A plan to demolish the row of shops including Wanstead Hairdresser’s on Woodbine Place has been submitted to Redbridge Council.
The plan would replace the kebab shop, the barbers and children’s clothes shop Bambini with a three-storey block containing shops at street level and offices above. Wansteadium believes shop owners knew nothing of the plan until planning notices were put on lamp-posts on Wednesday.
The planning documents say of the plans:
Overall, the design achieves a balance between timeless simplicity and contemporary refinement, reinforcing the prominence of the High Street frontage, while complementing and elevating the character of
the local context.
It is believed a hairdresser’s has stood on the spot in the current building for at least 100 years. The row of shops is part of the Wanstead Conservation Area, but the documents indicate Redbridge planners are open to a redevelopment. One of the documents discusses the importance of the corner site, currently Churchill’s, but adds “the single storey shops to the rear lack the same visual interest”.
It says: “Being located at the corner at a visually prominent location, the buildings add little to the conservation area and its character. Their scale and appearance does not represent the important corner location.”
If approved, combined with the development currently under way on the Evergreen Field, the overall effect will be of a massively changed central Wanstead.
Will it be anorther bit of Wanstead that we know and love gone SHAME
No, please leave it alone. We moved to the area because of the unique attraction that is Wanstead high street and its surrounds. To replace the existing with another monolithic block would be awful bordering on criminal!