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Permission has been granted to build co-living accommodation at 52–58 Chigwell Road.

The development will see the existing buildings – a nursey, car dealership and tyre sales – replaced by 50 residential units, with ancillary gym, communal kitchen, a workspace, café and lounge and reception. The site will also include a replacement nursery. “This was approved despite reservations and with the developers paying Redbridge Council £100k to opt out of providing any affordable housing,” said a South Woodford Society spokesperson.

Councillor Rosa Gomez has provided feedback on the youth engagement event she organised in September.

“The event showed there is a real need to listen to young people. We had a prime example of this in regard to sex education in schools, which appears to be insufficient, particularly given the current concerns over the safety of women and girls… I was also pleasantly surprised by the level of concern youngsters had about the climate crisis and had particular examples of how they can promote litter-free communities.”

Plastic tubs, pots and trays are now accepted in Redbridge Council’s kerbside recycling collections.

In addition, empty aerosol cans and clean aluminium foil and foil trays can also be included in the black recycling boxes, which were previously restricted to plastic bottles, tins, cans and glass. “Always rinse out any food waste as this makes items unrecyclable. Rinse and scrunch up any foil. And please note, black plastic can’t be recycled, so please don’t put it in your box,” said a spokesperson.

Visit swvg.co.uk/recycle

A crowdfunding campaign is hoping to raise £20,000 to create a natural playground in Wanstead Park.

The play area – to be located on former scrubland behind the Temple – has been planned in consultation with local groups and will be constructed from natural materials found in Epping Forest. Volunteers and arborists from the City of London will be building most of the play structures, but funds are needed to purchase specialist equipment. Fundraising begins early next year (minimum pledge £2).

Visit swvg.co.uk/parkplay

Residents are continuing their campaign to overturn the decision to award the former Elmhurst Gardens bowls club site to a private nursery.

“In September, we presented our petition to Redbridge Council. In October, we met with Councillor Kam Rai and walked around the locality, from George Lane to Gordon Road, to give a sense of the large area this park serves, and explained our reasons why the bowling green is ideal for a business which offers something for all the community. The discussions are ongoing,” said Kerry Oliver.

A statement from Woodford Pantomime: “It is with heavy hearts that we announce our 60th panto, Aladdin, will be postponed until January 2023. In these uncertain times, we are worried about cancelling shows at short notice and the financial impact that could have on us as an amateur company. We are looking forward to putting the pandemic ‘behind us’ and welcoming you on the magic carpet in 2023. Woodford, we will be back! Oh yes we will!” The group have performed at Sir James Hawkey Hall since 1962.

Local artist James Valentine has produced a series of linocut Christmas cards which reflect the bright colours associated with the old Norse celebrations of Yule

My working background has always been in education. After moving to London in 1981 I taught art and design in various schools in the East End of London. Since retiring from teaching, I have taught life drawing to adult groups and for four years taught arts and crafts to adults with special needs in Tower Hamlets.

I now enjoy working at home in my studio producing a variety of art pieces. My love of printmaking has led me this year to produce a series of seasonal cards that I have called Yuletide Greetings.

The word ‘Yule’ comes from an old Norse term which referred to a season of hunting after the harvest was done. As it fell in December, it became associated with the Christmas holiday. Bright colours like gold, silver, red, green and white were then adopted into Christian Christmas celebrations.

The technique I have used to produce my artwork is called linoprinting, a type of relief printing using a sharp, V-shaped tool to gouge lines into a piece of lino. An image on paper is achieved when ink is rolled onto the lino block, then burnished onto paper. Durer, Picasso and Warhol are just some of the artists who have used linoprint in their work.

I have exhibited my artwork mainly online and in several establishments on Wanstead High Street and community centres. Returning to education, I have organised murals for school playgrounds and the local library in Forest Gate.

South Woodford has always been a destination place for me to meet friends for coffee and a chat. Indeed, I have been a volunteer at The Childrens’ Society on George Lane for over 12 years. This has been a very rewarding experience in raising awareness and funding for children who require help in many different circumstances. I also hope next year to display my work in the independent coffee shop Tipi, a great place to have a coffee and a cake.

As for the future, I hope to return to an island in the Mediterranean that holds many memories for me. That island is Malta, with its dramatic coastlines ideal for deep-sea diving. I have painted many colourful landscapes there. Being a very Christian island, Malta has many churches, and during the Christmas period, each church celebrates with colourful pageants, processions, fireworks and joyful singing.

