Around 100 people gathered outside Enfield Civic Centre to vent their anger at proposed lease of Whitewebbs Park, reports James Cracknell
Residents, councillors and campaigners wanting to protect Whitewebbs Park have staged a protest outside Enfield Civic Centre against the council’s proposed lease to Tottenham Hotspur.
The Premier League football club is set to take over the running of half of the parkland in northern Enfield so that it can establish a new women’s football academy next to its existing training complex in Whitewebbs Lane – but the decision has angered local people who say it should remain public open space.
Prior to the decision in 2021 to award a 25-year lease to Tottenham Hotspur, the eastern half of the park was occupied by a public golf course, but Enfield Council said it was losing too much money and closed it down. Campaigners in turn claimed the cost of running the golf course was exaggerated and that the total £2million value of the lease to Tottenham Hotspur – similar to the sum Spurs recently paid for reserve goalkeeper Fraser Forster – represents a bad deal.
At the protest on Tuesday afternoon, where around 100 people braved wind and rain to wave placards outside the civic centre, two councillors representing Whitewebbs stated their opposition to the Tottenham Hotspur lease. The Conservatives won a clean sweep of the newly-created ward at last year’s election, in an area of the borough that previously enjoyed significant Labour support.
Tory David Skelton said: “As your councillors for Whitewebbs we will be fighting this horrendous deal every step of the way – all of Whitewebbs must remain open to the public.”
Andrew Thorp, a councillor for neighbouring Ridgeway ward, added: “All of us here have been campaigning for year after year against this ridiculous and outrageous deal.
“We know this is a terrible deal for Enfield and a terrible deal for residents. It makes no sense on any level. We must keep fighting.”
The protest was organised by the Friends of Whitewebbs Park group, which has been vociferous in its opposition to the plans for the future of the park. In recent months the group has joined forces with the Council for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) to launch a legal challenge against Enfield Council, citing laws protecting open space from being restricted to the public.
Sean Wilkinson, the group’s chair, addressed the protest and finished by saying: “We love our parks and we’d love our council to obey the law and support us – not a multi-billion pound company.”
Among the placards being waved by local residents outside the civic centre were some that said “Spurs £££££, Enfield 0”, “no to leasing 60% of Whitewebbs” and “act now for Whitewebbs survival”.
The latest controversy concerning Whitewebbs has centred around the council’s publicising of its proposed lease to Spurs, with notices posted around the area stating that the local authority intends to “grant a lease of the property for a term of 25 years to Tottenham Hotspur Limited” and giving residents until 19th January to submit any comments. Campaigners say this breaks a promise to not commence the lease until planning permission has been granted, but the council claims it will still keep its word.
No planning application for Whitewebbs Park has yet been submitted by Tottenham Hotspur and no details have yet been published to explain what the full impact will be of the football club’s takeover of half of Whitewebbs Park.
A council spokesperson said: “Enfield Council considered proposals which would see long-term investments in sport and rewilding at Whitewebbs Park Golf Course, which forms part of Whitewebbs. The golf course which was previously located on the site was running at a significant loss, with council taxpayers subsidising the running of the course for a small number of golfers. This was unsustainable.
“Proposals were submitted by Tottenham Hotspur Football Club (THFC) in response to a call from the council for experienced sports and leisure operators to suggest proposals for the site. The club’s proposals ranked highest overall against the council’s scoring criteria.
“THFC’s proposals include a new women’s and girls’ football academy and a sports turf academy, both of which will provide top-class facilities and sporting opportunities for the next generation. THFC’s bid would significantly enhance public access to Whitewebbs compared to its previous use as a golf club.
“The proposals also would see improvements to the wider park, for example carrying out repairs and renovations to paths, bridleways and fences, as well as improving the existing café and toilet facilities to serve public users of Whitewebbs.
“Their proposals would also enable the council to invest £100,000 a year extra into grassroots sport for young people which has been enthusiastically received by residents across the borough.”
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