Works have been completed at the Eastern Gateway Woodland Creation Project, a major milestone which is part of the wider Enfield Chase Landscape Restoration initiative.
The £1 million scheme has created 20 hectares of new publicly accessible woodland, 3.4 kilometres of new and improved footpaths and cycleways, and natural flood management features such as ponds and wetlands.
The project improves connections between the east of the borough and the restored Enfield Chase landscape, improving access from Gordon Hill, Crews Hill, Hilly Fields Park, Botany Bay and connecting to Trent Park and beyond.
The new routes will offer safer, greener corridors for walking, cycling and recreation. This forms part of the Enfield Chase Landscape Restoration project, which aims to improve access to high quality nature spaces, while helping to reduce flood risk, particularly to areas downstream such as Edmonton. The wider project will also improve biodiversity through further habitat creation, conservation grazing and the reintroduction of important species such as beavers.
A celebratory tour and planting event took place on 22 October to mark the project’s completion. A bike ride took participants from Hilly Fields Park, through the new connection under the Rendelsham Viaduct, a magnificent 75ft tall structure dating from 1910, all the way to Botany Bay that sits in the Salmons Brook Valley.
Pupils from Edmonton’s Fleecefield and Brettenham Primary Schools joined councillors, community groups and volunteers to explore and take part in planting. Some of the children had never visited this part of the borough before. The team at Botany Bay Farm kindly provided refreshments for the volunteers and school children.
Enfield Council’s cabinet member for Environment and Placemaking, Cllr Sabri Ozaydin, said: “We’re very excited to announce the completion of this phase of our landscape restoration project. Not only have we expanded the woodland area, but we have integrated footpath and cycleways to make it more publicly accessible allowing people from across the borough to have access to areas they previously could not get to.
“Thank you to our wonderful young students from Fleecefield and Brettenham Primary School, volunteers, and partners that attend our launch. We hope we can encourage engagement from schools, community and youth groups from all over Enfield to enjoy our Enfield Chase woodland.”
The Eastern Gateway project builds previous phases of the Enfield Chase Landscape Restoration Programme, which has already delivered more than 80 hectares of new woodland and 3.3 km of improved trails. The work has been supported by the Greater London Authority’s Green and Resilient Spaces Fund, the Forestry Commission and community volunteers through the Friends of Enfield Chase group.
Watch the launch of the Enfield Chase Eastern Gateway on YouTube.
Eastern Gateway Woodland
Eastern Gateway welcome sign
Eastern Gateway landscape
Pupils at Eastern Gateway
