Most people support improving the centre of Enfield Town but are concerned over the scale and density of plans drawn up by a developer, a survey shows.

The height of proposed tower blocks up to 26 storeys high was the main concern cited by those who responded to a survey on plans by DWS, a division of Deutsche Bank, to redevelop the Palace Exchange and Palace Gardens shopping centres in Enfield Town.

Carried out by charity Civic Voice, the survey drew 2,140 responses – the overwhelming majority of which (95 per cent) came from Enfield residents.

Findings from the survey were presented to the public by Civic Voice’s executive director, Ian Harvey, during an online meeting on Monday.

More than three-quarters of respondents (77.7 per cent) supported making improvements to the town centre but had reservations about the proposed scheme.

Most thought a wider choice of shops (77.8 per cent) and better landscaping (73.2 per cent) would improve the town centre, but less than one in ten (9.5 per cent) believed 350 rental flats would do so.

The height of the proposed towers was the main concern cited by those who gave their views – identified in more than 700 responses.

A further concern, identified in more than 500 responses, was that the housing would not address local need.

The provision of car parking was also deemed insufficient, with respondents warning a new development would exacerbate existing traffic and parking problems.

A mistrust of Enfield Council to make the decision was evident in 131 of the responses, Mr Harvey revealed.

Civic Voice said there was a perception among respondents that the consultation on the scheme had so far been “tokenistic”.

Although it credited the developer for carrying out a pre-application consultation, the charity called for it to publish more tangible and transparent information about the consultation.

It suggested the applicant join a webinar with Civic Voice to discuss the feedback and undertake a “more physical consultation” when coronavirus restrictions allow.

The charity also recommended that The Enfield Society seek the views of a younger audience, with only six per cent of responses to the survey coming from those aged under 35.

A further webinar on the survey findings will be held at 7pm on Thursday. Details are available here.