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Redbridge Council is considering an application to construct a nine-storey office block at 10–12 Eastwood Close in South Woodford, the site of Incey Winceys Day Nursery.

“Many residents are concerned about this application… There are many issues here, not least whether office space is required in this location, and over 120 objections have been made to the council. We would argue that the site needs a considered approach, rather than piecemeal buildings. At the time of writing, we are waiting to hear when this is going to be discussed by the council, but your comments will still be taken into consideration if you have not yet made a representation,” said a South Woodford Society spokesperson.

Under the plans, the ground and first floors would remain in use as a nursery.

Visit swvg.co/ewood

Local residents and councillors came together in June to clear away the overgrown greenery at the back of the Derby Road car park.

“We also took to the surrounding streets, up to the High Road and round by the Churchill statue, to clear away litter. Over 20 bags of rubbish were collected, with over six bags of recycling sorted on our return,” said a spokesperson for the South Woodford Society, which organised the event. “We’re aiming to organise our next litter pick in the autumn, so please get in touch if you would like to be involved.”

The South Woodford Society is an independent, voluntary and non-political group working to ‘build a stronger community, support local businesses and make South Woodford a better place to live and work’.

Email e18society@gmail.com

A tea and cake garden party at the home of a South Woodford resident has raised over £7,000 for Haven House.

“This means we have enough to pay for a day of care at the hospice… Thank you to everyone that supported the event,” said Michelle Vanlint, who hosted her 14th annual garden party on Derby Road in June.

A day’s care at Haven House Children’s Hospice costs £5,666. The Woodford Green charity looks after children who have life-limiting or life-threatening conditions.

Visit swvg.co/cake14

Anyone suffering from osteoporosis – a condition where bones lose strength and break more easily – is invited to attend a talk outlining the latest research into the disease in Woodford Green on 11 July.

Hosted by the North East London Support Group of the Royal Osteoporosis Society, the event – which will take place from 1.15pm to 3pm at St Thomas of Canterbury Church (£4.50) – will feature guest speaker Professor Susan Lanham-New from the University of Surrey. “Professor Lanham-New will be talking about the important role of nutrition for good bone health and the latest research, and we are delighted to be able to hear the latest news from such a well-respected expert,” said Stella Scrivener, development manager for the Royal Osteoporosis Society.

Call 07503 070 653

A student from Bancroft’s School in Woodford Green has been shortlisted for the National Theatre’s annual playwriting competition for 14- to 19-year-olds, and will have her play read by professional actors as part of the New Views Festival on 2 July. Emilia Hitching’s original play To Charlie was one of nine plays shortlisted from 350 entries across the UK by a panel of judges including playwright Chris Bush and NT Associate Director Lyndsey Turner. “New Views has been a creative outlet for me during a fairly taxing first year of sixth form and I have cherished the hours that I spent working on my script. It has been gratifying to have something which is solely mine, that I can pour all my creative energy into and polish not because it will be graded or examined but because I care about it,” said Emilia.

A jumble trail will take place on 6 July as residents of Chelmsford Road – and several surrounding roads – turn their front gardens into temporary retail spaces and invite their neighbours and the wider community to browse their pre-loved goods.

“With more than 20 homes already signed up to participate, and more set to join in as the event approaches, this should be a great community event for people to meet neighbours, declutter and reuse other people’s unwanted items,” said organiser Natalie Macatonia. The trail – which is sponsored by Portico estate agents and will be raising money for Haven House Children’s Hospice – will run from 9am to 1pm, with maps highlighting the houses taking part to be distributed to local homes and posted online and in the local area.

Visit swvg.co/chlemstrail

The new parking rules that came into force at Sainsbury’s on 7 May were modified in June following customer feedback. Drivers were originally provided with 15 minutes of free, unvalidated parking, but this was subsequently increased to 30 minutes, with stays of up to two hours requiring a £5 minimum spend. A petition against the restrictions – which has received 1,700 signatures – was launched by Suzanne Bennett of Sid & Evie’s children’s boutique, whose shop, along with neighbouring Cardcraft, is also able to issue parking vouchers. Sainsbury’s manager Mark Twell has expressed a desire to find a way to ensure the car park continues to serve the community.

To view the petition, click here.

To contact Sainsbury’s South Woodford, call 020 8989 8224.

Woodford Town Football Club has released design ideas for their new kit ahead of the club’s long-awaited return to the local area. The Essex Senior League team – who finished sixth last season, playing home games at the Harlow Arena – looked to influential people from the Woodford area for inspiration for their new kit, and settled upon former resident Sylvia Pankhurst.

