A total of 91 new homes and a nursery have been approved for Walthamstow town centre.

At a planning committee meeting this week, Waltham Forest Council gave the go ahead for a new tower block at Juniper House, Hoe Street which will include 91 flats, 23 of which will be for social rent and 18 for shared ownership.

The plans also include a 53-place pre-school nursery with its own play-area at the back of the site as well as flexible commercial space and a pocket park along Hoe Street.

The accommodation on the site will be a mixture of one, two, three and four-bedroom flats with the aim of helping families into affordable housing.

The council has been granted a £2.48 million grant by the Greater London Authority’s (GLA) Building Council Homes for London Programme and the site will have 50 per cent affordable housing.

The plans will now go to the GLA for final approval.

Juniper House previously housed the council’s children and families services, before they were relocated to the town hall campus as part of the council’s plans to bring all council services on to one site.

Juniper House is the first of the council’s older sites to close.

Cllr Simon Miller, cabinet member for economic growth and high streets, said: “The planning approval of 91 new homes at Juniper House is part of our wider vision to ensure we deliver much needed housing for our local people.

“We are committed to delivering 1,800 new homes a year over the next ten years.

“Juniper House is in the middle of the town centre and not only are new homes prioritised for local people welcomed, but also the provision of a new nursery, something our residents have told us they want.”

The company Hill Partnerships Limited was awarded the design and build contract for Juniper House.

The council will keep ownership of the land when the development is completed with the aim to ensure long term benefits are maximised for local people.

Work on the site will start this summer and are due to be completed by early 2021.