11:29pm Tuesday 2nd February 2010
By Carl Brown
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.
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