September 2022

14
Wanstead Village Directory
For those who don’t know, the
Evergreen Field is that square patch
of fenced-off land on Wanstead High
Street beside Christ Church Green. The
site has not been inhabited since 1944,
when two homes which stood there were
bombed and then demolished in 1967.
Some 25 years ago, the field was owned by
the Metropolitan Police and was intended
to serve as the location of a new Wanstead
Police Station to replace the smaller, iconic
Spratt Hall Road building. Unfortunately,
before any plans could be drawn up, a new
directive was issued by the Met which said any
undeveloped land owned by the Met must be
sold, so the site was put up for auction.
A group of local Wanstead residents clubbed
together to crowdfund a bid to purchase the
site. They were unsuccessful. However, not all
the sponsors wanted their money back and
the residents were left with approximately
£10,000. It was decided to give half the money
to a local charity and then, in May 1997, the
remainder was used to form the Wanstead
Society.
A committee was formed and their first
task was to try to look after the site that
had eluded their bid. When the successful
developer submitted a planning application,
the Wanstead Society lodged an objection.
Redbridge Council agreed the proposal was
not in keeping with the area and refused the
application. The developer took the matter to
the Planning Inspectorate in Bristol on appeal.
After a site visit, the inspector dismissed the
appeal (the planning inspector decided the
view of the spire and the east end of Christ
Church – a Grade II* listed building – from the
High Street was of paramount importance).
At this point, Redbridge Council issued a CR1
protection order for the site, declaring it to be
an “important open urban space” that should
not be developed.
In 2012, a local businessman purchased the site
saying he could overturn the protection order.
He met with the Wanstead Society saying he
would ‘donate’ half the site to public use if
the Society would lobby the council to have
the protection order lifted. We responded by
saying we would get our solicitors to meet
with his and agree the terms of the transfer.
This was not what he wanted. He would retain
ownership of the entire plot. The society was
not prepared to spend money maintaining
a plot they did not own and which could
therefore be reclaimed at any moment, so the
‘deal’ fell through.
A couple of months ago, some 10 years after
that meeting in 2012, a very similar proposal
emerged from Caerus Developments, this
time being put to local residents with a
quasi consultation. The plans now are for a
four-storey building containing 24 homes
(nine one-bed, 11 two-bed and four threebed
apartments) and a ground-floor nursery,
again with half the site being ‘donated to the
community’.
There is insufficient detail in the glossy
brochure that has been issued which, frankly,
raises more questions than answers. For
example, we need to know exactly what is
meant by the word ‘donate’ used in the
brochure to whet the appetite of
some land for public use. Who
will own the ‘donated’ land?
Presumably, it should be
Redbridge – especially if it is
an adjunct to Christ Church
Green. Has the council been
approached to determine
the viability of this proposal?
Who will pay to make the land
safe for public use? Who will
maintain the land over time?
These are just some of the questions
raised by this proposal and a recent meeting
with the developers did little to enlighten us.
Without all the answers, the consultation is
meaningless. So, just as we did in 1997 and
2012, we’ll be watching this space very closely
indeed.
For more information on the Wanstead
Society, visit wnstd.com/ws
To view the Evergreen Field development
proposals, visit wnstd.com/field
To advertise, call 020 8819 6645 or visit wnstd.com