Google’s Street View which adds street-level 360 degree imaging to Google Maps has gone live in the UK, including full (well, almost) coverage of greater London. E11 is included, so you can now stroll virtually down our local streets.
Here are a few examples…
It’s quite amazing going through Stratford every day on the train and witnessing what amounts to a whole town rise up from nothing. Work on Stratford City seems to be progressing apace with much of the steelwork for the major buildings now in place. One of the many conundrums facing the planners was how to link in “Old Stratford” (i.e. Stratford Centre and the bus station), given that numerous railway lines will lie between it and the the new development. The solution is a bridge, a big bridge, spanning all of the existing railway platforms and leading directly into the heart of the new shopping area.
The Woolworths in Wanstead has been taken over by Tesco – they’re currently fitting it out as a “Tesco Metro”. Bad news for existing local shops as they’re sure to feel the squeeze once the new store opens. One of the best aspects of Wanstead is its almost village-like charm, partly due to the wide range of local shops and cafes and the relative absence (bar Somerfield) of the big supermarkets. Hopefully this isn’t the start of the slippery slope towards a high road like Leytonstone’s.
Speaking of Leytonstone, the Conservative Party have been sending flyers out regarding the Woollies shop there, concerned what the council are planning to do with it. One of their suggestions, a book shop selling coffee was already attempted on Church Lane a couple of years back – Prospero I think it was called. Nice enough place, but didn’t last very long. Their other suggestion, a shopping arcade, sounds more promising to me – maybe something along the lines of the arcade near Liverpool St. Station, sympathetically built in an art deco style to match Leytonstone Library. Well we can dream can’t we … I’m betting it ends up as a cheap supermarket like Aldi or another 99p store 
UPDATE – At the January Leytonstone Community Council meeting, Cllr Jenny Gray “assured residents that the site, which was owned by the Council, would be turned into good use. She added that the Council was in contact with a number of companies (including Peacocks, Argos and Sainsbury) and Woolworth’s administrators in order to ensure that quality shops would come into the area.”
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