Whitewebbs Golf Course

 

Consultation on proposals for the former Whitewebbs Golf Course

April 2024 - An update on our proposals

We have now submitted a planning application to Enfield Council for the former Whitewebbs Golf Course.

This final set of proposals is informed by the comprehensive public consultation undertaken from October 2023 to January 2024. We are grateful for all the feedback we received, which resulted in a number of amendments to our plans. These were detailed in the newsletter we sent to the local community in February this year.

The application is available to view and comment on Enfield Council’s planning portal here, by searching the reference number 24/00987/FUL. A direct link to the application and supporting documents is here.

Please do contact us, using the details at the bottom of this page, if you have any questions about the application. We will keep our website updated on the progress of the application over the coming months.

 

An overview of our proposals for the former Whitewebbs Golf Course:

This site presents a once in a generation opportunity to create a regionally significant asset for Enfield and we very much welcome the opportunity to meet this challenge. Our proposals seek to:

• Secure this unique site’s future with a green use

Circa 80% of the original Whitewebbs bid site will remain publicly accessible. Half of the former golf course will be restored to historic parkland.

• Lead the growth of the Women’s and Girls’ game

We have a proud history of supporting the Women’s and Girls’ game and want to continue this right here in Enfield with a new Women’s and Girls’ Academy.

• Provide new community space

Including a café, information and meeting area and repaired pond. We are also proposing to transform and restore Conduit House, as well as potentially list it as a heritage landmark.

• Protect and significantly enhance access to nature and biodiversity

Up to 3,000 additional trees will be planted on-site (subject to agreement with the Council), and we shall be providing new habitats for existing and future wildlife. We’ll be creating woodland glades and wildflower meadows, adding bat and bird boxes, and creating a new biodiversity corridor linking to Dickenson’s Meadow.

• Enhance access to nature

Whitewebbs Wood does not form part of our lease area and would continue to be owned and managed by Enfield Council. We would provide funds to help to maintain and repair trails, bridleways and paths, add new signage and create a dedicated Woodland Management Plan.

• Create new jobs and opportunities

We are proposing to open up new pathways, jobs, and apprenticeships for local residents.

Our consultation at a glance:

Over the last four months, we have:

• Written to circa 9,000 local people about our proposals
• Spoken with over 430 residents and key stakeholders
• Held a public webinar with over 20 people
• Received over 110 pieces of feedback
• Published a dedicated webpage, visited by over 1,500 people
• Held at least 12 separate meetings and presentations with community representatives
• Regularly visited and spoken to residents at the Southern Cafe
• Organised a drop-in for local groups, which 11 community representatives attended

Missed our events?

If you missed our events, but are still interested in learning more, you can still download a copy of our exhibition material here.

FAQs

1. Why did you bid for the Whitewebbs site?

Tottenham Hotspur Football Club has been selected by Enfield Council, after a thorough public procurement process, as the preferred bidder to regenerate the former Whitewebbs Golf Course.

Our proposals met the Council's objectives of securing this unique site’s future with a green use and also responded to local aspirations for enhanced access to nature and improved public facilities.

The site presents a once in a generation opportunity to create a regionally significant asset for Enfield and we very much welcome the opportunity to meet this challenge.

As a leading professional sports club and adjoining landowner, we offer a unique combination of a passion for sport, leisure, education and inclusivity; an understanding of the local area; a track record of delivering schemes to the highest standards and a demonstrable respect for the environment.

2. How much of the site will be accessible to the public under the Club’s proposals?

The original bid area included circa. 98 hectares of land. This comprised Whitewebbs Wood, the land directly to the south of the Woods and the former Whitewebbs Golf Course.

During the Club’s discussions with the Council, it was determined that circa. 45 hectares of this site, which includes the vast majority of Whitewebbs Wood, should be excluded from the lease demise area and continue to be managed by Enfield Council.

The remainder of the site – circa. 53 hectares in size – therefore forms the new lease area agreed between the Council and the Club. This includes the former Golf Course and a small part of the Woods surrounding the pond.

The Club is proposing that circa. 35 hectares of the lease area would remain publicly accessible, with around half of the site, located to the south, restored to historic parkland.

In total, of the 98 hectares that originally formed the Whitewebbs site, circa. 80 hectares (approximately 80%) would remain fully publicly accessible under the Club’s proposals.

The remainder of the site, circa. 15.6 hectares in size, would be managed access for the new Women’s and Girls’ Football Academy and the Sports Turf Academy. These facilities would see Enfield become one of the leading players in supporting the growth of the Women’s and Girls’ game and provide facilities for both elite and grassroots football, with access for local schools and clubs.

