Enfield Council's proposals to restore the meandering course of the Pymmes Brook as it flows through Arnos Park are supported by nature conservation volunteer group Pymmes BrookERS but opposed by park users groups Friends of Arnos Park and Arnos Park Preservation Society. In this article, Colin Barratt from Southgate District Civic Voice summarises the positions of all four organisations.
This article by Colin Barratt was originally published in the July 2025 edition of the Southgate District Civic Voice Newsletter. It is republished with the author's permission.
During my childhood Arnos Park was my local park and playground and I remember paddling in Pymmes Brook, under the tube viaduct. (I wouldn’t advise anyone to do this now!). This park was also where we played our primary school football matches and it was regularly used for cricket matches and by Sunday morning football league teams.
In the nineteenth century, the area which later became Arnos Park was part of the great Walker estate, where Pymmes Brook wandered through the valley, on its way to Edmonton. This part of the estate was bought by Southgate council in 1928 to create Arnos Park. The brook tended to flood at various places along its length. To prevent this, and to accommodate the tube viaduct, which spanned it, the council re-routed and straightened Pymmes Brook, running it in a concrete channel for much of its length.
Over the years the brook has become polluted and there is still a risk of flooding downstream in the Edmonton area, so Enfield Council’s Watercourses Team have put forward a plan to restore the section which runs through Arnos Park. The intention is to recreate its original meandering route, released from its current concrete channel.
This proposal has generated strong feelings both for and against it:
Pymmes BrookERS is a volunteer-run community group that works to improve the health of both the Pymmes and Salmons brooks. They support any proposal to restore the health of the Pymmes Brook along its course and believe this will benefit the river, wildlife, and people.
Their view is that Pymmes Brook is in very poor health. It is polluted by agriculture where it rises in outer London farmland; by sewage from property plumbing misconnections and the poor condition of Thames Water infrastructure; and by road run-off (oil, petrol and heavy metals that come off vehicles via brake pads and tyres, and which wash into rivers after rain, killing all aquatic life). Pollution levels vary with weather conditions and other factors, but the river’s concrete sides and base, straight and too-deep channel, plus weirs in Arnos Park and elsewhere, all contribute to its poor health. Weirs stop fish spawning, so they can’t survive for long. Weirs also slow the flow behind the weir, creating a stagnant pool, where toxic sediment is deposited.
Restoring and re-meandering a river allows it to flow more naturally. Faster flows clean the gravels, under which invertebrates live. These invertebrates are crucial to the food web, supplying food for birds and aquatic life, but they can’t survive in dank, concrete-clad, slow-moving water where sediments are constantly being deposited. A natural river is about 30% fast-moving riffles and 70% slower-moving, deeper pools.
Adding small wetland areas will improve the river even more, as the plants filter out pollutants completely naturally. Wetlands also hold on to volumes of water in heavy rain, which helps to reduce flooding both locally and, vitally, downstream in Edmonton, where there is a risk to people’s homes.
Re-meandering the river will also improve river health and water quality. It will restore biodiversity through riverside planting and wetlands, allowing wildlife to thrive – which means more dragonflies, kingfishers, herons and fish! This scheme in Arnos Park presents an opportunity to enrich the area’s biodiversity.
The Pymmes BrookERS believe that any scheme delivered by Enfield’s watercourses team will be high quality. The team has won awards for its work on the Salmons Brook and Enfield Chase Restoration Project, plus wetlands projects at Wilbury Way, Firs Farm and Albany Park, among others.
Pymmes BrookERS have set up an online petition for people to register they are in favour of the scheme, which currently has 270 signatures.
Friends of Arnos Park and Arnos Park Preservation Society oppose the plan for what they consider a divisive flood defence scheme in Arnos Park. Over 700 residents have appealed to Enfield Council to halt the plans.
A member of both groups, Matthew Pierce, said “Local people are unhappy with the proposal as we believe it will split the park in two, reducing space for ball games, picnics etc. and blocking sightlines in the park, making it less safe for women.
“We also doubt how much of a flood risk Pymmes Brook actually is and think that any wildlife benefits will be severely limited by heavy pollution. How can they afford to maintain this new river?”
The residents highlighted issues with trees and reeds getting overgrown and not being managed on other river schemes such as Turkey Brook in Albany Park and Firs Farm Wetlands in Winchmore Hill.
Matthew said residents would like to see work done to improve the wildlife habitats and tackle the pollution, but many did not think this was the solution.
Enfield Council’s response
A council spokesperson said: “The council is currently in conversation with the Friends of Arnos Park, Arnos Park Preservation Society, and several other local community groups.
“A community meeting will be scheduled this summer which forms part of a series of early engagement events that will help the council to shape the proposal, and address concerns raised by the local park users and residents. A full public consultation is planned to be carried out later in the year.
“The council is designing the scheme based on community feedback, with the key aim of including restoration of natural river habitat and reducing flood risk to hundreds of residents downstream of Arnos Park, including in Edmonton where there is a greater risk of flooding.
“The overall aim of the proposal is to design a scheme that delivers significant benefits to residents and wildlife, while minimising any potential negative impacts.”
Southgate District Civic Voice currently has not taken a position on the proposal, but we felt it was important to put both sides of the debate to our members.
For more discussion about the Arnos Park river restoration project see thls discussion thread in the PGC forums. If you wish to add to the discussion, please comment on this new article.
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