Taylor Woodrow signs on for £120m Meridian Water infrastructure project

Taylor Woodrow has been officially awarded a £120m strategic infrastructure contract for Meridian Water, a £6bn regeneration project in Edmonton, north London.

The contract covers an extensive range of works including naturalising a brook and creating two new parks, bridges, footpaths, and road and cycle links. After this work is completed, thousands of homes will be built, which will be contracted separately.

The Vinci-owned civils contractor signed a preconstruction services agreement for infrastructure work on the development in 2021, and has been working on designs and early supply chain engagement since.

Enfield Council leader Nesil Caliskan said: “This is an important milestone for Enfield Council as master developer. Working with our partners Taylor Woodrow, the new infrastructure will unlock Meridian Water’s future development parcels, paving the way to continue to build much-needed homes, commercial and leisure facilities.

Taylor Woodrow managing director Phil Skegg said: “Central to our role is creating a legacy for the community by focusing on local skills and employment, while ensuring that we protect and enhance the environment throughout construction and in preparation for the whole lifecycle of the development.”

In January, the council announced an ongoing review of Meridian Water due to cost inflation and interest rate rises.

It lowered its own spending on the project by £14.9m in 2022/23, pausing some preparation work, delaying some phases of future development and reducing the size of its team working on the project.

It subsequently said it will continue to revise elements of the scheme in order to ensure they all remain viable.

In July it secured an extra £25m, on top of the £170m awarded in 2020, from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities for infrastructure works at the site, in order to mitigate the impact of inflation.