16/11/2005

Enfield Town New Road Scheme Open

The new road scheme in Enfield Town was opened at 10pm on 7th November and has taken a week or so to settle down. Vehicles approaching Enfield from the South can now go straight on and through the Town. Genotin Road is now the main southbound route through the Town.

Slight improvements and adjustments are still being made. There is now a left hand filter lane open eastbound in Southbury Road by Upstairs Downstairs which should ease the congestion in Church Street.

The Council have also opened the basement of the Civic Centre multi-storey car for FREE weekend parking. This is accessed via Fir Tree Walk at the back of the Civic Centre.

05/07/2005

Two New Shops Announced

The construction of PalaceXchange is well underway with the first steel work going up last week. All demolition work and archaeological digs are now complete. In September, Sydney Road will close and the Genotin Road link will open. The flow of traffic in London Road will change to Northbound.

We are still watching with interest whether large lorries and buses will be able to make the left turn from Southbury Road into Genotin Road. It looks really tight but I see some kerbing has been removed on that corner. It is not clear whether the railway company has relinquished any land there.

The left turn from Silver Street into Southbury Road also looks very tight; the pavement there has been marked with the new kerb line which again doesn’t seem to give much room to turn. There are some pictures on the website www.enfieldtown.org.uk.

Two new shops have been announced, Top Shop and New Look. It would be lovely to see something different going into the development, but hopefully this will enable independent retailers to set up in the high street in more affordable units. In a recent press release from Craig Taylor, Enfield Town Centre Manager, it was stated that there had been over 300 enquiries for one property in Church Street!

EBRA (Enfield Business and Retailers Association) along with ING have opened a new website www.getintoenfield.com which has a map of all the car parks in Enfield Town. It will be expanded to bring latest news of progress, a list of shops and an events page. This coincides with the launching of the “Get Into Enfield” campaign which is aimed at attracting shoppers into Enfield by giving clear directions to open car parks and raising awareness that Enfield Town is still open during the construction phase.

Over the next few days, new signs will be added to the hoardings around the building sites giving directions to the car parks. They are also adding 5 large advertising boards around the Cecil Road site. Hopefully these along with the hanging baskets will help to make the site look a little more attractive during the development.

21/02/2005

Plans change for Cultural Centre

As expected, the Council have admitted that it does not have the funds to fit out a new library within PalaceXchange. They have also announced that some of the space allocated to the Cultural Centre may be given up for further retail use.

There is an excellent opportunity for a proper thought out Cultural Centre to be built within PalaceXchange, but it seems nobody within the Council is interested in any project that may ultimately cost money. It is very short term thinking as over time, this venue could provide many different uses for the benefit of the community. There is a desperate shortage of good places to go out in Enfield and it would be a shame if this were to slip by.

The plan for the library, is to develop the existing library in Enfield Town. This will help keep the west end of Town alive. Exact details of the plans are yet to be released, but let's hope the Council make a good job of it.

07/01/2005

Cecil Road Buildings Demolished

The buildings in Cecil Road have now been completely demolished and the temporary car park in Cecil Road is due to open at the end of January. Work has begun on demolishing the Town House and the Enfield Arms is due to close this week.

There are a couple of issues that remain unresolved and they need discussion:
1) Entrance into the Town from Temporary Car Park
2) Uses for the new Civic Building

At present, the only legitimate way to get to the shops from the temporary car park in Cecil Road is either to walk up to Sydney Road or down to Sarnsfield Road. Almost opposite the car park is an old walk way which would lead through to the Waitrose pick up point. Currently it is closed up, but you can still make out an old lamp post. Both the Council and Palace Gardens have looked at doing something with this path, but no decision has been made. It seems crazy that after all this time, this hasn't been thought about and sorted by now. I heard figures of about £50K to clear and repair this walk way, do you think it is worth it?

Hopefully, shortly we will hear what the plans are for the new Civic building. It was originally planned to be a Cultural Centre, but it seems to have been severally watered down to being a library, café and extra council offices! It seems a shame to miss this opportunity to make the best use for this building. I think it needs to be used to provide a whole host of facilities. The Council don't seem interested in any type of Entertainment in the town, but I believe the town needs an attraction that can be used throughout the day as well as into the evening. It would encourage people to stay in the town after shopping, perhaps eat there and then go onto something cultural in the evening.

