WALTHAM FOREST - ONE COMMUNITY This Blog provides information about our Community in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. Please send your contributions to wfoc10@gmail.com
Sunday, 25 July 2021
Save Our Square Protest
The Town Centre development plans are over 10 years old
and totally inappropriate for the post Covid world.
Come and save our Town Square -
from losing most of the open space due to unnecessary additional shops
the street scene being ruined by building tower
blocks 34 and 26 storeys high -
twice the height of the surrounding blocks
which will be a building site for
over 5 years while trying to remain open as a shopping centre
Leyton Mills and Spitalfields
I attended a council online meeting about the future of Leyton Mill, Eaton Manor and Spitalfields. The council have employed Gort Scott to develop a Supplementary Planning Policy for the sites. The consultants explained their processes and consulted the community reps who attended the meeting. There was a good range of people attending and put forward numerous ideas. Inevitably when it came to the last session Gort Scott presented their plans which lacked imagination and were just complying with the London Plan. It was not surprising but very depressing.
The fundamental problem, as was pointed out to them, is the policy making is top down instead of bottom up. Nothing is likely to happen to these sites for at least 15 years so they are looking at the long term, but using current thinking! The Borough has a target to build 27,000 new homes by 2035 with a large percentage destined for the Lea Valley and South Leyton. This means Gort Scott were only looking at how they could maximise the number of homes and not how to build a sustainable community. Whether we managed to get them to change direction I doubt which means there will be a Gas Works and Lea Bridge Station type development on Spitalfields and the Leyton Mills except Asda will be retained, but with large tower blocks built over the car park.
A fundamental problem is the lack of capacity on the Central Line and the need for a station at Ruckholt Road. These will not have the capacity for large developments but that did not seem to concern them.
It seems to me the next generation is going to have to fight this in the same way we have been fighting to save the Lea Valley since they first planned to dig up Walthamstow Marshes for gravel in the 1960s. A few residents fought that and won. For years a group fought the Link Road to stop road access to the area and then the Olympics forced the creation of the Save Lea Marshes group and now it is time for the next battle which is to stop the over development of the Lea Valley. These 3 sites are being planned in isolation to what is being planned at Low Hall, Lea Bridge and further up at Meridian Water. All the precious open space will be spoilt by excessive use. The transport links will not be able to cope and the streets will be jammed with logistics vehicles trying to deliver to the car free blocks of flats.
I also pointed out that Barts Health intends to reduce the size of the new Whipps Cross hospital by 51 beds as they expect people to be cared for in the community. This means much larger flats will have to be created to allow medical staff to be able to look after people in their homes. A new way of designing homes is vital if the hospital is going to be able to manage the numbers all this new building will create and the council and Gort Scott appear to have no understanding of these issues.
Monday, 12 July 2021
Hoe Street Consultation
February 2015
Thursday, 8 July 2021
Town Centre Demo 31st July 2021
Come and support the demo about the Town Square. The damage to the Town Square will be:
a. The usable open space will be halved despite the avenue of trees being kept
b. Two tower blocks 34 and 26 storey completely out of keeping from their surroundings, Victorian terraces and 14 storey hotel.
c. Over 5 years of construction work while keeping the shopping centre open - who wants to shop in a building site?
d. More congestion in the Town centre with 538 more flats - approx 1,000 more residents.
e. New station entrance will increase footfall across the smaller Town Square .
B&M, 444 Leytonstone High Road
Rolph Judd have been heavily involved in the redevelopment of Walthamstow Central
I am writing on behalf of my client, The Nutbury Company, to invite you to a briefing to discuss the emerging proposals on the site at 444 High Road Leytonstone. We feel that, in your position as a local community group, you would be in a unique position to offer insight and perspective on the plans.
The Nutbury Company has assembled a highly-qualified and specialist project team to ensure that the plans respond effectively to the surrounding environment – which will be led by the award-winning architectural, and planning, practice Rolfe Judd.
The ambition is to bring forward a mixed-use proposal with re-provision of employment space and high-quality residential accommodation (and an associated affordable housing element).
