Council to discuss plans for three new Ilford tower blocks

If approved, a 10-storey and an 11-storey block will be built on Clements Road, while Seven Kings High Road will see a new tower block reaching 11 storeys at its highest point.

In total the two projects could provide 129 new homes in a borough that is currently ranked the worst for delivering housing in the whole of London.

Both proposals have received seven objections each, with the Royal Mail warning that future Clements Road residents could be disturbed by the noise from an adjoining sorting office.

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The development site on Clements Road is currently occupied by two former council offices, which are both up to eight storeys tall and vacant.

The smaller block, described as a “ground plus nine storey building”, would provide 54 homes and the larger block would provide 40, ranging from studios to two-bedroom flats.

This would include 24 homes available for London Affordable Rent and 10 “Community Land Trust” units, which offer homes priced according to average local earnings.

A report prepared for the planning committee notes that “the absence of family units on this development is not considered to outweigh the wider social benefits of the proposal”.

One objection was submitted on behalf of Royal Mail Group Ltd, who warned of “noise nuisance to prospective residents” due to late night and early morning deliveries to the neighbouring sorting office.

On Seven Kings High Road, a Mr S Afzal hopes to build a tower block that is 11-storeys at its highest point, containing 35 new homes.

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The land is currently occupied by a single-storey car dealership and objectors from Lombard Avenue feared the development would result in a loss of privacy and daylight for their homes.

The applicant has agreed to offer four affordable rent homes, just over 10 per cent of the total units, which falls short of the 35% policy requirement.

The report notes: “The reason for the low offer towards affordable housing is due to the construction costs being higher due to the high quality of design and high performances associated with tall buildings.

“In this instance, given that the site backs onto a railway line, there would be a need for highly insulated windows to deal with the railway noise and these are significantly more expensive.”

The density of rooms per hectare proposed for the site is also above the range suggested in the London Plan, although the report argues that this density matrix is “only a guide” and that “the proposal scheme would not be out of character with the area”.

A livestream of the meeting can be watched at 7.15pm tonight on Microsoft Teams here.

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