Enfield council withdraws from government’s new towns programme
Enfield’s new Conservative-led council has pulled out of a government-backed plan for 21,000 homes on green belt land. The move is a setback for Labour’s housing agenda.
Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini
Enfield council has formally withdrawn from the government’s new towns programme after a change of control to the Conservatives. The decision affects plans for 21,000 homes at Crews Hill and Chase Park and adds pressure to Labour’s housebuilding strategy.
Enfield had been part of a big plan to build lots of new homes. But after the local council changed hands, the new leaders said they did not want that plan anymore.
It is a bit like starting to build a giant playground, then the people in charge change and decide to use the space for something else. The land was green belt land, which many people want to protect.
The government still wants the homes built somewhere, but this story shows how hard it can be to agree on where big new places should go.
Analysis
Enfield council in north London has pulled out of the government’s new towns programme, dealing an early political blow to Labour’s housing agenda. The project had been one of seven sites chosen in March and was meant to support the construction of 21,000 homes at Crews Hill and Chase Park, on the edge of the capital.
The decision came after Labour lost control of the council in local elections earlier this month and the Conservatives took over the authority’s leadership. The new council leader, Alessandro Georgiou, wrote to housing minister Matthew Pennycook saying the borough no longer supported development on the proposed sites. He said the council would still work with the government on housing and jobs, but would prioritise brownfield land and town-centre regeneration.
The plan had faced strong local opposition because it involved green belt land currently used by garden centres and family-run businesses. Some private landowners did not want to sell. One business owner, Nina Barnes of the Culver garden centre site, welcomed the withdrawal and said it removed uncertainty for the area.
The government, through the MHCLG, said the national new towns programme would help restore home ownership and noted that it had recently consulted local people. The episode shows how local control, land ownership and planning politics can still complicate major housebuilding plans, even when ministers back them strongly.
Key points
- Enfield council formally withdrew from the government’s new towns programme.
- The plan would have supported 21,000 homes at Crews Hill and Chase Park.
- The decision followed a change from Labour control to a Conservative-led minority administration.
- The council said it would focus instead on brownfield sites and town-centre regeneration.
- The move is a setback for Labour’s broader housing-build programme.
