The council’s flagship regeneration project has suffered another setback after a second development partner announced it was pulling out.

Pacific Century Premium Developments (PCPD) told the council it did not wish to proceed with the £6 billion Meridian Water project eight months after it was appointed as preferred development partner.

Following the announcement, the council said it no longer intends to work with a single master developer for the site.

In a statement, Hong-Kong-based PCPD said: “Subsequent to various discussions with the London Borough of Enfield and notwithstanding the tremendous efforts being made by the company to meet the expectations of Enfield Council in the project, there remain substantial differences between the two sides.

“Therefore, the company has formally informed Enfield Council on July 10 that it does not wish to proceed further with the project.”

Meridian Water – an 82-hectare development in Upper Edmonton – will provide 10,000 new homes, along with business space and transport links.

The scheme suffered a major setback last year when Barratt Homes pulled out, with the council subsequently claiming the developer’s plans offered a “poor deal” for residents.

Conservative group leader Cllr Joanne Laban said PCPD’s withdrawal meant it was “back to square one” for the project.

She said: “The scheme has been going on for a decade and yet there are no homes to show for it.

“It’s a sad day for young people who looked at that site as a potential home for the future.

“It’s another example of the council in chaos.”

But Enfield Council leader Cllr Nesil Caliskan said the local authority would adopt a new approach to the regeneration scheme.

She said the council had told PCPD that “significant concerns remained over their proposed commercial and financial terms, specifically following PCPD presenting to the council’s new cabinet on June 26”.

Cllr Caliskan added: “Although the discussions with PCPD were held in a great spirit of co-operation, we have been preparing for all eventualities, and a series of reports are being presented to Enfield Council’s Cabinet on July 25 which set out a clear strategy for accelerating delivery at Meridian Water.

“Our approach will also ensure that local people are the principle beneficiaries of the new homes and jobs that will be created.”

Cllr Caliskan said the council would quickly procure partners for the first three development sites.

She added: “Meanwhile, we are also progressing our detailed business case for the Housing Infrastructure Fund, which will see £120 million of government funding to connect all parts of Meridian Water to the new train station and improve the frequency of train services as well.

“Meridian Water has always been a huge opportunity to deliver a significant number of much-needed homes.

“I am determined to seize the opportunity to deliver homes and premises to benefit Enfield’s residents and businesses first and foremost. We will speed up delivery. I look forward to making a further announcement following the forthcoming cabinet meeting.”