James’ Yuletide Greetings cards are available in packs of six for £6, with free local postage. For more information and to order, email jvalentine53@hotmail.co.uk

Local volunteer bakers will be making Christmas cakes this December to raise money for Haven House Children’s Hospice.

It follows the success of last year’s appeal, which saw over 120 cakes baked and sold in exchange for a donation to the Woodford Green charity, raising over £1,000.

A Facebook group has been set up to coordinate volunteers and share recipes.

“Thanks to all the volunteer bakers and those who generously support this great cause by buying cakes,” said organiser Sarah-Jane Mendonça.

To become a volunteer baker or order a Christmas cake, email Sarah-Jane at havenhousechristmascakes@gmail.com or click here to join the Facebook group.

Residents of Crescent Road, South Woodford were shocked to discover a developer has plans to build a block of flats opposite their homes on an area currently covered by trees. The Crescent Road Action Group was subsequently formed. Here, group members explain their objections

Crescent Road is one of South Woodford’s hidden gems. It is a delightful no-through road with Victorian terraces on one side and a row of mature trees and other vegetation on the other. The trees and other vegetation are also home to various animals, including bats and hedgehogs.

We were therefore shocked to receive an invitation through their letterbox to attend, at very short notice, an online meeting with City Plumbing Ltd (a business based in Raven Road on the other side of the green corridor). It was clear that City Plumbing were planning to build a block of flats, with entrances onto Crescent Road.

At a packed meeting on 22 September at Mill Grove, which is in Crescent Road, residents unanimously supported the campaign to oppose this unwarranted planning application.

“It was just unbelievable that such an inappropriate development is being planned. Apart from the destruction of the trees (which, itself, should never be allowed), Crescent Road was designed for housing on one side of the road only and developments on the other side are simply not acceptable to us,” said Margaret Watson.

“The proposal hasn’t yet gone to planning and we want it stopped before it ever gets there. City Plumbing should be in no doubt that we will oppose any application every step of the way,” added Alison Hodges.

In addition to the unprecedented destruction of trees and loss of vegetation, the plan will have the following negative impacts on the area:

• Impact on parking in the street as the 18 flats will have insufficient parking space and there will be less parking available for us existing residents.
• Impact on already stretched local schools, nurseries and services in the local and surrounding areas.
• If approved, this is likely to lead to further flats being built on the whole of the commercial area on Raven Road, which will further impact on the trees, parking, local services and transport links.
• Not in character or keeping with the traditional Victorian and Edwardian red and yellow brick houses currently on the road.

Crescent Road should not be the means of access or parking for a property that is being built on the separate Raven Road business park. If flats are to be built, all access and parking should be provided in the Raven Road business park which has enough space and already has existing access and road capacity for the properties. The Crescent Road residential area should not suffer for the business park owners’ gain.

In the meantime, we are planning our opposition to the proposals. “We want a preservation order put on the trees because their loss anywhere along the road would be unacceptable. We also believe there are legal grounds for preventing the destruction of the trees on City Plumbing’s property and other trees do not even belong to them,” said Ged Rumak.

A petition against the proposals has been launched

South Woodford resident Debbie Pearson is a tour guide for the City of London and the City of Westminster. During lockdown, she took the opportunity to learn more about the local area, including former resident Sylvia Pankhurst. Anti–Air War Memorial photo by Geoff Wilkinson

Sylvia Pankhurst was born in Manchester in 1882 but lived in the Woodford area for many years. She was a writer, artist, activist and peace campaigner.

According to the book, Woodford Then and Now by Reginald Fowkes, Sylvia lived in a house called Frithmans on George Lane. The parade of shops including the International Supermarket is near the site.

The Pankhurst family, particularly her mother, Emmeline, and sister, Christabel, are best known for their Votes for Women campaigns. They formed the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) to campaign for women’s suffrage, earning the nickname Suffragettes. Sylvia supported this cause, but their opinions differed, and she followed her own path.

Sylvia studied at the Royal College of Art in Kensington. She gave up her studies to spend more time campaigning, although she designed logos, leaflets and banners for the WSPU. She was imprisoned several times and went on a hunger strike.

She formed the East London Federation of Suffragettes, originally as part of the WSPU, but later independent. She wanted to support working women, especially those from the East End. In Bow, she set up a nursery, cost-price restaurant and toy factory.

