The borough of Enfield are threatening to destroy the 20 year programme of two week research excavations at Elsyng Palace in the grounds of Forty Hall by charging all who volunteer £10 a day to park in the car park there (that would be £140 per volunteer). This would make any excavations impossible and might even threaten the existence of the EAS as this site is so central to what we do. Given just how much we continue to contribute to Enfield by undertaking archaeological projects across the borough for free or at hugely less than commercial providers would charge this can only be described as a stab in the back, yet they refuse point blank to even talk to us about it.

We must fight this or this year’s excavations just started and this year’s open day (this Saturday) will be the last, all our schools outreach work will stop and community archaeology in Enfield will be dead. So please visit https://letstalk.enfield.gov.uk/fortyhall-carpark to see the proposals and object to them by e-mail to forty.hall@enfield.gov.uk before 20th July quoting reference TG52/1589B. However, we fear that only holding the political leaders of the council to account will achieve results so please also e-mail the leader of the council, Cllr. Ergin Erbil (Cllr.Ergin.Erbil@Enfield.gov.uk), and ask him why he is trying to destroy community archaeology in Enfield and why the borough will not even talk to community groups about their proposals.