Cockfosters Station car park plans revealed

Plans for Cockfosters Station car park (credit Hawkins Brown)

Report by Simon Allin, Local Democracy Reporter

Designs have been revealed for the proposed blocks of flats at Cockfosters Station.

Connected Living London (CLL) – a partnership between Transport for London (TfL) and developer Grainger – wants to build up to 370 homes on the tube station’s car park, in four blocks up to 14 storeys tall. Forty percent of the new homes would be classed as ‘affordable’.

While parking spaces for blue badge holders would be retained under the plans, the remaining car park space would be built on. The build-to-rent scheme – one of several housing projects planned for tube stations across London – was first announced in June last year and has since attracted significant local controversy. More than 2,300 people have signed a petition set up by Cockfosters Local Area Residents Association (Clara) calling for the development to be stopped.

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The main concern is the impact upon commuters who travel to the station by car. Surveys carried out by TfL show three-quarters of people who use Cockfosters Station car park travel in from outside the M25, with less than a fifth coming from Enfield and Barnet. Around 95% of car park users have a rail station closer to their home than Cockfosters and TfL claims the development would cut down on car journeys. It would also provide new public spaces, trees and greenery, as well as improving pedestrian access to nearby Trent Park.

Ben Tate, head of build-to-rent at TfL, said the development “will provide hundreds of new homes that the capital desperately needs”. He added: “The homes are being specifically designed to provide housing for those who wish to rent rather than buy, helping meet a growing demand.”

Local people can have their say on the plans at givemyview.com/cockfosters. The scheme will need approval by Enfield Council before work can begin.

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