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Green Belt / Local Plan

  • Hadley Wood is surrounded by Green Belt, which is protected from most forms of development. 

  • Councils can remove land from the Green Belt (or add to it) through their Local Plan. 

  • Enfield's draft Plan (here) removes the Duchy of Lancaster owned fields off Crescent West from the Green Belt, for housing:  

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  • The Forum, HWA and many residents objected to the proposal in the 2021 consultation, as it is wrong to sacrifice valuable Green Belt when there are plenty of available 'brownfield' sites (= previously developed land) in more sustainable development locations.   

  • We had reason to believe that the fields would be dropped from the proposals but, after Councillors intervened, the Plan continues to develop the land here, as well as Chase Park (at Vicarage Farm, opposite the Pick Your Own farm) and Crews Hill.

  • The proposals to build 9,000+ homes on current Green Belt land near us were insisted on by Labour Councillors, even though their position does not align with the London Plan or the government's proposals - the fields here are not 'brownfield' or of lower quality and visually less appealing ('grey belt'), nor are improvements to local infrastructure proposed. 

  • On 6 August 2024 Enfield Council submitted their final draft for examination and Mr Steven Lee was appointed as the independent examiner by the Secretary of State.

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  • An added complication is that, as part of its target 1.5 million new homes, the government has on 12 Dec '24 updated the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), the highest level of planning regulations.  A key aspect is the weakening of protections of the Green Belt, and the downgrade of some parts to 'grey belt' (note: the site in Hadley Wood is high performing Green Belt, not 'grey belt').  As expected, the thousands of comments submitted during the consultation were largely ignored - our comments here.

Local Plan public consultations

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Playing field off Bartrams Lane, with the development site in the background. 

Examination & Public Hearings

  • After reviewing (but ignoring) the consultation feedback, the Council submitted its Plan to the Secretary of State, who appointed Mr Steven Lee from the Planning Inspectorate as independent examiner ('Inspector').  

  • The examination assesses the Plan's legal compliance and soundness, by looking at whether it is:

    • Positively prepared (strategy to meet the objectively assessed needs).

    • Justified (chosen strategy is evidenced and reasonable alternatives considered).

    • Effective and deliverable.

    • Consistent with national policies/laws. 

  • The examiner has published details of the first set of public hearings and questions that he wants to discuss.

  • Interested parties could respond to the questions. The Council has listed the submitted statements, included ours, here.

  • Hearings will start 22 January 2025, and will focus on the process, legal compliance and higher level issues. They will be live streamed on: https://www.youtube.com/@EnfieldCouncil. 

  • The examiner will then decide if the Plan can proceed to hearings on site-specific issues (May?).  The above-mentioned NPPF update is relevant because, if the Plan were to require redrafting, it would be assessed against the updated NPPF; it the Plan can proceed it's considered against the previous version.

  • We are closely monitoring the situation and will participate in the hearings.  Legal counsel and/or expert advisers will be used as appropriate and as our budget allows. 

  • The examiner's final report will have both optional changes and required modifications that are binding.

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View of the Green Belt north of Waggon Road, with Cockfosters Road in the foreground. 

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