Campaigners fear that plans for more than 1,300 homes on one site will be waved through by the council.

People living near the Tesco store in High Road, Chadwell Heath, are worried by plans from development firm Weston to build flats on the site.

A total of 1,360 flats – a mixture of one, two and three-bedroom homes – have been proposed along with a new primary school and an underground car park with 600 spaces.

The plans are currently in the pre-application stage so have not been submitted formally to receive planning permission, but if eventually approved the plans could see more than 3,000 people living on the site in future.

Opponents of the scheme started an online petition against the plans three weeks ago, which now has more than 1,200 signatures.

Reasons for their objections include overpopulation of the area, increased traffic levels and pollution.

One campaigner,  Habiba Alli, 34, of Chadwell Heath, said: “Residents feel this is the wrong decision. We’re putting together a case but we feel the plans will go through regardless.

“We want to create transparency in the Redbridge planning process and exercise our right as residents to say what we want and voice our opinions.

“The conversation needs to be had. We want to be the voice of the community.”

Ms Alli says the council has not communicated with the Chadwell Heath community effectively about the proposed plans.

She said: “There is an unrest in the community, people are talking about it, people are angry. We’re a close community that has been struggling with crime, pollution and then they drop this in.

“It’s important the council leader Cllr Jas Athwal steps forward.

“We’re very sceptical about the plans and as a campaign we’re trying to raise awareness about what is actually going on in Redbridge.”

Ms Alli is also worried by plans for a new primary school on the site as the borough’s existing primaries are undersubscribed.

The mother of two plans to organise a public meeting in April with representatives from Weston, the council and the community.

A council spokesperson said: “Weston Homes’ proposals are at an early stage and we are aware that they have been carrying out a range of engagement events as part of their pre-application process which will ultimately inform a planning application.

“The council are aware residents will have concerns on a proposal of this size so we would encourage local residents to participate fully with Weston’s engagement programme to ensure their views are taken into account.

“The requirement for a primary school in the area was identified in the council’s local plan which was adopted in 2018. The local plan identifies a range of community facilities which will be required to support a growing population. These include secondary schools and health facilities on other sites allocated for future development.”

The campaigners' petition can be found here.