Residents have criticised the plan over the potential it could lead to increased traffic and parking stress, while others said it was ‘out of character’, reports Sebastian Mann, Local Democracy Reporter

This coach house in Stainforth Road will be demolished, Credit: Google Streetview

New flats near Walthamstow town centre have been approved by the council, despite concerns from locals.

Three-storey and four-storey blocks of flats will be built in Church Hill and Stainforth Road, bringing seven new homes to the area.

The scheme, submitted by Zend Property Ltd, will also involve the demolition of a coach house, a non-designated heritage asset.

A coach house is a small, separate dwelling built on an estate or next to a main home, originally for housing horse-drawn carriages and their staff.

Block A, next to 12 Church Hill, will consist of one studio apartment, one two-bed flat and one three-bed. Block B, which will replace ‘the Lodge,’ will comprise a single one-bed flat and three two-beds.

Until early 2019, 12 Church Hill housed an office for both the charity Barnardo’s and Waltham Forest Music Service.

Though Waltham Forest Council’s planning department recommended the scheme for approval, nearby residents pushed back.

A total of ten objection letters were received, focused mainly on how it could disrupt the neighbourhood.

Residents attacked the plan over the potential it could lead to increased traffic and parking stress, while others said it was “out of character”.

Where ‘Block A’ will be built on Church Hill, Credit: Google Streetview

However, the council argued the housing blocks would be a designated car-free development. “Therefore, residents would not be entitled to parking permits,” officers wrote, which will be “ensured by a legal agreement”.

Some expressed concern about the loss of greenspace, but council officers said the development would be upon a former car park and previously developed land.

Other complaints, such as the possibility it could lead to local rent levels increasing, were not considered material objections.

Despite residents’ concerns, the proposals were approved by councillors at a planning committee meeting last night (14th).

Work will begin on the new flats within three years.

In a bid to reduce disruption, councillors imposed a rule that audible work can only be carried out between 8am and 6pm on Mondays through Fridays, between 8am and 1pm on Saturdays, and not at all on Sundays.

86 Sedgwick Road in Leyton will be turned into a children’s care home, Credit: Google Streetview

During the same meeting, the committee also approved plans to convert a house in Leyton into a care home for children.

The two-storey, mid-terrace property will be turned into a centre for four children, with staff members working on a shift basis.

In a report published last week, planning officers backed the conversion and said it “satisfies a local need for specialist types of living accommodation”.

However, twelve residents opposed the scheme, with some pointing to its previous unauthorised use as a children’s care home under a different operator, which caused “noise and disturbance” for its neighbours.

Ahead of last night’s meeting, the planning department argued that decisions “must be made in good faith and a decision cannot be judged on the previous unregularised use”.

In response to their concerns about antisocial behaviour in the area, officers wrote: “Measures to control the risk associated with antisocial behaviour and vulnerable children are proposed, though ultimately the safety and wellbeing of children is governed by safeguarding legislation.

“Objectors are reminded to contact the police to report crimes.”

The planning committee will reconvene next month.

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.