Groups in Hadley Wood have criticised Enfield Council over the presentation of evidence during the Local Plan process, reports Grace Howarth, Local Democracy Reporter

The Green Belt land earmarked for de-designation by Enfield Council and (inset) Hugh Marylebone) — The Green Belt land earmarked for de-designation by Enfield Council and (inset) Hugh Small

Community groups in Hadley Wood have raised concerns over the evidence presented as part of Enfield Council’s draft Local Plan – which proposes de-designating an area of Green Belt in the village.

In March, councillors voted through the final version of the document, with a six-week statutory public consultation following in April and May, and now the Local Plan is set to be reviewed by the government’s Planning Inspectorate to ensure legal compliance with national planning policies.

However, some groups in Hadley Wood have criticised the presentation of evidence during this process.

In the Local Plan, a Green Belt site to the north-west of Hadley Wood is allocated for development of 160 homes.

Robert Wilson, a member of Hadley Wood Association, said a “stink” occurred when it was claimed by Hadley Wood Neighbourhood Planning Forum in March that not all of the evidence to justify the Green Belt release had been presented to the council.

The group made a representation to the civic centre over the issue before a previously-scheduled full council meeting on 6th March, with this decisive meeting later being postponed by two weeks until 19th March to allow for the release of the “three or four key documents” for the public and councillors to consider.

Robert said: “The council has produced this Local Plan, they are allocating for the release of this bit of Green Belt for housing.

“It is important that if they’re putting together what evidence has been submitted to them, that they are doing it accurately for the Planning Inspectorate.”

The documents released included those titled ‘Green Belt Exceptional Circumstances Topic Paper’, ‘Spatial Strategy and Overall Approach Topic Paper’, ‘Site Allocation Topic Paper’, ‘Enfield Housing Topic Paper’ and ‘Enfield Employment Topic Paper’.

Later, in June, local historian Hugh Small raised what he perceived was another example of “suppressed evidence”.

A line from a summary of a letter from Historic England, which detailed the Hadley Wood Green Belt site’s “historical interest” and links to the Battle of Barnet, was missing from the version of the summary found in the council’s evidence base.

The missing line, Hugh claims, is evidence of withheld information which “could have persuaded councillors to vote against the development of the Green Belt site”.

The line from Historic England reads: “It would be good to reflect the particular importance of sites like this in the table of site allocations.”

In response to the claims, an Enfield Council spokesperson said: “The draft Enfield Local Plan is based on comprehensive evidence and the release of key topic papers followed standard procedures.

“The Local Plan sets out a plan for much-needed new family homes, new community facilities, and new green infrastructure, to help grow a more prosperous borough.

“The evidence base includes the Spatial Strategy and Overall Approach Topic Paper, the Exceptional Circumstances Topic Paper, and the Site Allocation Topic Paper. These documents collectively ensure the plan supports sustainable development and long-term planning for the borough.

“The council is processing representations made at the Regulation 19 stage. All representations received will be sent to the Planning Inspectorate with the draft Local Plan, supporting documentation, and will also be made publicly accessible. Further information about the examination will be made available in due course.”

Historic England declined to comment.

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