20mph roads coming to Wanstead?

Redbridge is proposing to introduce 20mph speed limits to a large part of Wanstead including Aldersbrook and the roads between the A12 and Overton Drive. The plan also includes speed humps on several roads including Blake Hall Road.

Image: Redbridge Borough Council

In a consultation document distributed in the affected area, the council says:

The main objective of the proposed scheme is to make this area safer for all road users. The proposed scheme will help reduce vehicular speeds, reduce the occurrence of collisions and improve road safety in the area. There have been 41 collisions resulting in injury including 7 involving serious injury in the latest three years for which data is available (to 30th September 2024). The scheme also includes pedestrian crossing improvements at some locations that will make it safer and easier for pedestrians to cross the road.

Residents are being asked to complete a survey as part of a consultation process on the proposals – the form is available here – and submissions are open until 5 June.

Swimming pool ‘on track’ to be finished this year

Redbridge says the new pool at Wanstead Leisure Centre is ‘on track for completion in Winter 2025’, meaning the end of the mammoth construction process could be within sight.

In a statement the council said:

Redbridge Council is thrilled to announce that the construction of the £16m Wanstead Leisure Centre extension is now in its final phases, bringing us one step closer to the completion of this exciting project.

The existing building is being extended to house a new 25-metre swimming pool, dance studios, a modern reception area, new state-of-the-art classrooms for Wanstead High School students, and accessible changing rooms, all of which will significantly enhance the education and leisure experience in Wanstead.

The Leader of Redbridge Council, Cllr Kam Rai, said: “Few, if any, local authorities are currently investing in leisure facilities, building swimming pools, and creating new classrooms.

“Brand new classrooms, including specialist art studios, are being built on the site as we speak, while a new dining space for teachers and students is also taking shape.

“We appreciate the support and patience shown by the local community and Wanstead High School as we work to provide this vital infrastructure, which will serve the community now and for future generations.”

The new facilities will complement the existing Leisure Centre, which has a fully equipped gym, various fitness classes and squash and badminton courts.

Construction is on track for completion in Winter 2025.  Further information on memberships will be available later this year. We look forward to sharing more exciting news with you soon.

A musical five-a-day

The lineup for the third May Music Festival at St Mary’s church in Overton Drive has a first for Wanstead – an orchestra with instruments made from actual vegetables.

The LVO (London Vegetable Orchestra), featured below, will be kicking off the festival which also inlcudes opera, an organ recital and a celebration of stringed instruments including guitar, banjos, mandolins and more. Tickets are available here.

Knit in my backyard

The anonymous Hermon Hill knitter who has been making seasonal toppings for the post box at the top of Charnwood Drive has turned into a gentle kind of activist.

Having won admiration for her Easter bunnies and Christmas scenes, her latest is more architectural – a carefully stitched version of the Holy Trinity hall a bit further up Hermon Hill.

The hall is the subject of a planning application which would create 19 new flats and nine new houses, but which would mean its demolition along with a Scout hut and a vicarage behind the church. The application is currently being considered by planners.

The new block, right, would replace the hall. Picture: Project Arclight