Agenda item

To receive a report and presentation for discussion on the way that the Meridian Water projects are addressing local needs. 

The panel received a presentation from Jamie Eagles and Ian Freshwater (Senior Regeneration Officers) updating members on the Meridian Water Programme and addressing local needs.

1.            Presentation

The following key points were highlighted during the presentation: 

·         One of the key aims of the Meridian Water Project was to make sure there were benefits for the existing residents in the area, who were situated in one of the most deprived parts of the country. 

·         Research had been carried out, based on the recent Enfield Poverty and Inequality Commission and through mapping local indices and key data, to help the project find ways to meet the needs of the local community. 

·         Major health inequalities had been identified. The team were working closely with health partners, including the Clinical Commissioning Group and had identified a need to improve GP services: a new surgery was now planned as part of Meridian One, the first stage of the project, as well as a community garden which should benefit health and wellbeing. 

·         Economic inclusion was also key factor, providing opportunities for the young and reskilling older people, as well as the need to support economic recovery, following the pandemic.  The Enfield Skills Academy will train up to 810 residents per year in construction skills. The Troubadour Skills Academy will be training and employing up to 450 people per year:  6 kickstart places had already been confirmed. Twenty five percent of employment in construction and commercial spaces will go to Enfield residents and the Meridian One will employ 45 apprentices and create 145 local jobs.  All jobs will be paid at a London Living Wage. 

·         Two thirds of the ground floor space, on the development, will be either commercial property or community assets owned by the Council.  These spaces will support the creation of high quality, ethical, inclusive and sustainable jobs for local people and to serve local community needs. 

·         Community assets would be developed to serve the whole community;  projects such as the new station with regular train services, as well as a new primary school, gym and health facility.  An Infrastructure Delivery Strategy was being put together.

·         The aim was to provide some high-quality parks and open spaces which were vital in promoting good health and wellbeing. “Park life on your door- step” was one of the key pillars of the project.  As part of the phase one scheme, Vistry will be developing a community garden.  There will also be two smaller parks connected by a green link – a visible green walking route through the site - and by 2024, two new large parks.  These would be open to both visitors and the existing communities.  Another key priority was to open up access to the Lee Valley Regional Park.

·         Social value outcomes had been secured from key contractors which would feed into the Meridian Water Social Value Strategy which will go to Cabinet for approval later in the year. 

·         Thanks to the partnership with Vistry, a Community Chest fund consisting on an initial funding pot of £800,000 had been set up.  Initially local groups in the three Edmonton wards would be able to bid for funding for local projects from this fund. 

2.            Questions/Comments

2.1       Thanks to officers for the excellent presentation.

2.2       The Leader’s response to a query, emphasising that the new homes and jobs were to be primarily for people who lived locally.  The Council was committed to providing local jobs for local people.  The emphasis on training and skills was to ensure that the local people were able to develop the skills that were needed to take on the work required.  However, this could not solve all the problems, as more than 1 in 3 children living in the area were living in poverty and had very complicated needs.  Meridian Water was crucial for success but there were other plans, including the proposals for the regeneration of the Snells and Joyce estates as well as for improving the culture offer and business centres. 

2.2       Local people would be the principle beneficiaries of the new housing.  A Community Housing Plan was being developed for approval later in the year.  This would ensure that local people had priority for the new homes.

2.3       The GP surgery had deliberately been situated as close as possible to the boundary nearest to the existing community so that existing residents could access it.  Tackling health inequalities was a key aim. 

2.4       The vision for the ground floor spaces was not just for commercial use but also for community, leisure, culture, food and beverage and work spaces.  Positive interest had already been received.  It was hoped that providing diverse ground floor uses would help to create a lively vibrant community. 

2.5       Before the Coronavirus, which had bought train use down by 90%, Network Rail had said that they were positively surprised by the growth in traffic at the new station.  Footfall had exceeded expectations.  The station now had a seven day a week service with at least 2 trains an hour.  Local people had said that they now felt more connected.  Some had been able to access jobs in other parts of London, that they could not have been able to before. 

3.            Chair’s Summary

The Chair welcomed the great presentation and the plans for Edmonton, which had suffered in the past, from a lack of opportunity.  She was looking forward to being able to assess the success of the Troubadour and other Skills Academy in providing training and jobs for local people and hoped that the predictions would be achieved.  Acknowledging at the end that there was still so much to do.