Plans to install a "shipping container" café kiosk in a park in Wanstead have come under fire from residents.

At least 40 people gathered on Christchurch Green this morning (Mon) to oppose the proposed development which is under consideration by council planning officers.

Vision Redbridge Culture and Leisure (RCL), Redbridge Council’s independent cultural contractor, wants to install the kiosk on the green this autumn as a hub for events such as Sunday afternoon jazz, craft workshops, puppet shows and school choir performances.

However, some residents have complained about the design, cost and business impact of the kiosk, which would operate from 9am to 10pm if approved.

Campaigner Scott Wilding said: “We have to distinguish between the principle of a café kiosk and what their design is, because what we are objecting to is not the principle but the design.

“A shipping container – so a metal box – covered in some sort of wood or resin. That type of design, in our view, goes against the council’s own conservation area guidance.”

He said that a brick-built, chalet-style kiosk, in keeping with other buildings in the area, would be more appropriate.

Kevin Wackett, head of parks and open spaces at Vision RCL, said that the kiosk had been “carefully designed to fully integrate into the park” and that it would be “run with green principles at its heart, avoiding the use of single plastics and using local supply chains”.

Scott also raised concerns about the scheme’s cost – which some campaigners had understood to be as much as £2m – and asked whether there were projections for the kiosk’s potential profitability.

Mr Wackett said that Vision RCL had “absolutely no intention” of spending £2m on the kiosk, and emphasised that the projected cost was up to £100,000.

He explained: “The ‘up to £2m’ reference is from a field on the application form which is populated from a drop-down list with only three options – up to £2m, between £2m and £100m and over £100m.”

Mr Wilding also claimed that there were “14 places on Wanstead High Street you can buy the same or a similar product” and raised concerns about the impact of another competitor on these “hard-pressed businesses”.

The kiosk would be located behind the existing toilet block on Woodbine Place and be run by eight part-time employees.

Planning officers are expected to reach a decision by Thursday, August 26.