Enfield Council steps in to tackle illegal car meets

New bollards and concrete blocks have now been installed at the Colosseum Car Park beside the A10 dual carriageway which will prevent drivers from using the car park to perform dangerous stunts.The Council will seek to expand its current Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) against car-meets to cover the whole borough rather than specific designated areas, and will go through the statutory consultation period for the expansion in November 2023.The Council has responded to calls from residents who say their lives have been blighted by people who meet to show off their cars which often have modified and loud exhausts and race dangerously.  

Enfield Council’s Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Cohesion, Cllr Gina Needs, said: “We have been working closely with landholders and leaseholders over some time. I am glad they agree with the Council and residents and they will now help to tackle the problems being caused by car-meets on their land and they will be proactive in preventing people from using car parks for dangerous, noisy and often illegal activities.

“We have listened to residents’ concerns which is why we have proactively contacted private land owners and leaseholders to ask them to carry out modifications to the layouts of their land to prevent car stunts. Where this is not possible, we have encouraged landowners to install gates at the entrances to car parks.

“We will also, as part of the formal process, seek to modify our current PSPOs as well as investigate other ways that we can work with the Police to put a stop to these unsafe and anti-social activities. We take all residents’ complaints very seriously on this issue and we will continue to work closely with the police to make sure our neighbourhoods remain safe.”

Council officers will continue to work with multi-agencies and legal teams on this issue and will encourage police officers to use their powers to stop and question drivers. The Council will also offer assistance to the police where possible with Operation Ghost Freak, a dedicated initiative that was created last year to tackle car-meets.