LOCAL PLAN UPDATE

The Local Plan is a statutory requirement all local authorities have to create for their areas. Waltham Forest is in the process of developing their plan. It involves developing policies for the Borough about its future growth. The Government lays down its Planning Policies and the GLA uses this as the basis for the London Plan. The GLA then divides up the housing target and passes it to the 32 Boroughs.

NATIONAL PLANNING POLICY FRAMEWORK

LONDON PLAN

LBWF LOCAL PLAN

 To ensure the public are involved a consultation period is given for the public to comment on the Local Plan. The Waltham Forest proposed Local Plan sets a “requirement” of 1,800 new dwellings to be built each year. The Plan is intended to apply for 15 years, making a total of 27,000 new dwellings in Waltham Forest. The requirement imposed on Waltham Forest by the Government and the London Plan is 1,264 new dwellings per year. The extra (536 extra new dwellings each year for 15 years) is being chosen by the administration of Waltham Forest Council. 

(The Homebase development is for 583 flats and Coronation Square is 750 flats)

To ensure the plans are compatible and legal the Planning Inspectors have to examine it in detail. Last year, at the PUBLIC INQUIRY the Inspectors questioned the feasibility of the plan providing so many more homes than was required of the council.

The Planning Inspectorate has refused to approve the proposed Local Plan, questioning the target of 1,800 new dwellings per year. The Council has submitted more evidence to justify their target of 1,800 per year. The SECOND INQUIRY gives residents an opportunity to persuade elected Councillors to reject the higher target and for the Council to adopt the lower target of 1,264.

Part of the plan shows the sites the council think will become available for development:

POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENT SITES

MAP OF WHERE TALL TOWER BLOCKS WILL BE LOCATED

The hope is the Inspectors will find against the council and the lower target will have to be used. This will then reduce the need for huge tower blocks. As the plan stands now there will be tower blocks over 30 storeys along the River Lea Boundary and 18 storey blocks on the Whipps Cross Hospital site over looking Epping Forest. In addition the Tesco site at Leytonstone will have high tower blocks looming over Leytonstone totally changing the nature of the area. Car parks will be built over as the London Plan deems them wasteful of land.

What doesn't seem to be considered in increasing London's population by 3m , as the London Plan requires, is the congestion on the roads and in particular the North Circular. If Waltham Forest's plan stands there will be 27,000 more homes in the Borough in addition to the 10,000 being created in the Lea Valley by Enfield's Meridian Water development. This will have a huge impact on the congestion of the North Circular from logistic and construction traffic.

View of plan for Blackhorse Lane Uplands Business Park to name but one development:

UPLANDS BUSINESS PARK

38 storey block

Town Centre - congestion danger

 

Congestion at the entrance to the Mall - how dangerous is this?

Surely this should be uncluttered, but a manhole for communications cables is blocking the entrance.

No doubt the first of many safety issues created by building tower blocks in a very congested site over tube tunnels|! All because C&R refused to listen to the public and develop safely a decent town centre instead of saving money by building a poorly designed one! 

Who wants to shop in a building site for 5 years?

Town Centre - what is off-site modular construction?

 

Town Centre viewed from Walthamstow Village in 2028 or later - the 2 line drawings are Skyline Walthamstow (left - Juniper House) and the proposed development on the Strettons site (right).

SKYLINE E17 (Juniper House)

Current view as crane now in place

Entrance to the new 34 and 27 storey tower blocks housing 495 modular flats.

In simple terms the building industry believes building modules in factories speeds up construction 

timescales and gives better quality control. See chart.

Tide Construction are building the towers

Modules being craned into position

MORE INFO

My London

Legal & General

Long Harbour

C&R

Site for the 34 and 27 storey tower blocks

Town Centre - New Tube Entrance

 

The plan above is how things are now as the site is cleared ready for the foundations for the two 34 and 27 storey tower blocks - twice the height of anything around - Juniper house (Skyline Walthamstow) is only 17 storeys!

Skyline launches

At the Planning Committee in 2021 a late document was presented to the committee from C&R saying they needed to have the hole for the tube tube entrance completed by 2025. This is because the hole down to the Victoria Line platforms will be adjacent to the tower blocks foundations. C&R agreed to put £1.5m (2020 figure) towards the new entrance.

Covid came along and TfL's finances were shot to bits and they could no longer afford (£50m??) to fund the hole. LBWF stepped in and said they would try and get the funding for it (£25m??). As far as we are aware that funding is still not in place which means if the hole does not get constructerd soon one of the major benefits of this 10 year old, poorly desinged scheme will be lost. Even if the hole is funded, TfL do not have the funds to fit out the station and operate the new station.

The current construction works showing route of Victoria Line tracks:

After 2028 or later this is what the Town Centre will be:

Town Centre Playground - Update Jan 2023

 

The coucil heeded our request to refurbish the playground in the Town Centre. You would have hoped they had the gumption to move it to a new site away from the crowded entrance to what is now a building site. As it will be at least 5 years before the new playground is available you would have hoped they would have provided all new equipment. 

Why has it not been funded by Long Harbour and Capital & Regional who are spending at least £260m on this project?  Do they not believe in contributing to community facilities? This total lack of keeping the public informed about their scheme, the disruption and pollution they are already causing and the felling of 52 mature trees deserves at least a decent play space!

Why can it not be built NOW in its final location by Lidl's? It also needs to be twice the size of the current one as it is already too small and over crowded. Contact your Councillors and demand better.