CALLS have been made for an historic Woodford Green housing estate to receive greater planning protection after it was left out of a council conservation plan.

Critics have slammed proposals for the future of the Woodford Green Conservation Area (WGCA), as set out in the council's Preservation and Enhancement Scheme, for excluding most of the 1920s Monkhams Estate.

Monkhams ward councillor, Michael Stark, says the plans, which are currently open for public consultation, should be extended to cover Monkhams Lane, Monkhams Drive, and Knighton Close, which are home to several important Art Deco buildings.

He said: "If we are going to have a serious debate on the future of the Woodford Green Conservation Area, then it is only logical we consider extending it to include these roads.

"This area contains some of the finest examples of suburban Art Deco design in the borough and is of intrinsic importance to the character of Woodford Green."

These views were backed by fellow Monkhams ward councillor, Jim O'Shea, who said the fire which destroyed the 16th Century mansion, Little Monkhams, in January, may have been avoided if Monkhams Lane had been part of the WGCA at the time.

He said: "If the road had been part of the conservation area then Little Monkhams might have been saved from the terrible destruction that befell it."

A council spokesman said the estate, parts of which currently enjoy a lower level of protection as a residential precinct, is unlikely to be considered for inclusion in the WGCA.

She said: "Every conservation area has to have a distinctive character, and because the Monkhams Estate was built during the interwar period it is not consistent with the Georgian and Victorian character of the Woodford Green Conservation Area.

"We are more likely to assess whether the estate justifies conservation status as a separate area in its own right."