Councillors approved a scheme to turn offices in Rowan House, in Leytonstone, and a care home in Forest Gate into flats, reports Sebastian Mann, Local Democracy Reporter
Thirty new units of temporary accommodation spread across the borough have been approved by Waltham Forest Council.
Turning a care home in Trumpington Road, in Forest Gate, into 14 flats was the first scheme given the green light at a planning committee meeting earlier this week.
Councillors also approved a scheme to turn offices in Rowan House, in Leytonstone, into 16 flats.
Planning committee chair and Green councillor Liz Briggs said “people having homes where they can wash their clothes and cook, and their kids can play in a safe garden, is absolutely what we want”.
Both sets of plans were developed by Waltham Forest Council, and will see each building fitted with heat pumps, bin and bicycle facilities, and play areas for children.
Trumpington Road will be composed of three studio flats, a single one-bedroom flat, and ten two-bedroom flats. Rowan House will be turned into two studio flats, two one-bedroom flats, eleven two-bedroom flats, and one three-bedroom flat.
Around 1,527 residents were living in expensive temporary accommodation – such as hotels or bed-and-breakfast-style housing – in April.
The previous Labour administration was forced to ask for a £19million loan from central government to help cover a £17m budget gap as a result of these pressures, alongside the impact of rising social care costs.
During the meeting, former leader Councillor Grace Williams said it would “meet a real need in the borough”.
No one – including both residents and planning bodies – formally objected to the Trumpington Road scheme, while the Rowan House plans received one objection from a neighbour.
They had raised concerns about potential antisocial behaviour stemming from the property, as well noise and the risk of increased crime.
A planning officer addressed these points in a report published last week, writing that anti-social behaviour was “not an inevitable consequence of this form of accommodation”.
“A management plan has been provided that sets out contact details for residents to be able to raise concerns and the site will also have a 24/7 CCTV feed that would be able to report live on incidents,” he wrote.
“It should also be noted that it is expected that households living in the accommodation will be families with children.”
No objectors or supporters attended the meeting.
Both schemes were unanimously approved by the committee.
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