Agenda item

The panel are reccomended to note the report

Bron Claridge, HIF Programme Manager, presented this item and highlighted the following points:

·         Meridian Water successfully won £170m grant to deliver strategic infrastructure.

·         The purpose of the rail works is to build on the new station and have a minimum of 4 trains stopping per hour. The design and development is ongoing. The business case is in the final stages to be passed on for approval next month.

·         We have 25 companies working on the different aspects of Street works. We are due on site in summer this year. There is budget pressure, half of this is due to abnormal inflation.

·         All the works are funded by Government, we are in preliminary funding stage and have claimed £15m to date.

·         Key risks and mitigations were highlighted.

Members were invited to make comments and questions:

·         Concern was raised over the risk of the final business case not being approved. Officers confirmed they are confident as it is strong. All the stakeholders are supportive. This project is government funded, so if they obstruct the approval officers will raise this with them.

·         Cllr Smith pointed out a typo in appendix one, anticipated completion date for HIF Street Works should be Feb 2024 instead of 2023.

·         Officers were asked to expand on timescales and planning for alternatives if the March 2024 completion date was missed. They explained that the HIF plan is assessed by Government and would not have been agreed if there were concerns. The timescale is tight and challenging but the team remains focused. To mitigate programme risk we are proceeding with early work packages which have been agreed to commence within the next few weeks to give us the best possible chance to meet the overall deadline. Meridian water is one of the most advanced programmes in the country.

·         Members recognised that we are in an unusual inflation situation and asked if original estimates are divergent or similar. If they are higher what conversations have been had with government? Officers explained that around 50-70% of budget pressure is due to inflation, which is a national dilemma. We alerted government at the earliest possible time and been in contact with them over the past 6 months regarding this. Government has given indication they will provide additional financial support; we expect to get a conclusion on this in Spring.

·         Officers clarified that of the £116m spent around 5% is due to inflation.

·         On paragraph 34 of report officers clarified that once the contractor has had the opportunity to analyse the planning application and set of designs to identify efficiency savings and enhance the scheme, we would take these on board. We look at these options to consider savings and sustainability. An example of this has been to change the material of curb stones to once which is more sustainable.

·         Members commented that the project has good social value for Enfield residents, and we should push this and wanted some information on the numbers of local labour involved. Officers explained the Meridian Water employment strategy is making good progress, our target for 10% of construction spend to be on local companies is now at 25%. £11m has gone to a local company through the Vistry contact. The numbers do change, officers are happy to update on a periodic basis.  Meridian water is expected to be a London Living Wage zone.

·         Members were interested in what elements of the cutbacks most concerned officers and what the impact of this would be on affordable housing or quality. Officers confirmed there would be no impact on affordable housing. Any changes that at detriment to the levels of sustainability will be concerning, money was saved in other areas for example changing the light columns.

·         Officers clarified that Meridian one is not dependent upon HIF for timescales. The future Meridian plots have varying degrees of dependency on HIF.