RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesSpurs women's team's new facility has been blocked by the courts [Getty Images]
A court has ruled north London councillors were "misled" over the environmental impact of a planned new training facility for Tottenham Hotspur football club.
On Monday a High Court judge quashed the decision to approve the plans, finding the result "could well have been different" had all the relevant information about the scheme been available.
Campaigners told a hearing in June that Enfield Council's decision to grant planning permission for a new women and girls' football academy on 16 acres of land in Whitewebbs Park was unlawful.
Spurs said the claim should be dismissed as the result "would inevitably have been the same". Enfield Council has been approached for comment.
The campaign group Guardians of Whitewebbs also claimed there was a "real possibility of bias" in the decision as Spurs had "unparalleled access" to senior council figures at the time of the application.
The football club said allegations of bias were "completely overblown".
Sitting as a High Court judge, Sir Tim Kerr dismissed the bias claims as "weak" stating that "cordial relations" between the council and the club were "normal given the overlapping functions and interests".
The proposed site in Enfield, north London, shows football pitches and an academy building [Enfield Council]
Enfield Council approved the Premier League club's plans in February 2025 despite 296 objections, many of which were related to the loss of green space and impact on local wildlife.
The matter was also referred to the mayor because the proposed site was green belt land, but Sir Sadiq Khan ruled that the development had demonstrated special circumstances and a package of public benefits had been secured.
The local authority, which was Labour-controlled at the time of the planning decision but is now run by a Conservative minority administration, withdrew its defence to the claim last month.
The park was bought in 1931 for the use of the public [Friends of Whitewebb Park]
Spurs agreed a 25-year lease for the site in 2023 – a decision that was unsuccessfully challenged at the High Court in 2024 – and the council resolved to approve the planning application in February last year.
The plans would have seen the construction of 10 football pitches and other work on the park, which is near the club's men's training facilities.
Concerns about the scheme had included the blocking of views, limiting access to public spaces and not preserving ancient parkland and wildlife.
Friends of Whitewebbs Park said the character of the park - which was bought for the benefit of the people of Enfield by Middlesex Council in 1931 - would be permanently altered, and it "would be irreversible".
At the High Court, the judge said the council's non-compliance with rules was "serious" and that councillors were "materially misled" by the exclusion of a report by ecologist Giles Sutton into the environmental benefits of the plans.
BBC Sounds: Why people are angry about a new Spurs academy
In June 2025 Patrick Connaghan, the owner of Capital Girls Elite Development, a girls-only football provision programme in north London, welcomed the granting of planning permission to the training ground at Whitewebbs.
He told BBC Radio London: "On a weekly basis, we struggle for pitch space and with ever-growing financial costs, it's a hard task to find facilities of a standard to train the talents we have.
"If this gets off the ground, it will give us access to so many opportunities for young girls to seek visibility and their dreams.
"If we invest in the opportunities for grass-roots sports to be better, the ability will rise at the top of the women's football pyramid."
Guardians of Whitewebbs had called the public benefits of the development "paltry" and said the decision to grant permissions "flies in the face of common sense".
It argued the development represented a loss of public and biodiverse green space - specifically about 40 acres of rewilded grassland and more than 200 trees.
"Football pitches can in no way make up for the permanent loss and degradation of green space," the group said.
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Tottenham training ground approved despite protest
Tottenham women's green-belt plan gets green light
Spurs academy approval may be biased, court told
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Enfield Council
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