A BUSINESSMAN is fighting to get Ilford a London postcode.

Life-long resident Wilson Chowdhry first launched his campaign to change Ilford’s IG1 postcode to E19 in 2005, claiming the Essex one was bad for businesses and homeowners.

But after a TV presenter recently said Ilford’s Valentine’s Park was in Norfolk, the 42-year-old father-of-three wants to end the confusion by bagging the next east London postcode once and for all.

Mr Chowdhry, of Green Lane, said: “I’m Ilford born and bred and I love this place.

“I’m proud to live in the London Borough of Redbridge – I don’t live in Essex.

“If I have a problem with almost anything, it’s a London borough council I go to, not Essex County Council.

“It really annoys me when people say Ilford is in Essex, because mine and the younger generation don’t identify with that label at all."

Mr Chowdhry, who is also chair of the Ilford-based British Pakistani Christian Association (BCPA), believes the IG1 postcode has resulted in local businesses being discriminated against by outside contractors, who think they are further away from London than they actually are.

He also claims it was one of the reasons Redbridge lost out on being an Olympic host borough for the 2012 Games.

He said: “When businesses started applying for contracts for the London Olympics Ilford businesses were listed as being in Essex not London.

“I had to get my changed because I wasn’t getting anywhere.

“I’ve also spoken to a lot of estate agents who believe house prices would go up if they had E19 postcodes not IG1 ones.”

But manager of Woodland Estate Agents in Cranbrook Road Vic Chott said: “I don’t think it’d make a huge amount of difference in my view.

“When I was younger and looking to buy a house I wanted somewhere that was good value for money and easy to get to central London by bus or train.

“A postcode isn’t really going to change that.”

Despite Royal Mail telling him he had “virtually no hope” of bagging E19 for Ilford back in 2005, Mr Chowdhry is still determined and due to bring up the issue with Redbridge Council soon.

He said: “The Olympic village in Stratford got the E20 postcode, so it is possible.

“Our cultural aspirations are very different to people in Essex, so we don’t want to be labelled that way anymore.”

But a Royal Mail spokesman said: “We use the postcode to route and process mail in the most efficient way possible.

“Any change would affect a large number of addresses and therefore have implications for many householders, businesses, and our distribution network.

“Therefore, we would only consider a postcode reclassification for postal operational and efficiency reasons.”

To sign Mr Chowdhry's petition, visit the website.