The Labour administration wants to see nearly 10,000 homes built on protected land in the north-west of the borough

Enfield Council’s Labour leader Ergin Erbil has criticised what he calls “Nimby” opposition by Conservative councillors to building on the Green Belt.
Cllr Erbil issued a statement today (Friday 31st) following the conclusion of the first stage of examination of the council’s Enfield Local Plan by a government-appointed planning inspector.
The six-day hearing saw several Tory councillors attack the council’s proposed allocation of 9,651 homes to Green Belt sites including Crews Hill and Vicarage Farm, dubbed’ Chase Park’. The Conservatives also suggested that the council’s target of building 33,280 homes by 2041 had been set too high.
Stage one of the Enfield Local Plan examination hearings ended yesterday (Thursday 30th) and stage two will take place later this year, likely in summer.
Cllr Erbil said: “Our plan is an ambitious strategy to tackle the housing crisis in Enfield by building more and better homes, growing our local economy and continuing to be the green lungs of the capital.
“Working with the Labour government, Enfield Labour is getting on with the job of delivering homes for Enfield. We are on the side of the builders, not the blockers. We are on the side of working people who want to own their home and want to get on the property ladder.
“Our new Local Plan is in line with the government’s much-needed plans to reform our planning system. This will see 1.5 million homes built across the country, starting right here in Enfield. With our new Local Plan, 34,000 homes could be built by 2041 across Enfield, half of which will be genuinely affordable.
“Anyone who watched the livestream of proceedings will have seen the Enfield Conservatives show their true colours. They are out of touch with Enfield households who feel the effects of the housing crisis every day. The Tories have clearly failed to learn from the verdict of people in Enfield last July, who voted for change, to tackle the housing crisis and to get Enfield building.”
Cllr Erbil said that Conservative calls for development in the east of the borough to be “maxed out” while opposing thousands of homes on the Green Belt in the north-west of Enfield was “the very definition of Nimbyism”.
‘Nimby’ stands for ‘not in my back yard’ and is often used as an attack on people objecting to development in their local neighbourhood, with many in Labour now describing themselves as ‘Yimby’ (yes in my back yard) in response.
The council leader added: “Our plans to build more and better homes, build new GP surgeries, create new parks and grow Enfield’s local economy will benefit everyone in the borough.
“Our new Local Plan will build the foundations for a cleaner, greener, fairer and safer borough for all.”
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