CPRE London list the former Whitewebbs golf course as a green space under threat, citing the loss of public amenity arising from leasing it to a private company, Tottenham Hotspur FC (Photo: www.golffeatures.com)
A new report by the London branch of the countryside charity CPRE includes two sites in Enfield in a list of green spaces in London that are "under threat".
Forever Green? Privatisation, neglect and financial gain: why 50 London parks and green spaces are under threat and how we can save them, was published by CPRE London at the end of last month, timed to coincide with pre-council elections campaigning.
The two threats in Enfield which are included in its list (actually comprising a total 66 sites across the capital) are the proposal in the draft local plan to build housing on Green Belt land and the leasing to Tottenham Hotspur of part of the former golf course in Whitewebbs Park.
In the introduction to their report CPRE London say that green sites under threat include parks, recreation grounds, open fields, small green spaces in housing estates, sports fields and nature reserves, many of which of these sites have protected Green Belt and Metropolitan Open Land status. This matters, they say, because London has only half the green space needed for the size of its population, while building on the Green Belt
"threatens to create sprawling, car-dependent housing estates. These destroy our countryside while simultaneously adding to congestion, pollution and carbon emissions, at a moment in time when London urgently needs to tackle climate, air quality and health crises."
In CPRE London's view, there is adequate "brownfield" land on which to build the necessary new homes and infrastructure, "often in areas in desperate need of regeneration."
The body of the report looks at the various reasons why green spaces are threatened and suggests that they can be saved by "communities being engaged with a site, ensuring it is well used and valued and campaigning to save it when possible threats emerge".
The charity calls for the creation of more friends of parks groups (there are around 700 in London already, but more than 4000 green spaces), urges readers to join existing and set up new groups, and asks concerned people to lobby candidates for the council elections, setting out a list of six commitments that they want to hear from candidates, each beginning "I will..."
