Edmonton Partnership Initiative / Green Horizons      

Effective Partnership Deliver Sustainable Communities

The Edmonton Partnership Initiative is a £100 million regeneration scheme to provide 750 new affordable houses (including wheelchair adapted homes) and flats, 550 refurbished tower-block flats and 300 private homes in Edmonton, North London. The initiative was a broader aspiration to improve the housing, shopping, transport, environment, community, social and economic conditions in Edmonton.

Built across 3 sites in Edmonton, Plevna Road, Montague Road and the Barbot Estate, the latter two sites both include a private sale element to provide cross subsidy funding for the project. The redevelopment works have led to a transformation of the Edmonton skyline, with the demolition of 4 existing high rise tower blocks to provide low and medium rise housing. In addition, 3 tower blocks with 188 units in each have been completely refurbished including new heating, kitchens and bathrooms as well as cctv and concierge facilities.

EC Harris were engaged in the Master Planning period in 1997 to project and cost manage the whole programme, providing the client with strategic advice to realise their Business Plan, and implemented one of the first Partnering Charters to engage the development team.

Creating solutions

• Engaging the community, to capture their aspirations and provide a Formal Offer Document as a contract between the existing residents and the Development Team and Client
  
• To recognise a ‘Partnering Pact’ between the Development Team to bring the early benefit of the experience of a Contractor ensuring ‘Supply Chain’ input, Value Engineering and ‘Open Book’ cost accounting
  
• ‘Key Performance Indicators (KPI)’ were attributed to key aspects of the development to ensure mutual trust and cooperation between the parties, as well as continuous improvement.

Adding value

• Regular ‘Resident Focus Group’ meetings ensured that the community realised their ‘dream’ of a safer (Secure By Design Standards), cleaner (Good Design), efficient (Regulation) and desirable (quality open spaces and play areas) place to live
  
• Early, regular consultation with the residents provided an 85% vote in favour of the scheme
  
• Value Engineering throughout the design process, with the supply chain, enabled substantial savings (circa 4% on Contract Value) to be made with all negotiations being agreed on an ‘Open Book’ basis; the scheme was recognised as ‘Value for Money’ by the Housing Corporation, thus ensuring continual funding
  
• Bringing the whole design team, contractor, supply chain and residents together earlier provided a framework which has been adhered to through the duration of the project
  
• The ‘Continuous Improvement’ strategy, measured phase-on-phase, provided a remit to all parties to strive to produce a quicker, value-managed, efficient, quality product
  
• A transparent approach with residents has provided a community with a trust in their Landlord continuing through a Resident Community Group, in which EC Harris contributed until completion of the project.