13 Enfield Highway Local Centre

13.1 Introduction

13.1.1 Built Form: Enfield Highway stretches along the A1010 Hertford Road from Green Street in the south to Oatlands Road in the north. Buildings along either side are mostly three storeys, with the block on the western side forming a very consistent building group. This consistency is undermined, however, by the varied shopfronts that give the ground floor a cluttered appearance.

13.1.2 The Parish Church of St James lies immediately to the south of the Local Centre, and is an important landmark on the southern approach to Enfield Highway. Its surrounding churchyard has numerous mature trees , and these visually blend into Durrants Park to the south.

13.1.3 Public Realm: The busy nature of Hertford Road makes pedestrian movement difficult, and the environment is severely compromised by traffic, congestion and car parking. The intermittent nature of pavements and crossing points further undermines pedestrian movement. The overall width of the road between the buildings is generous, suggesting that there are opportunities for reorganising car parking and improving the public realm to create a more attractive environment. There are views of mature trees to the north and south of the local centre, but only a few trees are located within the centre towards the northern end of Hertford Road.

13.1.4 Servicing: There is some service access to the rear of approximately half of the buildings fronting onto Hertford Road. Vehicular access to these rear areas is restricted by narrow access points, and they are neglected and generally in very poor condition. These rear areas are likely to be in private ownership. However, there may be potential to improve the use of these rear areas to help relieve some of the pressure for parking and servicing on Hertford Road itself, as well as improving their appearance and security.

13.1.5 Development Opportunities: There are no obvious sites for new development within Enfield Highway local centre. However, redevelopment of buildings of lower quality has the potential to significantly enhance the area. Maintaining and improving existing buildings of higher quality - including improving shopfronts - would also improve the area’s image.

13.1.6 The major opportunities for improvement of Enfield Highway local centre are therefore around public realm improvements.

Key plan showing location of Enfield Highway Local Centre within overall NEE area

Figure 13.1: Enfield Highway Local Centre - Key Issues

Policy Context for Chapter 13: Enfield Highway Local Centre
London Plan	Policy 4.8, Supporting a successful and diverse retail sector Policy 7.4 Local Character Policy 7.4 Public Realm
Upper Lee Valley Opportunity Area Planning Framework (July 2013)	Objective 2 Objective 7 9.2: A corridor of opportunity
Core Strategy (Adopted Nov 2010)	Policy 17: Town Centres Policy 18: Delivering shopping provision Policy 30: Maintaining and improving the quality of the built environment Policy 40: North East Enfield
Adopted Development Management Document (November 2014)	Policy DMD25: Locations for new retail, leisure and office development Policy DMD28: Large local centres, small local centres and local parades Policy DMD37: Achieving high quality and design-led development
Other Sources	National Planning Policy Framework National Planning Policy Guidance Enfield Mini Holland Bid Document, Dec 2013 Town Centre Uses and Boundaries Review, 2013

Policy 13.1: Enfield Highway local Centre

The Council will develop a comprehensive street design scheme which - through public realm enhancements - helps to enhance local distinctiveness, support local centre activity and contribute to an improved sense of security whilst still providing for traffic movements. This scheme should include:

comprehensive de-cluttering and tidy-up of the street by rationalising signage, road markings and street furniture;
reorganising car parking so that it is located within shared surfaces, with pedestrian space closest to the shops;
creating a focal zone around the higher quality buildings with new street tree planting and high quality paving materials to reinforce the distinctive character of the consistent building groups in this area;
creating on-street cycle lanes running north-south that connect to the wider network;
improving and increasing east-west pedestrian crossing points; and
improving the junction with Brick Lane by narrowing lanes, reducing parking and slowing traffic down.

The Council will investigate the potential to improve the rear service areas and encourage their use by the businesses and residential properties they serve. Any future improvements should benefit residential as well as business premises.

The Council will encourage improvements to shopfronts, particularly in buildings of consistent architectural style where a more uniform approach would help to support the distinctive character of the building.

The Council will liaise with owners and other stakeholders to investigate opportunities to expand, develop and integrate the Community Centre with the Hall, pub and yard space at the rear to create an improved community hub.

Project Ref	Description
13.1a	Create a focal zone around the higher quality buildings
13.1b	Investigate opportunities to create an improved community hub

Figure 13.2: Enfield Highway Local Centre - Policy Principles

FIGURE 13.2: ENFIELD HIGHWAY LOCAL CENTRE

Illustration of how the central part of Enfield Highway could be improved

Illustration of how the central part of Enfield Highway could be improved: (i) shopfronts are designed to be more consistent whilst retaining their individuality so that they better reflect the consistency of the building as a whole; (ii) parking for shoppers is reorganised so that it is a simple ‘pull-in’ from the Hertford Road; (ii) the reorganised parking allows the pavement to be widened and trees to be planted, creating a better environment for pedestrians; and (iv) dedicated cycle lanes are provided for cyclists.

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