Enfield is the least physically active borough in London, a new report has revealed.
Research by Transport for London (TfL) found only 22% of people aged 20 or older in Enfield achieved at least 20 minutes of physical activity per day.
This means it has the lowest proportion of residents meeting the daily activity target out of all 33 London local authority areas.
Two years ago Enfield was ranked sixth lowest by TfL in its annual survey, with Barnet, Hillingdon and Sutton among those less active, but now it has dropped into bottom place to become the laziest London borough.
Alex Atherton, a member of Better Streets for Enfield, said: “It is extremely disappointing to see that Enfield is bottom of the table for those engaging with active travel. The culture in Enfield is far too car dominant and we are not moving quickly enough.
“Just over half of journeys in Enfield are made by public transport, bike or on foot – well short of the 80% target set by mayor Sadiq Khan for 2041. Bus speeds are lower than most outer London boroughs.
“Most worryingly, child obesity rates are high and healthy life expectancy is low for both men and women. This has to change.”
Neighbouring Barnet borough scored marginally better than Enfield with 28% of residents hitting the 20-minute activity target, while Haringey more than doubled Enfield’s score, with 48%.
In the active travel report, TfL said inner London boroughs were more likely to achieve the target than outer boroughs, with the City of London, Kensington and Chelsea, and Westminster topping the table.
Alex said he’d like to see the borough become a 20mph zone “as far as possible” to make it safer for pedestrians and encourage more people to walk or cycle.
He also wanted more measures to improve bus speeds, greater enforcement action against parking on pavements, and further investment into segregated cycle lanes to create “a full network across the borough”.
Enfield already has among the most miles of protected cycle lanes in London, after winning ‘Mini Holland’ funding in 2014.
Enfield Council was approached for comment.
