Roof Trees
A point was made at the recent Leytonstone Community Council Meeting regarding the state of Leytonstone High Road. The speaker had noted that 2 years ago the main uses for buildings on the High Road in South Leytonstone was…
- Empty.
- Fast Food.
- Hairdressers.
He had spoken at a Community Council Meeting then about the state of the buildings there – badly run down with trees growing out of the roofs and had requested that the council do something about it.
Leytonstone High Road
So, since 2 years has passed what’s happened. Well, he’s done the same survey again and the new top uses for buldings on that part of the High Road are as follows…
- Empty.
- Fast Food.
- Hairdressers.
Buildings are in a worse state than ever with even more trees growing out of their roofs.
Unfortunately when this point was raised the majority of councillors were out of the room deciding on Community Council Funding. However, Councillor John Macklin was present and spoke about the assumption made by the council that the Olympic Delivery Authority will be stumping up some cash to allow fund regeneration work on the High Road. Unfortunately it now seems that this money is not going to materialise and there’s no other money in the kitty. Hardly surprising given the current economic climate – Boris and the ODA are trying to cut back the main spend on the Olympics, never mind worrying about those of us on the periphery.
The tragic thing is that these are great Victorian buildings, letting them get into this state is absolutely criminal.
Driving down the High Road these days literally makes me cringe because its in such a sorry state. Surely something can be done – maybe the only way is to get up a ladder myself to chop those roof trees down!!!
Makes me wince too, not to mention embarrassed when we have friends down visiting. The stretch from Harrow Green to Thatched House (and beyond) is dismal. A lot of those properties seem to be rented. If I was only staying for a year or so, I wouldn’t be getting the ladders out either. The council should track down the landlords and have a word – although I suspect that that unless the building is dangerous their powers are nil.
You’re probably right – unless the tenant complains and they’re in danger of serious harm, the council wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole. Having said that, I assume that there are quite a few empty flats down there given the current climate – there does seem to be a fair bit of support for landlords in this situation. Maybe our councillors should seek them out and talk about the best way forward for all concerned. I won’t hold my breath.