A map of the borough from a draft local plan document published by the council in 2018
As part of the process of developing a new local plan for the borough, Enfield Council is currently running an important consultation which asks people about their vision for Enfield in the future. The online consultation asks respondees to choose between various options with regard to the scale of future development, whether priority should be given to housing, jobs, the green belt etc, whether you see making car travel easier as more important than green issues, and so on.
The deadline for responses is 24th February.
The form of the survey and the options it presents have been criticised by Enfield RoadWatch Action Group, campaigners whose main focus is on preserving the integrity of the green belt:
As with so many consultations, we have concerns about the format and content of the survey. Many of the questions are couched in either/ or terms with no opportunity for nuance or detail. Also we believe that many of the guiding principles that are presented as mutually exclusive are in fact possible in combination. Enfield RoadWatch has therefore elected to respond in an email document, which you can read here for reference when submitting your own response.
For instance, the council appears to believe that the borough has to be focussed either northwards towards Hertfordshire, or southwards towards the rest of London, or that we need to choose whether to prioritise schools or homes, when the provision of schools clearly has to be sufficient for the number of families in the borough.
Enfield RoadWatch is encouraging its supporters to take care when responding not to agree to proposals that are confusing or contradictory.
