Wansteadium

It never rains but it pours. Suddenly ANOTHER Wanstead profile has come on the scene. And that tells a different story to the happy tale published in MyLondon earlier in the week. Wanstead is apparently being ruined by snobs.

Noel McMahon, well known from his years as landlord at the Nightingale, told the paper: “It’s changed. It has lost its village status for what it used to be. It’s still a great community – but the attitude of some of the new arrivals has changed. They don’t have the same community feel.”

The most damning quotes though come from someone the Sun bravely doesn’t name, who EXCLUSIVELY tells the paper that people are “moving from central out here to get more for their money…. They’re up their own f***ing a***s.”

So it’s quite a controversial read. You can find it here. It’s in the Sun, which according to someone who would rather not be named, is ***** ******** ****, we can exclusively reveal.

We have a long history of picking apart articles written in the news about Wanstead, and the latest example to attract people’s attention was this profile in MyLondon.

It’s rare nowadays for news providers to send reporters out of the office (or away from their dining room table) to actually visit the places they are reporting on, so this is a welcome article, even though it was written by their “SEO Reporter” (ie the person who writes things to attract the attention of Google).

So some key quotes, wilfully taken out of context:

If you buy here, you stay here.

I mean, look at Gail’s, it’s packed the entire time.

The best thing about the area is that is has two stations

In the evening, it’s a ghost town.

But, surprise surprise, people in Wanstead love Wanstead though are anxious about the cost of living, rents, property prices and inequality.

One thing we did learn – the newsagents now known as Krishanco has been there for more than 100 years, well before gentrification. Long may it continue.

H/T Gaynor, and Ray

Roadside collections of Christmas trees are being extended into next week for Wanstead following “high demand”. Trees will still be collected on Monday and Tuesday by Redbridge Civic Services, the company which does rubbish and recycling collection for Redbridge.

After Wednesday trees can still be collected by only by arranging it through the council’s bulky item collection service.

Planning applications have been made to install an illuminated advert box outside the Lighthouse fish shop. The plan would include a defibrillator and new phone, though not in a phone box.

The application, under reference 3950/22 recognises the Wanstead Village Conservation Area status, and includes this statement:

The proposed Communication Hub and advertising display is undeniably a modern intervention, but its impact upon the character and appearance of this part of the conservation area would be less than substantial. This form of development would not be seen as a wholly inappropriate addition to the principally commercial setting of Wanstead’s High Street where there are other examples of modern alterations and interventions. In such an evidently commercial environment the public is used to and expects to see a range of commercial images, which serve to enhance the shopping experience and influence the character of the area.

Comments are open on the application until 26 January.

We asked the following questions:

There’s a part of Wanstead that is forever Waterloo. Where is it?

• Lots of entries suggested Nelson Road or Wellesley Road. The answer we were looking for, though, was the plinth on which Churchill’s bust sits outside The Bull, which used to be a cornerstone of the old Waterloo Bridge. (See more here.)

Parakeets are common in Wanstead. But they are not the most exotic creatures ever seen here. Where, exactly, was Wanstead’s menagerie?

• The answer is the Temple in Wanstead Park, as highlighted by historian Hannah Armstrong in her Wanstead Fringe talk last year.

A register of historic sites which are at risk was published this year. It mentioned five spots in Wanstead: Wanstead Park, St Mary’s, Christ Church, the Grotto and one other. What was it?

• The answer is the Garden Temple in the garden of Temple House in The Avenue. (See more here.) We feel like we need to know more about this.

So here’s the shocking news. There were no completely correct entries. Matt was closest, so we’re prepared to share bragging rights with him. Thank you for everyone who took part.

Redbridge is considering an application to put a 20-metre 5G telecoms mast on the grass verge at the end of St Mary’s Avenue, opposite St Mary’s Church – the borough’s only grade 1 listed building.

The plan includes cabinets on the grass and a paved area, as indicated on the images from the plans below. The mast would be five metres higher than the trees on the avenue and would be the next tallest thing beside the church’s clock tower.

The current church was finished in the late 18th Century, though earlier churches had been there from the 1200s. It is accepted as being one of the finest Georgian churches in London.

The application seems not to have been widely noticed, but public observations on it need to be submitted by 30 December. Details can be found at this address on the Redbridge site under reference 3919/22.