The council has opened a public consultation on the second part of its Local Plan, which will see 27,000 new homes built in the borough by 2035, reports Sebastian Mann, Local Democracy Reporter
Waltham Forest Council is seeking views on the list of sites earmarked for development over 15 years.
The council aims to build 27,000 new homes in the borough by 2035, as well as 52,000sqm of offices and ‘employment space’.
The homes will not be built by Waltham Forest Council but by private developers, who will need to seek planning permission.
After approving part one of its Local Plan in February, which will guide home builders’ plans for the borough, the council is now consulting with residents.
The second round of consultation – a continuation of the 2021/22 process – will run until 9th October.
Part two is yet to be approved, and focuses on where the authority plans to focus development.
Some 128 sites across the full length of the borough have been earmarked.
They include Lea Bridge gasworks, where plans for 643 new homes were greenlit in July, and industrial areas in Lammas Road, Orient Way, and Montague Road the council says are suitable for tall buildings.
Walthamstow Town Centre is the busiest area, with 14 individual parcels of land labelled.
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Proposals include replacing Stow Car Wash and Valeting with 20 homes, building 300 new homes in the St James Quarter, and 30 in Osborne Grove.
The council would also like to see the Barclays bank in Walthamstow converted into 65 homes and so far undefined ‘town centre uses,’ and for the job centre in the High Street to be restored. Fifty-five homes would also be built in the area.
“Being allocated in Local Plan Part 2 does not mean that the site will definitely be redeveloped,” the council said.
The first part covered infrastructure, including proposals for a new rail station in Ruckholt Road, and an instruction the council will prefer ‘sustainable’ developments. It was approved at a meeting of all 60 councillors in February.
Though 27,000 homes appears a high target, Waltham Forest was one of nine boroughs given the target by the Mayor of London.
In the three years up to 2023/24, the council has hit the Mayor’s target of building around 1,200 new homes each year.
You can submit feedback on the scheme by email or via the council’s website.
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