Lindsay Rawlings encourages Enfield residents to submit their views on next London Plan document, which could have a big impact on the borough’s Green Belt

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is currently consulting on a new draft London Plan. This is your chance to make comments which will feed into the new plan set to be published in 2026.

The consultation ends at 11.59pm on Sunday (22nd) and is available online. The consultation document is 84 pages but is broken down into five areas to make it easy to respond. There is bound to be an area you are interested in, whether that be waste, transport, tall buildings, heritage, town centres or affordable housing. These areas, and more, are covered and you can comment on as few or as many areas as you like.

The government says that London must build 88,000 homes per year for ten years and it is for London’s mayor to decide, with our help, how that figure could be realised. Only in the 1930s, when transport links were being extended into newly-built suburbs, have we come close to building this number of new homes.

How dependable are the growth expectations? What do you think and why? The mayor continues with his ‘brownfield first’ policy: do you agree that brownfield sites need to be considered before “beginning to look at Green Belt”, even if it has been reclassified as ‘grey belt’? In this consultation you can give, and explain, your views.

I understand people are reluctant to read and comment on such documents, often feeling that their time is wasted. However, the mayor’s foreword states that this consultation will set out “the strategic framework that will guide and shape our city’s development in the years ahead”, so your help counts.

The Enfield Local Plan is heading for its stage two public examination, starting tomorrow (Tuesday 17th). One of the reasons that it is being examined so rigorously by the inspector is that many local people took part in the consultation, often suggesting in their arguments that the Local Plan doesn’t follow the current London Plan, two good reasons why it is important to take part alongside local groups such as Enfield Over 50s Forum, The Enfield Society, Enfield Climate Action Forum (Encaf) and Enfield Road Watch.

Please add your voice to their comments. Let’s try and ensure that when the strategy is published, it will plan for enough appropriate and affordable homes for Londoners of all ages and respect London’s green spaces. This plan will cover the periods from 2027 to 2050, so everyone should get involved because young people and older people are equally affected. Thank you for reading and for any support you can give.

To take part in City Hall’s consulation on the next London Plan:
Visit london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/planning/london-plan/towards-new-london-plan-consultation

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