Greenleafe Drive, Barkingside flats plan approved by Redbridge Council

A total of 59 flats and 55 one-storey homes will be built on a private sports field by Greenleafe Drive.

The land has gone unused for ten years, the council says, and the “harm” of losing open space will be outweighed by the construction of much needed housing.

All 114 homes would be available through ‘affordable' housing schemes, which are aimed at low-to-moderate income households.

Just less than half would be leased on a social rent basis, which directly correlates with the resident’s monthly intake.

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The planning committee passed the scheme by five votes to four at a meeting on May 12 after a lengthy debate.

But the scheme was criticised by committee members Kumud Joshi and Thavathuray Jeyaranjan.

Cllr Joshi unsuccessfully pushed for the committee to defer its decision, arguing that residents had not been properly consulted and the loss of green space would be harmful to its neighbours.

Fellow councillor Martin Sachs said the planning application was the most controversial he had encountered in his 20 years representing Barkingside.

Speaking to the committee as a local councillor, he urged members to reject the scheme, which he called “major overdevelopment”.

Each criticism of the scheme was met with applause from the packed public gallery, while the planning officers’ comment that it was “not so bad it should be refused” was met with loud cheers.

The 113 objections focused mainly on losing an “attractive space” with “lots of trees and wildlife” to a “dense design,” and the potential loss of privacy for those next to the four-storey block of flats.

One resident said the community was “already under pressure from surrounding developments”.

As the homes are part of a social scheme, the developers will not be required to make a financial contribution to local infrastructure.

However, they have offered £165,000 to the nearby Kenwood Gardens Health Centre.

Councillor Syed Islam said there were already 8,000 families on the housing register, waiting for a home in Redbridge.

He said “many people cannot afford housing” and it was “important to prioritise housing solutions”. “If houses are built there, our community will benefit,” he said.

Fellow councillor John Howard said he would be less likely to support the scheme if the houses were not ‘affordable’.

Work will begin on the flats within three years.