Forum topic: Council publishes draft local plan 2024 - 2041

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.

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.

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.