Homes and Property | Home Page Police are investigating after a third historic home in a London suburb subject to a planning dispute caught fire in suspicious circumstances The Thirties Art Deco cottage in Woodford Green was badly damaged by the blaze on Sunday night just as the previous two properties had been Detectives are investigating the possibility of an arson attack after discovering the fire was started in several places on the first floor of the house in Broomhill Walk police found a cannabis factory at the property and seized 300 plants A police spokesman said: "The fire investigator found a rear ground floor window had been smashed which he believed to be the point of entry "He explained he could find no trace of fire accelerant but deemed it suspicious due to the multiple seats of fire on the first floor." J and N Property Developers had applied to build eight flats on the site which would have involved the demolition of the house It is understood the firm has now submitted another proposal who lives in Broomhill Walk and helped to organise a campaign against the original plans said he expected the latest proposal to be approved now the property was not worth saving He added: "We are all very upset about this and the whole neighbourhood is very worried This is a beautiful area and I don't want to see a concrete jungle go up in place of this wonderful house." a large Victorian house in Mornington Roadwas badly damaged by fire while it was the subject of a planning application to replace it with five six-bedroomhomes The cause of the blaze is still under investigation but Aitch Group Holdings grade-II listed Little Monkhams in Monkhams Lane was gutted by fire the day the Planning Inspectorate was due to hear an appeal by Crestgate Estates on permission to demolish it who sits on Redbridge council's planning committee two is very unfortunate and three is ridiculous These were all handsome houses but they have gone up in smoke." Prince Louis steals the show at VE Day parade as he keeps dad William looking sharp and mimics brother George Prince Louis steals show with sweet antics at VE parade VE Day 2025 fashion: best looks from the day VE Day 2025 fashion: Princess of Wales to Lady Victoria Starmer UK tourists face major travel shake-up as Dubai airport set to close Royals watch historic flypast as huge crowds turns out for VE Day 80th anniversary  Royals watch historic Red Arrows flypast for VE Day 80th anniversary Ukraine 'launches stunning Kursk offensive' in major blow for Putin ahead of Victory Day celebrations Ukraine 'launches stunning Kursk offensive' in blow for Putin in partnership with the Metropolitan Police is delivering a ground-breaking new Police Hub in Woodford bringing police back into local communities The new Woodford Police Hub will be home to at least 20 police officers working in partnership with council staff and Redbridge Housing Officers to prevent antisocial behaviour and support local people across the west of Redbridge Police Safer Neighbourhood Teams from Wanstead Park and Monkhams will call the new Police Hub home bringing them closer to their neighbourhoods and cutting down on travel time The new Police Hub will sit on the Orchard Estate in Woodford within 10 minutes travel time of South Woodford The Woodford Police Hub follows the installation of Redbridge Enforcement Hubs in Ilford and Hainault and the expanded Town Centre Police Team as the latest development in Redbridge Council’s plan to put police back into the heart of the communities they service “Community policing keeps our streets safe provides reassurance and empowers local people to develop good relationships with our police officers we’re innovating to deliver more for Redbridge By working with partners in the police and using council-owned spaces we are bringing police back into the communities they serve.” said: “Strong Community policing is the foundation of what we want to achieve in delivering a new Met for Londoners We will do everything we can to build new and strong connections in local neighbourhoods and have a visible and accessible service  “More visible policing in neighbourhoods by officers and PCSOs will help reduce local crime tackle Antisocial behaviour and build strong This new accommodation supports that and will make a real difference to the community  “We are extremely grateful for the ongoing support and partnership from Redbridge Council Keeping everyone in our neighbourhoods safe is at the forefront of everything we do as a