Changes to council services

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, the Housing Service has amended its procedures to keep members of the public and staff safe. We will only be seeing people by appointment.

• If you're homeless today and have not been in contact with us already, call 020 3821 1769 for advice about what to do and how we can help
• If you need help with a housing problem or are at risk of becoming homeless (or have been given a notice by your landlord or a court), call 020 3821 1769
• If we are already working with you and you need to speak to your caseworker, call them on the number they have given you. If they are not available, your call will be forwarded to another officer who will assist you. We are likely to be very busy. Unless your query is urgent (you're due to be evicted in the next 14 days, or you have found a new property), you should email your case officer and only call if you don't hear from them in three working days.
• If you need to submit information, use your smartphone to take pictures of the documents that you have been asked to provide. Photograph all the relevant pages/sides of your documents and include your housing application reference in the email subject line. These can be emailed to:
  • hoa@enfield.gov.uk if you have an application with us because you're threatened with homelessness or have become homeless
  • housing.assessment.team@enfield.gov.uk if you're applying to join the housing register
• If someone has asked you to come in for an appointment, make a note of the person's name. When you arrive, let the security guard know your name and the name of the person who has asked you to come in.
• If a change to your income has affected your ability to pay Council Tax, rent, mortgage and other household bills, check our advice and information page to help you during this difficult time. If after reading this you're still unsure what to do and need further help, you can complete our financial support referral form. Our Welfare Advice and Debt Support team will then contact you to help.
• If you're in crisis now and can't afford food or essential items, or need help completing the financial support referral form, ring 020 8379 1000 (select option 7), Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm

If you're worried about becoming homeless and need advice, visit our Housing Advisory Service page.

Repairs

During the current national lockdown period, only essential repair works will be completed inside residents' homes.

Essential repairs are classified as:

• emergency repairs (such as loss of heating, hot water or power, or making safe an electrical or gas installation)
• repairs to toilets, wash basins or baths (where residents only have one bathroom)
• a water or roof leak, which can't be contained and is damaging the home/building
• an unsafe or unsecure window or external door
• lift outages
• communal lighting failures
• any other repair which is deemed to pose a health or safety hazard
• repairs in households where a vulnerable person is present

All council staff or contractors undertaking essential repairs are completing daily COVID-19 screening tests and will wear face masks in line with safety guidelines. We ask residents to inform us when reporting their repair if they have had a positive coronavirus test, or if they are or someone in their home is self-isolating.

Residents should continue to report essential repairs via the normal channels by calling 020 8379 1000 (lines are open 24 hours a day).

All other repairs should be reported by:

• calling 020 8379 1000 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm) and selecting option 4
• visiting our repairs page
• emailing us at housingrepairs@enfield.gov.uk

Residents will be provided with an appointment date for non-essential repairs (subject to government advice) after 1 March 2021.

All booked non-essential repairs are being placed on hold. Residents will be contacted shortly and offered a new appointment from 1 March (subject to government advice). Residents awaiting a non-essential repair are being contacted by text message, where possible. Should the current lockdown be extended further, appointments will be rescheduled again.

Major work programmes and compliance inspections (gas and electrical) will continue as normal.

We'd like to thank everyone for their patience as we adapt council services to ensure that residents, staff and contractors remain safe.

A local tier system is now in place in England, where different restrictions apply in different parts of the country.

Enfield is in Tier 4 'Stay at Home' category.

Library opening hours

The following libraries will remain open with reduced services:

• Enfield Town - Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5pm (ground floor or first floor only)
• Edmonton Green - Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5pm (ground floor or first floor only)
• Ordnance Unity Centre - Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
• Palmers Green - Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm

All other libraries in the borough are closed.

Our services will look different for the foreseeable future. Our main priority is the safety of staff and customers. Face coverings must be worn inside all library buildings in line with current government guidance and you will be required to provide your details for NHS track and trace purposes.

