THE STOW: Tower block plan for Stow site

2:30pm Friday 29th August 2008

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TOWER blocks are being planned for the Walthamstow Stadium site with no parking or leisure use, the Save Our Stow consortium claims.

The consortium say they saw drawings of the new owners of the site, Walthamstow Stadium Developments, in a meeting with council planners and social housing landlord London and Quadrant (L&Q).

The drawings show 500 flats in 11-storey high blocks in a circle following the line of the track.

The centre, where dozens of people have chosen to have their ashes scattered, will be concreted over too, with more homes in smaller blocks.

Instead of the garden which exists now there will only be a small amount of green space, no leisure facilities and no parking, according to Save Our Stow spokesman, Rick Holloway.

And only one entrance to the site is planned, in the same place as the current entrance, which he said would cause traffic problems.

He said: “It’s going to be a concrete jungle. It looks like something that’s landed from outer space.

“It doesn’t even match the Art Deco listed frontage and the listed kennel area is just chucked at the back of the complex. It’s an abuse of the heritage.”

But Mr Holloway, said he felt positive about the consortium’s chances of convincing the new owners to sell as there were several obstacles for developers to overcome.

The site was marsh land when Bill Chandler bought it in 1931 and is on a flood plain with the River Ching running underneath.

It was because of problems with drainage that Mr Chandler raised the track and installed heating beneath it.

Mr Holloway added: “I’ve got more chance of winning a gold medal at the Olympics than they have of getting this through.”

A council spokesman said: "This is a private sale between two independent organisations. The council's role now is to safeguard the listed parts of the site and ensure that any future development is appropriate.

"The 'plans' seen by the Save Our Stow consortium are, at this stage, a mere artists impression and therefore subject to change.

"There is unlikely to be a planning application before Christmas."

The Mayor of London has set a target for the council to approve 665 new homes each year until 2016.

Watch our video of the last night of the Stow