AN HISTORIC house hit by a devastating fire while it was at the centre of a controversial planning application is set to have its fate decided this month.
Developers had wanted to knock down the Victorian property in Mornington Road, Woodford Green, and build five luxury homes in its place but Redbridge Council turned down the their request last year.
There was further bad luck when the house went up in flames back in March, severely damaging the building and destroying its roof.
Despite its delapidated state, the council is still expected to rack up thousands of pounds in legal bills attempting to defend their decision to refuse permission for demolition and on Tuesday, May 20, a public hearing will be held so that a final decision can be made by the Government's Independent Planning Inspectorate.
Some residents on the street said they were happy for the planning application to go ahead, partly because the house is so badly damaged.
Neighbour John Green, 84, said: "The house is a wreck, it's just the outer walls standing so it's extremely dangerous.
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"I've got the plans for what they want to do and it looks OK to me, but on two conditions - that they don't build flats and that they preserve as many trees as possible, but I think the houses look fine."The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but at the time some residents speculated it could have been started by squatters who had been occupying the house, which had been derelict for two years.
Cllr Keith Prince, Cabinet Member for Planning, Regeneration and Environment, defended the council's stance on the house.
He said: "Redbridge has a lot of notable architecture, especially in conservation areas, and we refused the applications because we felt the property had a positive effect on the neighbourhood.
"The planning process naturally allows people to appeal decisions, and we will present our findings at the public enquiry."
Tuesday's public inquiry will be held in the York Room of Central Library, Ilford, starting at 9.30am, and will continue if necessary on Wednesday May 21.
Posted by: Mr Khalid, walthamstow on 9:02am Tue 13 May 08
is bester now to knoger this hose downs and makeded the new ones meybe the flats to get the more monys? for sure the mr green is idot becose why no doeded flats becose the parson must pay he bils
is bester now to knoger this hose downs and makeded the new ones meybe the flats to get the more monys? for sure the mr green is idot becose why no doeded flats becose the parson must pay he bils
Posted by: Mr Khalid, Walthamstow on 3:39pm Tue 13 May 08
This building is now an eyesore - I hope a pragmatic decision is taken by the Council as demolition is now inevitable & that the resulting planning permission ensures an adequate garden area is retained & restricts the size & number of any new homes on this large site.
This building is now an eyesore - I hope a pragmatic decision is taken by the Council as demolition is now inevitable & that the resulting planning permission ensures an adequate garden area is retained & restricts the size & number of any new homes on this large site.
Posted by: Veritas, Monkhams on 6:51pm Wed 28 May 08
Why doesn't someone actually come out and say this is one heck of a suspicious fire?
One line of thought says the house was deliberately burnt down although it seems this can't be proven and a freak electrical fault is the only other faintly possible cause.
Maybe a reader whose maths is better than mine could calculate some simple probabilities of a house of this type catching fire just days before a committee was to sit and decide on the planning application for a complete change of use. I suspect the odds against this happening would be greater than having some mysterious benefactor drop a dozen bundles of £50 notes into your supermarket trolly while you are shopping. And that, I suggest, is pretty unlikely.
Why doesn't someone actually come out and say this is one heck of a suspicious fire?
One line of thought says the house was deliberately burnt down although it seems this can't be proven and a freak electrical fault is the only other faintly possible cause.
Maybe a reader whose maths is better than mine could calculate some simple probabilities of a house of this type catching fire just days before a committee was to sit and decide on the planning application for a complete change of use. I suspect the odds against this happening would be greater than having some mysterious benefactor drop a dozen bundles of £50 notes into your supermarket trolly while you are shopping. And that, I suggest, is pretty unlikely.
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