After 27 years as MP for Leyton / Leyton and Wanstead, Harry Cohen will be stepping down in 2010 following the wide-ranging parliamentary expenses scandal. But has Harry done a good job for his constituents over the course of his career? Please vote in our current poll (see the sidebar).

There are plenty of things happening in E11 over the Christmas period…

Leytonstone Christmas Lights Switch On

When: Thursday 26th November, 3:30pm – 6:00pm.
Where: Leytonstone Town Centre.

Christmas Market

When: Saturday 5th December.
Where: St. John’s Church, Leytonstone.

Town Centre Christmas Decoration Window Display Competition

When: Friday 18th December.
Where: Leytonstone Town Centre.

Wanstead Christmas Lights Switch On

Residents can take part in a fun treasure hunt from by picking up a map from local retailers along Wanstead High Street.

Carol singers will also be on hand to provide plenty of Christmas cheers and the annual lights display will be switched on.

All shops, cafes and restaurants participating in the event will also exhibit art by pupils from Our Lady of Lourdes RC Primary School on Chestnut Drive.

The event is being organised by Living Streets, which represents pedestrians and aims to make roads safer for people moving around on foot.

The participating retailers are: Bike Trax, One Deko, Rio, Nice Croissant, The Orange Tree, Picture Perfect Gallery, The Larder, Blush Temples, Heads N Tails, Wanstead Domestic Appliances, Horsfall & Wright, Knock Down Ginger and Lillies of Wanstead.

When: Friday 27th November, 3:30pm – 6:00pm.
Where: Wanstead High Street.

The Wanstead Guardian is reporting that one of the large victorian mansions on Cambridge Park in Wanstead is to be demolished and replaced by a block of flats…

A Victorian townhouse is set to be demolished and replaced with a block of nine flats.

The former care home, in Cambridge Park, Wanstead, is one of the largest of its type still left in the street – which used to be flanked by similar buildings until one side was demolished to make way for the M11 link road in the early 1990s.

Residents living in nearby Highstone Avenue and Chestnut Drive say the house is a landmark, and should have been converted rather than demolished.

The full article can be read here.

Surely the council can’t allow that to happen! These great houses are what gives Wanstead its character. Ok, its probably too large to sell as a family residence, but keep the existing building and convert to flats if no other use can be found. A search on the Redbridge planning pages for Cambridge Park doesn’t bring back any obvious applications. Anyone know anything further about this development?

UPDATE – had a search around Redbridge council’s website, seems that 65 Cambridge Park is the house in question and the planning decision was made last year. Must be they’re about to start work on it now…

65 Cambridge Park, Wanstead

Nice double fronted house, shame to see it go. Seems that its too late to save it now though

Waltham Forest Guardian reports that the Tesco Express in Wanstead could open before the end of the year. A planning application to site a loading diectly in front of it had been rejected by Redbridge Council, holding up progress. However this has now been resolved, with Tesco agreeing to make deliveries via Grosvenor Road instead, so work can now press ahead to fit out the store.

After driving past a few times and noticing the packed tables outside, I finally popped into Begique, the new patisserie near Wanstead Tube Station on Cambridge Park Road. Seems to be rather good – very nice inside with a huge selection of cakes, some unusual sandwich combos, coffee and tea and some warm dishes too. Having googled them, discovered that they are in fact a small chain based in East London, with shops in Woodford Green, Epping and a new one opening up in Chingford. Well worth a visit.

Their website can be found at www.belgique.co.uk.