Cash boost for parks and open spaces as council allocates spending from government grant

Six play areas across the borough are set for an “uplift” while new litter bins and fencing will be installed across several parks, reports Joe Ives, Local Democracy Reporter

The entrance gates to Trent Park are set be replaced

Play area upgrades and new fencing to prevent fly-tipping and antisocial behaviour are among £570,000 of public space improvements planned by Enfield Council.

The investment, funded by a grant from the government’s ‘Pride in Place’ programme, was signed off last Friday (14th) Edward Smith, the council’s cabinet member for council assets and culture.

A council decision report said the measures will bring together “a package of schemes across parks, cemeteries and open spaces”, including “targeted works to local heritage and civic assets”.

Six play areas across the borough are set for an “uplift”, including a major £75,000 refurbishment of the one located at High Road Open Space in New Southgate.

Meanwhile, at Provident Park in Brookside Road, Edmonton Green, £25,000 will be spent on boundary fencing to “prevent incursion”, fly-tipping and antisocial behaviour. Another £20,000 has been pencilled in for similar works at Albany Park in Enfield Wash.

In addition, the “historic” entrance gates at Trent Park in Cockfosters are set to be replaced following repairs to the Grade 2-listed stone pillars, which had previously been damaged by large vehicles used for events hosted at the park.

New litter bins will also be installed across many of the borough’s parks.

A further £20,000 is to be spent on nine new street benches at yet-to-be decided “feasible locations”.

In its report, the council said the works were “consistent” with the government-funded Pride in Place initiative, with its aim of “targeting visible improvements to community spaces, public spaces and local high streets”.

The local authority also hopes the latest decision will help provide a “practical route to accelerate existing capital priorities and improve the everyday experience of residents using local parks and public realm assets”.

Last September it was announced that Enfield would receive £1.5million from the government scheme for “tangible, place-based improvements” to public spaces across the borough, to be delivered by March 2027.

In March this year there was a separate Pride in Place award made of £40m for improvements to two specific neighbourhoods in the east of the borough.

Half of this extra funding is to be spent on Enfield Wash and the northern part of Enfield Highway, and the other £20m will go towards improving Lower Edmonton. Neighbourhood boards are now being set up, in conjunction with local MPs Feryal Clark and Kate Osamor, to co-ordinate investment via a “community-led approach”.

Enfield was one of only three London boroughs to have two different areas chosen for the extra funding. For each area the funding will be spread over a decade-long period, meaning there will be £2m available for these communities every year between now and 2036.

The newly-approved public spaces improvements will be funded from the initial £1.5m, borough-wide allocation awarded to Enfield Council.

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