RECENT UPDATE: MARCH 2026

Planning Decision:

On 24 February 2026, the LB Enfield Planning Committee approved the S73 Variation of the previously approved scheme in 2022 for redevelopment of the Station Car Park at Cockfosters Station. 

The new plans involve an increase in the number of flats to 373 units.  The developers will now be a joint-venture of TfL and Barratt.  Whereas the scheme was previously entirely for rental (at either market or “affordable rents”), this development will be 60 percent for sale and 40 percent for “affordable” or social rent.

Impacts:

• There would be a significant increase in the local population; 

• Increased load on local infrastructure, particularly health services and schools; and 

• The majority of parking spaces at the station will be removed (except for a small number of Blue Badge and first-come spaces). 

Construction could begin in 2027, maybe later, and may take around 4 years. The likelihood of severe disruption on the A111, Cockfosters Road, is clear.

The implementation of Controlled Parking Zones (CPZs) in both Enfield and Barnet residential roads around the Station will be explored.  These are intended to mitigate possible parking from users of the station, or perhaps from residents of the new development (who will be discouraged from owning cars).

CLARA has had some discussions with both TfL and Barratt.  These have involved mitigation of the adverse impacts of the scheme - notably the need for CPZs and perhaps incorporating a new NHS facility within the scheme.

Next Steps:

Before the scheme proceeds, it will require further approval from the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) which was established last year to specifically address safety concerns in high-rise buildings.  The time to secure this approval is uncertain. 

Beyond that, the developers will need to confirm the viability of these new plans.  We were able to examine viability work on the original plans and could see that the scheme was, at best, marginal.  The developer has not needed to publish updated viability data.  Lastly, and by no means least, buyers will need to be found.

At least 6 months’ notice has been promised of when the scheme will be proceeding - and thus the closure of the car park.  CLARA has concerns that this is too tight.  We asked for an undertaking that public consultation on, and implementation of, the specific CPZs for all residential roads within 1Km would be completed in advance of works starting.  The Planning Committee, in effect, voted down a motion that would defer the approval until explicit plans were included in the S106 Agreement.

CLARA will liaise closely with Barratt, and via our Councillors in LBE and LBB, to stay abreast of the progress of the project.  We hope to ensure that the necessary consultations with residents are properly handled.  Further bulletins will be issued and we will organise further public meetings if needed.

If, and when, residents of the new development arrive, they will at least join our community rather than be transitory renters - as envisaged by the previous plans.

Other Observations: 

This scheme has been 6 years in gestation by TfL. It is part of an overall programme for the closure of suburban station car parks which, frankly, both we and many others believe give little or no regard for the needs of travellers. It is profitability-driven rather than for transportation-needs.  It gives the lie to TfL’s strapline - “Every Journey Matters”.  The Mayor has even said that the removal of parking is part of his transport strategy.

The Save Cockfosters campaign was established in 2021, including members of CLARA and others, to oppose the plans for Cockfosters.

These schemes have invariably involved dense-housing on congested sites. The first scheme, at Blackhorse Road, was successfully completed by Barratt. Other schemes have foundered, either for technical or viability grounds, but the projects at Cockfosters and High Barnet remain.  The site at Arnos Grove, which was opposed by CLARA at Public Inquiry, was approved but now sits decaying.

CLARA and the Save Cockfosters Team have expressed considerable reservations about how TfL progressed these projects.  We have little confidence in the way Equalities Impact Assessments (EqIAs) and Transportation Impacts have been evaluated.  Public consultation has also been unsatisfactory - so much so that we had to ask objectors to copy their comments into the Save Cockfosters campaign.

Sadly, it is the Enfield and Barnet residents of Cockfosters who must deal with the consequences of this scheme, along with travellers from nearby or farther afield who need to drive to the station and take the train to: 

• work

• hospitals

• central London railway terminals (Kings Cross/Euston/Waterloo)

• airports

• football matches

• the theatre

• other destinations.

On Planning:

We recognise that the valuable job that Local Planners do is a difficult and valuable one. Their job is, after all, to enable sustainable development. However, residents are entitled to expect that their reasonable concerns are properly considered and that the planning process is seen to operate fairly. 

We saw that (when we eventually obtained a copy of the record of early Pre-Application Discussions for the scheme) Planning Officers had explicitly worked to undermine the basis for Enfield’s Local Plan - 

deliberately testing the limits of tolerance for digressing from Enfield’s own Development Standards on a site which the Council had previously stated was unsuitable for high-rise development.

Similarly, the process for public consultation with residents has been made difficult.  Barnet residents in the area were initially excluded.  Enfield’s Planning Portal is used in a way that is completely different to adjacent Planning Authorities - it only records whether a person objects or approves of an application but with absolutely no comments.  This neither supports transparency or the sharing of community concerns.  This is a process which needs changing, together with the decision that has been taken to no longer stream Planning Committee Meetings.

Finally:

We thank all residents, and others from beyond Cockfosters, who have supported or contributed to the Save Cockfosters Campaign.  We thank the HWA and EBRA for endorsing our work.  We thank local Councillors and MPs from Cockfosters and East Barnet for their support, with special mentions to Alex Georgiou and Edward Smith who have been with this from the start - also to Bambos Charalambous and Theresa Villiers who spoke in our support.

This development has a way to go before it begins and proceeds to completion.  CLARA will keep you updated

BACKGROUND TO THE DEVELOPMENT 

In February 2022 a planning application by Connected Living London (CLL) for 351 rental flats in blocks up to 14 storeys high was voted through by Enfield’s Planning Committee on the Chair’s casting vote, despite over 3,000 local residents formally objecting.

Subsequently, the government’s Transport Secretary effectively stopped the Scheme by refusing permission to change the use of the car park. This decision was reversed with the 2024 change of government.

However, there is significant doubt about the future of the currently approved Scheme because of post-Grenfell changes to fire safety building regulations.

We believe that these changes are sufficient to render the approved Scheme undeliverable and that a completely new planning application will be needed. We have no indication of CLL’s thinking or intentions at present.

We know from our experience of opposing the application that neither purely planning factors nor arguments about heritage, protection of Trent Park and the character of Cockfosters etc. are likely to sway the Planning Committee in our favour.

We recognise the chronic need for more homes in Enfield and accept that, in principle, it makes sense to build them near to transport hubs. However, there are major caveats to this argument.

Individually, the arguments not to build on the car park, e.g. the loss of the ‘Park & Ride’ facility and the barrier to sustainable travel it will create, and the inadequate local infrastructure, may not outweigh the need for more homes. However, we will argue that these and other cogent arguments taken together most certainly do.

You can read our presentation from the public meeting held in Christ Church on 17 September 2024 here.

In 2021 we campaigned with ‘Save Cockfosters’ against the Scheme and we will do so again once we have reliable information on the intentions of CLL. We will keep you updated on relevant developments by email.

You can read CLARA's 2021 Objection to Enfield’s Planning Committee by clicking here and our later supplementary objection here.

We also submitted eight topic papers to the Planning Committee detailing our objections. You can read them here: 

1 Background, 

2 Tall Buildings & Density, 

3 Housing Mix & Affordable Homes, 

4 Schools & Social Infrastructure, 

5 Heritage & the Green Belt, 

6 Car Parking & the Public Sector Equality Duty, 

7 Design, 

8 Financial Viability.