I've put together some ideas: Instead of creating a new library, make the building a proper cultural centre. Provide a flexible entertainment space on two floors that could provide some of the musical activities that the Townhouse used to provide. The Broxbourne Civic Hall appears to be extremely popular and provides a comprehensive range of events. If the cultural centre was designed to have a stage and moveable seating on one of the floors, it could also double up as a theatre. The theatre could also be used as a cinema providing "specialist" and unique films. The building could also incorporate a coffee bar with seating in an atrium area.

There is still no news about who is planning to take over the leisure space in the Civic Building. I don't know how the finances would work out, but may be that should be made into part of the Civic Building. This would certainly be better then a cheap supermarket such as Lidl.

What are your thoughts? Email ian@enfieldtown.org.uk

16/11/2004

PALACEXCHANGE SITE PREPARED FOR DEMOLITION WORK

Preparation work to enable the start of construction of PalaceXchange has begun in Enfield town centre.

Costain, ING’s building contractor, is currently putting up hoardings, stripping the interior of buildings and clearing the PalaceXchange site. The preparation phase will last until the end of December when the demolition of buildings will begin.

In addition, Coffey, a Southgate based sub-contractor will commence the construction of a temporary car park on Cecil Road opposite the Baptist Church. The car park is scheduled to open in the New Year, and will provide around 120 car parking spaces. Coffey has also been appointed as sub-contractor for the new Genotin Road Link, which will be built in the New Year.

01/09/2004

Planning permission has gone unconditional

We have some news! The planning permission has gone unconditional yesterday (31st August 2004) on the deadline.

I am not entirely sure exactly what this means or indeed when the building work will start. I also need to find out exactly which company has signed the documents with Enfield Council. It now looks like ING Real Estate Development UK are taking over from Enfield Retail Ltd.

The press release can be read at enfield.gov.uk

It mentions one other store (Ottakar's) that we haven't heard about before.

I've no idea what additional leisure facilities will be on offer. As far as we know, it will just be the new central library.

There are still many questions about the development that remain unanswered, hopefully we will have more details shortly.

16/08/2004

Two weeks to the deadline

There are now only two weeks left before the development agreement between Enfield Retail Ltd and Enfield Council expires. It is not clear what will happen if this deadline is reached, but the Council are in the process of developing a back up plan.

Very little detail has been released about who will occupy the development. At the moment, the only confirmed names are Next, TK Maxx, Superdrug, Clarkes and Foot Locker. The large detached retail unit within the Central Library and Car Park building is still available.

There are reports that the developers are preparing to sign next weekend (22nd August). Watch this space!

28/05/2004

Less then 100 days to go…

The developers now have less then 100 days to start work on the Enfield Town Phase II development before the contract with the Council runs out. The Townhouse remains closed, but at least two of the small shop units on the front of the Townhouse are open and the computer training centre upstairs is still operating.

As the Townhouse is one of the first buildings that will be demolished, to make way for the Genotin Road link road, it is interesting that some parts of it are still occupied at this late stage.

12/03/2004

Steve Wehrle Resigns

Steve Wehrle, the main man spearheading PalaceXchange, has resigned from Enfield Retail Ltd. What does this mean for the development?

The building phase of the development was due to begin at the start of this year and as yet there are no visible signs that it will. The Townhouse has closed it's doors for the time being because of the uncertainty. But they would gladly re-open if they could get a firm date for when the development will start.

Steve Wehrle has been working on this development for several years, originally for Laing Property and finally for Enfield Retail Ltd. Laing Property gained £50m funding from ING in May 2001 and was later taken over by Keir Developments in April 2002.

Both the Council and Enfield Retail Ltd say that Steve Wehlre’s resignation will not affect the development, as he was part of a team. But nonetheless, when a senior director resigns just before the development is due to kick off, it does cause concern.

15/09/2003

Special Projects Scrutiny Panel

At the Council's Special Projects Scrutiny Panel on Thursday evening (11th September 2003), it was reported that there has been good progress over the last twelve months with the developers, and that the Council are now having weekly meetings with them. If the developer can comply with all the conditions by November, then the development may begin in early 2004.

There were several members of the public in the meeting who were asking questions about the vacant unit next to the library which was originally earmarked for a leisure club The Council have made it clear to the developers that they do not want a nightclub in the unit, but planning permission has already been granted for that use. If the licensing board grant an entertainment license, there is nothing the Council can do to stop a nightclub being established there.

This vacant unit is proving to be the developers thorn in their side. It is one of the conditions of the development agreement that this unit be pre-let before the planning permission goes unconditional. Jonathan Buckingham, the Councils consultant on this project, reported that the developers are in discussion with the council to waive this clause and begin development without this unit being pre-let. This is not satisfactory.