3. What are the terms of the Agreement for Lease?

The Club originally bid for the entire circa 98 hectares Whitewebbs site and submitted a consideration of £2,000,000 for the 25-year lease.

Despite the lease area being approximately halved, the Club’s consideration remains unchanged, providing funds for improvements both within the lease demise and beyond.

4. What benefits will the local community see from these proposals?

We believe our proposals will deliver significant benefits for this site and the local community. We’ve summarised these below, and you can find more detail by reading our latest newsletter here.  

• Secure this unique site’s future with a green use. Circa 80% of the original Whitewebbs bid site will remain publicly accessible. Half of the former golf course will be restored to historic parkland.
• Enhancing access to nature. This has become incredibly important post pandemic. Enfield has ambitious plans to make the borough the greenest and bluest in London and we want to support this at Whitewebbs. Under our emerging proposals, the Woods would continue to be owned and managed by Enfield Council, and we would provide funds to create a dedicated Woodland Management Plan, to upgrade signage, and repair and maintain paths and bridleways.
  We would also restore around half of the former golf course into historic parkland and wildflower meadows and repair existing landmarks such as the pond and Conduit House. We want to work with the Council and community to ensure this becomes an even better place for local people to walk and explore.
• Leading the growth of the Women’s and Girls’ game. Tottenham Hotspur has a proud history of supporting the Women’s game. Our Women’s team was founded more than 30 years ago and nationally we have seen Women’s football become one of the fastest growing sports in the UK. The England Lionesses’ success in the Euro’s and World Cup has inspired a nation of talented girls to take up the sport. Whitewebbs is located right next door to our Men’s Training Centre and is the ideal location for a new Women’s and Girls’ Football Academy. We want to continue leading this growth and we want to do this right here in Enfield, with facilities for both elite players and local clubs to train.
• Upgrading the Southern Clubhouse. We are proposing to refurbish the café, which lots of people told us has fallen into decline, incorporating a more flexible, modern design. As part of these plans, we would also provide new, larger toilets, taps for dog washing, outdoor seating areas, and a dedicated community space (circa 57sqm in size) adjacent to the café, that could be used by local groups and residents.
• Expanding cycle and pedestrian links. Our plans would include significant upgrades to existing and new bridleways and pedestrian routes within and beyond the lease demise. The perimeter bridleway around the eastern edge of the site is in a particularly poor state and would be upgraded to accommodate cyclists as well. This would allow for a proper, well-maintained north-south cycle path through the Park for the first time. 
• Creating new jobs and opportunities. We believe that the site can open new pathways and job opportunities for local residents and Londoners looking for a career in football. For example, as part of our proposals, we want to create a new Sports Turf Academy. This would be a unique facility which would deliver a whole range of courses on site to produce the next generation of exceptional Sports Turf, Greenkeeping, Horticultural and Mechanical staff. It is also expected that numerous jobs could be created once the Academy is open, in addition to new opportunities through the construction phase.
• Being a good neighbour and continuing to support our community. We have long been a part of Enfield’s local community and have already invested c. £2.3m over the past 10 years in community projects and initiatives. Our Foundation has launched and delivered 9 different programmes across the borough, and we want to grow this work even further to create something truly exceptional here.

5. How do we know you will deliver what you have set out?

We have long been part of Enfield’s local community. We know this site extremely well, its wildlife, its constraints and its opportunities. We also know the community and what you expect of us.

We are committed to delivering something truly exceptional here and have a track record of delivery, as demonstrated by our existing Men’s Training Centre and Player Accommodation Lodge. Works on our approved plans to create a nature reserve at Dickenson’s Meadow, that will provide boardwalks, wildflower walks and a biodiversity corridor linking to Whitewebbs Wood, are expected to begin shortly. Preliminary works to clear the site will take place first, and notices for these have been erected around the area.

6. What will you be doing to protect biodiversity on the site?

For four years running (2019 – 2023) we have been recognised as the Premier League’s greenest Club. We take our commitments to biodiversity, sustainability and green energy extremely seriously and these were key considerations in our bid.

Our proposals would help to secure a green, sustainable future for this site. The Woods would be retained and managed by Enfield, with funds provided by the Club for a dedicated Woodland Management Plan. Around half the former golf course would also be transformed into historic parkland, with a mosaic of different trees surrounded by wildflower meadows.

We are proposing to make some significant improvements to biodiversity across the entire Whitewebbs site. We will be diversifying the existing grassland to increase the proportion of wildflowers, controlling non-native species within the woodland and planting up to 3,000 new parkland trees (subject to agreement with the Council). Some species-specific measures will also be introduced, including plants that attract eight types of notable butterflies, an artificial kingfisher bank, a bat loft, stag beetle pyramids, reptile shelters and bee banks.

