Enfield Council reveals plans for London's largest nature reserve

The capital is set to get one of the largest nature reserves close to a large city in the UK.

Around 1,000 hectares - approximately 2,471 acres -of farmland will be turned into a publicly accessible nature reserve in Enfield, north London.

The reserve has been planned in a bid to improve biodiversity in the capital and is set to create “hundreds of hectares of new woodland that will be easily accessed through a network of footpaths and cycleways”.

Named the Enfield Chase Landscape Restoration Project, the reserve is the latest in a line of ideas to improve green spaces in the area. Since 2020, 140,000 trees have been planted in the north London borough.

Enfield Council and various partners want to “restore the landscape to the more natural state it was in hundreds of years ago”.

A spokesman said: “Over the years, the ancient woodland has seen rivers straightened, trees felled and wildlife habitats destroyed. River dredging has also caused significant flooding problems, with waterways being diverted away from their natural floodplains.

“The landscape project will aim to draw visitors to the area while restoring heavily modified rivers to a more natural state and reduce flooding downstream in the urban parts of the borough, like Edmonton. Natural flood management measures, such as ponds and woodlands, will help to do this, creating habitats for wildlife at the same time.”

Enfield Council is working with river restoration charity Thames 21, as well as the Forestry Commission, Climate Action Enfield and Friends of Enfield Chase.

Friends of Enfield Chase chairman, John Cole, said: “The sky’s the limit. There’s an opportunity for the likes of ramblers, runners and cyclists to know more about it and put it on the map.

“The whole idea of the survey is, it’s the beginning, we want to capture thoughts and primarily make a more pleasant place and increase access.”