Policy information sourced from Enfield Core Strategy 2010-2025

11 RECREATION, LEISURE, CULTURE AND ARTS

The Council will seek to protect existing assets and provision, and promote and encourage the increased use of recreation, leisure, culture and arts facilities in the Borough by:

  • Resisting the loss of existing recreation, leisure, heritage, culture and arts facilities, unless it can be demonstrated that they are no longer required or will be provided elsewhere;
  • Supporting the implementation of Council’s strategies which help to identify current and future needs for recreation, leisure, culture, heritage and arts facilities in the Borough;
  • Supporting the relocation of libraries to high street locations in town centres, subject to suitable sites being available;
  • Exploring how more flexible use of existing school, college and community facilities and open spaces can be made for sport and physical activity and as arts and cultural venues and ensuring all new provision on school sites through the Building Schools for the Future programme provides quality facilities that meet both school and community needs;
  • Addressing the identified need for sports halls provision - particularly in the south west of the Borough, and undertaking a facility audit and review of long term leisure facility needs by 2011;
  • Supporting the refurbishment of, and improvements to, the Queen Elizabeth II Stadium and Enfield Playing Fields by 2011;
  • Encouraging specific types of facilities for which current or future demand has been identified, including a ten pin bowling facility, a bingo hall, health and fitness clubs, and bars and restaurants. The Government’s sequential approach will be applied to locating these facilities, ensuring sites have good access by public transport or improvements are planned for this, and are accessible to all sections of the community, including disabled people;
  • Addressing the identified lack of arts and cultural services and venue provision in the Borough, notably in the north east and the south west, including gallery spaces for exhibitions of all types; studio and rehearsal spaces for the arts and the creative industries sector and local history museum sites;
  • Facilitating major capital projects for key Borough venues, namely Forty Hall & Estate (project due to commence in 2010/11 for completion in 2012/13, subject to Heritage Lottery Funding), Millfield Arts Centre (completion expected in 2011) and ground floor cultural facilities at Thomas Hardy House (due to open in 2010); and investigating a viable solution to the extensively damaged Broomfield House;
  • Encouraging a contribution from the cost of major mixed use developments towards a wide range of local cultural and arts projects, prioritising the commissioning of art as part of planned public realm improvements, and include specific criteria for contributions through the use of the Percent for Art mechanism in the Development Management DPD;
  • Identifying the need for new recreation, leisure, culture and arts facilities in Enfield Town, Ponders End, New Southgate, Meridian Water and Edmonton Green place shaping priority areas and setting out arrangements for delivery, including the reconfiguration of existing facilities in appropriate area action plans and masterplans for the place shaping priority areas;
  • Promoting employment opportunities associated with recreation, leisure, culture and arts in conjunction with Core Policy 16;
  • Supporting the development of a diverse evening and night-time economy in accordance with Core Policy 17; and
  • Continuing to work with the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority to help develop its Park Development Framework (which will set out the Authority’s vision, proposals and policies for the Park for the next 5-10 years), to identify the priority mix of additional recreation and leisure facilities at Pickett’s Lock and throughout the rest of the Borough, and encourage the Authority to deliver aims that benefit Enfield’s residents, in conjunction with Core Policies 34 and 35.

For more information please see the Core Strategy 2010-2025