Most homes for sale on the council’s flagship regeneration scheme will be beyond the reach of people in Enfield and could be bought up by private investors, a report claims.

The Meridian Water Scrutiny Workstream report states that “very few” of the borough’s residents will be able to afford the average house price on the development of “around £440,000”.

It calls for more evidence that people in surrounding Edmonton will be the main beneficiaries of the £6 billion scheme, which the council hopes will provide 10,000 homes and 6,000 jobs.

But council leader Cllr Nesil Caliskan claims the document contains some “inaccuracies and misunderstandings” – and because the council has now taken over as master developer, private investors will no longer be targets for home sales.

The report, which was drawn up by a committee of six councillors, calls the regeneration scheme a “great and rare opportunity” to help solve Enfield’s housing crisis.

It points out there are 3,500 people in the borough living in temporary accommodation and that getting on the housing ladder is “all but impossible for many”.

But the report states that with the lowest-priced homes set to cost £345,000, they “will not address the local need across Enfield, let alone in Edmonton”.

It adds: “The median household income in Enfield is £34,000, so the homes would be unaffordable to the majority of local people, especially those without a large deposit.

“Two-thirds of renters in the private rental sector in Enfield claim some element of housing benefit, so it is unlikely they will have the deposits or income required.”

The council’s own financial viability assessment identifies UK Investors, overseas investors, and the “Bank of Mum and Dad” as “important initial targets”, the report adds.

Half of the homes on the Meridian Water development will be offered for private sale or rent, with the rest classed as affordable.

Further findings of the scrutiny report are that the cost of the scheme could threaten the financial resilience of the council and “result in fewer jobs for local people”.

Council leader Cllr Nesil Calsikan said the report contained some “good suggestions” but also “inaccuracies and misunderstandings”, because the council’s decision to take over as master developer meant some of the information was out of date.

Cllr Caliskan said: “With the council now in control of the project as master developer since July 2018 and the direction taken since, the reality is that the risk associated with private investors and overseas buyers has been significantly diminished.

“With the council now acting as master developer, we can ensure that private homes will instead be sold to first buyers and UK nationals, and we can do far more to ensure that local people are the priority for the new jobs created on the site.”

The council leader states that the council wants to achieve “50 per cent affordable housing across the whole of Meridian Water”, and that income from private sales can be used to cross-subsidise affordable tenures.

The Meridian Water Scrutiny Workstream report will be discussed at an online meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee at 6pm on Tuesday, September 15.

Details are available here.