To the north of the site, we are also proposing to create a new biodiversity corridor linking Whitewebbs Wood to the nature reserve at Dickenson’s Meadow. Once complete, this would provide an environment where we would promote well-being through education and outdoor sports events, with a hands-on experience for local schools.

Longer-term, the Club and Council also wish to explore the possibility of establishing one of the UK’s first Habitat Banks for Whitewebbs Wood. 

A Habitat Bank provides the opportunity for developers building in other parts of the borough to meet their biodiversity targets by purchasing ‘conservation credits’ which in turn would be invested in Whitewebbs Wood.

Although it is not part of our emerging plans at this stage, it is something we want to continue to explore.

7. How will local people get access to the facilities at the new training centre?

As with the Men’s Training Centre, we would develop a comprehensive plan to promote community access to the new facilities at Whitewebbs. At the moment, we envision the following:

Player Development Centres: across one year the Club could have capacity to run 6x term-time programmes lasting 6 weeks each. Programmes could consist of a minimum of 1 evening session each week and it is estimated that 720 participants could be accommodated over a 12-month period.

Holiday Player Development Centres: over a year the Club could have capacity to run 7x week-long programmes during the school holidays which could accommodate up to 420 participants.

Expansion of the Club’s Women and Girls coaching programme: the coaching programme currently provides the opportunity for school leavers aged from 16-18 to study for educational qualifications and one of many sport and fitness courses, alongside a full-time football programme led by FA and UEFA-qualified coaches.

Better sporting and educational facilities for local clubs and schools: building on our work at our Men’s Training Centre, we would expand our programme of activities, to give schools and local organisations more opportunities to make use of our leading facilities.

On completion there would then be a range of pathways available to students - from academic opportunities to progression into the Club’s Coaching Excellence Centre or Club Academy set up.

8. Why is part of the woodland, including the pond and Conduit House, going to be under the control of the Club?

The lease area agreed with Enfield Council has been drawn up to account for the key access route from the north of the site (via Whitewebbs Lane) and thus includes the pond and some of the eastern part of the woodland.

The pond now forms an important part of the Club’s proposals. The wall surrounding the pond is crumbling and unsafe, and the water itself is filled with debris. We want to restore the pond so that it is a much more pleasant place for visitors to sit and reflect.

Conduit House is an important local asset that we would also restore. We are exploring the possibility of potentially listing it as a heritage landmark, so it so can be preserved and enjoyed by future generations. 

Whilst we won’t be taking forward a bird-hide concept in response to local feedback, we are developing ideas to bring forward a community use, that will be developed with the Council and local groups.  

9. What fencing will be erected around the training facilities?

The operational boundary of the Training Centre would be secured by a new green fence. This would be 1.8m tall, similar to our Men’s Training Centre, and would be shielded by native planting and bushes. This would minimise any visual impact of the fence and present a very natural and green aesthetic. The design would mean that the fence should only be noticeable from a close distance, and when viewed from across the Park it would be hard to discern.

Behind the goals of the football pitches, there would also be a 5-metre-high fence to stop balls leaving the pitch area. In every case, these would be set back some distance from the operational boundary, meaning the visual impact would also be limited.

10. At present people can walk up and down the former Golf Course, so what routes will you be providing for people to continue to do so?

Retaining and enhancing public access to this unique part of the borough has been a key objective for both us and the Council throughout the bid process.

Our proposals would create a total of four new public walking and cycling routes across the Park, resulting in around 1.7km of additional paths. As part of this, the perimeter bridleway around the eastern boundary of the site, which is currently in a poor condition, would be upgraded to accommodate cyclists as well as pedestrians. This would create a better north-south cycle route through the Park for the first time.

11. How many pitches are the Club including, and how many will be Astro-turf and have floodlights?

We are proposing nine pitches. Only one of these will be an astroturf pitch, with the remaining eight pitches all being grass. An astroturf pitch can be used much more intensively than grass and by including one we need less pitches overall to deliver the same quality Training Centre as exists for our Men’s team.

Only two pitches will have floodlights, and in response to local feedback received during our consultation, we have relocated these both to the north of the site, nearer to Whitewebbs Lane.

12. Creating all these pitches to the standard you will require will involve a lot of earth movement. How much will be moved and what will happen to all this soil?

One of the strengths the Council identified in our original bid was that we ruled out importing any soil to deliver these plans. Instead, we will be looking to reuse as much of the existing soil as we can.

