When I first moved to Leytonstone some 10 years ago, many property guides still described the area as ”potentially another Islington”. Now what they were referring to was the “gentrification” of Islington which started in the 1960′s and has seen the area become one of the most sought after places to live in London.

Gentrification refers to the phenonemon where once well-off inner city areas which have since become run down are re-discovered, seeing a surge in the value of property, rapid urban regeneration and a demographic change towards young people with large disposable incomes or well-off older residents.

Having worked in Islington for over a year, I’ve often been struck by certain similarities with Leytonstone. Bearing that and other factors in mind, I can certainly see why some pundits thought it could become a boom area…

• Leytonstone used to be a relatively affluent area with good shops, cinemas etc.
• It has good Victorian housing stock (with some areas like Bushwood, Browing Road and Upper Leytonstone being particularly pleasant).
• Houses are relatively cheap (for London).
• It has pretty good transport links (5 stops on the Central Line into Liverpool St. and the M11 within spitting distance).
• It has some excellent green spaces nearby.

Why hasn’t it happened then? Well, there’s probably no simple answer to that. Gentrification is a complex and unpredictable process – there isn’t a single explanation for what triggers it. There has to be a catalyst – often cheaper areas populated by people with more artistic leanings become seen as “hip”, attracting people mainly because of the “buzz” – Greenwich Village in New York is a prime example of this. In other areas, investment by developers (re-furbishing older houses to a high standard or building new, quality apartments) can kick things off.

Unfortunately in Leytonstone, particularly near the High Road, many houses are still run-down, and while we do have an artistic community (local bands, music venues, an ameteur dramatics group and a yearly festival), maybe they aren’t supported or encouraged enough either by the council or by us residents.

Whether Leytonstone wants gentrification is another matter, it is often blamed for displacing less affluent members of communities as new, wealthier people start to move in. This is possibly misleading though – there’s also evidence to suggest that people will generally be happy to pay more to live in a nicer area. Of course property owners stand to benefit hugely, but may also stay on if local infrastructure (shops, restaurants, entertainment) increases in quality as well.

The council have started a petition against the planned closure of six post offices in Waltham Forest. The affected branches are: Coventry Parade, Chingford Road, Forest Road, Orford Road, Leyton Green and Grove Green Road.

The petition is available to be signed here.

Waltham Forest Council has declared war on “the blight of the Chicken Shops” within the borough. Prompted into action by the results of recent consultations with residents, the council is formulating a strategy to address some of the problems blamed on the proliferation of these and other fast food outlets – excessive litter, provision of unhealthy, poor quality food, and negative impact on the high street due to poorly kept shop frontages.

From the March 2008 Leytonstone Residents’ Report…

Anti Junk Food Strategy

Over the next month the Council, will be pulling together an aggressive
strategy to deal with the proliferation of chicken shops and other fast
food outlets. The strategy will strengthen the Council’s position to
say ‘no’ and reject planning applications; review existing opening
hours and conditions; involves greater trading standards and
environmental health enforcement and involvement; looks at working with
parents and schools to reduce the number of children leaving schools at
lunchtimes; and looks at using the powers the Council has under the
Local Government Act 2000 for example the ‘Powers of Well Being’
Legislation and the Clean Neighbourhoods Act 2005.

The Council is doing this now because of the extra capacity and
resources, which are going into the Councils planning and enforcement
functions, as part of this years Budget. Along with a desire to test out
various previously untested powers to see if they have the strength and
desired affect, to enable local council’s to fight these shops, their
proliferation and their impact.

Building on our experiences in Leytonstone, no more clearly
demonstrated than in this months Planning Update, we fully support the
Council’s approach, which was unveiled by Clyde. We know these chicken
shops have no part to play in our plans to revitalise and regenerate our
town centres. We know that they provide unhealthy, poor quality food;
their shop fronts are often dirty and unkempt, they are a breeding
ground for late night anti social behaviour and most importantly, our
residents are sick of walking down streets littered with chicken boxes
and half chewed food; it’s disgusting.

A very welcome addition to Leytonstone High Road (and replacing the mysterious “Comic Shack”) is the newly opened “Long Chang Asian Supermarket” which offers a great selection of authentic tinned, bottled, dried, chilled, frozen and fresh oriental foods.

US coffee franchise Starbucks has opened a store in Wanstead High Street.

Since starting out in 1971 with just a single store in Seattle, Starbucks has experienced massive growth and now has over 6000 stores worldwide. Recently though, that rapid expansion has been partly blamed for a downturn in the company’s fortunes - they are no longer seen as “exclusive” (despite the high prices) as it seems like many US cities have a Starbucks on virtually every corner.

Opinion seems to be divided on whether this move will be a “good thing” for Wanstead. Some welcome the fact that we now have a brand-name coffee outlet gracing the High Street, while others are concerned about the effect on existing independent coffee shops and delis. One of the great things about Wanstead High Street is the quality and diversity of its local shops which have managed to survive when, thanks to big supermarkets and retail parks, shops in many town centres have been dying a slow death (Leytonstone High Road anyone?).

Hopefully, the local shops will be able to live in harmony alongside their new neighbour – E11 certainly lacks major brand names at the moment compared with many other areas in London. The question is, now Starbucks have staked a claim in Wanstead, will others follow?

A friendly group of people mostly from East London and Essex, The Woodhouse Players produce the kind of shows that they like, including quite a bit of new work. They meet most Wednesdays, quite a few Fridays and some Saturdays at The Welsh Church Hall, Leytonstone to rehearse 6 major productions a year, as well as one-offs like readings and cabaret.

There is also a lively social atmosphere, giving rise to many friendships and even romances (two marriages so far!).

Current active membership is around 45, the majority being actors, but with specialists too in directing, writing, lighting, sound, music, graphic design and costume.

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View across Eagle Pond to Snaresbrook Crown Court

For the middle classes, life in Victorian England was a much different proposition to that of today. There was no welfare state (the very poor were looked after by the workhouses), so those who fell on hard times generally had to rely on charity, be it from friends and relatives or from organisations such as the Infant Orphan Asylum at Wanstead, founded by the Revd. Andrew Reed in 1843.

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 The “Master of Suspense”, Sir Alfred Hitchcock was born in Leytonstone on 13th August 1899 at 517 High Road. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of his birth, a series of mosaics were commissioned for the entrance to Leytonstone Underground Station. These are collectively known as “The Hitchcock Gallery”…

 
Rebecca (1940) starring Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier.
(Note St. John’s Church , Leytonstone shown in the window).

The mosaics are the work of the Greenwich Mural Workshop and are made up of over 80,000 tiles. They took more than six months to complete with installation finishing in April 2001.

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Ten Things You May Not Know About London E11…

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Strolling through Wanstead Park today, the casual observer may be completely oblivious to the fact that the ground they are walking on was once one of the grandest estates in England, and at it’s centre stood a house so impressive it was even compared to Versailles.

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