The Guardians of Whitewebbs group wants to launch a judicial review against Enfield Council’s decision to award planning permission for Spurs to fence off part of the park

Local campaigners gathered at Whitewebbs Park to protest the plans by Spurs — A ‘Save Whitewebbs’ protest held earlier this year

Save Whitewebbs campaigners have launched a fresh crowdfunder to help pay for a legal challenge against Enfield Council.

The Guardians of Whitewebbs group wants to launch a judicial review against the decision by the council to award Tottenham Hotspur FC planning permission for its women’s and girls’ academy at Whitewebbs Park, which will see 16 hectares of public land fenced off by the Premier League club.

The crowdfunding target is £20,000 and since launching earlier this week has already received more than £3,000 in donations.

On its web page for the crowdfunder, Guardians of Whitewebbs state: “Despite hundreds of objections, the secretary of state [Angela Rayner] decided not to intervene to call-in the decision, and the Mayor of London’s office has now rubber-stamped the application. Final planning permission was granted in July.

“But this fight is far from over. We need you for the next stage, to stop the diggers moving in.”

If a legal challenge is heard at the High Court, it would be the second time a judicial review has taken place to examine a decision the council has made around Whitewebbs – with last year’s case centred around the award of a 25-year lease to THFC. Supported by the Public Interest Law Centre, that case was ultimately rejected in May 2024 and the lease was deemed lawful.

Guardians of Whitewebbs continued: “Together we can challenge this! With the Public Interest Law Centre, we have instructed an environmental lawyer from Landmark Chambers. We believe there are strong grounds for challenging Enfield’s flawed decision. Please help fund our expert legal team to take this action today.

“We need to raise £20,000 in this first phase – help us reach our target by donating and sharing with everyone you know.”

Councillors on Enfield’s planning committee voted in February to approve the Spurs plans for Whitewebbs Park. At that meeting star striker Bethany England said the new facility “would provide our professional squad and local women and girls with the same opportunities to succeed as our male counterparts” and also described it as a “once in a generation opportunity”.

Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan’s office recently reconfirmed the council’s decision, opting not to use City Hall’s planning powers to overturn the decision, after a spokesperson said that “very special circumstances have been demonstrated and a package of public benefits secured which outweigh the harm” caused to the Green Belt by THFC’s plans for Whitewebbs.

The Guardians for Whitewebbs group, however, disputes these assertions. They added: “This is about a very wealthy private company taking over a precious park, shutting the public out from and developing land that was bought for the people of Enfield.

“We support women’s football but Spurs already have the pitches they need. They won’t allow women to use their existing 17 elite pitches […] Only Manchester City has as many pitches as Spurs and they don’t exclude women.”

The Guardians of Whitewebbs crowdfunder is available online:
Visit crowdjustice.com/case/savewhitewebbs

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