More than 4,000 letters to Sir Keir Starmer were signed in total by local residents expressing their concerns about the government’s 21,000-home new town proposal, reports James Cracknell
Campaigners from Enfield opposing a 21,000-home new town have handed in a box to 10 Downing Street containing thousands of letters to the prime minister.
The letters – all signed by local people – tell Sir Keir Starmer that his government’s decision to select Crews Hill and ‘Chase Park’ as part of the new towns programme is “inexplicable” and that there is “no evidence to justify a proposal being bulldozed through without scrutiny”.
Since launching their letter-writing campaign in April, a coalition of local groups including Action for Enfield’s Future, Enfield RoadWatch and The Enfield Society have been inundated with hand-signed copies from residents.
In total, 4,026 letters were signed in just under two months, with the majority of these being submitted to Downing Street in person by local campaigners today (Thursday 11th). A further box of letters will be posted, while others have been directly emailed in.
“I was shocked at how many have signed letters,” Enfield RoadWatch campaigner Carol Fisk told the Dispatch today, shortly after delivering the first box to Number 10.
“People feel very strongly about it, it is 4,000 letters but there were also many more who voted at the election against the new town. It is the tip of the iceberg.”
The submission of the letters comes a week after Starmer himself issued a statement attacking the new Conservative leadership of Enfield Council – as well as local residents wanting to protect the Green Belt – as “naysayers” and “blockers” who his government would “not give into”.
Vicki Pite, another local campaigner and ex-Labour councillor, said that the intervention from the prime minister was “disrespectful” to local people in Enfield, who she argues know the area far better than he does.
“We have put massive amounts of work into the Local Plan, but all that time they were doing something [the new town] behind our backs,” she said. “There is something very seriously wrong with the advice the prime minister is being given.”
The Enfield Local Plan is a strategic planning document which last year underwent an extensive public examination process, with local residents and community groups submitting their own evidence as part of the process.
The plan, drawn up by the previous Labour administration at the council, proposed the allocation of more than 9,000 homes on the Metropolitan Green Belt in Enfield. However, last September, the examination process was upended by the news that the government was considering 21,000 homes across an even larger area.
It was confirmed in March that Crews Hill and ‘Chase Park’, the council’s name for the area around Vicarage Farm in World’s End, had been shortlisted as part of the new towns programme being run by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government.
A public consultation subsequently followed, but the lack of evidence and information provided – including no specific identified area for the Enfield new town – angered local residents further.
“We want the best for Enfield,” continued Carol. “We don’t want the prime minister to be locked into ideological thinking. There are other solutions [to the housing crisis] and it needs to be weighed against other priorities instead of going hell for leather.”
At last month’s local election, 77% of voters backed local parties that had pledged to “protect the Green Belt”. Enfield Labour lost its majority, and the Conservatives became the largest party, with five Green Party councillors also being elected. Three weeks later, Alessandro Georgiou was voted in as the new Tory council leader, after the Green group abstained.
Cllr Georgiou’s first act as council leader was to “formally withdraw” from the new towns programme. However, Starmer’s intervention last week, as well as Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan’s backing for the Crews Hill development, strongly suggest that a mayoral development corporation is being considered.
Such a move would strip the council of planning powers in the rural north-west of Enfield, giving Khan ultimate authority to approve the plans.
The Dispatch contacted Downing Street today to ask for a response to the 4,000 letters delivered to the prime minister, but was instead sent a statement from MHCLG. A spokesperson for the department said: “From the outset we’ve been clear that community engagement is a core part of our approach to new towns delivery.
“But decisions on new towns will be taken in the national interest, and we must build the right homes in areas with significant housing need – such as Enfield which has over 3,000 households in temporary accommodation.”
MHCLG intends to publish final proposals and confirm each of its new town locations later this year.
Local news needs your support
We are proud that we were at the forefront of reporting on the recent local elections. We can’t do this without the support of our readers.
Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.
If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.
ACT NOW!
Monthly direct debit
Annual direct debit
£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.
More information on supporting us monthly or yearly
More Information about donations
Enjoying Enfield Dispatch? You can help support our not-for-profit newspaper and website from £5 per month.