News

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Volunteers and a Conchological Society recorder inspect a piece of wood beside a lake during a mollusc survey in Wanstead Park

Oct 29, 20262 min read

A snail the size of a pinhead has turned up in Wanstead Park

Citizen Zoo says volunteers, ReNature and the Conchological Society recorded Paralaoma servilis, a microscopic snail it calls "a rarity for the area", during a mollusc survey in Wanstead Park. We could not find an independent record yet.

A row of brick Victorian terraced houses in Wanstead with cars parked outside

Oct 29, 20264 min read

Much of Wanstead will miss out on the £100 energy payment

The Budget's £100 Household Energy Payment goes to homes in council tax bands A to D from January 2027. Official Valuation Office Agency figures show only about a third of homes in the area labelled Wanstead are in those bands, against 71% across Redbridge.

A skylark in flight with its wings spread against a blurred green background

Oct 28, 20265 min read

Wanstead Flats' skylarks had a dismal summer

Only around two young skylarks appear to have fledged on Wanstead Flats this year, the Wren Wildlife Group says, after the hottest and driest summer on record. The numbers, what the drought did to the Flats, and a rare beetle on dead broom.

New Wanstead, a wide road with a bus and parked cars

Oct 28, 20263 min read

Yellow boxes are heading back to Wanstead

Redbridge Council has proposed new yellow boxes at 14 junctions across the borough, two of them in Wanstead, after traffic surveys found them regularly blocked. The consultation has closed and no decision is published. It follows the 2024-25 row over two High Street boxes that fined drivers, then vanished after a safety audit.

Wanstead High Street looking along the shops

Oct 28, 20264 min read

Shoplifting is now a High Street police priority

Shoplifting was the most commonly recorded offence in Wanstead Village ward in August: 26 of 87 crimes. The local police team has made it a formal High Street priority. We went through the police.uk data for both Wanstead wards and the Met's published priorities.

The drained lake in Wanstead Park, with reeds and a footpath beside it

Oct 28, 20266 min read

Wanstead Park has a lake problem

The Ornamental Water, centrepiece of Wanstead Park's historic lakes, has "completely dried up", says the City of London Corporation. The refill plan hangs on an Environment Agency decision that hasn't arrived. Meanwhile the Grotto has a steel frame, but its future is still open.

The red-brick buildings of Wanstead High School seen from the street

Oct 28, 20264 min read

Wanstead High School finally has a builder again

A new contractor took possession of the unfinished Wanstead High School site on 21 October, eight months after the original builder collapsed. How it got here, what's been set aside, and what Redbridge hasn't published about the pool.

The single-storey shopfronts on Woodbine Place, including a kebab shop and a hairdresser

Oct 28, 20265 min read

Councillors back plan to demolish Woodbine Place shops

Redbridge councillors have reportedly approved plans to demolish the single-storey shops on Woodbine Place and build a three-storey block of shops and offices, despite 83 objections and an objection from the council's own heritage officer. What the officer report says, and what changes in planning from Saturday.

Wanstead High Street on a sunny day, with shops and parked cars