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:

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 available 'brownfield' sites (= previously developed land) in more sustainable development locations, and government statistics forecast much reduced household growth in the borough.
We had reason to believe that the fields would be dropped from the proposals, but 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.

Proposed development sites (source: Enfield Council draft Local Plan, Appendix C)

The proposals to build 9,000+ homes on current Green Belt land near us were insisted on by Labour Councillors, even though the fields here are not 'brownfield' or of lower quality and visually less appealing ('grey belt'), nor are improvements to local infrastructure planned and TfL do not consider the proposed building densities to justify increased public transport investment.
Enfield Council submitted their final draft Plan for examination in August 2024 and Mr Steven Lee was appointed as the independent examiner by the Secretary of State.

An added complication is that, as part of its target 1.5 million new homes, the government has in 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.

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 Stage 1 hearings took place in January 2025, and focused on the process followed, legal compliance and high level issues.
The Stage 2 hearings were in June - August 2025, and dealt with the proposed development sites.
The site in Hadley Wood was discussed on 19th June. We were represented by Rupert Warren KC, one of the country's leading planning barristers. He highlighted TfL's explicit statements that it will not be able to improve the very limited public transport services in Hadley Wood.
The Stage 3 hearings, covering the proposed planning policies, are now taking place (21 Oct - 12 Nov). The examiner's questions can be found here, and the hearings schedule is here. We. are attending the relevant sessions.
The examiner is expected to deliver his report to the Council in Dec/Jan, which will have both optional changes and required modifications that are binding.
The examination is being complicated by two external factors:
- Firstly, the New Towns Taskforce has proposed up to 21,000 new homes in a vast area covering Crews Hill to Oakwood Underground station. This is a material increase over the 9,000 homes proposed in those locations in the draft Local Plan.
- Secondly, the London Mayor's strategic review of the Green Belt will inform the 2026 update to the London Plan, which is expected to propose that a very large number of homes are built on current Green Belt land. However, we do not expect it to directly affect the site in Hadley Wood, as it does not meet the criteria for land that is effectively downgraded to 'grey belt'.
Before the hearings, we and others (including the Council and the Duchy) submitted written statements on the Inspector's questions - see here (Stage 1) and here (Stage 2).

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

Public consultations

The process included two consultations by Enfield Council: 'Regulation 18' in 2021 and 'Regulation 19' in 2024.
In 2021 we were copied on ~1,000 responses by local residents. In 2024 that number doubled to 2,100!
Residents mostly objected to the proposals to build on current Green Belt land, something even the GLA / Mayor of London have objected to - see here.
We wrote detailed representations, prepared with the help of expert consultants, including legal counsel.
Our (2024) Regulation 19 representation and supporting docs can be viewed by clicking on:
Our (2021) Regulation 18 submission was:

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