partnership and the introduction of this dedicated neighbourhoods patrol base helps us achieve that aim." Grammar schools and community spirit are the big draws for commuter families to a neighbourhood with a fascinating history Homes & Property | Where to live Woodford is a place of many settlements spread out along one of the main roads out of London separated from the other Woodfords — Woodford Green Woodford Wells and Woodford Bridge — by the busy North Circular road This is a place that’s proud of its history as the little garden on the bridge over the North Circular demonstrates The benches are decorated with enamel plaques telling the stories of the many famous people who have made their home in Woodford One bench is dedicated to the suffragette and peace campaigner Sylvia Pankhurst With her mother Emmeline and elder sister Christabel Sylvia was an early force in the Votes for Women campaign although she broke away from the movement before the First World War She continued to work as a social reformer and peace activist and in 1924 she scandalised the residents of Woodford by setting up home in Woodford Green with her Italian anarchist lover She ended her days not in Woodford but in Ethiopia where on her death in 1960 she was given a state funeral Another bench celebrates the life of William Morris (1834-1896) the polymath now most famous for his textile designs but who socialist and associate of the Pre-Raphaelites Morris spent seven formative years from the age of six to 13 living at Woodford Hall a grand classical Georgian mansion in High Road Woodford Hall was demolished in 1900 and the site is now occupied by a pretty Edwardian church hall used by community groups who run a playgroup ballroom dancing classes and Taekwondo and Karate sessions Other monuments to Woodford’s greats include the statue to Winston Churchill that stands on a corner of The Green and a blue plaque on the house where Clement Attlee lived in the Monkhams Estate was MP for Woodford from 1945 to 1964 and Clement Attlee who succeeded him as prime minister in the reforming post-war 1945 Labour government lived in Monkhams Avenue when he was MP for Walthamstow West from 1950 to 1956 Only time will tell if Chingford and Woodford Green’s current MP former Conservative Party leader and architect of the controversial Universal Credit welfare reform A petition opposing his knighthood in the recent New Year Honours List was signed by 270,000 people Woodford South station is eight-and-a-half miles as the crow flies from central London and Woodford station is half a mile further on Chigwell and Chingford are to the north; Barkingside is to the east; Wanstead is to the south and Walthamstow is to the west Woodford is a popular commuter town with a wide range of homes from Victorian and Edwardian properties to Twenties The most popular areas are the Monkhams Estate — a small garden suburb with attractive Edwardian detached and semi-detached houses in Woodford Green — and the Firs Estate west of Woodford Road in South Woodford where the houses date mainly from the Twenties and Thirties An eight-bedroom detached house with baronial features in The Drive is on the market for £3 million A six-bedroom detached mock Tudor house in Monkhams Lane on the Monkhams Estate is on the market for £1,575,000 Large Victorian terrace or semi-detached houses start at around £700,000 in the grid of streets north of the North Circular and west of High Road Some of Woodford’s most expensive flats are in Highwood overlooking the green spaces of Epping Forest These flats are characterised by their large balconies A four-bedroom apartment is on the market for £850,000 a development of 482 homes on a site overlooking the North Circular with two-bedroom flats priced from £385,000 Developer Crest Nicholson converted the listed Victorian buildings and built new flats and houses in the Humphry Repton-landscaped grounds of the former Claybury Hospital in Manor Road where buyers included cricketer Phil Tufnell and actress Patsy Palmer Prices at Repton Park range from £545,000 for a two-bedroom flat to £1.85 million for a five-bedroom detached house Few new homes are being built in Woodford currently The nearest large development is Discovery by Fairview New Homes with 81 flats in Larkshall Road in Highams Park Help to Buy is available at Discovery (as before) Woodford does not have a large home rental market although one- and two-bedroom flats are popular in modern blocks close to South Woodford station or in the sought-after Churchfields primary schools catchment area One-bedroom flats start at £1,100 a month and two-bedroom flats at £1,300 a month Two-bedroom flats in Queen Mary’s Gate range from £1,450 a month to £1,550 a month The most expensive house currently available to rent is a four-bedroom Thirties property in Mulberry Way at £2,750 a month manager of the Woodford Green branch of Portico says that if you grew up here “Some people find themselves moving a few doors down the road.” E18 is the Woodford postcode and covers the area closest to South Woodford station; IG8 is the Woodford Green and Woodford Bridge postcode and has Woodford station at its centre; the E4 Chingford postcode takes in parts of Woodford on its western boundary The Arts and Crafts houses on the Monkhams Estate and a little further north where there are large semi-detached and detached Thirties houses an estate of more modern houses with Arts and Crafts detailing An “outstanding” Ofsted rating for Ray Lodge Primary School is increasing the popularity of the area east of the Central line The North Circular rumbles through Woodford creating a lot of motorway hum There are two Zone 4 Tube stations — Woodford and South Woodford both on the Central line with 20-minute trains to Bank and half-hour trains to Oxford Street Redbridge council is Labour controlled and Band D council tax for the 2019/2020 year is £1,549.98 Woodford’s main shopping centre is around South Woodford station stretching up and down George Lane and along High Road where there are branches of Sainsbury’s has a particularly good choice of fruit and vegetables There is a branch of Laura Ashley Home and Sid & Evie’s is an independent children’s shop selling clothes and toys and Tipi Coffee is an independent coffee shop Newcomers include a branch of Slug & Lettuce; Lizard Lounge — a cocktail bar with a cinema on Wednesday nights — and Parlay E18 The Gallery is a bar and restaurant with a Josper charcoal grill On the fast-improving section of George Lane on the eastern side of the station Kikirocs is a new independent coffee shop working in conjunction with Air Yoga studios There are more shops and restaurants in the Broadway around Woodford station a traditional pharmacy; Seasons cocktail bar; Belgique a branch of the Essex chain of patisseries; and a branch of Cook There are more shops and restaurants on High Road at the junction with Snakes Lane West Popular Pizzeria Bel-Sit often has queues at the weekend The local gastropubs are The Royal Oak in Hale End Road and the Crown & Crooked Billet on Cross Road overlooking Woodford Bridge Green with Epping Forest offering walks from Wanstead to Epping to the west and the Roding Valley with walks to Ilford to the east Highams Park was laid out in the 1790s by Humphry Repton and has a large fishing lake Ray Park next to the River Roding houses the James Leal Centre where the borough’s Nature Conservation Team is based; the centre has a café and soft play area is home to the South Woodford Bowls Club and there are popular tennis courts Claybury Woods and Park in Roding Lane North is famous for its bluebell woods Woodford has an Odeon multiplex cinema in High Road The Woodford Wells Club in Monkhams Lane has two cricket pitches four squash courts and an indoor sports hall Woodford Green Cricket Club has been playing on The Green since 1735 Woodford Golf Club has nine holes on Sunset Avenue The nearest council swimming pool is at Fullwell Cross Leisure Centre in Barkingside Virgin Active has a swimming pool converted from the former chapel at Repton Park in Manor Road Woodford has a good choice of both state and private schools All the state primary schools are judged to be “good” or better by Ofsted The “outstanding” primary schools are: Churchfields Infants and Juniors in Churchfields; Nightingale in Ashbourne Avenue; Oakhill in Alders Avenue; Ray Lodge in Snakes Lane East and Wells in Barclay Oval Woodford County High School for Girls (ages 11 to 18) is in High Road while the boys’ grammar school is in Ilford The state comprehensive school Trinity RC (co-ed ages 11 to 18) in Mornington Road is judged to be “outstanding” ages 11 to 18) in Handsworth Avenue are rated “good” The private primary and preparatory schools are: St Aubyn’s (co-ed ages three to 13) in Bunces Lane; Woodford Green Preparatory (co-ed ages three to 11) in Glengall Road; Snaresbrook Preparatory (co-ed The two private all-through schools are Bancroft’s (co-ed ages seven to 18) in High Road and Forest (co-ed