Policy information sourced from Enfield’s North Circular Area Action Plan

NC Policy 10 Open Spaces Waterways and the Blue Ribbon Network

New development should make appropriate contributions to improving the quality of the existing open space network across the NCAAP area. Opportunities to improve the network of spaces alongside the area’s waterways are a priority in this regard.

The Bowes area is identified as being deficient in open space, with much of the south western part of the NCAAP area falling beyond an 800m catchment area of any recognised open space. DMD Policy 72: Open Space Provision, makes clear that where proposed development is located in areas deficient in either quantity or access to public park provision it will be necessary for the applicant to make a contribution towards the enhancement of the quality of open space provision including the range of facilities and its condition.

The urban analysis in Section 4 of the NCAAP identifies the principal open spaces in the NCAAP area, and specifically the open spaces within each of the 3 identified neighbourhood places. The waterways, some of which benefit from towpaths and public routes, are both a major asset in the local area and present significant opportunities for improvement. Collaboration with the Council and other agencies including The Canal and River Trust will be important in delivering any such improvements.

Biodiversity

Enfield has a Biodiversity Action Plan, which was adopted in September 2011. This sets out how the borough’s biodiversity assets will be managed, and specifically seeks biodiversity enhancements through the NCAAP. Core Policy 36 supports proposals that will contribute towards the aims of the Biodiversity Action Plan.

The Council’s expectations for how individual new developments should contribute towards biodiversity improvements are set out within DMD Policies 78 and 79. All proposals within the NCAAP area should comply with these requirements.

Climate Change and Renewable Energy

Core Policy 36 sets out the Council’s requirements for new development proposals in terms of impact on climate change. In accordance with these requirements, development within the NCAAP area should minimise energy use and, where possible, use and contribute towards the production of energy generated from renewable sources. Developments should also accord with DMD policies 49-58, which set energy efficiency standards and the Council’s requirements for how these should be achieved.

In particular, it should be noted that the Council published a Renewable Energy and Low Carbon Development Study in March 2010. This identifies large parts of the NCAAP area as potentially suitable for district heating, using combined heat and power. The proposed redevelopment of the Ladderswood Estate and Western Gateway sites, especially, could deliver district heating networks that might also connect to other development sites and existing buildings. DMD Policy 52: Decentralised Energy Networks, sets out a framework for the assessment of district heating proposals and other decentralised energy networks.

The Council is committed to further exploring the potential for a district heating network in the NCAAP area. There is already sufficient heat density to make the use of district heating viable and this will be increased significantly as a result of the redevelopment proposals in the area.

Flooding - Surface Water Flooding from work undertaken for Drain London 2011

There are some small areas of significant flood risk within the NCAAP area, as shown in Enfield’s 2008 Strategic Flood Risk Assessment and associated 2010 High-Level Sequential Test Assessment of strategic sites. Core Policy 28: Managing Flood Risk Through Development generally seeks the direction of new development towards areas of low flood risk and DMD Policies 59 and 60 provide more detail in this respect.

DMD Policy 61: Managing Surface Water requires that all new developments incorporate Sustainable Urban Drainage. This will help to contribute toward the fulfilment of the Drain London project aims, which are focused around reducing the risk of flooding from surface water.

For more information please see the North Circular Area Action Plan