Outdoor dining on the Green – consultation underway
The outdoor dining on the slip road next to the Green was part of Enfield’s Streetspace plan in June to give the food businesses in the borough a boost post lockdown by encouraging people to eat and drink outside and providing social distancing that would otherwise be difficult to offer inside the restaurants. It has been a huge success and it has brought a real energy to the Green with many people enjoying the weather and supporting local businesses.
This was set up on a trial basis which we understand runs until the end of the year. The WHRA is supportive of the initiative however we do need to reflect on the fact that there were residents and businesses who were concerned about noise and loss of business. It is understood that the shops that didn’t benefit from this directly are, after a couple of months, beginning to see and feel the benefit from the extra people who are coming to the Green who otherwise wouldn’t be there. These customers making up for the loss of the quick stop and shop customers that were visiting before when the road was open and they were using the parking.
The WHRA would like to an active process in the consultation and shaping the ideas that are being suggested to make this permanent with shelter to enable customers to enjoy the outside dining all year round. It is important that there is a balance that can be struck between the aesthetics of the designs, the practicality and cost for the businesses and the fact that this is a Conservation area so that the streetscape needs to be in keeping with it’s surroundings. We will post more on the website as this consultation and the plans develop.
Please do support the businesses that aren’t offering food and drink if you go to the cafes and restaurants, these other businesses are also important in our community and we need to make sure they benefit from this scheme as well. There is currently a consultation running to find out what local residents think about it run by Enfield. Please make your views known on this initiative. Click on the image below to go to the consultation in a separate window. You will need to have an Enfield Let’s Talk account (free and very quick to set up) to be able to take part in the survey.
Categorised as: Uncategorized