A COMMUNITY is prepared to take legal action to stop the council doubling the height of a block of flats in their road.

Redbridge Council wants to build another 10 flats on top of Abberton in Prospect Road, Woodford Green, to help provide more social housing for the borough.

The plans would see the block, which is made up of a third lease holders and two thirds council tenants, double from three to six storeys.

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Abberton is currently a three-storey council block in Prospect Road, Woodford Green (Photo: Google)

Officers claim the 10 flats would cost between £140,000 and £160,000 and would take "six to nine months" to build.

Speaking to the Guardian last week (April 4) Redbridge cabinet member for housing Cllr Farah Hussain claimed Abberton residents were “very happy” with the proposals.

She said despite the lack of any parking spaces, residents were pleased with the plans as they would mean a new lift and “general improvements” to the building.

But at a public meeting organised by opposition ward Cllr Paul Canal at Prospect Hall on Tuesday evening (April 11) over 70 residents expressed concerns.

Jenny Knight has been a council tenant at Abberton for 15 years and says her neighbours are extremely unhappy with the plans.

The 49-year-old said: “We were flabbergasted when we found out. People aren’t happy about this at all.

“We’ve had building works over the last few years that have had to be stopped because the foundations weren’t strong enough.

“We’re not happy about the lift being built because it’s going to be open to the public, which means anyone can just come in.

“This isn’t a transient block, we’re a very tight-knit community, building these new flats will have a real effect on that.”

Sheila Cairns, who is one of Abberton’s longest-standing social tenants aged 77 said she too was “shocked” at the plans.

She added: “The foundations just won’t take it.”

Residents like Jenny and Sheila can apply to be moved out during the building works, but will only be allowed to if they have medical reasons to do so.

Neighbours in Prospect Road, West Grove, Frankland Road, and Bush Road said they would be prepared to crowdfund up to £20,000 for a judicial review to stop the council extending the block.

They claim Prospect Road is already “an absolute nightmare” for traffic and parking problems and more flats with no extra parking spaces would pose a major safety hazard.

Next door neighbours also fear they will be overlooked and all light to their homes blocked.

Vice chairman of the Woodford Society and Prospect Road resident of 16 years Andrea St Hill encouraged her neighbours to object the plans, which are expected to be published later this month.

She said: “We need to turn out en masse and make as much noise as possible.

“Because if they get away with building this one, who’s to stop them building tower blocks like it all around here.”

Cllr Canal said he believes the council has planned “the wrong scheme for the wrong block in the wrong street”.

He said: “If I had my say I’d knock the whole thing down and build something better and more efficient the whole community could agree on.

“I do not believe this meets planning criteria of the local or London plan, but the council has housing targets it needs to meet, so they want to do it anyway.

“The cards are stacked against us, but if we act constructively and engage, we can get fight this.”

Redbridge Council has been contacted for comment.