Patrick Matthews and Emma Fernandez have run the cafes at Parliament Hill Lido, Queen's Park and Highgate Wood for several years, but were told just before Christmas they had been unsuccessful in a retendering process. The corporation, the governing body that runs London's Square Mile, has responsibility for managing green spaces such as Hampstead Heath, which it runs as a registered charity.
Alison Gaffney and Andy Hinde received the devastating news that their 17-month-old son, Fraser, had a rare type of leukaemia in 2018. Two years of gruelling treatment followed, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy, before a stem cell transplant. Fraser, then aged three, made a miraculous recovery from the surgery, before doctors declared the cancer in remission. It was at this point, as Fraser started to recover and grow stronger, that Gaffney, 36, began to look for answers.
ACV status can help save pubs and other spaces the community cares about. It gave Barnet Museum time to investigate purchasing Tudor Hall and do their due diligence. The government is currently legislating for a longer period for community groups to raise the funds to buy and assess the feasibility of purchasing, levelling the playing field with commercial businesses. If the Black Horse does become an ACV, that could be an option for us if the legislation is passed in time.