“The club hit upon a diagonal sash design, a nod to Sylvia and her involvement with the suffragette movement,” said a club spokesperson. The team – who currently play in a kit of a yellow shirt and blue shorts in honour of their Brazilian football style – hope to relocate to a new facility on Ashton Playing Fields off Chigwell Road in time for the new season in September.

“Our vision is to be an inclusive, community-based club… We would like to expand our fan base and establish a women’s team. We are also keen to hear from local businesses for sponsorship.” Follow the club on Twitter

Redbridge Council has been awarded over £2m to help elderly and disabled residents adapt their home so they can live independently and safely.

The government funding can be used to alter the homes of people who require assistance, including handles near stairs and doors, stair lifts and specialist showers.

“This will have a hugely positive impact on our residents who really need it.  We want help people live in their homes as long as they can and this funding will help ensure residents get the support they need to live independently and comfortably,” said Barry Francis, Operational Director of Civic pride.

Call 020 8708 7333.

The Friends of Elmhurst Gardens are appealing for young volunteers to help keep the Green Flag award-winning park tidy. Kaede Harding – who completed her Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award earlier this year – explains why she was proud to help

In recent months, I have spent an hour of my Saturday mornings clearing up as much rubbish as I could from Elmhurst Gardens. The reason I did this was part of my three-month volunteer section for my Bronze Duke of Edinburgh award.

As I approached the time for volunteer work, I thought about how I wanted to do something meaningful that wouldn’t be a half-hearted job just to get an award.

Elmhurst Gardens in South Woodford is my local park. I’m a resident of Wynndale Road and, over the years, myself and my family have frequently used the park for picnics, to play tennis, to hang out on sunny afternoons and to attend some of the fun events run by the volunteer group, the Friends of Elmhurst Gardens. Not once in that time has it ever occurred to me how the park remained so clean and well kept – which it really is. I decided my volunteering time would be well spent there, contributing towards this.

Having finished my volunteer work, I can say the experience has truly been eye-opening. Each Saturday, I saw many local faces, who became more and more familiar to me, from dog walkers to runners. I felt like I was in touch with the community.

I began the exercise simply clearing any litter I could during that one hour a week, but as time went on, I found myself more upset as I came across litter – it suddenly bothered me that little bit more.

Elmhurst Gardens is a well-maintained park with regular park cleaners, but we shouldn’t just rely on them; we should all be playing our part to keep it this way. Some of the items I cleared away during just one hour on a Saturday morning included sweet wrappers, bottles, cigarette butts, canisters of laughing gas and even dirty nappies left on the grass. Just after New Year’s Eve, I found a burnt-out Chinese lantern complete with non-disintegrating wire still attached, lying on the pathway where it had finally fallen. I’m ashamed to say, perhaps I wouldn’t have noticed these things before doing this exercise – but I’m more alert to the issues now.

I realise how important Elmhurst Gardens is to this area and can now appreciate how littering is not only letting down the environment but our community as well. We all have a responsibility towards creating a safe place for ourselves, our children and our dogs.

I haven’t written this article because it was part of my award, but because it means something to me, and if it helps people to think more about how they discard rubbish and look out for their local community, then it’s certainly worth it.

My name is Kaede Harding and I’m proud to be a part of this community.

For local resident Shelagh French, the pathway to a career as an artist was not straightforward. Now, as a member of the Woodford Arts Group – which will be unveiling its first art exhibition at the end of May – she is keen to see where the path will take her next

It wasn’t until going to university to study BA Fine Art at the age of 40 that I discovered I’m dyslexic. It was instantly obvious to my tutors that the written work and research elements of the course were proving to be extremely difficult for me, so they encouraged me to get assessed.

This understanding my tutors had towards learning difficulties was not around in my schooldays during the seventies and eighties. Dyslexia wasn’t a word in anyone’s vocabulary back then, especially not in schools. My struggle with homework, exams and general reading and writing was put down to laziness; my enthusiasm instead misdirected towards being the class fool. I did, however, excel in my art classes, and my art teachers were extremely positive about my abilities, encouraging me to continue the study of art after secondary school – a recommendation I pursued.

At college, the written side was still excruciatingly difficult, and before long I dropped out. The added attraction of starting work and having a few bob in my pocket had won me over. After taking on various jobs, I began work at an architectural practice in the mid-eighties. I was able to work purely with visual mediums, meaning I had a good chance to excel, and I enjoyed a good career during this time.

