3.1 In Chapter 2 we describe what Enfield is like today and the challenges and issues we face for the future. This chapter looks ahead to set out a spatial vision of what Enfield and the places within it will be like in the future. It sets out a series of strategic objectives for that vision and a spatial strategy setting out what needs to be done to achieve the vision.
3.2 The spatial vision, strategic objectives and strategy are informed by the many policies and programmes of the Council and its partners as well as governmental guidance and statements. It builds on information from the evidence base, including public consultation and sustainability appraisal and analysis of the problems and challenges and drivers of change facing the Borough.
SPATIAL VISION FOR ENFIELD - A HEALTHY, PROSPEROUS AND SUSTAINABLE BOROUGH In 2026 Enfield will be a prosperous and sustainable Borough with a strong sense of place and identity. It will be a place that people are proud to call home and want to invest in. Both the resident and working population will grow, due to Enfield’s strategic position relative to two of the Government's growth areas and the UK’s main economic driver, Central London. People in Enfield will live, work and enjoy leisure time at close quarters without the need to travel. Development will be concentrated in town centres and in the south and east of the Borough in the Upper Lee Valley, creating prosperity and opportunities where deprivation is presently most persistent. Focused growth in the Upper Lee Valley will help to realise its potential as North London’s Waterside. Attractive, adaptable and affordable homes, high quality environment, excellent schools, opportunities for life long learning, cultural and leisure activities, and easy access to a network of good quality open space, green links and waterways will make Enfield a place for families for the long term. The Borough's high quality natural and built heritage, including its archaeology and the green belt in the west, will continue to be protected and enhanced. Changes to the way primary health care is delivered and a greater awareness of health implications of our decisions and actions will reduce the inequalities in health and life expectancy between the east and west of the Borough. New development will be of exemplary, flagship quality, sustainable design and construction, designed to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change, embracing new environmental technologies. Renewable energy projects across the Borough and particularly in the Upper Lee Valley will bring a degree of self sufficiency to homes and businesses. New developments in the east of the Borough will bring opportunities to renew and improve existing flood defences and address flood risk. Across the Borough the quality of the public realm will be improved, bringing forward improvements to the environment and quality of life for local communities living alongside the North Circular Road. New Southgate will be a vibrant, sustainable community at the south western gateway to the Borough. Building on its strong manufacturing and technological legacy, Enfield will have a strong enterprise culture. A wider and more diverse employment base will provide a greater number, quality and choice of jobs for a skilled local workforce. The Upper Lee Valley will have strengthened its strategic contribution to London’s economy, capitalising on its strategic advantage close to the M25 and Stansted, continuing to provide a vital source of jobs for Enfield residents and North London as a whole. Enfield’s town centres will offer a better range and quality of shops, housing and employment. Enfield Town will be the focus for the Borough’s retail, leisure and cultural growth whilst retaining its historic and green market town character. Further physical, social and economic regeneration at Edmonton Green will include better connections with local communities and nearby centres including Meridian Water in Central Leeside, facilitating opportunities for residents to benefit from new jobs created elsewhere, as well as those closer to home. New developments will be planned and phased to utilise existing transport and social infrastructure, where it currently exists, and delivering new infrastructure, where necessary. By 2026 greater certainty over plans for the modernisation of the West Anglia rail line in the east of the Borough will support the regeneration of the Lee Valley. East-west movement within the Borough and accessibility in eastern Enfield will be improved. Enfield will have a cohesive and stronger society where citizens are fully engaged in defining the needs of their communities and helping to shape the neighbourhood where they live. Place shaping programmes bringing together the priorities of the Council and the Enfield Strategic Partnership and tailoring local services and resources will be delivered at Meridian Water, Ponders End, New Southgate, Enfield Town and Edmonton Green, creating exemplar developments of high quality design and place, adaptable to changing environmental circumstances. The Upper Lee Valley will be home to not only the established and revitalised communities but also to new communities benefiting from waterside living and improved access to the Lee Valley Regional Park and visitor facilities. Transformational change at Meridian Water will include new housing and employment opportunities together with the transport, community and green infrastructure vital to support sustainable communities, and will stimulate the regeneration of surrounding communities including Edmonton and Northumberland Park in nearby Haringey. The regeneration and transformation of Ponders End to the north will include new homes, schools and community facilities supported by improvements to the public realm and access to the Regional Park. |
3.3 The following strategic objectives outline what will need to be achieved to deliver the Core Strategy vision and address the key issues that have been identified for the Borough. These objectives give direction for the spatial strategy set out in para 4.1 and are developed further in the core policies which follow. Although they are numbered from 1 to 10, they are not ranked by importance.
