Enfield Council came under fire over its housing record this week as the Conservatives claimed the Labour-controlled authority had failed to deliver on key projects.

Tory members criticised the pace of development at the Meridian Water regeneration scheme and the council’s small sites programme as part of an opposition priority business report at a meeting of the full council on Wednesday (March 21).

But Labour defended its record and pointed out that Conservative-led central government funding cuts had had a significant impact on what the council had been able to achieve.

The Meridian Water site is undergoing a £6 billion regeneration that will provide 10,000 new homes, alongside business space and transport links.

It suffered a major setback last year when developer Barratt Homes pulled out of the scheme, with the council claiming its plans offered a ‘poor deal’ for residents.

Conservative opposition leader Joanne Laban said: “The Meridian Water site is in limbo. Barratt should have been shown the door much earlier. If we had used the Greater London Authority framework from the beginning, we would have been on site by now.”

Ms Laban hit out at the mayor of London’s draft London Plan, claiming its requirement to provide more strategic industrial land restricted the area that homes could be built on at Meridian Water.

She said: “Instead of calling out Sadiq Khan on this, the administration has remained silent rather than shouting out that this policy will have a detrimental effect.

“After eight years, there are no homes, no strategic development partner and there are many risks to this project’s delivery. It is hardly a resounding success.”

The Conservative leader was also scathing on the council’s record on small-scale housing developments.

She said: “At Jasper Close, homes that were never lived in had to be knocked down due to bad weather. The few houses they managed to achieve, they knocked down due to nothing else but incompetence.”

But deputy leader of the council Achilleas Georgiou accused the Conservatives of spinning “fake news”.

He admitted the council did not always meet its targets but pointed out it had been forced to make £161 million worth of savings since 2010.

Mr Georgiou said the council had built the first council homes in 30 years and won awards for the design.

“Meridian Water will be delivered, providing jobs and opportunities for our residents,” he promised.

Ahmet Oykener, cabinet member for housing and housing regeneration, added: “They [the Conservatives] are not making any sense. They are criticising us for not appointing a partner. Are they saying we should appoint a partner who represents a bad deal for the borough?

“We have purchased 35 pockets of land. We have planning permission for 725 homes. Meridian Water has therefore never been a more attractive development opportunity.”

The Labour group’s response to the motion was carried following a vote at the end of the debate.