Climate change and biodiversity
Enfield Biodiversity Action Plan
We want to do our part for the environment by conserving biodiversity. Our Enfield Biodiversity Action Plan (PDF) explains what we will do to protect wildlife and how we will use it to improve our health, well-being and economic prosperity.
Biodiversity is the variety of life and its processes, including plants, animals and microorganisms. By conserving biodiversity, we will have:
- a greater quality of life for the community, by providing recreational and educational resources for all
- greater ability to adapt to climate change
- natural resources including food, clean air and water, which are key to survival
This strategy sets out our proposals to protect, manage and expand Enfield’s network of blue and green assets including:
- parks
- rivers
- lakes
- gardens
- woodlands
- canals
- wetlands
- allotments
- playing pitches
Over the next ten years, we aim to become the greenest of all boroughs by creating more publicly accessible green spaces and areas of woodland than anywhere else in London. Enfield will form the cornerstone of London as the world’s first ‘national park city’, in recognition of its abundant open spaces and access to countryside and nature.
The strategy also sets out our ambitions to:
- increase outdoor physical activity and social interaction
- plant over 100,000 new trees, including street trees
- widen access to our waterspaces, parks and historic landscapes, especially within deprived areas
- overcome physical barriers and exposure to pollution
- create new open spaces, cycle lanes and pedestrian-friendly streets
- enhance the public areas in our town centres and gateways
- reduce flooding from rivers and surface water run-off
- fix degraded environments and reduce carbon emissions, in line with our net zero targets
- increase biodiversity through rewilding and sustainable food production
This strategy replaces the Parks and Open Space Strategy and updates the objectives of the Biodiversity Action Plan, as part of our response to the covid-19 pandemic and the threats arising from climate change.
The strategy is the result of extensive public consultation and preparation.
Some of the key projects include:
- Enfield Chase with over 300 hectares of new publicly accessible woodland and rewilding initiatives
- provision of new world-class sporting facilities at Enfield Playing Fields, Hotspur Way and Firs Farm
- expansion of the borough’s cycle and pedestrian network, including to and from the Lee Valley Regional Park
- Green Loop - a new circuitous route along the river valleys to link east to west and north to south
- Grey to green gateways - a series of public realm interventions in and around our town centres
- an ongoing programme of wetland projects to restore Enfield’s urban rivers
- sensitive restoration of historic parks and gardens at risk
View the adopted version of the strategy and the supporting evidence:
- Enfield Blue and Green Strategy (PDF)
- Review of Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (PDF)
- Review of Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation - Appendices A-C (PDF)
- Review of the Enfield Biodiversity Action Plan (PDF)
- Enfield Blue and Green Infrastructure Audit (PDF)
- Blue and Green Strategy Consultation Statement (PDF)
This strategy will be used to guide the delivery of blue and green infrastructure and new developments in line with existing planning policies.
Copies of the strategy are also available in all Enfield libraries.
For more information email localplan@enfield.gov.uk.
You can also call us on 01302 734 419 or write to:
Strategic Planning and Design
Enfield London Borough Council
FREEPOST NW5036
EN1 3BR
View the Blue and Green strategy frequently asked questions (PDF).