On September 8, the Council started two [ridiculously] short consultations on the Master Plans for the Chase Park [Vicarage Farm] and Crews Hill placemaking areas. Whilst, in our opinion, this is essentially a box-ticking exercise for the Council, it is nevertheless an opportunity for you to share your views and we encourage you to do that. The deadline is September 21.
The consultation is on the LetsTalk platform and shouldn’t take you long to complete. Guidance for Chase Park can be found here and for Crews Hill here. There is additional information on The Enfield Society website.
If you prefer to launch in and do it, here is the link to the LetsTalk consultation page, where you’ll find links to the consultations and links to the public exhibition boards, which contain some additional information. You can also preview the surveys and boards here on our website: Chase Park and Crews Hill.
Please note that there will also be one public exhibition on the master plans:
Wednesday 17 September 3-7pm at Enfield Town Library
Here we are listing the questions asked in order and giving ideas for responses. Please choose the ones that feel important or relevant to you and put them in your own words. Add your own comments too.
What do you feel is important for the new neighbourhood?
- State that the consultation period is too short for meaningful engagement
- State that the graphic boards are very detailed and hard to decipher
- Ask where the ‘series of engagement events’ across the borough occurred. We are not aware of any.
- The location is currently unsustainable.
- The topography will make active travel difficult for many sectors of the population
- The wild places to the south would be mostly obliterated.
- The developer seems unwilling to commit to a network of green spaces
What aspects of Chase Park should be reflected in the new neighbourhood?
- Chase Park does not currently exist, so its aspects cannot be reflected anywhere
- The current Oakwood neighbourhood is semi-rural suburban and should remain intact
- The ‘Chase Park today’ vision board is very inaccurate – see below – so the consultation is meaningless
- There is no existing residential suburb of Enfield Chase
- The majority of Vicarage Farm is not close to Oakwood Station nor other transport links
- There has been no agricultural use for some years – only equestrian use
- The 26th Middlesex Rifle and Pistol Club moved out some years ago
Which features of the master plan work well and what could be improved?
- None of it works well.
- The ‘new urban character’ along Enfield Road is not wanted. This would be a radical change from its current semi-rural suburban character.
- The plan does not indicate heights or densities so is impossible to evaluate
- The plan does not reflect that the land to the South of Enfield Road needs to be lower height and density because of its proximity to existing residential.
What types of open space should the Chase Park master plan include?
- It is already open space incorporating all those features, so should be left as it is
- The Trent Park extension south of Hadley Road is in doubt because the landowner wants it to remain in ‘agricultural’ use.
How can we encourage walking, cycling and the use of public transport?
- The topography makes, walking, cycling and other forms of active travel impractical for many demographic groups
- Effective public transport would need a bus route through the middle of the development from Enfield Road to Hadley Road, which might not be practical given the landowner’s plans for the northern section.
- Effective public transport would need investment by TfL, and they have stated that there is insufficient density for this to happen.
What types of housing, streets and spaces will future residents of Chase Park need?
- This development should not proceed so no housing or streets.
- The consultation should define medium density, etc or it is meaningless
Respond 1 to Questions 7 and 8. Question 9 allows you to add any other comments you would like to make.