Wansteadium

Residents near Holy Trinity church on Hermon Hill who are against its plan to redevelop its site are speaking out against the venture.

The plan, as reported last month here, involves replacing two church halls and a vicarage with a new church hall, 19 residential flats in a three-storey apartment building, nine town houses, a children’s play area and new landscaping.

Public consultation on the plan has reopened and goes on until 26 March.

Members of the SoWo Residents group are objecting to the plan, saying: “This is not just about opposing change—it’s about questioning whether the right kind of change is happening.

“The church’s architects have dismissed the heritage and community value of these buildings. But many of the local residents strongly disagree and feel that the consultation process has been deeply flawed — many people living directly opposite the site were unaware of the intense scale of the proposals.”

On the project website, the vicar of Holy Trinity, the Rev Abi Todd, wrote that community consultation had taken place since the plan was first devised in early 2024, and that details of the consultation including drop-in sessions were part of the application, available on the Redbridge Planning Portal 

Wanstead’s new café/restaurant Bobo & Wild has had a busy first week, and seems to have hit its stride. After a comprehensive refit at the former Larder, the venue has become the fifth in the small chain set up by Bobo (below, left), with other branches in South Woodford, Shoreditch, Clapham Common and Stratford.

The Wanstead branch is being managed by Norbert (below, right), a familiar face thanks to his years working in Costa and more recently in City Place.

As always on Wansteadium we wish the team the best of luck in their venture.

A very occasional series on outstanding littering in Wanstead.

First, in 2014, there was this:

Now, 11 years later, this happens. When will this madness cease?

The Nightingale on the Green pub has been given new licence conditions following a review by Redbridge.

It means a tightening of rules for the pub, owned by Frank Lampard Sr, including reduced hours (until 11pm from Sunday to Thursday and midnight on Friday and Saturday), the use of security on the door on Friday and Saturday nights, use of CCTV and no music apart from background music. There is also to be a change in management structure.

The new conditions were agreed by the pub following an application by the borough’s Community Protection Task Force which included complaints about noise.

 A spokesperson for Redbridge Council said: “We welcome the sub-committee’s decision, following an agreement reached between all parties, as it presents an opportunity to resolve the issues connected to the pub.

“It is hoped with the removal of the old management structure, and the additional conditions and restrictions to the pub’s licence, the Council will be able to work with the venue to ensure it operates within the law, and in harmony with the local community. We won’t tolerate businesses behaving badly in Redbridge, and if the pub fails to adhere to what was agreed, we will push for full licence revocation.”

Councillor Jo Blackman, a member of the sub committee, said: “The new licence conditions agreed with the Nightingale pub are much more appropriate for a residential area. I hope this will address residents’ concerns about noise and anti-social behaviour. Council officers will be monitoring the premise’s compliance with the new rules and I encourage residents to report any issues to the council so they can be followed up.”

Wansteadium has contacted the Nightingale on the Green for comment.

Suffering from sleepless nights worrying about the decline of civilisation? Hours spent doomscrolling with no sign of things getting better?

Here’s something that might help – an opportunity to help build a beautiful, local thing.

The Wanstead Fringe is growing from an annual festival into a larger arts organisation. Getting it together takes cunning and effort from a growing team of wonderful, enthusiastic people who are invigorated by seeing something positive for Wanstead life.

So Fringe organisers want to hear from anyone who would like to get involved in any capacity. Specifically they would like to hear from anyone interested in these roles:

• Publicity co-ordinator (across physical, online and social)
• Bar co-ordinator (building a team to run the Point Bar, Wanstead’s first alcohol-free bar at the Curtain)
• Business operations (research, admin)
• Q (looking after kit and equipment)
• Safeguarding (writing and implementing policy)

Please get in touch with volunteer co-ordinator Elsa Arnold if you are interested in any of these roles, or if you want to get involved generally. Use this form.

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One of the cottages on Wanstead High Street which was formerly an antiques shop is up for sale for a million pounds.

The 18th Century Grade II-listed cottage was renovated 10 years ago (see this report from Wansteadium at the time) and is now rather good looking.

Estate agent Kieran Thomas who is marketing the cottage here said: “This beautiful cottage, rich in history, is one of five homes originally built for the staff of Wanstead House. It is believed to have once housed the saddler, who crafted the leather equipment for the estate’s horses.”

Here’s the 2015 picture:

This is what it looks like on the inside: