Three grazing fields had been included in the Local Plan by the previous Labour council administration but an inspector has now demanded they be protected
Local campaigners in Hadley Wood have welcomed the news that a planning inspector has recommended an area of Green Belt be kept as open fields.
On Monday (15th) government-appointed inspector Steven Lee issued his long-awaited verdict on the Enfield Local Plan, a strategic planning document drawn up over the past eight years by the previous Labour administration at Enfield Council.
The draft Local Plan had included an allocation of 160 homes for a greenfield grazing site to the west of Hadley Wood Station, but Lee’s verdict following a lengthy public examination process was that the removal of the land from the Metropolitan Green Belt “would have a significant detrimental effect on the existing character of this area” and could not be legally justified.
Both David Harbott, from Hadley Wood Neighbourhood Planning Forum, and Robert Wilson, the chair of Hadley Wood Association, submitted evidence to the public examination to support their case that the land should not be built on.
Reacting to this week’s news, David said: “The planning forum is delighted that the planning inspector has instructed the council to remove the proposed housing development on current Green Belt land owned by the Duchy of Lancaster in Hadley Wood from the Local Plan, recognising the high degree of harm this would cause.
“This decision is a success for the whole community and for the thousands of residents who supported our campaign.
“We remain frustrated that the former [Labour] council chose to include this opportunistic proposal by a very wealthy landowner in the submitted Local Plan, when all the evidence demonstrated that this was unsustainable development of a valued landscape, in an area with the poorest levels of public transport in Greater London, and a location with limited local services.
“This could have been removed from the Local Plan at a much earlier stage.
“We encourage the Duchy to work with us to make the fields available to the community, as a beautiful place for all to enjoy.”
Also asked for his reaction, Robert said: “It is great news for all of us in Hadley Wood that the precious fields at the heart of the green character of our community on the outer edge of Enfield have been saved by the independent examiner from inclusion in the draft Local Plan.
“The ‘Save Our Green Belt Campaign’ has ultimately been successful after years of local effort through the several consultations and the long public Examination. At each stage, the [previous Labour] council ignored the overwhelming resident objections.
“The examiner has accepted our simple case: the fields are exceptional Green Belt at the heart of Hadley Wood, greatly valued by residents and part of our conservation area. The major harm could not be outweighed for the minor benefit of just 160 new houses.
“The Hadley Wood Association and Hadley Wood Neighbourhood Planning Forum committee ran the campaign together, with many other volunteers, to co-ordinate numerous objections all across the community and to raise appeal funds to pay for a range of planning experts […] Their work and determination has made a huge contribution for Hadley Wood residents.”
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