Redbridge councillors last week gave the go-ahead to the demolition of one of the most charming and widely loved pieces of Wanstead, the row of very old single storey shops on Woodbine Place.
For many of those upset by the plans to replace the buildings with a two-storey modern block, the reason for being emotional is simple: Wanstead Hairdresser’s. Literally generations of Wanstead boys and men have sat in those chairs for haircuts – Wansteadium has known old men who talked of getting their haircut there in the 1920s.
It’s the experience of the shop, run by Paul Michaelides and his uncle Steve Kyprianou and family before him all the way back to 1959, that has made it such a definitive and beloved Wanstead experience.
Paul does not yet know what will become of his shop or business, yet despite the uncertainty somehow has not lost his appetite for cutting hair and talking to his customers.
When Paul asks them ‘how’s the family?’, the chances are he has cut their hair too. So for this and future generations of Wanstead men, Wansteadium fervently wishes him and co-snipper Ian all the best.
Man hug over.
Shame i had my hair cut there when i was living in Wanstead
It was my go to barbers until I became follically challenged.
I was at the meeting last Wednesday.
Two Wanstead councillors, Sue Whitehead (Green Party) and Jo Blackman (Labour), both made excellent and articulate speeches against the planning application. As did also the son of the barber.
The Redbridge Planning Officer had already recommended approval.
None of the members of the planning committee live in Wanstead and they seemed more interested in the suggested employment opportunities from new businesses.
You can watch a recording of the meeting here:
https://www.redbridge.gov.uk/about-the-council/public-meetings-and-scrutiny/committee-meetings/
I despair of Redbridge council!!!!
Cheer up. There will be space for a few money launderers.
I BET AFTER IT IS BUILT THERE WILL BE A PLANNING APPLICATION TO CONVERT THE EMPTY OFFICES INTO FLATS!!!!
DUMB LBR. THIS IS A DELIBERATE STRATEGY TO BUILD FLATS.
I used to go to the Wanstead Hairdressers in the Fifties when I was in my teens and
one memorable morning I heard on the radio when having my haircut was Julie London
singing “Cry Me A River” for the first time.
I hope that other clients have had good memories over the years while getting their hair cut.
What a loss this will be to Wanstead.
I find the outrage regarding the demolition of a kebab shop and the Comic Sans (yuk!) baby shop disproportional, to say the least.
Where was the outrage when (I’ll use one example but there are many) the beautiful 1930s houses on Grove Park were being torn down for hideous, characterless giant houses, whose only redeeming feature seems to be square footage.? Indeed, two of these new houses are virtually identical. I can’t be the only person to have noticed this, surely? What were the planners doing?
Demolition of houses for new, bigger, houses of questionable design is a bit of a blight, you’re right. St Mary’s Ave is not the road it was!
But I do want to push back on the idea that the reaction is disproportionate. This is a bit of the common wealth of Wanstead.
I think one of those at least went to appeal – beautiful art deco house pulled down. It’s very sad, especially as the replacements are just British greyland. It’s ironic that the area is touted for all the village qualities but these are not cherished by some.
If the planning committee (non Wanstead residents) permit this sort of development then they kill the special nature of Wanstead which gives it its
desirability as a place to live. And that desirability is worth a great deal in property and council tax values. No offence intended, but do we want Wanstead to become another Gants Hill?