There was also concerns that the development in the town and the associated road closures would coincide with the traffic chaos caused by the closure of the Holmesdale Tunnel on the M25 next year. The Council

The Council confirmed that the Enfield Town Focus Group would be re-established in October to provide resident associations and other interested groups with up-to-date information. They also confirmed that letters will be going out in the next two weeks to all 3rd parties who will be effected by the Compulsory Purchase orders giving them a timetable of when they are likely to be served their vesting declarations.

Regarding the new location of the Free Church in Enfield Town, Jonathan Buckingham, said that the Council are waiting for a detailed proposal from the Church. He did not mention where they might be relocated.

10/09/2003

Nightclub License Application

Apparently, the developers have not withdrawn their application for a Public Entertainment License. They have instead deferred determination of the application. It hasn't been shelved!

The council say "The applicant has stated that he wishes to consider alternative options as this stage. However, it is stressed that no decision has been taken to withdraw the application."

We are awaiting a date for the next hearing of the Members of the Licensing Committee.

01/09/2003

Empty shops re-let on London Road

Official news about the Town Development is non-existent at the moment. Two of the shops in London Road, which have been empty for most of the summer, have now been re-let. This is a clear indication that the development is not ready to start for several months. The old Co-op store which then became The Curtain Mill has now been let by Beat This and the shop next door has been let by Advance Holidays.

31/07/2003

TK MAXX in Enfield Town

There is very little information about the town development being released by either the Council or Enfield Retail Ltd. Work was due to start in June 2003 and was then pushed back to July 2003. It now looks like September 2003 is the earliest work can begin.

TK MAXX are the only company, that we have information about, that are interested in moving into the development. No information on any other companies has been released.

23/07/2003

New Nightclub Plans in Enfield Town

Enfield Retail Ltd has submitted an application to Enfield Council for a public entertainment licence for the site on the south side of Cecil Road where the current car park is located.

This space was originally intended to be a leisure centre, similar to the Esporta Health Club at the other end of Cecil Road. Now, it looks likely to become a "chameleon bar", a café during the day, a bar in the evening and a nightclub until 2am.

In David Sanderson's report in the Enfield Advertiser, he mentions that Eros who are currently on the Enfield Retail Park are interested in relocating their club to Enfield Town.

This is further backed up by a report in the Enfield Independent in June that Standard Life and Enfield Retail Ltd have made a joint application for permission to build a non-food retail outlet on Eros' current site.

The proposed size of the nightclub is 25,000 square feet which would hold approximately 2000 revellers. Leader of the Council, Michael Rye, has "significant reservations" about the proposals.

Steve Wehrle, director of Enfield Retail Ltd, said any club would not attract the occasionally troublesome clientele who go to Eros in Enfield Retail Park. If Eros were to move into the town, it is hard to see how they will avoid attracting their existing clientele.

12/03/2003

ENFIELD, PalaceXchange - New name for development

Chase & Partners advertise the development on their website as ENFIELD, PalaceXchange Town Centre Redevelopment. This is the first time we have seen this name mentioned. At the moment there is very little news about the development. The Free Church have still not agreed on an alternative location for the church. The first phase of the development is due to begin in June 2003, but as yet we have not had confirmation that the pre-letting of anchor space is complete.

Chase & Partners

27/10/2002

Cabinet Report Now Available

The long awaited report to the cabinet has now been made available.

Report 135

11/09/2002

Compulsory Purchase Orders

The Compulsory Purchase Orders have now been signed by the Secretary of State and official notices should appear in this weeks local papers. We now await a revised programme from ERL.

20/07/2002

Conservative Council Report

The long awaited report from the new Conservative Council about the Town Development did not make it onto the agenda of the latest Cabinet meeting (17/7/2002). We will now have to wait, for further news, until the next cabinet meeting.

17/07/2002

First Building Vacated

The first of the compulsory purchased buildings in Cecil Road is vacated this weekend and awaits to be boarded up. Apparently a lady parishioner at the Free Evangelical Church was born at 109 Cecil Road and has asked for some memento from the building, perhaps a brick from above the door. The Church are also making preparations to move out by January 2003.

As yet, there is no further information on timing for the development. The last information was that development was due to begin in January to build the Genotin Road link followed by the shops on the Sydney Road car park and then the civic building and multi-storey on the Cecil Road car park.