Services available

The following library services will be available:

• Click and collect - available at Enfield Town, Edmonton Green, Ordnance Unity Centre and Palmers Green libraries by reserving items online or by phone
• Return of library items
• Use of library computers (one-hour session per person) for essential use only
• Help for customers needing additional support to access council information and services (available Monday to Friday only at Enfield Town and Edmonton Green libraries)
• Home delivery services

Unfortunately due to Tier 4 restrictions our bookable browsing service is currently unavailable. However, we can prepare library items for you to pick up through our click and collect service.

Renewals

All items will be automatically renewed for an additional loan period (books 3 weeks, CDs 2 weeks, and DVDs 1 week).

Please be aware that reserved items won’t be automatically renewed. Before the date of return, borrowers will be contacted by email asking them to return the item, if possible, as there is a request for it.

There are currently no charges for overdue items.

Safety measures

To ensure the library stays a safe space for our staff and visitors, and to prevent the spread of coronavirus, a range of measures have been introduced:

• Social distancing will be strictly enforced
• Limited capacity in our buildings
• Extra cleaning measures

Libraries cannot be used for recreational or social use, but this will be reviewed ahead of forthcoming guidelines.

Online resources

We will continue to develop our online digital offer so you have plenty of choice. You can become a new member and access a full range of online resources and eBooks without having to physically visit a library. To do this, visit the digital library service.

If you have any further questions, call:

• Edmonton Green Library on 020 8379 2610
• Enfield Town Library on 020 8379 8341
• Ordnance Unity Centre Library on 020 8379 2688
• Palmers Green Library on 020 8379 2711

Controlled parking zones (CPZs)

NHS and health and social care staff, and NHS COVID-19 volunteers (critical care workers) will continue to receive free parking in CPZs when displaying the HM Government Coronavirus (COVID-19) Parking Pass.

South Edmonton (Tottenham Hotspur Stadium) controlled parking zone

There will be no enforcement of South Edmonton (Tottenham Hotspur Stadium) CPZ when football matches are played behind closed doors at the stadium.

Taxi Card Scheme

Taxi Card Scheme members can use the Taxi Card service for the collection of groceries and medicines, by a driver or a person nominated by the Taxi Card member, without travelling themselves until 31 December 2020.

For information on the use of face coverings and travel, visit GOV.UK and Transport for London.

England is currently in a national lockdown. There are a limited number of things you can do in parks and open spaces in Enfield. Read the latest guidelines for your area. 

According to the latest guidance, you can only meet one person outdoors from another household for exercise only. You cannot meet for recreation or leisure, such as a picnic. You can exercise in and visit some outdoor places, such as parks, public gardens or the countryside. You can only leave your home for exercise once per day and you should not travel outside of your local area. 

We urge everyone to continue to respect the social distancing guidelines that stay in place. You should observe the advice given on signs or banners, or instructions from council staff. We will change these arrangements if people fail to observe these restrictions and put the health and wellbeing of others at risk.

If you're showing coronavirus symptoms, or if you or any of your household are self-isolating, you should stay at home. This is critical to staying safe and saving lives.

Enfield Register Office

The register office is currently only open for death registrations.

Unfortunately, we are not taking any other bookings at this time.

If your ceremony, birth appointment or notice of marriage appointment has been put on hold by us, we will contact you as soon as we can to start rescheduling these again.

Death registrations

Death registrations are available over the telephone, so there is no need for you to travel to the office in person.

Before you book an appointment to register a death, please make sure the medical certificate of cause of death has been emailed to us by the hospital or GP, as we won't be able to proceed without it.

You can book an appointment online.

Keep up-to-date

Check our website before calling or emailing us about registrations. We will continue to update this page when new information is available.

Sports facilities

Due to the national lockdown, indoor gyms and sports facilities will remain closed. Outdoor sports courts, outdoor gyms, golf courses and riding centres must also close. Organised outdoor sport for disabled people is allowed to continue.

Further information is available at GOV.UK.

Leisure centres

Leisure centres and swimming pools run by Fusion Lifestyle are closed until further notice. For the latest information and details of online classes visit Fusion Lifestyle.

Active Enfield

All physical activity sessions organised by the council’s Active Enfield Team have stopped. If you have already made a booking, you will be contacted by email. For updates, follow Active Enfield on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.

Read further advice on using parks and open spaces.