Enfield Council said on 7 October the New Southgate to Palmers Green walking and cycling route will not go ahead. Only a Broomfield Lane crossing survives.
Enfield Council has dropped its planned walking and cycling route between New Southgate and Palmers Green stations. A project update published on the council’s Let’s Talk Enfield site on 7 October says the scheme “will not be taken forward” following “a review of the Council’s priorities by the new administration”. (Enfield Council, Let’s Talk Enfield project update)
One piece survives. The council says it is “exploring the next stage of design” for the pedestrian crossing on Broomfield Lane, which it calls a priority for safety improvements “based on collision data, traffic surveys and feedback from the local community”.
What was proposed
The route was part of the council’s Journeys and Places programme. Concept designs went out for feedback in November 2025, with drop-in sessions at Palmers Green Library on 20 November and at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School in Arnos Grove on 22 November. (Enfield Council, concept design feedback notice)
The concept plan included:
- improved crossings at Station Road, Broomfield Lane and Wilmer Way
- on-carriageway cycling on low-traffic streets such as Woodland Road and Arnos Road
- segregated cycle lanes on Bowes Road and Wilmer Way
- a southbound bus gate on Palmers Road
- a one-way system with a cycling contra-flow on Ashridge Gardens
- speed calming on Broomfield Avenue, Cranford Avenue and Ashridge Gardens
- improved cycling through Arnos Park
- links to Cycleway 20 via Fox Lane
The route was designed to connect Cycleway 20 with New Southgate and Palmers Green railway stations and Arnos Grove Underground station. It would have run along the south-east edge of the Fox Lane Quieter Neighbourhood, linked to Barnet through Arnos Park, and joined the existing A406 cycle lanes via Wilmer Way.
A scheme that stalled before
This is the second time the project has stopped. The council first engaged residents in spring 2023, with a webinar on 17 April 2023, and published an early engagement summary that July. In February 2024 it said it “currently does not have any further funding to progress the project at this stage”. (Enfield Council, February 2024 project update)
The 2025 consultation revived it. The council said then that feedback would shape a final design, after which it would “proceed to statutory consultation subject to further funding”.
What the council said
The update in full reads:
Following a review of the Council’s priorities by the new administration, the proposed New Southgate Station to Palmers Green Station walking and cycling project will not be taken forward.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to share feedback during the development of the project. Your comments, along with input from businesses and local stakeholders, helped inform the Council’s consideration of the proposals.
While the wider project will not proceed, the Council is exploring the next stage of design for improvements to the pedestrian crossing on Broomfield Lane.
The proposed Broomfield Lane changes are an upgraded crossing, wider footways at the crossing point and raised tables. No date or budget is given for that work, and no decision notice has been published on the council’s committee site.
The update does not say what the consultation found, how many people responded, or what the scheme would have cost.
What it means for you
- If you cycle between Palmers Green, Arnos Grove and New Southgate, the roads stay as they are: no segregated lanes on Bowes Road or Wilmer Way, and no bus gate on Palmers Road.
- If you use the Broomfield Lane crossing, a design for an upgrade is being worked on, but nothing has been built or dated.
- If you responded to the 2025 consultation, the council has not published the results. Questions can go to journeysandplaces@enfield.gov.uk.
- The council’s current road closures are on our roadworks and travel page.
Sources
- New Southgate Station to Palmers Green Station, project page and update of 7 October 2026, Let’s Talk Enfield, Enfield Council
- Concept design feedback notice, November 2025, Enfield Council
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