Share this article share on facebook share on twitter

Enfield Council has today published the draft version of its proposed Local Plan for the period 2024 to 2041. There now follows a 13-week period during which councillors will be able to discuss the draft with residents before it is formally put to the vote at a full council meeting on 6th March. The draft plan retains controversial proposals for extensive housebuilding on Green Belt land.

cover of draft of enfield local plan 2019 2041 1

The draft plan that was published today is the "pre-publication version" and consists of a 346-page document plus nine further documents containing supporting information. The final draft version that councillors will be voting on on 6th March will be substantially identical. Subject to their approving it, the draft plan will then be opened up for formal public consultation. Following the conclusion of this consultation, all responses received  will be submitted along with the draft plan and its supporting evidence base to the appropriate secretary of state (currently the SofS for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities) for an independent examination. This stage of the process is outlined in more detail on the council website.

The relatively long period (12 weeks) for councillors to consider the draft was conceded by the council leader following the submission of a petition with more than 3000 signatures in the autumn of 2022. Also as a result of the petition it was agreed that a roll-call of councillors would be recorded at the March full council meeting, indicating how individual councillors had voted.

The petition was an initiative of "Action for Enfield's Future", a coalition of local civic sector organisations comprising the Enfield Society, Enfield Climate Action Forum, Better Homes Enfield, Enfield RoadWatch and the Friends of Whitewebbs. They issued the statement below today and are promising more to come.

action for enfield's future logo

Enfield Council has published its long awaited revisions to Enfield's Local Plan and the council has promised that "Councillors will communicate with their constituents, discussing aspirations for homes and their environment".  The Local Plan will determine the availability of homes, environmental, social and physical landscapes for decades to come with profound implications for the health and wellbeing of future generations.

An unprecedented 7000+ residents responded to the original draft, we hope that Enfield Council has listened to our concerns. Our councillors will vote on whether to accept the plan on March 6th. Over the next twelve weeks we will help you to grab the attention of your local councillors with your views about the plan and why it matters to you.

Action for Enfield's Future

 

Last week an online meeting of Enfield Climate Action Forum received a briefing about the local plan process from Vicki Pite, which you can watch below.

 

I intend to publish some more detailed information about the draft plan in the coming weeks, though given its length and complexity this will be very far from comprehensive. I want to encourage readers (from across the borough, not just PG) to discuss the draft in the forums and, of course, to engage with their councillors and try to persuade them to convene special ward forums.

Though at this stage there's little or no scope for residents to influence the content of the draft plan when it's submitted to the secretary of state next spring, we now have an opportunity to discuss its strengths and weaknesses among ourselves and to formulate appropriately evidenced responses for submission to the planning inspectorate when the time comes. To help with this, EnCAF and LocalMotion will be arranging meetings run along similar lines to the recent Palmers Green community hub.

For a brief summary of the plan's highlights and comments from the opposition and from Better Homes Enfield, see the first item in the list below.

Links

Council leader vows to make Enfield 'deeply green' as she sets out plans for nearly 10,000 homes on Green Belt (Enfield Dispatch 6 December 2023)

Enfield Local Plan - next steps (Enfield Council website 6 December 2023)

You can view the draft Local Plan in its near and final form at the following links:

Or as individual chapters:

The current draft of the Integrated Impact Assessment (IIA) and information for Habitats Regulation Assessment (HRA). These resources will help councillors understand the choices made throughout the planning process. The draft IIA explains the different options considered by the council, highlights the social, environmental and economic impacts of the Local Plan, and considers how any negative impacts could be avoided.

The IIA and HRA can be viewed:

Log in to comment
Karl Brown posted a reply
08 Dec 2023 08:54
The discussion ideas Basil promotes look sound. This plan is important to all and so is worthy of reading and discussing. Doubtless the housing / green belt issue will take centre stage, but hyper local issues are also important as well as being of curiosity value to many.

The densification around public transport nodes, a key element of the London Plan, flows into the Enfield document with building intent concentrated along the various rail and tube route stations. That’s all part of the government and then London intent to reduce private car demand. Enfield follows down the hierarchy.

To jump directly to PG, you need to click on the second URL Basil provides (the one referencing pages 58 to 144) and PG is from page 20 of that pdf / page 76 pdf or the actual plan document.
Specific PG site detail can be found in the URL marked Appendix C, Part 2 where PG starts at page 17 of that pdf, /page 426 of the actual plan.

Headlines? No surprises after the earlier Reg 18 version, but look for:
Support for the high street, its architecture and diversification of offer to improve robustness;
Potential medium-term redevelopment of Morrisons / Travers Perkins sites into housing plus versions of a supermarket, Travers Perkins, some green space and better access from Aldermans Hill to the library area;
Possible change to Lodge Drive into either housing and / or an extension of the school. This latter option would bring a lot more (young) pupils into the area, good for local trade I imagine (the sister site in Enfield Town is slated for potential development elsewhere in the plan);
(Winchmore Hill Sainsbury is similarly slated for housing.)
“Infill opportunities” include the station car park, what looks like the garages off Devonshire Road and Yasir Halim. I assume this also means housing. Oh, and the stable yard in Broomfield Park.
Also, quite a lot of improved access plans to our green spaces, to include walking routes to / from them.
Overall an immense level of stuff covering the complete borough. Worth a browse over the next few weeks and engaging in any local discussions on it. This is important life impacting stuff.
Karl Brown posted a reply
11 Dec 2023 10:23
Quite recently I remember a consultation on three new walking / cycling routes that impacted on PG: by memory -, the train station to Arnos tube; Southgate to Edmonton via PG; and a third which went through Old Park Road to and from somewhere which now escapes me. The future PG map (second URL Basil provides, the one referencing pages 58 to 144, PG map page 20 of that pdf / page 79 of the actual plan document) while difficult to follow due to the choice of colours, might well suggest they are no more.  If so, it would jar with the PG provided vision, “new trails to help improve east-west connectivity across the area”. As with London generally, non-radial routes of all forms need all the support they can muster.
Adrian Day posted a reply
13 Dec 2023 13:40
Thanks Karl. It’s Better Streets’ current understanding that the three proposed routes are awaiting Tfl funding (the early consultation made clear funding was not yet available). Indeed some route signs have been installed (either in error or perhaps a small amount of funding was found). The Journeys and Places team are keen to install lateral active routes and elsewhere in the Plan a commitment is made to improve facilities for walking, cycling and wheeling. I don't know why the three PG routes don't show in the PG section.
Co-ordinator, Better Streets for Enfield
0