Various structures that appear to be houses remain scattered around Barrowfield Allotments despite Enfield Council vowing to take action a year ago, reports James Cracknell

Many structures at Barrowfield Allotments have windows, doors and chimneys

Enfield Council has been accused of “going to sleep on the job” after dozens of illegal structures – several of which appear to be houses – were erected on an allotment site.

Barrowfield Allotments in Edmonton Green has become a maze of buildings constructed without planning permission and in breach of council allotment site policies – as scores of local people remain on waiting lists for plots to grow food.

The problems at Barrowfield were first reported by the Dispatch a year ago, with the council vowing at the time to “investigate” the construction of what appeared to be a house on one of the plots. But a year later, the building remains, along with many others.

When the Dispatch visited the site last month, the problem was worse than ever before, with many plots being dominated by various structures clearly in breach of guidelines – and signs they were being lived in.

While the council insists it has “not yet found anyone living” in the buildings, the Dispatch saw several buildings with chimneys, cooking facilities, improvised water supplies, double-glazed windows, front doors with letter boxes, and children’s play equipment such as swings and trampolines. One building even had a dart board.

Last August, London Fire Brigade was called to a fire in Barrowfield Close which started on the allotment site and then spread to a neighbouring garden. The charred remains of a structure remain there, alongside a huge fly-tip of rubbish. Scattered throughout the site are numerous flammable materials.

Most of the structures at Barrowfield are built with rudimentary materials such as chipboard and, should they be used as dwellings, would breach fire regulations. Council rules state that nothing more than a standard-sized garden shed, for storing tools only, should be built on an allotment.

The ‘house’ the council vowed to investigate last year remains standing

At least three allotment plots have trampolines on them

The location where a fire took place last year

A dart board on the outside of one of the structures

Edward Smith, a senior Conservative councillor, slammed the state of the site. He told the Dispatch: “This is a pattern – the council has neglected its responsibilities for years. If the council goes to sleep on the job, then these sort of abuses happen.

“I would like to know who is obtaining a financial benefit, if people are living there. Presumably they are paying someone to live there. It sounds like criminal activity to me and someone is gaining from it and someone is sitting on their hands.

“Enfield Council should make this particular allotment site a priority, before a horrible accident happens. They need to be taken to task and people prosecuted if necessary.”

Even if buildings at Barrowfield Allotments are being used as ‘summer houses’ during the daytime only, they would still be in breach of policies. The council’s own website states that “failure to comply” with its rules “could result in a termination of the tenancy agreement”.

Another policy is that no-one should visit their allotment after 10pm at night, but local resident Louise Rodway said she’d recently witnessed a party taking place well after this time.

Louise told the Dispatch: “Because I work late, I walk past at 10pm, and we see parties going on – they were banging drums and everything.”

Louise also raised her concerns about the fire last summer. “It is an accident waiting to happen,” she said. “I know someone on the waiting list for an allotment and she couldn’t believe it when I told her what was here.”

Asked why nothing had yet been done to tackle widespread policy breaches at Barrowfield Allotments despite vowing to tackle the issue over a year ago, a council spokesperson said: “We take the situation at Barrowfield Allotments extremely seriously and fully understand the concerns raised.

“Earlier this year, we found the way the site was being managed was not working well. To fix this, we appointed a dedicated allotments officer and are now taking over the administration of the site. This means we can deal with problems more directly and quickly.

“We know there are structures on the site that should not be there. We have assessed the site to understand the scale of the issues. We have also been speaking with the plot holders, who are each responsible for looking after their own plots.

“Our officers are regularly inspecting the site. We have not yet found anyone living in these outbuildings, however, if we do, we will refer them to council housing and support services.

“If we find that anyone has broken the rules of their tenancy agreement, we will take enforcement action where appropriate. Everyone who rents a plot knows the rules, and anyone who has broken them will either have already received a letter from us, or will soon, explaining their responsibilities and how long they have to fix any breaches.

“We have also engaged a specialist waste removal contractor. They visited the site twice to assess the problem with rubbish and illegal structures. If plot holders don’t deal with these problems themselves, the council will remove the unauthorised structures and waste. We’re also regularly clearing up fly-tipping in the area.

“Given safety concerns, we’ve contacted the London Fire Brigade and a joint safety inspection with them is planned to happen in the next few days.”

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