A plan to make Enfield “the greenest borough in London” has been approved – despite concerns it does little to protect the green belt.

The council’s Blue and Green Strategy, which sets out a ten-year plan for the protection, management and expansion of the borough’s waterways and green spaces, was approved at the annual council meeting on Wednesday.

It is designed to inform the development of future planning policies and help achieve the borough’s aim of being carbon-neutral by 2040.

The plan aims to boost blue-green infrastructure in Enfield by 25 per cent, while “protecting and improving existing assets”.

Cabinet member for environment Cllr Guney Dogan (Labour, Lower Edmonton) told councillors the strategy set out a “wide range of environmental benefits” that would “help to propel Enfield to become the greenest borough in London”.

These included planting 500 street trees every year, creating more than 300 hectares of publicly accessible woodland in Enfield Chase, 12 new wetland sites and two large parks at the Meridian Water regeneration scheme, he said.

Outdoor sports facilities, including new football pitches, and “green chains” to connect communities to open spaces also featured among the plans, Cllr Dogan added.

But opposition councillors refused to back the strategy, saying it should have included commitments to protect the green belt from development.

Cllr Lindsay Rawlings (Conservative, Town), shadow lead member for environment, said she could only see “one small mention” of the green belt that states it is a protected area.

“If you really are committed to making Enfield the greenest borough in London, then all green and open spaces need to be protected and not built on,” she added. “There are more than enough brownfield sites that could be used, rather than taking the softest option of using green belt land.”

Cllr Chris Dey (Conservative, Grange) claimed the council wanted to build on the green belt and “fill this lovely borough with tower blocks”.

Community First leader Cllr Dinah Barry (Winchmore Hill) said the strategy contained “worthy intentions” but lacked ambition, claiming it recognised the problems of health inequalities and carbon emissions but did not really consider how to deal with them.

Labour councillors defended the strategy. Council leader Cllr Nesil Caliskan (Labour, Jubilee) said: “The strategy is a framework so that we can do everything we can to make sure our beautiful green spaces are accessible, so that we can link up the borough, so that we are able to get residents enjoying the green spaces that we are blessed with – and also the blue spaces we are blessed with.”

Cllr Ergin Erbil (Labour, Ponders End) said the strategy would help ensure access to the environment was “inclusive and equal”, and claimed opposition groups had made “unsubstantiated criticism of an excellent proposal”.

At the end of the debate, Tory councillors voted against the strategy, but it was approved on the back of Labour votes.