Thousands of homes could be built on the green belt as a result of changes to local planning policy put forward by Enfield Council.

Two green belt sites, at Chase Park and Crews Hill in the north-west of the borough, could be released for development to provide around 6,000 new homes.

They are included in the council’s draft local plan, which is designed to provide 1,246 homes per year up to 2039 – an annual target set out in the newly adopted London Plan.

Enfield is currently falling well short of that target, building only around 438 homes per year during the past three years – and the council recently had its planning powers curbed after failing to pass the Government’s housing delivery test.

Building on some of the green belt – which covers around a third of Enfield – alongside existing urban areas will help to meet much of the housing requirement, according to the council’s preferred growth strategy as set out in the draft document.

But the plans have already been slammed by the Enfield Conservatives and were opposed by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, who is against building on the green belt, in an initial consultation on the proposals.

A council report acknowledges that the proposal runs against London Plan policy regarding the green belt, which states that the boundaries of the protected area should only be changed in “exceptional circumstances”.

Local campaign groups recently warned building on the green belt rather than brownfield sites would be a “huge mistake” and risked undermining the health and environmental benefits provided by green spaces. It came after the council listed 29 sites in the protected area where housing could be built.

Conservative leader Cllr Joanne Laban said: “These proposals prove that you cannot trust the Labour administration with Enfield’s precious green belt.

“The Labour administration has failed to complete any homes at its flagship scheme Meridian Water in over decade. Maybe it should build a sizeable number of homes there, rather than consider developing over our lovely open spaces and countryside. Enfield Conservative group vehemently opposes any development in the green belt.”

Councillors will decide whether to approve the draft local plan for consultation at an extraordinary council meeting on Wednesday, June 9.

If they give the go-ahead, the six-week consultation is expected to launch towards the end of June and will be available on the council’s Let’s Talk platform at https://letstalk.enfield.gov.uk/

Council leader Cllr Nesil Caliskan said the borough’s residents were facing an “affordability crisis”, and the local authority needed to make “difficult choices about where growth can be placed”.

She added: “The draft local plan…guards against the development of inappropriate skyscrapers as well as looking at options for providing more affordable family homes – which we know our residents want and need.

“Meanwhile, Government planning changes threaten our wider green belt and our ability to control how new developments in Enfield are designed and shaped.

“Ultimately, we need a place that is more equal for all, delivering more housing and better and fairer outcomes across the board.”