As part of our regular series of site visits, today Members of the Epping Forest and Commons Committee joined the Superintendent in Epping Forest to review progress at a number of projects and discuss emerging issues.
As local residents will be aware, Capel Road changing rooms on Wanstead Flats and the adjoining Park Keeper’s Flat were declared surplus to requirements by the Conservators of Epping Forest in September 2021. They hadn’t been in use since 2019, following the investment in the nearby Harrow Road changing facilities. A marketing exercise began in January 2022 and by July the Newham Community Project had expressed an interest to create a day nursery and community centre.
Unfortunately, it then took the London Borough of Redbridge 10 months to process the application for a change of use, but the scheme was finally approved in September 2024, at which stage protracted negotiations between solicitors began (the admin never ends!). Keys were finally exchanged in December 2025 and the centre will open this summer when the final building work is complete.
The site has plenty of parking for its own staff and there remains the public car park next to the community centre for any visitors. It is our hope that, given this is a highly accessible location for local residents with public transport, many people will use sustainable travel options rather than need to park cars.
This 25 year lease secured capital investment to bring the building up to modern day standards and the commercial terms will help to support Epping Forest’s charity in the work it does to maintain Wanstead Flats throughout the year. A great outcome for all and we’re looking forward to working closely with the Newham Community Project in the years ahead.
Next on our visit schedule was Becontree Avenue in Upper Walthamstow and into Gilbert Slade in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. This site is somewhat uniquely crossed by the A406, A104 and the A503 roads, yet the Forest acts as a brilliant buffer to both its sound and air pollution.
We looked carefully at the poor conditions of paths in this area, which recent visitor tracking surveys show has an exceptionally high footfall. From Becontree Avenue, you can walk through a small area of Forest before reaching a lovely circular open grassed area – very much akin to a hidden village green with a 1km circumference. Locally, people describe it as ‘the doughnut’, but what many people don’t know is that underneath the grass sits the Woodford Reservoir which provides water for about 400,000 homes.
The site was going to be compulsory purchased from the City of London Corporation in 1967, but a deal was stuck to give the land to Thames Water under an Act of Parliament in return for additional Forest land nearby.
In recent months, Thames Water have been working on this area to test the strength of the concrete which supports the underground reservoir and to do so, have had to lay new surfaced paths to the site to allow vehicle access. The Epping Forest Conservators have asked Thames Water to leave those paths, which will improve accessibility to this area permanently. The contractors have also agreed to provide additional path surfacing at the other site of ‘the doughnut’, towards the underpass. Access to the underpass is challenging, given the steep slope, making it difficult to use currently. The Epping Forest charity plan to fund path improvements and accessibility from the Becontree Avenue entrance, which should also help reduce the volume of new paths being trodden to avoid muddy areas in autumn and winter. All of this work will be carried out over the next couple of years.
There were a few disappointing issues uncovered at this site visit. The first being volume of dog poo bags which have been left at the bottom of so many trees for someone else to clean up. It’s so selfish and unnecessary. Epping Forest is a charity trying to do something wonderful for local people, so please, if you see this sort of behaviour, do report it to Epping Forest’s Keeper team at 020 8532 1010 (24hr).
We are aware of a recent incident where a car tried to drive into the Forest and got stuck. They called a removal company and cut through the roots of an ancient oak tree to release the car! Legal action on this matter is ongoing.
We also saw someone has dug out an area of the Forest to install a trampoline! This will be removed.
Next was a visit to the former Boathouse at Highams Park Lake in the London Borough of Waltham Forest, to see the progress which has taken place to make the site safe after a fire on 24th September 2025.
This site was used for many years by local Scouts, who vacated in June 2024 and the site has thankfully been empty since. London Fire Brigade investigated the fire and believed it to have started in the toilet block. There was no gas supply to the building and the only remaining items in it were a fridge and cooker which had been isolated. The perimeter fence of the property had not been compromised, and all locks were still in place upon arrival of the fire brigade. However, cut pieces of plumbing pipe were discovered within the toilet block, which led to suspicion that metal theft may have been a cause of the fire’s origin in a hot works manner. However, following engagement with the Metropolitan Police, the investigation was inconclusive.
The Boathouse sits on top of a dam and given the site had been subjected to high heat, engineering inspections were also carried out to ensure that the structure had not been compromised, had not had any debris or items fall on it, nor had water directed at it. Thankfully, is remains in good shape.
Following discussions with the local planning authority, the Epping Forest charity commissioned the demolition of the building, which commenced on 16th February and completed in mid-March 2026.
Now the site is clear and safe, Epping Forest’s team have begun marketing this location to commercially interested parties, seeking a partnership which is sensitive to the areas natural landscape and setting, whilst respecting the core purpose of Epping Forest. More to follow on this in the months ahead. For now, the site will remain locked and gated to keep it secure, but we are excited to see what the next iteration of this site may be.
Next, we met with the Highams Park Snedders volunteer group, who support our Epping Forest charity staff with hands-on conservation work and fundraising for improvements to the site. These groups are the lifeblood of Epping Forest and we are so lucky to have their energy and experience guiding the Conservators in their policy making.
As well as enjoying the lake’s beauty in the sunshine, we did discuss the possibility of a new information board at the lake which could inform visitors about some of the different types of birds which can be seen. The Snedders have some funding to do this, so the Corporation will happily work with them to brand an information board and have it installed when time allows.
We also managed to look at a culvert opposite Highams Park Lake, which was missing a grill, now installed!
Finally, the Superintendent of Epping Forest showed us how many information boards and visitor signs across Epping Forest have now reached end of life and need capital investment. We will take this away and seek to find funding for these improvements given both the important practical role information board play for visitors, but also the aesthetic impact they have in the surrounding area.
Something I have learnt over the past few years is the vast majority of people have no idea what parcels of land form part of Epping Forest and what don’t. Therefore, they don’t have a strong connection to the operation and rules of the Forest. Maintenance of signage is very expensive, so it’s not possible to have it everywhere, but I have asked the Superintendent to review all signage and look at the strategic locations for signage to help people navigate our sites better, rather than just having them in car parks. They need to serve a wider purpose.
All in all, a very successful day. As you may know, the Members of the Epping Forest and Commons Committee are mostly constituted with Members of the City of London Corporation, therefore these visits really help those who may not live locally to visualise the scale and complexity of estate management required to accommodate Epping Forest’s millions of visitors each year.
