WALTHAM FOREST: Loakes and Rayner clash over tower blocks (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

WALTHAM FOREST: Loakes and Rayner clash over tower blocks

11:48am Wednesday 6th February 2008 in

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THE council leader and his deputy clashed over whether tower blocks should be built to solve Waltham Forest's housing crisis.

Labour chief Clyde Loakes supported the use of high-rise buildings, while Liberal Democrat Keith Rayner said lessons should be learned from the failed development policies of the 1970s.

According to official esimates 20,000 extra people are expected to be living in the borough in 2026, while 12,000 new homes need to be built for families and young professionals in the same period.

Speaking at the annual State of the Borough debate at Chingford Assembly Hall on Tuesday, Cllr Loakes insisted building tower blocks would give families a great new home.

He said: "A lot has been learnt about tower blocks. They are places people looking for a new home will want to live in and new tower blocks have been built.

"But we need to have a sensible discussion about height."

But Cllr Rayner disagreed.

He said: "One of my first experiences of Waltham Forest came in 1975 when I was in a tower block that didn't have a lift that worked.

"The stairs smelt like a public urinal and on the seventh floor, I saw a small four year-old girl cowering by the door. We should not make this same mistake again."

Cllr Rayner added: "If we want a sustainable community we have to deal with tough decisions."