Over the course of the summer, we will be embarking on a consultation programme – seeking feedback from stakeholders, amenity groups and the local community. We feel that it is vitally important that the local community have the opportunity to view the emerging proposals and have their say.
If you would like to meet with us, we would like to invite you to attend a Zoom meeting, or join us in a conference call, to discuss the proposals. We can talk you through the constituent parts of the emerging vision and start to answer any questions you may have.
Yours sincerely
Harry Brown
Mobile: +44 (0) 7969 452359
Office: + 44 (0) 204 541 2375
London Office: ECF | 411 Metal Box Factory, 30 Great Guildford Street, London SE1 0HS
Uplands Business Park Redevelopment
EMERGING PROPOSALS ON THE FUTURE OF UPLANDS BUSINESS PARK
I hope you are all well.
I am writing to inform you that BlackRock, the owner of Uplands Business Park, have partnered with NEAT Developments, to bring forward proposals for the phased redevelopment of the site.
The potential redevelopment of Uplands Business Park represents an exciting opportunity to regenerate and transform the area to further enhance it as a key asset for the local community and Waltham Forest.
Our initial proposals centre around re-providing and enhancing the area’s industrial space whilst creating a new, mixed-use neighbourhood that will create engaging spaces to generate vibrancy in the locality, including new homes, shops, jobs and public spaces. The proposals will support the area in providing much-needed new jobs and activities, all key in encouraging sustainable growth following Covid-19.
The first public consultation sessions will be held on 15th and 17th July, please find further details on the attached consultation flyer. As a key stakeholder for the local area, we would like the opportunity to brief you on these proposals ahead of the in-person community consultation events. We can organise a briefing either in-person or digitally, whichever you are more comfortable with, to discuss the vision for the site moving forward and how this fits with the council’s emerging plans for the area.
This is the first phase of consultation before further sessions later in the year. Our aim is to submit a planning application to Waltham Forest Council at the end of 2021.
Please do let me know if you would like to meet and I’d be happy to arrange.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Best,
Luke Tatton
Account Director
M: 07825 758 243
London Office
120 Moorgate, Finsbury,
London, EC2M 6UR
Cambridge Office
50-60 Station Road
Cambridge, CB1 2JH
Tuesday, 6 July 2021
E-Scooter Petition
I don't know about you, but the thought of E-Scooters growing in numbers is a frightening thought, not just for pedestrians and cyclists, but motorists as well. I think they should be banned as they will never be safe as are too powerful, unlicensed and used by unqualified people.
Various trials have been agreed by the Mayor in South London, but in the meanwhile please sign this petition to at least get the MPs to have some control over them before the NHS and police are overwhelmed.
Improve Lea Bridge Area
Your Views about the Lea Bridge Area
For 25 years we tried to stop the Link Road (Link Road Action Group) coming down through Leyton. It was designed to open up the Lea Valley for development. The Olympics came along and redeveloped the redundant railway land in Stratford and now the developers and planners are turning their eyes once again to Leyton and the potential development of the Lea Valley. This must continue to be resisted as the Lee Valley Park is a vital lung for London and has to be retained as open space.
Despite already allowing the Motion and the Gas Works sites in the Lea Bridge Area and threatening the existing pocket park by Lea Bridge Station the council now want the public's views on how to improve the area.
Before completing this survey, which will take some time, remember the council is also trying to come up with a development plan for Leyton Mills and Spitalfields. The Motion block of flats has been completed and plans are agreed for the Gas Works site and Estate Way leading to thousands of new flats putting pressure on the open space of the Lea Valley which must be protected.
Work by consultants is also underway for the Leyton Mills and Spitalfields sites. Their initial thoughts are how to comply with the London Plan and build tower blocks for flats with no thought of creating a decent environment for people to live in.
Leyton Mills Development Framework
remember that just up the Lea Valley Enfield is trying to redevelop redundant industrial land as Meridian Waters. If all this development is allowed the North Circular will be one large traffic jam and the various railway lines will be over crowded. There is not the infrastructure to support this level of development in the Lea Valley!