The 162-home scheme is the latest in the borough to be delayed because of changes to regulations on staircases in tall buildings

The developer of a major housing scheme next to Arnos Grove Station has paused construction work while the development is reviewed in light of expected new fire safety regulations from the government.

Work on the 162-home scheme being built by Connected Living London (CLL) – a partnership between Transport for London (TfL) and property firm Grainger – is now on hold.

The scheme has been highly controversial because of the loss of hundreds of car parking spaces at the station and was only granted planning permission following a public inquiry last year after initially being rejected by Enfield Council’s planning committee in January 2021.

Now CLL says that it will be reviewing the scheme as second staircases may need to be added to comply with new government fire safety regulations, similar to many other large developments such as Meridian Water.

A spokesperson for CLL said: “Our contractor, Colemans, started the first phase of work at Arnos Grove earlier this year. These works, which have included clearing the site and excavating four dig sites, are nearing completion as planned, and in recent weeks have been more focused on less disruptive activities, such as conducting surveys and site monitoring, which is less visible to passers-by.

“Like many developers across the country, CLL is currently reviewing its programme, including at Arnos Grove, while it awaits further clarity from government on proposed building regulation changes, including new fire safety regulations for buildings over 18 metres, before it confirms timings for the next phase.

“Throughout the works, both Colemans and Connected Living London have communicated with the local community and will provide a further update once these works have finished on site.”

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