Cambridge Park church to become a nursery

Cambridge Park Methodist Church
The news that the owners of the Treehouse Nursery in Woodbine Place have acquired the former Methodist Church building on Cambridge Park (above) is likely to be welcomed by many in Wanstead (though some may feel there are enough nurseries already).

Treehouse After School Club, Grove Hall, Grosvenor RoadPaul Samouelle paid a reported £900,000 for the building, and now plans to convert the inside into another nursery with a capacity of 120 children. He estimates that this will allow him to employ a further 30 people, and comes on top of those working at Woodbine Place and a breakfast/after school club in Grove Hall, Grosvenor Road. He is believed to have a sizeable waiting list of children.

Treehouse Nursery, Woodbine PlaceAs well as meaning he and his wife Maria could become one of the biggest employers in Wanstead, it means they now own three historic buildings – their Woodbine Place HQ (right) is in the former Wanstead Technical School, built in 1912.

As Wansteadium reported two years ago, the renovations at Grove Hall, formerly the hall of the United Reformed Church, were sympathetically carried out. The proceeds of the sale allowed the church to carry out significant repairs on its roof.

Cambridge Park Methodist Church closed in 2010 after nearly 130 years; the congregation joined with the Methodist Church on Hermon Hill. It is believed that an alternative scheme for the redevelopment of the site would have involved demolition and construction of a mosque. As our photographs taken just after the church’s final service show, there is a fair amount of work needing to be done.

Interior of Cambridge Park Methodist Church, taken April 2010

Interior of Cambridge Park Methodist Church, taken April 2010

Wanstead: ‘The new City bonus haunt’???

Is Wanstead the new haunt for those with a City bonus? George C Parker reports

Wansteadium’s property blogger, George C Parker, writes:

Getting with the Times: Purveyor of truth since 1785, the Thunderer has recently pronounced Wanstead to be ‘the new City bonus haunt’. Here’s an excerpt of what it had to say, with a link to some pages which are behind Mr Murdoch’s paywall:

Some will no doubt cringe at this ‘City bonus’ sobriquet; brashness and lack of modesty are almost anti-Wansteadian traits. Nevertheless Times journalist Ruth Bloomfield neatly summarised the myriad attractions (good schools, Victorian to Edwardian houses and excellent transport links) while acknowledging the downside (relative proximity to Funky Mojoes). Talking of which…

High Street living: If you live on, or close to the High Street, you undoubtedly welcome the arrival of a new business of the calibre of Provender or Nakhon Thai. The same might not be true when certain globally-franchised vertical scoffing outlets loom large. The proposal to turn the current Wanstead Domestic Appliances into another fast food takeaway is an interesting one. Redbridge is accepting representations on this application right now. It would be So Good ™ to hear residents’ views.

Budget 2012: Unfortunately young Osborne’s Budget changes did nothing to help first-time buyers trying to swing a leg onto the property ladder’s lowest rung (unless they have a city bonus, naturally). As a knock on, there’s a likelihood that this bottleneck delays those trying to trade up from their first flat to a family home in somewhere like Wanstead. At the other end of the stamp duty scale, I wonder if we will see a local transaction being hit with the new 7% scalping applied to property sales over 2 million sovs. As I can never resist a nose, here’s what is being offered at a cool 250 large below the new upper threshold (warning: may contain gold taps).

You can contact George at georgecparker@wansteadium.com

Farewell 62 Spice…

Wansteadium reader Noel sends this photo, saying: “A new Thai restaurant where 62 Spice was. Fantastic. They open (according to the builder) next Monday.”

Fellow reader Trevor adds:
We were told it was our last meal in 62 Spice on Friday evening, news which dismayed us seeing as we’re in there 3 Fridays out of 4 and believed it to be the best Indian in the area by miles (until we recently tried Kanchans at Gants Hill – fabulous!). Astounding to see the signage already replaced by the Thai place which is its successor (good luck with that!). How long did the Cooks – Provender metamorphasis take?
I wonder if the new owners are aware the Wanstead Society are obsessed with the frontage, and its apparent incompatibility with the conservation area (as opposed to neighbouring delights like Chicken Spot and Bairstow Eves!)?

Wednesday update. The Wanstead Society’s Geoff Horsnell adds:
It is very strange that the owner of 62 Spice has now decided to convert to a Thai restaurant. Yes, that is correct. It is not under new ownership. So now, in addition to the enforcement notice that was served in January as a result of the change in shop frontage, he has now decided to compound the problem by introducing internally iluminated signs. These are not allowed in a conservation area, and so Redbridge will have no option but to ensure that the signs are removed.

Also, as for the Wanstead Society being “obsessed” with the frontage, we in the Wanstead Society simply want to see Wanstead remain a pleasant area in which to live. To that end, people must abide by the rules and regulations that are in place. Without this, chaos would reign – and Wanstead would cease to be the pleasant place it currently is.