Strategic Objectives 1 Enabling and focusing change - To meet the future needs of Enfield's existing and future population by focusing transformational change and growth in the Upper Lee Valley, in existing town centres and new neighbourhoods, where physical and social infrastructure already exists or can be improved through planned and phased development. To protect and enhance those parts of the Borough which currently offer a good quality of life to Enfield's communities. |
Strategic Objectives 2 Environmental sustainability - To promote a sustainable pattern of development integrating infrastructure and housing, reducing the Borough's carbon footprint, minimising the need to travel and protecting the Borough's green belt and biodiversity. To mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change, promoting energy efficiency and renewable sources of energy including exemplar schemes as part of regeneration of the Upper Lee Valley area. To manage and reduce flood risk and pollution, promote sustainable water management and retain sufficient waste management facilities in the Borough. |
Strategic Objectives 3 Community cohesion - To build upon and work together to revitalise the capacity of existing communities in those parts of the south and east of the Borough where deprivation and lack of opportunities are prevalent, particularly in Ponders End, Edmonton Green and New Southgate, and to provide a framework for the development of a new sustainable community in Central Leeside, providing a catalyst for regeneration of the Upper Lee Valley. To work with partners in continuing to make the Borough one of London's safest - supporting improvements in the safety of Enfield's streets and public spaces. |
Strategic Objectives 4 New homes - To facilitate the provision of sustainably constructed new homes of exemplary space and design standards to meet the aspirations of local people. To meet the housing needs identified in Enfield's Housing Market Assessment, improving the existing housing stock, developing new housing, including mixed tenure and providing housing that people choose to make their long term home. To ensure new residential development is supported by good public transport, social, green and utilities infrastructure and achieve the maximum intensity of use having regard to development plan policy. |
Strategic Objectives 5 Education, health and wellbeing - To ensure the capacity and quality of local social infrastructure provision including schools and further education, health and policing facilities, social care, retail services, leisure and recreation facilities is sufficient to meet the needs of Enfield's existing population and new residents. To promote healthier lifestyles and to address the inequalities in health and educational attainment between Enfield's residents particularly in areas such as Edmonton Green, Enfield Highway, Ponders End, Turkey Street and Upper Edmonton, where these issues are more prevalent. |
Strategic Objectives 6 Maximising economic potential - To develop a spatial framework for a diverse and competitive economy in Enfield, maximising the economic potential of the Upper Lee Valley and town centres, enhancing appropriate employment locations and ensuring a more efficient use of land. To support new business enterprise and inward investment and economic diversity, promoting higher wage growth sectors, such as advanced manufacturing, renewable energy, knowledge based industries, leisure and services, and capitalising on the benefits arising from the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics Games and its Legacy Transformation. To support a robust strategy for recovering from the recession, and protection from the troughs of future economic cycles. |
Strategic Objectives 7 Employment and skills - To support job creation and address the levels of unemployment and economic inactivity particularly in the south and east of the Borough, including amongst young people and disadvantaged sections of the community, and the development of skills to enable all residents to access the employment market. To tackle the barriers to employment facing particular sections of the community |
Strategic Objectives 8 Transportation and accessibility - To enhance traffic flow by the provision of appropriate infrastructure as well as the promotion of sustainable methods of transport and a pattern of development that reduces the need to travel. To ensure development is accessible by all means of transport and that high generating uses are supported by good public transport, walking and cycling facilities. To seek improved movement and accessibility within the Borough, the North London sub region and beyond, focusing particularly on improvements to both road and public transport orbital connections, to improved east-west movement through the Borough, and to support existing and potential businesses in providing for freight movement. To maximise the benefits to Enfield arising from the proposals to improve the West Anglia railway in the Upper Lee Valley. |
Strategic Objectives 9 Natural environment - To protect and enhance Enfield’s natural heritage by retaining the open character of the Borough, safeguarding the green belt and other open space and developing the wider network of green infrastructure in the Borough. To meet the deficiencies in open spaces that exist in the east and south of the Borough and improve access to green areas and waterways (i.e. through River Restoration projects), particularly for the communities close to the Lee Valley Regional Park. |
Strategic Objectives 10 Built environment - Use a design-led approach to developments and places, while addressing historic land contamination, in order to promote a step-change in the quality of the built environment and public realm, creating safe and accessible environments and improve urban greening with tree planting and landscaping. To maximise the contribution that heritage assets and existing features make, enhance local distinctiveness and identity, and create safer, stronger communities. |
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