Steven Lee has been appointed by the government’s Planning Inspectorate to hear evidence over six days at Enfield Civic Centre

A government-appointed planning inspector is set to hear oral evidence for and against Enfield Council’s draft Local Plan during a public inquiry in January, it’s been confirmed.

The much-anticipated public examination is the final hurdle for the council in its plans to de-designate 436 hectares (14%) of the borough’s Green Belt, where it has allocated 9,651 homes to areas including Crews Hill, Vicarage Farm and Hadley Wood.

The new Enfield Local Plan, which sets out where the council wishes to see tens of thousands of new homes built between now and 2041, as well as new industrial and burial space, has been several years in the making. It has undergone various stages, including two major public consultations in 2021 and 2024, with the latter prompting around 10,000 responses.

Now, with the final version of the draft having been submitted to the government’s Planning Inspectorate for approval in August, a public inquiry has been scheduled to take place at Enfield Civic Centre between Wednesday 22nd and Thursday 30th January. The appointed inspector is Steven Lee.

At the hearing, evidence will be heard both from council officers and other stakeholders, likely including representatives of the Greater London Authority, with London mayor Sadiq Khan and his City Hall team repeatedly warning the council against its planned de-designation of the Green Belt.

One whole day of the inquiry, Wednesday 29th, has been allocated to discuss whether or not the council has been able to prove the “exceptional circumstances” needed to justify building on London’s Green Belt, as specified in the mayor’s own London Plan document.

Enfield’s new council leader, Ergin Erbil, recently reaffirmed his commitment to de-designating large swathes of the Green Belt in Enfield for housebuilding. Opposition Conservative councillors remain staunchly opposed to it.

Other issues likely to be discussed at the public inquiry include housing need, sustainability, legal compliance, and the Local Plan’s tall buildings policy, another aspect that has been strongly opposed.

Local groups such as The Enfield Society have also requested the opportunity to contribute to the public inquiry.

The full schedule for the hearings is available here.

For more information about the Enfield Local Plan:
Visit enfield.gov.uk/services/planning/new-enfield-local-plan

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