Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting. Apologies for absence were received from the Chair, Cllr Nicki Adeleke (Cllr Margaret Greer substituted) Cllr Stephanos Ioannou (Cllr Tom O’Halloran substituted), Chris Horner (Southgate District Civic Voice), Denise Gandhi (Southgate Green Association) and Mustafa Ibrahim ((Enfield Town Conservation Area Study Group). Apologies for lateness were also received from Cllr Greer and
Cllr Jewell. The Vice-Chair, Cllr Chris James chaired the meeting.

The Chair agreed to amend the running order of the agenda to accommodate the request of Ian Russell, Principal Engineer as he needed to leave the meeting early, therefore agenda item no:6 was taken first. However, for clarity the minutes are shown in the order of the published agenda.

Members of the Forum are invited to identify any disclosable pecuniary, other pecuniary or non-pecuniary interests relevant to items on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest registered in respect of any items on the agenda.

To agree minutes of meeting held on 22 September 2022

The meetings of the meeting held on 22 September 2022 were reviewed.

NOTED

(i)             Amendment to the attendance details. Cllr Reece Fox had not attended the meeting. However, Cllr Lindsay Rawlings had been in attendance as an interested member of the public.

(ii)            Comments were made with regards to the accuracy of the minutes as it was felt that some information was somewhat confusing with other comments having been omitted entirely. Cllr James (Vice-Chair) reminded the community representatives that the minutes were not intended to be a verbatim record of the meeting. She also advised that the minutes had previously been agreed by the Chair of the Environment Forum, Cllr Adeleke. She would however feedback the comments and concerns raised. Action: Cllr James

To receive an update on progress in respect of the Local Plan.

RECEIVED a progress update on the Enfield Local Plan 2019-2039.

NOTED

1.    Key points were highlighted by Brett Leahy, Director of Planning & Growth.

2.    The Local Plan will have a new spatial vision, spatial strategy, 10 x place-based policies, 36 x strategic policies, 57 x non-strategic policies and 62 x draft site allocations.

3.    Further information was provided on the Local Plan 2020-2021, where it currently stands (2021-22) and the next steps.

4.    The Local Plan is very much a technical study that will help to inform strategic policies as well as the infrastructure delivery plan.

5.    Following consultation there had been 7,267 Regulation 18 responses. Information was not available on where all the responses had come from, however postcodes were known for about three quarters of responses and a breakdown of these were included in the presentation.

6.    Details of the high-level summary-borough wide were discussed which included the need for additional housing, support for proposed affordable housing targets, opposition and support for Green Belt release, opposition to tall buildings (particularly in Enfield Town) as well as support and opposition to Crews Hill and Chase Park polices. Full details of the summary could be found in the presentation attached to the agenda for this meeting.

7.    Following consultation work has been ongoing to analyse, digest and correlate over 7,000 responses and these responses will shape the Local Plan.

8.    Work continues on the preparation of the draft Enfield Local Plan, with further workstreams being undertaken on a number of key evidence-based documents including an update to the Housing and Economy Land Availability Assessment (following the most recent Call for Sites in July 2022), Employment Land Review, the Transport Assessment and continued cross boundary working.

9.    An updated Local Development Scheme will be published in early 2023 providing updated timescales for the publication of the proposed submission plan (Regulation 19), and submission timetable.

10. Details were included on the next steps which included further engagement with stakeholders, refinement and testing of Plan, April-September 2023, seeking approval to consult on Regulation 19, October-December 2023, and consultation on Regulation 19 in early 2024.

11. Brett concluded by encouraging everyone to engage in the consultation progress as it was very much a listening exercise, and it was important to hear from local experts to shape and refine policies to progress to Regulation 19.

12. Questions and comments were invited.

Comments/Questions.

Q. At a previous meeting of full council it was agreed that they would be full consultation, debate and a vote. Is that on Regulation 18 and the statement?

A. Consultation on Regulation 18 had been completed with just over 7,000 responses received. The next key stage in terms of consultation will be Regulation 19. Whatever is finalised from the Reg-19 consultation will then be presented to full council to vote on the next stage. If approved, it will then be forwarded to the Government Inspectorate. It was hoped that a roadmap of timelines would be available to share in March 2023.

Q.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

To receive a verbal update on plans for the Enfield Town Centre.

RECEIVED a verbal update from Brett Leahy, Director of Planning & Growth on plans for the Enfield Town Centre,

Dennis Stacey, Bush Hill Park Conservation Area Study Group had submitted questions to officers prior to the meeting to which Brett provided detailed responses. Full details of the questions and responses can be obtained by contacting the Governance Officer Stacey.gilmour@enfield.gov.uk

To receive an update on the New River Loop and works being carried out.

RECEIVED an update on the New River Loop and the works taking place.

NOTED

1.    Key points were highlighted by Ian Russell, Principal Engineer.

2.    Information was provided on the current problems and the actions completed to address these. This included upgrade of pumps, clean petrol interceptor at Chase Green, chalk treatment (annual activity),
de-silting of selected areas and improving footpaths and repairing revetments.

3.    Ongoing actions taking place included an upgrade of the Parsonage Lane pumps (due to be completed in November/December), installing remote water level monitors (scheduled for December) and interpretation features – designs are being developed with input from The Enfield Society.

4.    A feasibility study is also underway for Chase Green Wetlands, with public consultation taking place in October/November 2022.

5.    Questions and comments were invited.

Comments/Questions.

Q. What would the wetland area do to take the pollution out of the system?

A. Lowering the ground level of pipes would help with the pollution. It would also provide native plants which would create the right sort of environment to help the filtering process and allow management of any pollution.

Q. Will the upgrade works scheduled for December at Parsonage Lane help to increase the water flow in this area?

A. Yes it will help, but it will never seem like a big flow in this area.

Q. Areas of the New River Loop (NRL) through Enfield Town Park, where it abounds the Golf Course are totally unmaintained and not been touched for several years. One of the heritage bridges is obscured by growth across the river and there appears to be years of leaves on the riverbed that need to be cleared. Is this a case of having capital expenditure to install things such as the Wetlands at Chase Green, but no resources for regular and ongoing maintenance of the NRL?

A. To de-silt this section would be a huge undertaking. However, we need to make sure we are working closely with the Operations Team that manage trees and vegetation and it is hoped that more funding will be secured to allow for work on the New River Loop to continue. Doug Wilkinson, Director of Environment & Operations Services acknowledged that there is a lot of work to be done. A maintenance programme started last year and was going well. However, he said that it was important to manage peoples’ expectations when it came to the challenge of finances. It was acknowledged that this was a key environmental issue for the borough but there must be a balance of what is feasibly possible

Q. Will birds be able to build nests in future years following de-silting?

A. Yes, they will.

Q. There has been a lot of local opposition to the proposed Chase Green Wetlands. Is there the possibility of a different approach being taken which could just involve replacing the petrol interceptor with something different?

A. Other options have been looked at, but these are expensive to install and maintain. Wetlands do not need much maintenance  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Dennis Stacey, Bush Hill Park Conservation Area Study Group raised concerns regarding Telecommunication Masts in the borough. Brett Leahy, Director of Planning and Growth said that he would be happy for a member of his team to provide a presentation on this topic at a future meeting of the Environment Forum.

AGREED to consider this as a future item on the Environment Forum Work Programme: Action: Chair/Governance Officer

The next meeting of the Environment Forum will take place on 26^th January 2023.  The up to date work programme is attached for reference.

NOTED the date of the next meeting as follows:

·         Thursday 26 January 2023

This meeting will commence at 7:00pm and be held in the Council Chamber at the Civic Centre.