
The Enfield Society welcomes the prospect of overdue investment in our outdated Palace Gardens shopping centre by its owners, DWS (Deutsche Bank), and their promise of new catering, leisure and retail outlets. However, we and a number of other local groups oppose the scheme’s six tower blocks, especially those from 12 to 26 storeys high. The central tower would be more than twice the height of the Civic Centre and Tower Point, the other high rise buildings in town. 350 flats built to rent in phase 1, with another 250 in phase 2 would stand over the shops and around a new square.
The benefits of providing new homes are obvious, but not at the expense of our cherished views and vistas. The proposed massive landmark would tower above the conservation area and Town Park, cast shadows over Church Street and the Market Square and be seen for miles.
Public consultation to-date by the DWS project team has been minimal: a leaflet, two webinars in October, and a two-week feedback period. So we have invited Civic Voice, the national charity which engages people with planning issues that will shape their future, to help gauge our community’s response to these plans. We are also delighted to be working with Southgate District Civic Voice, which successfully opposed the high rise Southgate Office Village scheme earlier this year.
We have launched an independent survey online – to be followed in hard copy – to record community reactions to these plans. Please respond quickly and ask neighbours and friends to do the same. We will urge DWS to display their plans in the shopping centre, and intend to ask more searching questions of the project team in further online sessions.
- Online survey
- Explore the Locally and Nationally listed buildings around the development
- See our Press Statement on the Society’s view of the development
- Let us know what you think: email us at palsq-feedback@enfieldsociety.org.uk
Get involved: how you can help
We’re going to need volunteers to help our campaign. Our immediate needs are for help with Social Media and, when our survey is available in paper form, delivering to all the roads around Enfield Town. Offers of help can be sent to palsq-help@enfieldsociety.org.uk.
Information from the developer


More details from the developer’s online exhibition web-site
Public webinars
Two public webinars were held in October 2020. Watch them again here.