Waltham Forest News RSS Feed Send your news, pictures & videos


WALTHAMSTOW: Essex Arms Tesco plan approved

11:29pm Tuesday 2nd February 2010 in


A FORMER public house is set to be demolished and replaced with a new Tesco store and 17 flats.

At a town hall meeting tonight councillors gave permission for the development on the site of the Essex Arms, in Forest Road, Walthamstow.

The building has been derelict for two years, since Tesco bought it, and in recent months it has been occupied by squatters.

Planning committee members Ed Northover and Bob Wheatley voiced concern about the impact on smaller traders.

Cllr Wheatley said: “We hear about it bringing in jobs but it may take away other jobs because some of the shops will have to close down.”

But only two residents have objected to the plan, indicating that there is not a great deal of opposition in the community.

When the Guardian spoke to residents near the site in August, the vast majority said a Tesco would benefit the area.

High Street ward councillor James O'Rourke has spoken in support of the scheme while the Blackhorse Action Group has said opinion is mixed.

The application was passed, on the condition the supermarket giant pays more than £129,000 for improvements to the local area, with only Cllrs Northover and Wheatley voting against.

Click here to follow the Waltham Forest Guardian on Twitter

Comments(13)

basillio says...
12:11am Wed 3 Feb 10

Oh no! Tesco's like a rash all over the place.

Can we have some diversity please.

It's ironic that they're building on an institution the supermarkets have buried.

Report this post »    Register/Log In »

Lizzie71 says...
7:37am Wed 3 Feb 10

I couldn't agree more, basilio, tesco are a scourge on local business. Another set of dull homogenous flats and a neon tesco sign on 24/7 - a blight on the landscape

Report this post »    Register/Log In »

Helen, Walthamstow says...
9:06am Wed 3 Feb 10

Lizzie71 says: "I couldn't agree more, basilio, tesco are a scourge on local business. Another set of dull homogenous flats and a neon tesco sign on 24/7 - a blight on the landscape"

A disused and crumbling pub is also a blight on the landscape, don't you think?

I'm not going to argue for or against Tesco as a company, but I understand many people in the neighbourhood - which doesn't boast many shops that serve their everyday needs - are only to pleased to have one that does. No doubt if a decent independent had come with a scheme to build a store, they would have been equally pleased.

Report this post »    Register/Log In »

JonathanB says...
9:42am Wed 3 Feb 10

This pub is an eyesore and if Tesco want to spend a lot of money in a recession to put something useful there I'm all for it.

Report this post »    Register/Log In »

Techno2 says...
10:01am Wed 3 Feb 10

basillio wrote:
Oh no! Tesco's like a rash all over the place. Can we have some diversity please. It's ironic that they're building on an institution the supermarkets have buried.
There is plenty of 'diversity' in the neighbourhood already, particularly at the Sri Lankan supermarket (Best Food) and other 'ethnic' stores such as Subra. What the area does not have are very many stores which stock British food at reasonable prices. Blackhorse Food and Wine sells booze, jazz mags, cigarettes, soft drinks, newspapers, and sweets but not much in the way of a recognizable weekly grocery shop. Blackhorse Lane Supermarket is really an off-licence similarly devoid of a good quality range of foodstuffs.

Some of the elderly residents in the Essex Close area are among some of the least well-off people in the borough but have until recently had to pay far too much for basic foodstuffs even if they were available. If Tescos put that situation right as well as improving the look of the area, I can imagine a lot more people will benefit than will lose out.

Report this post »    Register/Log In »

peeg says...
11:05am Wed 3 Feb 10

I don't know what the problem is. This will obviously be beneficial to the local area. The site at the moment is a mess and Tesco will bring much needed improvements to the area. I welcome the potential gentrification

Report this post »    Register/Log In »

Touchwood says...
12:00pm Wed 3 Feb 10

£129,000 to disappear into the void!!

Report this post »    Register/Log In »

chrisyummymummy says...
1:38pm Wed 3 Feb 10

Have the council taken money for this like they have for the one they are building in Highams Park, which the majority of us DON'T WANT

Report this post »    Register/Log In »

techiebabe says...
1:53pm Wed 3 Feb 10

I used to drink there at lunchtime when I worked nearby.

It did a good pint of IPA...

Mind you there weren't many other places to go, and although there are a few cafes, a chippy etc I found it hard to get decent vegetarian lunch in the area. So maybe the Tesco is needed.

Report this post »    Register/Log In »

RichieA70 says...
1:55pm Wed 3 Feb 10

I'd like to see evidence of where Tesco move into an area and 'gentrify' it with their presence. Isn't Tesco's ownership of the pub for 2 years part of the reason for it's derelict and decrepit appearance? On an individual site-by-site basis new Tesco stores usually appear a welcome and attractive propostion and they have the money to aquire sites and hold onto them until they get their way - through building flats, gyms, new road layouts and even in the case of Streatham - claiming they will build a replacement ice rink, having bought the current 1930's one. However the power and relentless expansion of Tesco is frightening and they are killing off competition. Where will it end?

Report this post »    Register/Log In »

newyear says...
2:17pm Wed 3 Feb 10

I'm no fan of Tesco but any competition that encourages the truly dreadful High Street Sainsbury's to up its game is to be welcomed.

Report this post »    Register/Log In »

mr rusty says...
2:24pm Wed 3 Feb 10

I have a good idea- leave it as a derelict pub for years just like the Oliver twist was and still is.
That's a much better local amenity than a tesco, after all, who wants a shop in the area that might employ a good few people and actually sell a range of food rather than just lager and/or chicken. At the moment the only half decent shop in the area is the co-op up Higham Hill.
I can't understand how anyone with even half a brain cell could object to this.

Report this post »    Register/Log In »

hotredman says...
7:23pm Wed 3 Feb 10

Although this is going to be one of those little Tesco's not your usual size Tesco's like in Bakers Arms (Leyton Baths), it would be like the one at Walthamstow Central on Selborne Rd selling not much stuff.

Report this post »    Register/Log In »

More Waltham Forest News stories


The derelict Essex Arms building The derelict Essex Arms building

Most popular







Local Information

Enter your postcode, town or place name

House prices »   Schools »   Crime »   Hospitals »

Local Businesses