So far 268 homes at Enfield Council’s flagship 10,000-home redevelopment project have been completed with work also continuing on its strategic infrastructure, reports Grace Howarth, Local Democracy Reporter

Work continues at Meridian One, where 268 homes have now been completed

The boss of Meridian Water insists the Enfield Council-led redevelopment scheme is making “good progress” despite a review being conducted into its future.

Last week it was revealed that real estate company Savills was conducting a “comprehensive review” of the Edmonton project’s financial viability, with a focus on its future phases, after mounting criticism over the length of time it’s taken to deliver new homes.

At a housing and regeneration scrutiny panel on Monday (24th) Penny Halliday, the council’s director of Meridian Water, acknowledged there had been delays but said progress was still being made on the 10,000 homes due to be built there, with a total of 268 now completed on Meridian One, the project’s first phase.

Halliday said: “We’ve found radium canisters on the site, there’s waste being dumped on the site, which we’ve had to clear off, and there’s been issues with the canal wall.”

She said the project as a whole had also been subject to a number of negative external factors in terms of the economy, funding, and the construction industry.

“It needed funding, and it was caught up in [bad] market conditions. Back in 2019 the council was successfully awarded £170million. Then, with the construction costs increasing, we were unable to afford the contract [to carry out works].

“We successfully got an additional £25m but that funding took a whole year.”

The strategic infrastructure works now ongoing will help address issues of flood risk as well as building new roads, bridges, parks and utilities to improve connectivity.

Halliday explained the work was essential to unlock further development at Meridian Water.

Conservative councillor Edward Smith, who welcomed the review by Savills, asked for an idea of its timescale.

In response council leader Ergin Erbil said he was hoping to have “concrete plans, following the review, in early June”.

Cllr Erbil added: “We’ve commissioned Savills to do a review, it’s a 25-year project, a lot has changed in the last ten years. I think you’ll remember the economy was crashed and inflation sky-rocketed.

“A litre of vinyl matt paint used to cost £5 five years ago, now it costs upwards of £14, so that’s just one example of what the crashed economy has done to projects like this.

“Other massive regeneration projects across the country have stalled or failed unfortunately, but we continue to build homes at Meridian Water and, working with Savills, we are reviewing the project.”

But Conservative councillor Lee Chamberlain criticised the delays, particularly to the infrastructure works.

“In terms of the infrastructure this seems to be the latest challenge in a list of challenges for the project as a whole, it’s been nearly 15 years, I would have expected the infrastructure side and growth to be taken care of by now,” Cllr Chamberlain said.

At Meridian One, in addition to the 268 homes completed so far, 22 more homes are scheduled for completion in the next few months and another eleven this autumn, bringing a total of 301 by the end of the year.

However, the second development site at Meridian One has been delayed, with changes to fire safety regulations in 2023 causing the council to redesign two tower blocks to include second staircases.

At Meridian Two, part of the second phase of Meridian Water, the first homes should be completed in November 2026 with the whole scheme due to be finished by April 2027. This site will provide 274 homes and Halliday added that work was going “really well”.

Cllr Erbil added: “We’re happy to report the government, the relevant department, are on our side, and any time we do face these sorts of obstacles [they] are a friend to us, we’ve got monthly meetings with them.

“It is a 25-year project and as you’ll know, infrastructure works sometimes take the most amount of time and money.

“Getting the first brick on the ground can be the easiest part but doing the pipework, the roads, the four bridges, and the eight hectares of parks, that’s the sort of stuff that takes time.”

After Cllr Chamberlain pointed out that, compared with the original timeline set out in 2010, the council was “around 10%” of where it should have been, Cllr Erbin said: “I hear you, we’re still on track, and I’d say we’re still on course to deliver the 10,000 homes.”

He added: “This is us improving one of the most deprived neighbourhoods in our borough, there’s so much more we need to consider. The number of jobs created, the apprenticeships, investments in local businesses, our teams are getting supplies locally.

“The families’ lives that are changing, we’re putting roofs over the heads of local families and I’ve met some of those families. The homes we’ve built are a testament to the work we’re doing.

“We want to provide local homes for local people and this is one of the many ways we’re doing it.”

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