Enfield

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Comparisons

Compare Enfield's overall performance against other boroughs

Enfield is highlighted particularly in the relevant indicators listed on the right. In addition, data for all boroughs feature in the indicators below:

Borough profile

Enfield was formed in 1965 by an amalgamation of the former boroughs of Edmonton, Enfield and Southgate.

It is located on the northern edge of Greater London, bordering the London boroughs of Haringey and Barnet to the south and the rural boroughs of Hertfordshire and Essex to the north. Enfield is roughly divisible into the north-western area (Cockfosters, Hadley Wood and Crews Hill), characterised by expensive housing, country parkland and green belt land; and the southern part which is notable for a proliferation of suburban, semi-detached housing served by small shopping centres and the eastern area, once part of the ‘Lee Valley manufacturing heartland’ of London, which is characterised by a remaining industrial corridor and a legacy of low cost housing.The poorer parts of the borough are to the north, east and south, including 4 wards that are among the most deprived in England.

Enfield experienced large population growth in the early half of the 20th century due to a general flight to the suburbs from within London, as well as the migration and subsequent settlement of workers from Cyprus, Turkey and Greece in the western side of the borough. It then saw significant population decline from the 1960s through the 1980s. However, the last 10 years have seen Enfield’s population increasing approximately in line with the average for London with some of the fastest projected increases over five years in the poorer eastern wards. This increase is mostly due to demographic surplus (that is, births outnumbering deaths) as Enfield is seeing net out-migration due to low levels of immigrants and a loss of residents to nearby “shires.” At the same time, migration between Haringey and Enfield constitutes the largest cross-borough flow in London.

In 2004, Enfield Council estimated the proportion of non-white British residents in Enfield as 50.4%, with the largest ethnic minority groups recorded being Greek Cypriot, White-other, Black Caribbean and Black African, in that order. New growing communities include Somalis, Nigerians, Ghanians, Congolese and Eastern Europeans, notably Kosovans and Albanians. While new African and Caribbean migrants are concentrating in East Enfield, East Europeans are far more dispersed throughout the borough. Approximately 0.4% of Enfield’s population consists of refugees and asylum seekers. Enfield currently stands as the 21st most ethnically diverse Local Authority in London but is becoming more diverse as a result of significant flows of African Caribbeans from inner city boroughs into Enfield and the movement of white British residents into neighbouring shires, as mentioned above.

The indicators in this report suggest that in some key areas - notably out of work benefits - Enfield is, like some of its neighbours in the Outer East of London, becoming more deprived, relative to the rest of London. Between 2007 and 2009, the borough has had one of the biggest increases in the proprtion of adults receiving out of work benefits, and now has the 9th highest rate in London.

London Borough of Enfield website

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