Joyce Avenue and Snells Park estates set to be demolished to make way for a new development nearly four times larger, reports James Cracknell

More than three out of four people living on two council estates in Angel Edmonton have voted to approve plans for a major £770million redevelopment of the area.

Enfield Council has long earmarked the Joyce Avenue and Snells Park and estates for redevelopment but, because of the scale of its plans and the need to demolish existing residents’ homes, under Greater London Authority rules a ballot had to be held before any work could go ahead.

Residents were balloted, via independent body Civica, between 17^th November and 10^th December, with the council revealing this week that 78.5% of the people taking part had voted in favour of Enfield Council’s proposals.

With a turnout rate of 85.5%, the council has described the result as a “strong mandate” for the proposed scheme. It will see the 1950s and 60s-built estate – 795 homes in total – demolished to make way for a new scheme of around 2,900 homes, including replacement social housing, other ‘affordable’ housing, and additional private rent homes.

A previous report by the council stated that without rebuilding the estate, the existing homes would need a “comprehensive refurbishment” to be made safe for the next 30 years, requiring residents to be temporarily decanted elsewhere while work took place.

The report also stated that knocking down the estate would provide “a clear opportunity to redesign the estate at increased density with a greater variety of homes at different price points”.

The final details for the regeneration scheme will now need to be submitted as a planning application for approval by the council’s planning committee.

Responding to the ballot result, council leader Nesil Caliskan said: “This scheme will transform the lives of people living on the Joyce and Snells Park estates. Our proposals were developed in response to the concerns residents raised about their estates and were designed to tackle problems such as levels of crime and anti-social behaviour, drug taking and sex working.

“Our scheme was also intended to improve the state of some of our residents’ homes, tackle parking issues and address the lack of safe, accessible green space for residents to relax in and allow your children to play.

“I am delighted that residents of the two estates have voted in favour of the council’s proposals, which are designed to fix all these issues. Residents will move into secure homes where there will be underground parking.

“The new homes will also be larger and better to heat. In addition all of the residents who were eligible to vote will be given the chance to stay on the estate and will only have to move once.”

Earlier this year, a £166m grant from City Hall was awarded to the council to fund construction of new social housing, including at the Joyce and Snells estates, enabling the authority to guarantee that all existing council tenants on the estate could continue to live there after the rebuild is complete.

Around half of the existing 795 homes are social rent, with the remaining half is occupied by leaseholders. On the new estate, with 2,900 homes, there would be a 50/50 split between ‘affordable’ housing and private rental housing. This affordable element would contain 395 homes for social rent and 1,055 homes for either shared ownership, intermediate rent, or London Affordable Rent.

Planning proposals for the regeneration project are expected to be submitted for approval early next year, with construction likely to start in 2023, and the entire development set to be completed within 15 years.

For more information on the Joyce and Snell’s development:
Email [email protected]
Visit joyceandsnells.co.uk

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