The Hadley Wood proposal is the first of four Green Belt housing sites in Enfield that could be developed over the next two decades, reports James Cracknell

The proposed Green Belt housing site is owned by the Duchy of Lancaster and is used for grazing animals (credit Enfield Dispatch/James Cracknell)

Plans to build 160 homes on a Green Belt site in Hadley Wood are likely to be submitted next year, the land owner has confirmed.

The Duchy of Lancaster, which owns three fields on the edge of the settlement in the far west of the borough, told last week’s public examination of the Enfield Local Plan that its proposal was almost ready to be submitted to Enfield Council for consideration.

This would likely make Hadley Wood the first of four Metropolitan Green Belt sites proposed for new homes in the council’s controversial Local Plan document – all chiefly comprised of greenfield rather than ‘grey belt’ or brownfield land – to go ahead.

The second stage of public hearings led by the government’s Planning Inspectorate began last week. Two much larger site allocations – at Crews Hill and Vicarage Farm (dubbed ‘Chase Park’ by the council) – between them comprise around 9,000 homes and will be debated at further hearings next month, alongside a fourth proposed Green Belt housing site of 291 units located on the A10 in northern Enfield.

The hearings are the final hurdle for the council before its Local Plan can be officially adopted, providing guidance for developers over the next two decades on where they can build new homes.

The session on Thursday (19th) saw representatives from the council and the Duchy defending the Hadley Wood plans, while a number of residents’ groups opposed them. Key arguments centred around whether the site is accessible by public transport, would overburden public services, spoil local views, and deliver the type of housing needed.

Should such obstacles be overcome, a lawyer representing the Duchy, Tom Cosgrove KC, said the plans could be published as soon as the end of this year, with a full planning application expected next year. If approved, construction could begin in 2028 and take five years.

“The Duchy doesn’t land bank, that’s not what we do,” Cosgrove said. “The intention here is either to develop this ourselves, or alongside a partner but retaining strong control.

“We intend to start pre-application [consultation] as the plan comes forward, which could be as soon as this year.”

A 'save our Green Belt' banner in Hadley Wood — Opposition to Green Belt housing in Hadley Wood is fierce (credit Enfield Dispatch/James Cracknell)

The site currently comprises three fields used for grazing animals and is accessed via Crescent Way. While close to Hadley Wood Station, a key argument is whether the site would be car-dependent. Matthew Reed KC, representing the council, argued it wouldn’t and said: “When looking at all factors combined, the council has concluded it is a highly accessible location, both in walking terms to various facilities, trains and bus services.”

Ian Gillespie, a planning consultant also representing the council, addressed the public transport access level (PTAL) for Hadley Wood, which Transport for London (TfL) has stated is in its lowest categories, meaning poor accessibility.

Gillespie said: “For outer London boroughs, very few areas benefit from the highest PTAL rating, and outside of urban areas, all available sites are at the lower end of PTAL.

“As well as considering PTAL ratings, we considered access to service and employment centres. The site is a short walk to the train station. It might not be a turn up-and-go service, but there are up to four trains at peak time into central London. And the popularity of the area in terms of its accessibility is shown by high house prices.

“There is a primary school within Hadley Wood, a small local parade of shops, a park, a nursery […] in relative terms and set against the sites available for the council to consider, it has good accessibility.”

However, Rebecca Raine, the council’s planning policy lead, admitted: “The primary school is at capacity and the development would need to seek contributions towards increasing capacity at that school.”

David Harbott, who was involved with the creation and adoption two years ago of a neighbourhood plan for Hadley Wood, approved via a referendum in November 2023, told the hearing there is “no safe, maintained cycle routes” in Hadley Wood. He added: “On the primary school, the governors have been told there will be no expansion because there is excess capacity elsewhere in the borough. An aspiration is not sufficient.”

Hadley Wood Station is on the East Coast Main Line but only has trains every half hour during the off-peak

Robert Wilson, from Hadley Wood Association, agreed public transport is insufficient and said: “Hadley Wood is notoriously a very car place, the neighbourhood plan tries to ensure not every front garden is paved over because, on all of them, you see two or three cars – no-one should be in doubt that if this came forward, these would not be affordable homes […] they would be expensive houses for a different sort of people coming in who will have cars.”

David added: “I think there is a fundamental error in considering a railway station as a measure of accessibility. The train doesn’t take us to our local high street, local hospitals, GP practices, our local secondary schools. It is of relevance if you work in the City of London.

“When you calculate the proportion of journeys we estimate only 10% of journeys in Hadley Wood are by that medium [train] – the London Plan states 75% of journeys in the suburban area should be by public transport, foot or cycle – the presence of a railway station is not a guarantee of accessibility.”

However, according to Reed, the “walkability of Crescent Way” is “better than the average in Enfield”. Regarding the type of housing on the site, which would be required by the plan to be designated as 50% affordable, the council KC said: “The neighbourhood plan is seeking opportunities for downsizing and housing options for children to stay in the area they’ve grown up, rather than more top-end apartment buildings.

“This plan, we say, provides an opportunity to deliver those needs. In short, it chimes with what Hadley Wood [planning forum] want. They say on the one hand there is a difficulty in delivering it, but on the other they don’t want any development beyond the urban boundary.”

However, Rupert Warren KC, a lawyer representing Hadley Wood Neighbourhood Planning Forum, said: “There is no inconsistency in trying to encourage that development and opposing moving into the Green Belt.”

Another issue is flood risk, with a small brook flowing through the north of the site. David said: “Monken Mead actually flows underneath the railway at a fixed capacity culvert, and I haven’t seen any reflection on whether the capacity on that is sufficient.”

He added: “However good the sustainable drainage is, it adds to the flow into that river, and with loss of green space there is a cumulative impact on flood risk.”

Regarding the impact on local views, Warren said: “Because of the topography, as soon as you [build] anything beyond bungalows you begin to have a pronounced visual effect on the skyline.”

Expanding on the impact on local services, David said: “Hadley Wood has grown by something like 30% in housing units, around 250, since 2000 […] In that period, there has been no investment in public transport or sustainable transport, no investment in the local road network, no investment to increase capacity of the local primary school, no investment in local NHS facilities, no investment in community facilities.”

The Enfield Local Plan public examination resumes on Tuesday, 1^st July, with two days of debate scheduled on Crews Hill. The hearings can be viewed online via the council’s YouTube channel:
Visit youtube.com/@EnfieldCouncil

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.