Plans not to build on green belt welcomed

In the Labour council’s draft local plan it proposed to reviews its green belt boundaries and suggested building on the Crews Hill area of the borough- also located in the green belt.

But a response from Mayor of London Sadiq Khan dismissed these proposals to build in the Crews Hill area as it is not near enough transport links and said there was no need to review the green belt boundaries in the borough.

The written response to Enfield Council from representatives from Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “Green belt boundaries should only be altered where exceptional circumstances are fully evidences and justified, through the preparation or updating of plans.”

The leader of the council’s Conservative opposition group, Cllr Joanne Laban, welcomed Mr Khan’s response.

She said: “There is no need for a green belt boundary review, I agree with the Mayor of London.

“The council needs to step up to the challenge of building more housing because trying to put houses on the green belt is the lazy answer. We need to utilise more brownfield sites.

“The Tory group housing policy is not building on green belt because Enfield’s unique selling point is that we have town and country in one borough.”

Ms Laban also criticised the council for its lack of progress on the Meridian Water development site – a 20-year regeneration programme in upper-Edmonton, set to deliver 10,000 homes.

She said: “There are no bricks in the ground. If you can’t build anything on there what change is there of building anywhere else.”

Cllr Lindsay Rawlings, the shadow cabinet member for environment, added: “I would like to thank the Mayor for his robust response to Enfield Council’s Draft Local Plan consultation.

“He is correct, Crews Hill is not the right location for development due to its location deep within the Green Belt and lack of transport capacity.

“I really hope that Enfield Council listens to the Mayor on the important issue of the Green Belt.”