Enfield Council has launched consultations on the “masterplans” for its controversial proposed housing developments in the Green Belt, at Crews Hill and "Chase Park". The consultations are open for two weeks only, from 8th September to 22nd September.
An artist's impression of the proposed "Chase Park placemaking area" (the area outlined in brown) taken from the council's consultation document. The visualisation shows new housing estates on both sides of Enfield Road (the main road that runs towards Enfield Town from Oakwood Station)
Enfield Council has published "masterplan" documents with details of its vision for two "placemaking areas" where it envisages extensive housebuilding on sites that are currently protected from development because they have Green Belt status. The two areas are "Chase Park" - land east of Trent Park on either side of Enfield Road - and Crews Hill. A brief consultation period began on Monday and runs until 22nd September, with a drop-in information event at Enfield Town Library on 17th September (3pm to 7pm).
On its website, the Enfield Society has voiced strong reservations about several aspects of the newly published proposals for both sites, as well as about the brevity of the consultation period - a fortnight when, the Society says, six weeks would be more appropriate.
The draft masterplan for Crews Hill includes new developments on both sides of the railway line and both sides of Cattlegate Road
The proposals for the two large new housing developments on Green Belt land are among the top issues that are being looked into by Steven Lee, the planning inspector who is currently undertaking the "examination in public" of the Enfield Local Plan that has been developed by the council.
There are several factors that make it difficult to predict whether or not the inspector will rule that the proposals for these sites are "sound". They include: a more positive government attitude towards building in the Green Belt and the corresponding change in the stance taken by London mayor Sadiq Khan; Transport for London's view that the proposals for both sites would not provide sufficiently dense housing to make new bus services viable and would thus lead to an increase in car miles driven; and - a new consideration - the possibility suggested by On London editor Dave Hill that the government might choose Crews Hill for one of its planned new towns. Presumably, a Crews Hill New Town would be significantly bigger than the council's current proposals and would incorporate an enlarged and improved railway station, a shopping centre and new bus routes.
