Legal battle over occupation of former police station

The Southgate site continues to be occupied by residents without permission despite the deadline for an enforcement notice expiring three months ago, reports James Cracknell

Southgate Police Station and (inset) Conservative ward councillor Stephanos Ioannou

Enfield Council appears to have become embroiled in a protracted legal dispute with a rogue landlord in Southgate who has repeatedly refused to comply with planning rules.

Last year the owner of Southgate Police Station in Chase Side lost a planning appeal against the council and was ordered, as a result, to clear the site of residents who had been moved in despite there being no planning permission for its use as a residential building.

The deadline for complying with the council’s enforcement notice was May this year, but the Dispatch understands that people continue to live at the former police station three months later.

While the council itself has decline to comment on the situation, local ward councillor Stephanos Ioannou said: “I recognise that in the run up to the May local elections we promised as your ward councillors the removal of all those residing at the former Southgate Police Station. We were given this guarantee back then, under the last [Labour] administration.

“I am therefore apologetic to report that due to issues of a legal nature, which cannot be disclosed, we cannot comment on the current situation. However, your Conservative councillors remain committed to removing those tenants as soon as possible, and we are talking to the legal team at the council on a weekly basis perusing constant update.”

Southgate Police Station was purchased by DN Property London Limited for £4.1million in February 2022, according to a Land Registry title deed obtained by the Dispatch.

In May 2024, a managing agent applied – on behalf of DN Property – for permission to convert the building into 65 rooms designed for people needing temporary accommodation. But the scheme was rejected by the council over antisocial behaviour and safety concerns.

Despite this rejection, the scheme went ahead without permission, and people began living in the building from October 2024 onwards. In December that year, the council issued its enforcement notice, but this was then appealed by DN Property to the government’s Planning Inspectorate.

The appeal was dismissed last summer, with the deadline of May 2026 then set to allow time for the building’s residents to be found alternative accommodation.

Three months later, while the Dispatch understands that a number of people continue to live at Southgate Police Station, the exact circumstances are unclear. The building remains under investigation by the council.

The rejected planning application from 2024 was lodged on behalf of DN Property by Sajad Al-Hairi of Log Creation Ltd, who told the Dispatch in January 2025 that the police station was providing much-needed housing for “single mothers, the disabled, the out-of-work” and that it would otherwise be left empty and vulnerable to squatters.

The Dispatch has attempted to contact Al-Hairi for this story, but received no response. DN Property has also not responded to a request for comment.

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