Plans by 5th Studio for a major new makerspace at Meridian Water, providing affordable workspace for hundreds of workers, have been approved by LB Enfield Planning Committee.
Building BloQs is one of Enfield Council’s key partners on Meridian Water and will play a major role in providing creative manufacturing workshop space while the development is being constructed and beyond.
Building BloQs will move into a bespoke workshop facility which incorporates an existing vehicle testing building. Together the new facility will provide more than 30,000 square feet of manufacturing workshop space with capacity for more than 1,000 workers across five major departments - Engineering, Computer Numerical Control, Wood, Metal and a Fashion Studio.
Workers would have access to more than £1million worth of light industrial equipment as well as new skills training facilities, a waterside café, gardens, shop and event space easily accessible to Enfield residents.
Enfield Council’s flagship £6 billion Meridian Water scheme is seeking to provide 10,000 homes and 6,000 jobs and to create 8.2 hectares of parkland in the Lea Valley over the coming 25 years.
The Council has taken direct control of the vision and delivery of Meridian Water to ensure that local people are the principal beneficiaries. It aims to provide thousands of affordable homes and quality jobs in Enfield as well new schools, community and health services, nurseries, shops and youth and leisure facilities.
The Leader of Enfield Council, Cllr Nesil Caliskan, said: “Building BloQs is a vital partner and this planning application seeks to provide them with flexible and affordable open access workshop space. In doing so it will increase the amount of space and facilities available to support freelance designers, makers, and small businesses while Meridian Water grows around it – and for many years to come.
“Meridian Water has always been about jobs as well as homes and this planning consent will play a major role in helping use achieve our aspiration of providing a range of good quality creative jobs on the site.”
Al Parra from Building BloQs said: “ Building BloQs and Enfield Council have today reached a truly exciting moment in our project to make affordable, manufacturing workspace available in Enfield. This planning consent fires the starting pistol on the building of a truly remarkable facility.”
5th Studio Director Tom Holbrook added: “We are really pleased that this important project has won planning consent from Enfield’s planning committee. As one of the first construction projects on the long-term Meridian Water redevelopment it is great to see this project gain momentum, and we look forward to helping get it built and occupied as a significant making and workshop resource for North London."
The Building BloQs project is part of a series of interim projects that will play a significant role in supporting the regeneration of Meridian Water. It will play a key role in defining the character of the area through placemaking and bringing unused and underused sites into use ahead of advance of longer term regeneration and development plans.