The plans have been submitted despite the outcome of a judicial review into the 25-year lease of the site to Spurs by Enfield Council still being awaited, reports James Cracknell

Aerial view of the proposed training pitches on the northern half of the former Whitewebbs Park Golf Course (credit THFC) — Aerial view of the proposed training pitches on the former Whitewebbs Park Golf Course (credit THFC)

Tottenham Hotspur has submitted its controversial planning application for a women’s football academy to Enfield Council – and admitted its plans cause “moderate harm” to Whitewebbs Park.

The Premier League club has an existing £45million training centre with 17 football pitches but wants to expand into the neighbouring public park by building a further ten pitches dedicated to its women’s and girls’ teams, after Enfield Council agreed to lease the site of the former Whitewebbs Park Golf Course to Spurs for 25 years.

The planning submission last week came as a surprise to local campaigners and councillors who had expected the club to wait until the outcome of a judicial review case before proceeding.

A High Court judge heard three days of evidence from lawyers in February, after Friends of Whitewebbs Park chair Sean Wilkinson claimed the council’s decision to lease the former golf course to Tottenham Hotspur was unlawful. Despite suggesting his verdict would be issued by April, the judge has yet to provide any update.

Conservative Whitewebbs councillor Hannah Dyson said it was “absolutely outrageous” and “undemocratic” for the council to allow the plans to be submitted while the judicial review verdict was still awaited.

Sean Wilkinson also called it a “great pity” that an application containing around 150 detailed documents had been submitted during a period when “we are all under pressure” to respond to the council’s own draft Local Plan prior to its 20^th May deadline.

In response a council spokesperson said: “The recent judicial review proceedings relate to the council’s decision to engage in a lease agreement for land at Whitewebbs Park. They do not hinder any party from submitting a planning application regarding the land to the council as the local planning authority. It’s important to note that the current judicial review is entirely separate from the planning process and does not influence the assessment of the application.”

Regarding the plans, Sean said: “The Friends of Whitewebbs will go through all the details before making a response to the application. The immediate concerns are that about 50% of the park’s open space will be lost and the landscape irretrievably reconstructed.”

Asked about criticism over the application’s timing, a Spurs spokesperson said: “The legal challenge relates to the process followed by Enfield Council to lease the land and is entirely separate to the planning process. In the meantime, the club is keen to progress its planning application without further delay.”

They added: “This final set of proposals is informed by the comprehensive public consultation undertaken from October to January. We’re grateful for all the feedback received, which resulted in a number of amendments.”

The northern clubhouse building at Whitwebbs would house facilities for the Spurs women's and girls' teams (credit THFC) — The northern clubhouse building at Whitwebbs would house facilities for the Spurs women’s and girls’ teams (credit THFC)

Spurs say its women’s academy will become a “regionally significant asset for Enfield”. The club’s planning application proposes ten football pitches on the northern half of the former golf course, including one which would have an “artificial surface”, while an area of “historic parkland” would be created on the southern half. The pitches would be surrounded by a two-metre high fence and natural hedging.

Two of the pitches would have floodlights but the plans state the lights would be switched on for a maximum of twelve hours per week and that they’d be switched off before 8.30pm each night.

Facilities for the women’s and girls’ teams will be provided in the former northern clubhouse building, which will be upgraded, while a new building is proposed to provide facilities for the grounds maintenance team and the new ‘turf academy’. The plans state: “This building is a part reconstruction of the existing grounds maintenance building presently located in the vicinity of the northern clubhouse.”

Regarding the fencing that will surround the academy grounds, the plans say: “The operational boundary would be secured by perimeter fencing bounded by laurel hedging internally within the training centre, and native hedgerows and tree planting to the publicly facing interface. This will soften the appearance and naturalise the visual perception of the club’s operational boundary.”

A new access route for customers of the Toby Carvery at Whitewebbs House will be created by “reinstating the historic carriageway through Whitwebbs Wood”, in turn allowing the existing road to be used exclusively by Tottenham Hotspur and the residents who live at The Limes.

A link will also be provided between the new women’s training facility and the existing Tottenham Hotspur Training Centre to “allow the sharing of some facilities, reducing the amount of land required to deliver a facility of the elite standard proposed”.

While 121 trees would be felled to make way for the academy, Spurs say 3,000 additional trees will be planted through the creation of a new woodland area to the east, alongside “wildflower meadows, bat and bird boxes, and a new biodiversity corridor”.

How the converted southern clubhouse building at Whitewebbs is proposed to look, housing a café and toilets (credit THFC)

At the southern entrance to the park a new “multi-functional space for community use” would be created within an upgraded southern clubhouse building, along with a new café and toilets, replacing the existing facilities. The existing car park would be retained and resurfaced.

The plans also include an assessment of the impact the proposals will have on the Green Belt and conclude that, in the case of Whitewebbs Park, there would be “moderate harm” caused. However, the plans also claim that with the “beneficial impacts of the development” there would be a “net benefit overall”.

The planning application is available to view via the council’s planning portal, using reference number 24/00987/FUL. Comments can be submitted online or via email until the end of May.

A map of the plans for Whitwebbs Park Golf Course (THFC) — A map of the plans for the former Whitwebbs Park Golf Course site (THFC)

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