The government announced last month that Crews Hill and Chase Park was one of its seven shortlisted ‘new towns’ but residents say there is no evidence to justify the plan, reports James Cracknell

An action day was held at Crews Hill on Saturday

Campaigners against the government’s ‘new town’ at Crews Hill are urging local residents to sign a letter to the prime minister – with 1,200 already doing so.

The strongly-worded letter – which will be delivered in person to 10 Downing Street next month – claims the government has “presented no evidence to justify a proposal which is being bulldozed through without scrutiny”.

Written jointly by The Enfield Society, Enfield RoadWatch and umbrella group Action for Enfield’s Future (AfEF), the letter addressed to Sir Keir Starmer accuses his government of making significant errors and not doing enough to justify the selection of Crews Hill and ‘Chase Park’ for a 21,000-home development.

On Saturday (18th) an ‘action day’ was held at Crews Hill to both highlight the value and popularity of the existing horticultural businesses there and to drum up interest in the campaign against the new town, which would force those businesses to leave.

Carol Fisk from AfEF, who helped organise the action day, told the Dispatch: “The whole day was so much more then we ever expected.

“It was non-stop all day, and the businesses were so pleased. Local people went around and explored the area, it was a great day all round.”

Just on that day alone, Carol says around 1,200 people signed the letter to Starmer. A further stall will now be held outside Barclays Bank in Enfield Town this coming Saturday (25th) with more copies of the letter available to sign.

Next month, all of the signed letters will be delivered to Downing Street in a big box.

Carol added: “It has kind of snowballed and it now has a life of its own – we are going to cut it off on the day after the election [on Thursday, 7th May].”

She said anyone who wants to sign the letter but hasn’t yet done so can print it off at home to sign, but will need to then hand it to her or someone else from AfEF.

Hundreds of people visited Crews Hill on Saturday

Meanwhile, Better Homes Enfield – itself part of AfEF – has called on Enfield Council to publish the bidding document it submitted to government as part of its call for suggested new town sites, accusing the council of a “lack of transparency” in its failure to do this so far.

In a recent blog post, the group state: “A proposal on this scale must be underpinned by clear and honest evidence. So far, that test has not been met. Not by a long way.

“Too much of the public case for a new town at Crews Hill and Chase Park rests on assertion rather than proof. There have been sweeping claims made by politicians about sustainability, transport, housing delivery, ecology and public benefit.

“But when we looked more closely, we found the picture is often partial, contradictory and almost always unproven. Some of the claims being made are simply wrong.”

One misleading claim made by the government – highlighted in the letter to Starmer – appears in a strategic environmental assessment (SEA) document published in March by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) at the time it selected Crews Hill as one of its seven shortlisted new towns.

The SEA on Crews Hill and Chase Park falsely describes the area as comprising “relatively flat urban land and arable fields”. It is, in fact, considerably hilly – and contains several streams running through partially wooded valleys.

“This misrepresentation is one of many being used to justify siting a new town in the wrong place, avoiding objective analysis of the many plausible brownfield alternatives,” the letter to Starmer says, before concluding: “As our Prime Minister, you are the one person who can withdraw this reckless, irreversible proposal.”

Earlier this month, the Dispatch was invited to interview Housing Secretary Steve Reed, who missed the chance to visit Crews Hill despite being in Enfield for other reasons. When questioned, Reed did not appear to be aware that the area employs hundreds of local people in the horticultural industry, but did promise that the new town would not result in a net loss of jobs and that any businesses needing to move would be “supported”.

Multiple business owners in Crews Hill have previously told the Dispatch that they do not feel supported and that the looming threat of the new town is already having an adverse effect on their bottom line.

Separately, a petition against the new town started by a local resident Angelo Zacharia on campaign website Change.org has now amassed more than 10,000 signatures.

A council spokesperson said: “The new towns initiative is being led by the government.

“They continue to consult on and assess the shortlisted locations and are due to make a decision on which ones to progress later this year.

“Enfield Council welcomes all petitions. Should a petition on a potential new town be submitted to the council, it will be formally reviewed in line with our established processes.”

MHCLG and 10 Downing Street were both approached for comment.

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