During World War One, Emmeline and Christabel supported the war effort, but Sylvia campaigned for peace and they became estranged. She became more involved in socialism, founding a newspaper, The Women’s Dreadnought, later The Workers’ Dreadnought.

Towards the end of the war, she met Silvio Corio, an Italian exile with similar political views. They were lifelong partners, but she chose not to marry him and take his name. In 1924, they moved to Vine Cottage, Woodford Green, renamed Red Cottage because of their socialist views. Their son, Richard, was born in 1927. In 1933, they moved to 3 Charteris Road in Woodford.

Sylvia wrote many books, including The Suffragette (1911), The Suffragette Movement (1931) and The Life of Emmeline Pankhurst (1935).  These were part history, part autobiography.

In the mid-1930s, Italian fascists invaded Abyssinia (now Ethiopia). Sylvia founded a journal to raise awareness and raised funds to build a hospital. She also commissioned the Anti–Air War Memorial (pictured here), which stands near the site of Red Cottage at 581 High Road, Woodford Green. The stone memorial, sculpted by Eric Benfield, is the shape of an upturned bomb on a plinth and was Britain’s first anti-war memorial. In the 1980s, it received a Grade II listing as an important part of the national heritage.

After the death of Silvio, Sylvia and her son, Richard, were invited to Ethiopia by Emperor Haile Selassie. She lived there until 1960. She died in Addis Ababa and was given a state funeral.

In 2012, a memorial bench commemorating Sylvia was installed on the High Road, over the North Circular. And in 2016, following a public vote, one of the meeting rooms in the Woodford Memorial Hall was named after Sylvia Pankhurst.

For more information, follow Debbie on Twitter @debbieguide

Woodford Arts Group member Emma Liebeskind introduces her project tracking the changing seasons in Epping Forest, which was born out of the first lockdown and continues to inspire her

Being reunited in the spring with the Woodford Arts Group (WAG) to showcase our work ‘live’ and ‘in person’ after months of art classes and virtual exhibitions on Zoom made me appreciate the connection we have as a group. WAG benefits the Woodford area by showcasing the talent of resident artists, and by creating an independent arts forum out of which an eclectic but cohesive group can reflect a local vision.   

Our shows reflect the inspiration that many Woodford people find living in proximity to Epping Forest. Fittingly, Packfords Hotel in Woodford, not far from The Green, became a unique cultural hub for us. We were fortunate to be able to use Packfords’ beautiful downstairs public rooms as a gallery space on several occasions. Our most recent summer exhibition was held in the conservatory room normally reserved for wedding parties. We were able to offer a very COVID-safe and well-ventilated viewing experience to our visitors as the room opens out into the hotel’s lovely wooded garden.   

Lockdown forced artists to experiment with unfamiliar methods. Last winter, my sketchbooks were full of dreary charcoal images of the hour-long walks I had been taking for exercise. I felt myself becoming quite depressed with my artwork and realised I desperately needed to inject some colour into my work. I mixed things up by experimenting with water-soluble media, rather than oil-based inks and pastels. Etching onto wet plaster using coloured inks and drawing in the rain using water-soluble graphite sticks created unpredictable results, but that was part of the fun.

First-hand experience of walking in Epping Forest and drawing from observation are central to the way I approach composing landscapes. The decision to use water-soluble materials and to play with the random effects of water creates atmospheric effects that are impossible to predict. A friend said it reminded them of looking through trees in dappled light.

I have an affinity with the Forest that reaches back to my childhood in the 1970s. My dad used to lead my brother and I out on woodland walks around Knighton Woods when we were little, and then bike rides to Loughton as we got older. Once we took the bus out as far as Copped Hall and walked across muddy fields to inspect the ruin, before the M25 cut through the surrounding farmland.

My mother, a history teacher, informed us that Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream was first performed in old Copped Hall in 1594 and that our freedom to roam in the woods began with a campaign led by Thomas Willingale of Loughton to uphold his ancient commoners’ right to lop firewood in the 1860s.

Epping Forest still feels magical to me; it’s full of the ghosts of the people who have gone before. South Woodford is lucky to have an open space like the Forest on our doorstep. I hope my artwork captures a tangible sense of this special place.

To view more of Emma’s work, visit emmaliebeskind.co.uk

For more information on Woodford Arts Group, visit woodfordartsgroup.org