Enfield council withdraws from government’s new towns programme

Enfield Council in north London has formally withdrawn from the UK government’s new towns programme, dealing a significant blow to the Labour government’s flagship housebuilding scheme. The decision was enacted by the new minority Conservative-led administration, elected earlier this month, which had campaigned on halting the development to protect the green belt. The project, selected in March, aimed to build 21,000 homes at Crews Hill and Chase Park on green belt land currently occupied by garden centres and family-run businesses.

The withdrawal follows strong local opposition, with private landowners expressing relief at the end of uncertainty. Nina Barnes, who owns the Culver garden centre site, described the previous plans as “ludicrous and ill-thought-out,” noting that the decision lifts the weight of potential closure and relocation for her business. She stated that the council’s move ends the uncertainty for businesses operating on the site, allowing them to invest in improving an already thriving area rather than facing destruction.

Council leader Alessandro Georgiou confirmed the move via a letter to Housing and Planning Minister Matthew Pennycook on Thursday. Georgiou stated the council is honouring an election mandate to protect the green belt, shifting focus to brownfield sites and town centre regeneration for future housing. He emphasised that while the council is withdrawing from the new town process, it remains committed to working with the government to meet housing needs in a way that protects green spaces.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) stated it would respond to the consultation in due course. The new towns scheme has been heralded by the MHCLG as the most ambitious housebuilding project in England for half a century and is regarded as a significant step towards helping Labour achieve its goal of building 1.5 million homes during this parliament. The Enfield project was one of seven locations selected in March.

The move could present one of the first tests of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s planning changes, designed to curb the use of judicial reviews against new infrastructure. Enfield Council owns approximately 30% of the land in the borough, while the remainder is owned by private landowners, most of whom did not wish to sell. The previous Labour administration had devised a plan for Crews Hill and backed the new town proposal before losing power in the recent local elections.