Homes across the borough are set to be run on cheaper heat from a new council-run company.

The Lee Valley Heat Network will create energy from waste at the industrial Ecopark, in Advent Way, Edmonton, in the form of heat and steam and channel it through pipes to new housing estates.

The intention is to create a cheaper form of heat for residents in Enfield.

The plant is situated close to the £1.5billion regeneration site of Meridian Water where 5,000 new homes will benefit from this system.

However, Ladderswood estate, in Southgate, will become the first homes to have this form of heating as they will be completed before the Meridian water masterplan.

Developers at the Southgate site, which will provide more than 500 new homes, have begun work to create a central boiler underneath the new estate and will be linked to the central site once completed.

As a result, the borough would boast the first low carbon heat network in the borough.

Enfield Council’s cabinet member for economic development, Councillor Alan Sitkin, said: “This is a hugely ambitious scheme which could provide heating to more than 6,000 homes and businesses across the Lee Valley in its first phase.

“For the first time, we will be providing our communities with low carbon energy from local heat sources, while creating hundreds of jobs in the process. This will revolutionise the way we heat our homes and provide energy to business.

"We are also setting ourselves up as an ‘ethical operator’ in what is currently an unregulated heat market, helping protect local consumers by ensuring a fair price for their heat. We plan to work with other authorities to roll out this exciting model across the capital in years to come.”

Matthew Pencharz, the Mayor of London’s Energy and Environment Advisor, said: “These important energy plans are part of major regeneration work set to transform the Lee Valley area.

"We need to do everything possible to create a more secure, cost-effective and sustainable heat and power supply across London. We know that supporting schemes like this using locally sourced energy can reduce bills, increase our energy security, lower carbon emissions and create jobs.

"The mayor will continue to work closely with Enfield to push forward the infrastructure needed to regenerate the Lee Valley.”