The council’s communication with the public over development plans for his area is “a shambles”, a resident has said.

Trevor Calver, of Chingford, slammed Waltham Forest Council for not properly advertising a public meeting to discuss the draft local plan.

The draft plan would outline development proposals for the area between 2020 and 2035.

The council claims 29,059 leaflets advertising the meeting were delivered to the north Chingford area between Friday, July 26 and Sunday, July 28. Some residents said they did not receive these.

Nevertheless, 230 people attended the meeting on Wednesday, July 31.

Mr Calver said: “The meeting was so badly organized that after about 25 minutes a resident spoke out to everyone asking who from the council is there to give answers to questions.

“Cllr Berg of Endlebury ward and Cllr Baptiste of Valley ward both criticised the situation and said they would do their best to answer questions but Cllr Berg stated he had been given very short notice of the meeting.

“Many of the residents I have spoken to who did not receive the leaflet advertising the meeting were only aware of it via local media messages. None of the Station Road shops I have spoken to received the document.”

The council said the meeting was never meant to be a public one, but more of a drop-in session.

A spokesman for the authority said: “We feel drop-in engagement sessions are more effective in gathering the representative views of residents and enables more people to speak to council officers.

“As part of our consultation on the Draft Local Plan, each of the three areas of the borough hosts an evening, a daytime and a weekend event to provide maximum opportunity for residents to meet Planning Policy Officers and have their say.

“These sessions are publicised on the web site, through targeted leaflet drops, social media and through email newsletters.”

The council said it is investigating how some residents and businesses did not receive leaflets to communicate details of the meeting and the draft local plan.

The council spokesperson added: “Officers had been in touch with community groups and the Chingford Green Ward Panel explaining the programme of consultation events and offering further events specifically for those groups and their members.

“These groups indicated they thought attendance would be low and the event was staffed accordingly. Following these conversations with the council, the groups did encourage people to attend but did not make clear this was a drop-in session and not a structured public meeting.”

The council is due to hold more events to discuss the draft local plan over the coming months.

One will be held on Saturday, August 31, from 1pm to 9pm at Chingfest, Old Church Road, Chingford, E4 6RS.

Another will happen on Saturday, September 7, from 10am to 4pm, at Hale End Library, Castle Avenue, Highams Park, E4 9QD.

Details of the draft local plan are available at walthamforest.gov.uk/LocalPlan. Residents can also comment on the proposal.