But as I entered the nineties, I realised something was missing. I had a deep longing for children, and by the time the noughties had arrived, I had three daughters. I then made the decision to become a full-time parent, a choice I felt extremely lucky to make.

By the time my youngest daughter started primary school, I had the opportunity to begin the BA Fine Art course I had always wanted to do. Upon its commencement, together with the awareness of my dyslexia, I was provided with the understanding and tools for learning. My struggles also allowed me to spot the symptoms in others, encouraging me to get my youngest daughter assessed outside of school – confirming my suspicions that she too was dyslexic.

I began to love all elements of university, not just painting. I achieved a first and returned to do an MA. It was a great time for me, surrounded by others who also shared this love and interest for art.

With the perhaps naive optimism of an ex- (albeit mature) student, I took up a studio in Hackney Wick with a fellow graduate, believing we would take the art world by storm. After seeing the immense amount of energy, talent and time it took for the younger artists to even get a foot in the gallery doors, coupled with the eternal increase in rent in London, that bubble soon burst. But I did exhibit and sold pieces to both private and corporate clients. The goal was not to be a world-famous artist, but to just keep up the passion and motivation to continue.

I now have a wonderful little studio at the end of my garden which encourages me to keep creating, although inevitably, this means my work now tends to be smaller in scale than the large paintings I produced in my hedonistic, indulgent uni days. Although favouring oil paint in the past, I now work mainly in acrylic, as well as enjoying the immediacy of printmaking. I have Epping Forest literally on my doorstep, and with trips to Devon as well as Ireland where my parents are from, the influence of nature on my work is strengthened. I also work in a fantastic art department of a local secondary school, allowing me a wonderful chance to be part of helping to inspire young creatives in achieving their goals; this was the belief instilled in me at their age.

But being an artist can be an isolated existence if you don’t have other creatives around you. I therefore jumped at the chance of being involved in the Woodford Arts Group when the opportunity arose. We are presently appealing to any other Woodford-based artists to join us, to become a part of what is hopefully going to be an exciting movement. We are also looking to commercial property landlords to avail us of any empty shops, offices or blank walls that could provide space for pop-up exhibitions – anything that would aid us getting our work out there and seen.

It’s interesting how life turns out and I feel very lucky with how it has. The question is what to do next. Further studying, maybe a PhD (with lots more painting)… we’ll see.

South Woodford resident Bernice Butcher doesn’t consider herself to be an eco-warrior, but she is worried by two issues impacting the local environment, and ultimately, our health

I started thinking seriously about environmental issues in the late 80s when my children were small.  Reflecting on the effect of a road-widening scheme on the character of the area in London where I grew up, I had a sort of epiphany. It hit me that we were sacrificing our health and wellbeing for progress. The car had become our master rather than our slave.

Then I got onto the subject of recycling and the wastefulness of so much packaging ending up in landfill. I campaigned about this, as well as the problem of air pollution, as a one-woman band, pestering parents at the school gates to add their signatures to my letters. Later, I joined the local Friends of the Earth, the environmental group largely responsible for the introduction of our door-to-door recycling bins. Then, after developing an early form of breast cancer, I worked with the charity Breast Cancer UK, which promotes better understanding and recognition of the link between certain everyday chemicals and the incidence of breast cancer.

I can’t say that I was ever a real eco-warrior – too wedded to my creature comforts to become a ‘crusty’ and live in a tree like some of the Reclaim the Streets group protesting against the construction of the M11 link road – though I did sit on a bulldozer once!

These days, it is hard to be optimistic about the future when we are still harming the planet – and consequently, ourselves.  Naturally, I am concerned about the oceans and endangered species, but my focus is on human health.

There are two main issues that worry and distress me: the first is the way we seem hell-bent on degrading the character of our local area by paving over gardens. It seems every day another one bites the dust – before and after photos, anyone? We’re replacing greenery with concrete – and a few flower pots if we’re lucky – destroying wildlife habitats and increasing the flood risk. The car is still king.

The second thing I worry about:  people idling their engines while stationary – I don’t mean at the traffic lights – as if the air we breathe is not polluted enough.  The actor Nigel Havers has been on a one-man campaign, asking motorists to turn off their engines. I do the same – when I’m feeling courageous. It can feel a bit daunting at times, but in the main, the result has been positive. There is a law against this anti-social behaviour, yet local police and traffic wardens I have spoken to do not seem bothered. Even a friendly warning could go some way to reducing air pollution. It was encouraging to see ‘I’m not an idler’ notices at Highams Park level crossing the other day.

So, my parting shot: think it over before you pave it over. And: when you stop, turn if off!