Enfield Council wants to lease Holly Hill Farm on The Ridgeway to a commercial solar operator for 20 years. Cabinet takes the decision on 4 November.
Enfield Council is proposing to hand part of its own farmland on The Ridgeway to a commercial solar operator on a 20-year lease. The notice of the proposed decision went up on the council’s democratic services site on 20 August, and Cabinet is scheduled to take it on 4 November 2026. (Enfield Council, issue KD 6138)
The site is Holly Hill Farm, on The Ridgeway at EN2 8AN. The council’s own record names Ridgeway ward as the one affected, which is the rural north-west of the borough, above Enfield Chase and short of the M25.
What the report will actually ask Cabinet to approve
The council’s published summary of the report sets out four things:
- proceeding with the Holly Hill Solar Farm project through a competitive process
- granting a 20-year lease to a commercial solar operator, with the ability to continue beyond that initial term by agreement
- delegated authority to complete due diligence, select a preferred bidder and agree commercial terms
- delegated authority to enter into the lease and the associated agreements
In other words, Cabinet is not being asked to approve a named operator, a rent or a layout. It is being asked to approve the route: run a competition, pick a winner, and let officers sign.
The council has classed this as a key decision on the ground of “Expenditure/Savings > £500,000”. That is the council’s own threshold for a decision significant enough to require formal advance notice, and it tells you the money involved runs into six figures at least. The department leading it is Housing Regeneration and Development, and the named contact is the council’s Head of Rural Transformation.
Part of the report will not be public. The record marks it as a Part 1 and Part 2 item, which is the standard way a council splits a report into an open section and a confidential appendix. On a competitive land deal the commercial terms are the part that usually sits in Part 2.
The council owns a listed building on the same farm, and it is on the at-risk register
Holly Hill Farm is not an anonymous field. Holly Hill Farmhouse on The Ridgeway has been Grade II listed since 31 January 1974. The listing describes a mid-19th century two-storey, three-bay villa in yellow brick, with a low-pitched hipped slate roof, sash windows under gauged brick arches and external louvred shutters. (Historic England, list entry 1188655)
It is also on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk register, and the register’s assessment is blunt:
| Field | Entry |
|---|---|
| Condition | Poor |
| Vulnerability | Medium |
| Trend | Stable |
| Priority | C, slow decay; no solution agreed |
| Ownership | Local authority |
“No solution agreed” is Historic England’s phrase, not ours, and the owner it names is the council. (Historic England, Heritage at Risk entry)
Nothing in the published notice says the solar project would touch the farmhouse, and the council has not said which parcels of the farm are in scope. But the two sit on the same holding, and a 20-year income stream from the land is the obvious moment to ask what happens to the building.
This is not the first time the council has looked at Holly Hill
In December 2016 the council published a key decision on the sale of part of Holly Hill Farm, reference KD 4447. It went to Cabinet on 18 January 2017 and the record shows the recommendations were approved. That one was flagged as having a significant impact on two or more wards, and it too was split into a public Part 1 and a confidential Part 2. (Enfield Council, issue KD 4447)
What it means for you
If you live in Ridgeway ward, walk The Ridgeway, or use the footpaths across Enfield Chase, this is the decision that would change what that land looks like for the next two decades.
- The date to put in the diary is 4 November 2026. Cabinet meets in public and its agenda and reports are published in advance on the council’s democratic services site. The Part 1 report is where the site boundary, the scale of the scheme and the case for it will appear.
- Nothing is fixed yet. There is no named operator, no published capacity, no rent and no site plan in the public record today. Anyone telling you otherwise is guessing.
- A lease is not a planning permission. Even with Cabinet approval, a solar scheme of any size on this land would still need a planning application, which is where objections and support are formally counted. Applications for the borough appear on our Enfield planning news page and on the council’s own register.
- Watch what the report says about the farmhouse. The council owns a Grade II listed building on this farm that Historic England records as being in poor condition with no agreed solution. A twenty-year income from the surrounding land is a fair moment to ask what the plan for it is.
Sources
- Enfield Council, issue KD 6138, Holly Hill Solar Farm, notice of proposed decision first published 20 August 2026, for the 20-year lease, the competitive process, the delegations sought, the key decision reason, the ward and the department.
- Enfield Council, issue history for KD 6138, for the 4 November 2026 Cabinet date.
- Enfield Council, issue KD 4447, Sale of Part, Holly Hill Farm, for the December 2016 notice, the 18 January 2017 Cabinet date and the outcome.
- Historic England, National Heritage List entry 1188655, for the Grade II listing, the 31 January 1974 listing date and the description of the farmhouse.
- Historic England, Heritage at Risk register entry for Holly Hill Farmhouse, for the condition, vulnerability, trend, priority category and ownership.
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