Neighbours who led a successful campaign to stop a supermarket felling trees have re-united to fight plans to build an apartment block in a park which is a “haven” for families.

Waltham Forest Council has drawn up plans for three sites in Lea Bridge Road in Leyton which include two high-rise tower blocks near the station and a block of shops and flats in the nearby pocket park.

Members of campaign group ‘The People’s Plan for Lea Bridge Station Sites’ gathered in the park on the corner of Lea Bridge Road and Orient Way on Saturday, January 13 to voice their disapproval.

Claire Weiss who spearheaded the campaign against Aldi last May after the supermarket felled mature trees containing birds’ nests, said destroying the park is simply “not acceptable to the residents”.

“We got a lot of attention from passersby who had no idea that the council is thinking of getting rid of our green open space with 91 trees to build on it,” said the pensioner who lives in Lea Hall Road.

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Neighbours hold signs reading "Save Our Trees" at the protest. Photo: Karl Weiss. 

“Most people were absolutely horrified. It’s a haven - a place where you can go and sit on a bench and relax. I see people walking their dogs, pushing buggies and cyclists stopping to have a drink.

“Last year we were very satisfied with Aldi’s response and Aldi should be an example to the council that these trees are just the same and the council should equally take notice as Aldi did.”

The supermarket giant halted tree-chopping at its new site in Lea Bridge Road last summer after the campaigners’ plight was raised in the Guardian.

The council has proposed building a six-storey block in the park with space for commercial and retail units on the ground floor and flats overhead. It wants to build a 14-storey block and a 22-storey block on the two neighbouring sites.

Ms Weiss said while neighbours do not want to see their park destroyed, they would like to see low-rise buildings on the other sites to provide social housing.

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Neighbours gather at the corner of the park to make their voices heard. Photo: Karl Weiss.

Ms Weiss added: “We know there will be a housing development on the sites but we don’t want it to be that high and we think the housing should be for people on the council’s housing waiting list. The council has got no intention of it being social housing.”

Campaigners argue that high-rise blocks built close together in “tiny pieces of land” would create a “wind tunnel” along Lea Bridge Road and put a strain on public transport.

They also say chopping down dozens of trees will exacerbate flooding problems for people living in surrounding roads.

“Obliterating a green open space and killing the trees is not good environmentally,” said Ms Weiss.

“There’s a very high risk of flooding, not from the river but from ground waters, and the trees actually soak up gallons of water every day.

“Removing these trees will would increase the flood risk in Burwell Road and Perth Road.”

The plans are expected to go before a planning committee in 2019.

Cllr Simon Miller, Cabinet Member for Economic Growth and High Streets, said: “No planning application has been submitted for this area. We are currently engaging with local residents and businesses to draw up a Development Brief for the three sites we own around Lea Bridge Road which will guide any development proposals.

“Waltham Forest Council has delivered 47 per cent affordable housing over the past three years, the highest in London, and we have to continue to balance the possible loss of trees and the pocket park with our duty to provide affordable housing and business opportunities to benefit the wider community.

"However, we will seek to minimise any tree loss through redevelopment and regeneration. Any trees that are lost will either be replaced on site or in the surrounding area. Nearby parks and green spaces like Lee Valley Park and Leyton Jubilee Park, in which we continue to invest, remain available for everyone to enjoy.”