"Tucked just inside the M25, Crews Hill near Enfield has been home to a cluster of horticultural businesses for decades, leading to it being nicknamed the golden mile. Many of these small, family-run businesses selling plants, fencing and paving fear they will be closed down and forced to move if the government selects Crews Hill and nearby Chase Park as one of its next generation of new towns."
"This part of Enfield's green belt is among a dozen locations across England recommended by the new towns taskforce. The housing secretary, Steve Reed, identified Crews Hill as one of the most promising sites, alongside the village of Tempsford in Bedfordshire and Leeds South Bank. With figures released on Wednesday showing housebuilding mired in the deepest slump since the start of the pandemic, the project's significance to Labour's goal of building 1.5m homes during this parliament has only increased."
Crews Hill, inside the M25 near Enfield, comprises garden centres, green spaces, winding country lanes and family-run horticultural businesses. The area covers 884 hectares with roughly 500 residents, a golf course, hospital and railway station. The new towns taskforce recommended Crews Hill and nearby Chase Park as potential sites for a new town. A proposed plan would develop 21,000 homes with a 50% affordable housing target and expanded services and transport links. Supporters emphasize housing supply and infrastructure improvements; opponents warn of business closures, loss of green belt and insufficient social housing commitment. Ministers will decide this spring.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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