HOMEOWNERS who fear they could be kept awake all night by a proposed bus depot are angry they have not been consulted over the plans.
HCT Group, which runs bus routes for Transport for London, hopes the development on Walthamstow Stadium’s former car park would create 270 new jobs, while the complex would include a training centre to help hundreds more.
But neighbours of the site opposite the stadium in Chingford Road, Chingford, are angry they have not been asked for their views, especially as the site would operate between 4.30am and 2am the following day.
Just two roads and seven businesses were consulted by the company despite its plans for 162 buses and coaches to pass through the site every weekday, plus a predicted peak time of operation between 6am and 7am, when up to 33 vehicles would be present.
On the weekend thirty vehicles will pass through on Saturdays and eighteen on Sundays.
Walthamstow Stadium Area Residents/Community Association chair Gail Penfold said: “Day and night we will have vehicles coming in and out near us, the noise could be unbearable.
“I don’t understand why more roads weren’t consulted, it’s not fair that we have been left without a voice. People will be kept awake all night by noise they’ve not really had a chance to prevent.”
Mrs Penfold claims that residents of Grove Park Avenue, Empress Avenue, Fairview Villas and Ascham Drive should also have been given a chance to air their opinions.
She added: “There’s hardly any parking spaces for staff so it means our roads could suffer from staff coming and parking in them.”
Three other objections have been made against the plans on the grounds that the car park should be kept free in case dog racing can be brought back to the stadium and that the site would lead to an increase in traffic on the Billet Roundabout.
HCT Group, which already operates special educational needs transport for around 500 schoolchildren in the borough under its CT Plus brand, stated that the site would be a reduction in the number of vehicles which previously visited the stadium.
It added that the buses and coaches would arrive and depart throughout the day so would be less likely to cause congestion than by arriving at the same time.
The firm stated it has adhered to the correct guidelines over consultation.
The application goes before Waltham Forest Council at the town hall at 7.30pm, Tuesday, March 27.
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