Wansteadium reader Suzanne writes: “A sad sight on Thursday morning – this branch ripped down on Christ Church Green. A branch this size would have taken a few people to pull/swing on it to break it down. It definitely wasn’t due to the wind last night!” (There wasn’t any.)
Wanstead’s two current fundraising projects have won £5,000 each thanks to online voting from supporters. The playground renovation effort being run by the Wanstead Playground Association AND the building of the new Scout hall in Snaresbrook are to be given the funds from the Aviva Community Fund. (Details of the playground bid are here, and the Scout hut here.)
This means the playground fund has now raised more than £37,000, after a gala dinner at Wanstead Golf Club also saw £5,000 collected. There is a fundraising Wanstead Comedy Night being held on 17 July, and a second volunteering day for people to help paint the fences and tidy the site. That’s next Thursday 9 July, from 9.30am. (Refreshments being donated by Starbucks and Nice Croissant.)
Photo: APCOA Parking (one of the donors to the playground fund)
Doctor in the House television series – St Swithins filming location still exists old Wanstead Hospital, London pic.twitter.com/GT6ajxq9IK
— RailwayManiac (@EdwardKendal) June 29, 2015
A new plan for a mini-shopping mall on Wanstead High Street could be determined this week in a decision which could apparently sidestep the Redbridge planning authorities.
A plan for the former Joliffe’s Builders office site, which includes a large area of undeveloped land behind the shops, was rejected by the local authority last year. But the revised plan – which includes the front being clad in copper and aluminium – is to be considered by the Planning Inspectorate, a government agency which deals with planning appeals.
The new plan includes spaces for small shops and offices, including a basement, and a total of 13 proposed flats. The shops and offices could, the plans say, create 40 new jobs.
The Wanstead Society has written to its members saying that while it does not oppose the development of the site, the plan is “over-developed and with a boxy, high rise, design that would stick out in our Conservation Area”. It also says the “yellow stock brickwork and copper cladding… bears no sympathy with the subdued nature of the existing high street”.
The developer, in the documents, say the revised plan would mean the building frontage would be smaller than it would have been in the original plan, and addresses fears over existing trees. It says: “The resulting scheme seeks to add to the exciting village nature of Wanstead by providing letable units for local business, artists, entrepreneurs at an affordable starter rent, whilst creating a new adjunct to the street around a focused mall and courtyard hub, and new eco styled apartments within the village and related to this new hub.”
The plans go on to describe how the design would fit in to the area:
A diverging array of architectural styles can be found around the site, including the rather poor quality adjacent Pharmacy building at No.75. The styles’ varying from Edwardian to 80’s built shop units. The Shrubbery is a grade II listed, inter-war period, modernist movement, residential building. In the previous application it was our intention to enhance the aspect to this building and to use elements of its “brave new world†iconic architecture to form the keystone of the new scheme, in effect providing a link between this buildings uniqueness and the High Street and ensuring its privacy by reinforcing the buffer between with a mature landscaped, amenity space… The current scheme has thus embraced this as its core, and seeks to create a first class building that is carefully crafted to its specific location and has quality and unique materials within its design that relate strongly to the conservation area and the immediate context of the site.
The plans can be seen in full on the Redbridge planning website under reference 4102/14. Representations can still be made to the Planning Inspectorate, but only if they are received in Bristol by 1 July (ie Wednesday of this week).
Geoff Wilkinson writes on Wanstead Daily Photo: “Wanstead resident Allison Ball, an artist of some considerable talent, really has something to smile about. She has had one of her works accepted by The Royal Academy for hanging in this year’s summer exhibition. If you look carefully at the picture above, Allison’s lino print is the lovely picture of a dog at the top above, the title is ‘Bitch’. If you would like to see more of Allison’s work you can visit her website and shop by clicking here…
(aka Wanstead Weekly Photo, CXXXIII)
Transport for London has now published its map of Tubes which will run all night on Fridays and Saturdays from 12 September. It’s a great thing for London’s economy, and also for anyone who wants to come home from a night out.
But people living next to overground parts of the line – for instance, people living on Hollybush Hill, New Wanstead, Sylvan Road, Eagle Lane, Osprey Close, Alexandra Road, Foxdene Close and many others – may well not see the attraction, at least until they get used to three trains an hour passing their house all night.
TfL has this statement about the impact of noise:
