An Ilford resident's petition against the 42-storey Bodgers tower has 163 signatures. Councillors decide the co-living plan at 7pm on Tuesday 10 November.

A petition against the 42-storey tower planned on the former Bodgers store in Ilford had 163 signatures on Monday 9 November, the day before Redbridge councillors decide whether the tower can take 381 co-living rooms.

The petition, Save Bodgers Site Ilford, is on Change.org and is addressed to the London Borough of Redbridge. Ilford resident Paul Scott started it in March 2018. When we checked it on 9 November it had 163 signatures against a goal of 200, one of them added in the past week.

Why he started it

Mr Scott told Ilford Today he is behind the petition “because this large-scale development greatly overshadows other buildings within Ilford town centre as well as blocking daylight and creating an adverse social, environmental, public health and fire safety impact upon the local area including placing more strain upon our infrastructure too.”

“Redbridge Council and the Greater London Authority should be aware of the overall effects of allowing a 42-storey tower block to be constructed within Ilford town centre,” he said.

The petition’s own wording, written in 2018, goes further than the tower. It reads: “We the undersigned oppose any plans to demolish or alter this over 125 years old venue for housing as we believe that the retail and architectural heritage should be preserved at all costs.”

Mr Scott has posted 26 updates to it since. The latest two, on 2 and 8 November, link to the Planning Committee agenda and to news coverage of the new plan.

What councillors decide on Tuesday

The tower itself already has planning permission, granted in September 2020 for 370 rented flats, and that permission was lawfully started in January 2024. What goes to the Planning Committee at 7pm on Tuesday 10 November is the developer’s new application, 0808/26, which would keep 177 of those flats and fill the lower 15 floors with 381 co-living rooms.

Council officers recommend approval. Their report does share some of the petition’s concerns. On daylight, it finds windows at 107 High Road, due south of the site, would lose a large share of theirs, “a significantly adverse impact”. It also confirms the Bodgers frontage on Station Road would go, as was agreed in 2020. On fire safety, the new plan adds a second staircase in the central core, which the report puts down to “amended fire safety law”.

Officers conclude that “the benefits of the proposal from housing delivery outweigh the harms identified”. Two residents objected to the application, according to the report.

The full detail of the plan, from the size of the rooms to where the affordable homes go, is in our story on the Bodgers co-living application.

What it means for you

  • The meeting is at 7pm on Tuesday 10 November in the Council Chamber at Ilford Town Hall. The agenda and report are online.
  • The deadline to register to speak has passed. The council’s rules required speakers to contact the Committee Support Officer by 5pm on Monday 9 November.
  • The petition is open to sign on Change.org.
  • Even if councillors agree, the decision still needs a direction from the Mayor of London or the Secretary of State, and a revised legal agreement with the developer.

We will report the committee’s decision. Other Ilford planning stories are on our Ilford planning news page.