GREEN RUNNING IN BELSIZE PARK

There is a by-election in Belsize Park on 2 April, and one of the candidates has impressed me with her activism. Naomi Aptowitzer, of the Green Party. She is chair of the local residents' association in Chalk Farm and has been active in combatting anti-social behaviour. For 18 years she has worked for the Borough, and is currently director of ZiPee Bikes Ltd. That is what impresses me the most. She campaigns for better bicycle infrastructure, and in 2007 began the 'Elect Electric' campaign to press coucils to install more on-street charge points for electric vehicles. This would be great, and if we could get more people to drive the G-Wiz, which is visible on most streets in the borough, strangely juxtaposed to the oversizw SUVs, we could all have a bit more tranquility. Bikes, by the way, are bucking the financial trend, bike shops were trading 86% higher in '08 than in '07, so she is on to the new growth industry. And speaking of bikes, my friend Chris Sanders is working on importing a fold up electric bike, which is just about the greenest thing around. It can get people to work for much less money and save on parking spaces all over London. So I hope to see Naomi get in on 2 April, in which case, expect to see her on Haverstock Hill riding the latest e-bike.