not stop here. We want to start

working with some of our contractors

and partners to get them to put

voluntary steps in place to support

their staff who may have premature

babies going forward. We want more

councils and employers across the

country to follow this lead.

An investigation's begun

into the cause of a fire that's

destroyed a paint factory in North

London.

The flames could be seen

across large parts of the city

and local people were advised

to keep their doors

and windows closed.

It took three hours for almost

100 firefighters to get

the fire under control.

Victoria Cook reports.

The Fire Service are still hear this

lunchtime using aerial ladders as

you can see behind me to damp down

hotspots in the factory. I am joined

by the station manned danger. 100

firefighters last night, quite a big

fire?

-- I'm joined by the station

manager. Yes, it was. It was a 15

bonfire by 20 past ten, with 100

firefighters. -- 15 pump fire. They

worked very hard to stop it

spreading.

Quite a concern because

chemicals, they were inside the

factory, also very explosive and

flammable.

Yes, that probably

accounts for the massive intensity

of the fire initially. The cruise

worked to remove additional storage

away from the building and also to

protect the surrounding areas.

The

Environment Agency are here now. We

have seen surrounding the site blue

paint flowing from the factory, the

water from the Fire Service has

leaked through and it is running

down the road. Is this a concern?

It

is. We have been working with the

Environment Agency, blocked off the

surface water drains because

unfortunately the surface water

around here runs down into the

reservoir so there is some pollution

to the reservoir but also we have

stopped the flow and they will

tanker away the affluent.

At the

moment, does anyone know the cause

of the fire?

Still under

investigation at this point.

For

now, thank you. At the moment, they

do not know how long they will be

here for, the Fire Service, but

certainly for the rest of today.

Victoria Cook there.

Cycling campaigners in Stevenage say

it's disappointing that their town

has far fewer people using bikes

than a Dutch town which it

helped to inspire.

Almere, just outside Amsterdam,

based key parts of its cycling

network on how Stevenage looked back

in the 1970s.

But now, the Dutch city has over

ten times more journeys

by bike than in Stevenage.

Tom Barton reports.

Rush-hour in the Dutch town of

Almere. Barely a car in sight.

Hundreds of people on bicycles.

Going to work and to school. Built

in the late 1970s, this new term is

a cycling success, the third of all

journeys here taken and a pedal

power on a 300 mile network where

bikes and cars are kept almost

entirely separate.

It is good for

the environment and in this city, it

is also much faster than by car.

The

success of the cycle path is down in

no small part to the bicycle network

in Stevenage. 200 miles away.

Britain's first Newtown, Stevenage,

built in the 1950s and at its heart

was the cycle network allowing quick

travel between home and work. It was

on a visit Democrat in the light

1970s Almere's founding fathers were

inspired -- it was on a visit there

in the late 1970s.

The slope is

often fairly steep, so Stevenage has

helped us to take the same system in

Almere.

But while he cycling has

flourished, in Stevenage, it has

floundered. Despite the historic

cycle network, fewer than 3% of

journeys to work are made by bike.

Jim Brown is from the local cycling

club.

It is a disappointment. There

is a lot everybody could do. The two

councils, schools, so on, employers

as well, and there is a shift.

Back

in Almere, they are hoping the

advent of electric bikes will see

more people choosing two wheels

instead of four. Certainly the

authorities in Stevenage could learn

from the lessons of the town they

helped inspire. Tom Barton, BBC

London news, Almere.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have

chosen Brixton as the location

of their second official

royal engagement together.

The couple will visit

Reprezent Radio Station

which was set up in 2008 in response

to an increase in knife crime.

As well as tackling issues on-air,

such as cyber-bullying and mental

health, the station is also

being seen as a hotbed of new talent

for the music industry.

The royal couple will meet some

of its staff and presenters.

I think they are going to be really

cool and down-to-earth

which is the thing I'm

most excited about.

I keep saying though, like,

with Harry, I feel like I will be

able to speak slang to him

and he would understand what I'm

saying because he seems

like a very cool guy.

Even if they don't ask,

I'll volunteer for no fee

at all to DJ at their wedding.

I will learn just for them anything

Harry wants to hear,

I am down to play it.

I would also like to do a special

rap dedicated to them as well.

If they are up for it,

I am here to do it.

Applications to Kensington Palace!

Now let's check on the weather

with Kate Kinsella.

Yet another cold and cloudy day and

that theme will continue this

afternoon. Not much in the way of

brightness. It stays like this this

afternoon as well, a blanket of

rather grave, doll cloud. The called

air is trapped underneath. Compared

to yesterday, the wind a little bit

lighter, coming from the south-east.

As I said, it is still going to feel

cold. Heading into this evening,

conditions do not really change. A

lot of cloud around, gradually the

breeze will strengthen a little bit

and it brings through rain, at

first, Apache, then more persistent

in the second part of the night. --

patchy at first. Rather damp start

for many of us tomorrow morning but

it will clear quite quickly. Showers

to follow. Then at last we should

see some brightness, sunny spells,

dry weather tomorrow afternoon.

Feeling a little milder as well. As

we head over night, Wednesday into

Thursday, I'm afraid all things

resume, mist and fog developing and

the cloud moving back in, quite

murky start into Thursday. If you

get the and fog, fairly slow to lift

-- to mist and fog. Still feeling

quite cold. Night-time temperatures

staying above zero.

That's about it from me.

Riz Lateef will be here

with our 6.30pm evening programme.

Plenty more news, travel and weather

on the website at the usual address.

But for now, from us all,

a very good afternoon.