It will be the second High Court legal fight over the long-running saga of Tottenham Hotspur’s plans for a women’s training centre at Whitewebbs Park, reports James Cracknell

The Royal Courts of Justice in central London and (inset) a Save Whitewebbs protest last year

Campaigners opposing the plans by Tottenham Hotspur for a new women’s training centre at Whitewebbs Park have been given permission to take their case to the High Court.

The Guardians of Whitewebbs group had last year submitted a judicial review request following the decision by Enfield Council to grant planning permission for the training centre as part of the Premier League club’s lease of the park.

The campaigners claim that the decision to approve the scheme came after planning committee members were “misled” on the issue of biodiversity and that some council policies were also “misinterpreted” in a report presented to councillors.

The judicial review, which could take place as soon as April, will be the second such case to be heard with respect to Whitewebbs in as many years.

In February 2024 a High Court judge heard three days of evidence presented for and against the validity of the council’s 2023 decision to award a 25-year lease of more than half of the park to Tottenham Hotspur. That review, brought by Friends of Whitewebbs Park chair Sean Wilkinson, was ultimately unsuccessful – and a planning application for the training centre was quickly submitted afterwards.

Reacting to the news of the second judicial review being given the go-ahead to proceed to court, Benny Hawksbee, chair of Guardians of Whitewebbs, said: “Despite their enormous financial clout, [the] Spurs takeover of Whitewebbs is not a done deal. We’re one step closer to saving this precious and unique public park.”

The campaign group raised close to £30,000 through a crowdfunder last summer to help fund its legal challenge, collecting donations from nearly 900 people.

Benny added: “We’re enormously grateful to the hundreds of people, from the local community as well as further afield, who enabled us to take this necessary legal action to preserve our park for wildlife, local people and future generations to enjoy.”

The civic centre maintains that the decision to grant planning permission was fully lawful. A spokesperson said: “Enfield Council is confident that proper legal processes and procedures have been followed in the determination of the planning application. We will vigorously defend the judicial review.

“The proposed development of part of Whitewebbs Park is set to bring significant benefits to the local community including the protection and enhancement of the park and woods, further investment in a new on-site café, toilets and other facilities as well as preserving open public access to more than 80% of the park for all residents.”

Although the latest judicial review has been brought by a different group of people, they will be represented by the same legal team which fought the unsuccessful 2024 Whitewebbs case – the Public Interest Law Centre (PILC).

A PILC spokesperson said: “Whitewebbs Park has been in public use for nearly a century, and our clients are fighting to keep it that way. Turning public parks into enclosed, private spaces is short-term thinking that degrades the public realm in the long term.”

Legal arguments that will be presented in court include the claim that the council breached the Local Government Act 1972 “in relation to the transparency of planning committee meetings” and “misled the planning committee on the issue of biodiversity net gain”.

It will also be argued the council “erred in its consideration of impacts on the openness of the Green Belt”.

Another ground has been rejected by the judge, relating to “bias and predetermination”, but the campaigners say “new evidence” has been submitted to court to support it and they hope it will still be considered.

The court has also confirmed that it will cap costs for the case to £10,000 should the judicial review be lost.

The Whitewebbs campaigners are now backed by national treasure Dame Judi Dench, who last month criticised both the council and Tottenham Hotspur, saying it was “absolutely essential” to “protect people’s access to nature”.

The football club, meanwhile, describes its plans for the park as “a once in a generation opportunity to create a regionally significant asset for Enfield”.

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.