The Labour majority on Enfield Council voted through the draft Traveller Local Plan despite Conservative opposition, reports Grace Howarth, Local Democracy Reporter

Enfield Civic Centre and (inset) a caravan (credit Wikimedia Commons)

Enfield councillors have voted to approve the council’s draft Traveller Local Plan despite objections from Conservatives over some of the sites included.

The plan identifies a need for 20 pitches to meet a five-year supply needed for the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) community in Enfield.

Ten more pitches are needed for the long-term, up to the year 2041, while one site for at least 15 caravans is needed as a ‘transit site’.

The council has selected three sites to meet need over the next five years.

Bulls Cross Nursery, a council-owned grassed area situated in the Green Belt, will deliver eight pitches.

Land adjacent to The Ridgeway, which is council-owned and also situated in the Green Belt, will deliver twelve pitches.

Another site adjacent to the A10 in Edmonton, currently used partly as a public skate park and also council owned, will be used for the transit GRT pitch provision of 15 caravans.

A fresh public consultation will soon be launched to gather residents’ views on the sites.

However, at a full council meeting yesterday (Wednesday 17th), Conservative councillor Edward Smith said the group rejected the site allocations, saying a “proper examination” of “other options” had not taken place.

“We don’t understand why Meridian Water, which stands out as one possibility, is not mentioned at all in the report?” Cllr Smith asked.

The Ridgeway ward councillor recommended the council include more on what the GRT community itself thought of the Ridgeway site, as there were “just a few words” included in the integrated impact assessment.

Cllr Smith added: “What it says is the Traveller community would have preferred another site, one on [Great] Cambridge Road, owned by Haringey [Council]. There’s no explanation of why that wasn’t considered further.”

The Tory councillor described The Ridgeway [road] as “very busy” and “very narrow” saying this could create problems for people moving with caravans.

James Hockney, another Conservative councillor, also questioned the “suitability” of the A10 site, raising objections over the loss of the Edmonton skate park, as well as the closeness to the dual carriageway and its issues with “speeding” and “pollution”.

The council has previously told skate park users that a new site for them would be found nearby.

But Cllr Hockney also doubted the proposed Traveller site would be able to fit 15 caravans, predicting “about five” would be deliverable.

Speaking in support of the draft Traveller Local Plan was Labour councillor Rick Jewell, cabinet member for transport and waste, who said many Travellers “had nowhere else to go” and invited suggestions for alternative sites.

However, Cllr Jewell was met with jeers from the Conservative group and audience gallery, when he said: “All the guff about ‘it’s near a road, it’s a busy road, it’s pollution’, that’s a lot nicer than saying we just don’t want them in our area.”

Council leader Ergin Erbil reminded councillors the plan was only a “draft” and would still undergo a public consultation.

Cllr Erbil said: “Enfield is my home, it’s the home of our Gypsy, Roma, Traveller community as well. Their traditions, resilience and contributions enrich our borough’s diversity and create a more inclusive society, a more colourful society.

“Recognising their unique needs and planning for their future is not only a legal obligation but a moral one for us.”

Update (24th September):

The consultation is now open and is available here: https://letstalk.enfield.gov.uk/traveller-local-plan

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