Exactly how we will manage these earth movements will be detailed in our Construction Management Plan and other documents, that will be submitted and publicly accessible with our planning application.

13. What is happening to your plans for Dickenson’s Meadow?

We appreciate that there has been a long delay in starting works on Dickenson’s Meadow, due to legal delays with signing the lease for the site. We remain very keen to get on with this project and will be starting work on-site in shortly. This will include some preliminary works to clear the site, notices for which have been erected around the area.

14. Is it true that the Club has acquired the Northern Lodge? And if so, what do you intend to do with it?

Yes, the Club has acquired the Northern Lodge, however it doesn’t form part of our current proposals for Whitewebbs. As many are aware, it is in a state of disrepair, and we will be exploring how we can restore it sensitively longer-term.

15. What is proposed for the café at the Southern Clubhouse, and who will deliver and operate the new building?

During our public consultation, lots of people told us the Café is an incredibly popular and important community venue for those using the Park. Therefore, our proposals would refurbish the Café, with a more a modern design. Also included in the upgraded Southern Clubhouse will be a community space (circa 50sqm in size) that could be used by local groups and residents, a permanent ranger’s office, space for a noticeboard for community messages and site history, and larger toilet facilities.

The Café would be operated by the Club, and led by a dedicated team of staff members to oversee its activities, and deliver high-quality services for residents, visitors and walkers.

16. When do you intend to submit a planning application? Will there be any more consultation before submission?

We are working to submit a planning application to Enfield Council over the coming months and we will update this website at this point. Once we have submitted an application, Enfield will undertake its own consultation, where you’ll be able to share any final comments you have on the proposals.

17. How would visitors, players and staff at the club access the site?

We are proposing to restore and reopen the historic carriageway between Whitewebbs Lane and Whitewebbs House to the public. This would become the main public access route for visitors from the north.

Players and staff would access the new Academy via the existing access route into the site, which runs past the current Northern Clubhouse. This would become a managed access route, with a security barrier operated by the Club. It would also be open to residents of The Limes (a private home, outside of the lease demise).

To the north-east of the site, we are proposing to create a new operational link between Whitewebbs and the existing Men’s Training Centre. This internal connection would be designed for small buggies and will reduce vehicle movements between the Men’s Training Centre and Whitewebbs Wood.

To the south of the site, we would preserve the existing access via Beggar’s Hollow.

18. Are you making any changes to the parking spaces across the site and Whitewebbs Wood?

The car park by Whitewebbs House, which is used by the Toby Carvery, sits outside of our lease demise and therefore forms no part of our proposals.

The car park near the refurbished Southern Clubhouse would continue to be public and available free of charge. It will be resurfaced to remove any potholes and better protect against the weather, and expanded with new spaces to charge electric vehicles.

For players and staff driving to the Training Centre, all parking would be provided within our operational boundary and away from the public car parks. We are still finalising the number and location of these spaces. It would include coach parking and fewer spaces than the existing Men’s Training Centre.

All these details will be included in our Transport Assessment, which will be submitted with the planning application and be publicly accessible.

19. How many trees will have to be cut down to deliver this project?

As part of our design process, we have also carefully looked at the intended layout of our football pitches. Our experts have counted and assessed every tree within our lease demise. There are approximately 3,000 trees in total, and a small proportion of these will need to be removed or relocated. The trees affected will all be moderate or low quality trees (Category B or C), with none of the best quality Category A trees impacted.

We are proposing to offset these changes by significantly increasing the number of trees located across the site. We would plant up to 3,000 additional trees (subject to agreement with the Council), of which around 450 would be semi-mature.

20. Will you close access to the Park at certain times of day?

No. Pedestrians and cyclists will be able to access the Park at all times of day, as they do now. However, we are considering closing the car park to vehicles at night for safety in response to local complaints about anti-social behaviour.

21. Will the pond be closed off to the public?

No. The pond and area surrounding it will be publicly accessible as it is now. Our proposals will improve the setting around it, by repairing the existing crumbling stonework, removing rubbish and debris and installing better benches.

22. Will you continue to engage with local people if the plans are approved by Enfield Council?

Should our plans progress, we are committed to keeping local people updated about the project. We would look to establish a dedicated Community Liaison Group (CLG) for Whitewebbs, where representatives from the local area could share ideas for the future management and improvement of the Park long-term. Further information how to register for the CLG will be shared at a later date.

Get in touch

If you have any questions, or would like to speak to a member of the team, do get in touch by:

Email: thfcwhitewebbs@londoncommunications.co.uk

Phone: 0800 092 0422