Policy information sourced from Enfield’s Edmonton Leeside Area Action Plan

EL12 Public Realm at Meridian Water

The new and existing characteristics and features of Meridian Water must be optimised to create a coherent public realm across the site and into the wider surrounding area. Development proposals will seek to:

  • Incorporate landscaping, including tree planting of an appropriate scale along movement corridors to enhance amenity, provide visual interest and contribute to biodiversity;
  • Demonstrate how an understanding of the industrial heritage and archaeology of the area has informed the design, and seek opportunities to provide heritage interpretation, for example, through public art or display panels;
  • Ensure public realm surfaces are porous and/ or enable natural drainage;
  • Incorporate water features as a key element in public spaces;
  • Support safe access to existing and proposed public realm, both within and adjacent to Meridian Water, in particular through the provision of pedestrian and cycle-only routes;
  • Support community safety by avoiding the creation of isolated or underused spaces;
  • Design streetscape elements to promote legibility and a sense of place;
  • Incorporate the principles from Sport England’s Active Design guidance;
  • Incorporate a range of sensitive and responsive lighting across the site to contribute to the sense of place and security;
  • Provide street furniture including seating, cycle stands and waste separation bins which avoids cluttering the streetscape;
  • Incorporate opportunities for games and urban play;
  • Incorporate public art that is wellintegrated with built form and other elements of the streetscape;
  • Improve visual connectivity between Meridian Water and the surrounding area, including the Lee Valley Regional Park; and
  • Ensure wayfinding signage is minimised and is of consistent, clear design, exploring the potential for the use of TfL’s ‘Legible London’ system.

Waterways and Water Frontages

Development proposals must optimise the potential of the water network through:

  • Active frontages facing towards the water, in particular along the River Lee Navigation;
  • Ensuring the space between buildings and the water avoids uses allowing vehicular movement and parking and promotes uses including walking, cycling and open spaces for leisure and recreation;
  • Incorporating waterways as a focal element of public space;
  • Supporting leisure uses on and adjoining the water, where appropriate;
  • Considering opportunities to better reveal and interpret the natural and man-made watercourse heritage;
  • Where suitable, the provision of residential and commercial moorings along the River Lee Navigation, particularly where this will contribute to an active and vibrant waterway corridor;
  • Enhancing the existing watercourses across the site including environmental remediation, biodiversity enhancements, and the naturalisation of banks where appropriate; and
  • Maximising opportunities for flood mitigation strategies.

This policy should be read in conjunction with Core Strategy policies 30, 37 and 38 and DMD policies 37, 38, 40, 42, 43, 55, 61, 63, 69, 75, 79, 80, and 81.

For more information please see the Edmonton Leeside Area Action Plan