News Walthamstow

Council to create ‘memorial garden’ for late Queen behind town hall

The new garden could open in Chestnuts Field as soon as next year
By Victoria Munro

Speakers at the extraordinary council meeting last night (credit: WF Council)
Speakers at the extraordinary council meeting last night (credit: WF Council)

A memorial garden to “commemorate the incredible legacy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II” will be created behind Waltham Forest Town Hall.

Last night, councillors met for an Extraordinary Council meeting outside the town hall building, lit purple for the occasion, to honour the late queen.

They agreed to create a new public garden in Chesnut Field, the green space behind the town hall building previously used for events like the annual fireworks display.

In a statement to the press following the meeting, council leader Grace Williams said: “It will be a place of calm, a place for residents to reflect, a place to take in some peace and quiet – I know it will have a special meaning for so many of us.


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“We are currently hoping we may be able to open the garden as soon as 2023 and we will publish more details as soon as they are confirmed.

“I would also like to thank everyone who signed one of our Books of Condolence or came to the Extraordinary Council meeting to pay their respects to HM Queen Elizabeth II. Her memory will last for many, many years to come.”

The land around the town hall is currently being redeveloped by developer Countryside to add 433 new flats and new council office space.

The plans, agreed last September, entailed disposing of a small part of Chestnuts Field, which the planning application noted was “regularly water-logged” due to flooding and “not overlooked or well-lit, resulting in an uninviting environment”.


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