SOUTH Woodford's grade two listed Elmhurst building will be unacceptably overshadowed by a new tower block, according to Redbridge Council's Conservation Advisory Panel (CAP).

The Queen Mary and Westfield College site, which houses the building, was sold for £21 million to the Waltham Forest Friendly Society in April last year.

Developers Richard West and Trevor Newman have since put forward proposals for the construction of 386 flats, 31 houses, 36 duplex units and a nursery.

Their plans would see the demolition of two out of the three tower blocks on the site in the High Road, South Woodford, and the reconstruction of the third at a reduced height.

Councillors at the recent CAP meeting decided that the plans did not go far enough as the remaining tower block would still have a severe impact on the High Road.

They also felt that the proposals as a whole were visually intrusive and detrimental to the character of the South Woodford Conservation Area.

CAP chairman Peter Lawrence said: "We still think it's over-developed especially when it comes to the impact of the main tower block near Elmhurst. In an ideal situation you would like to see the listed building given some breathing space.

"It's the density of the area around the listed building that concerns the advisory panel."

The existing 36-metre-tall tower block, which is 26 metres from the Elmhurst building, is due to be replaced by a 23-metre building which will be 30 metres away.

A spokesman for GML Architects Gary Jackson said: "We are somewhat surprised at the reaction of the Conservation Advisory Panel as we have submitted before-and-after perspectives demonstrating that the new landmark building will not overshadow Elmhurst.

"We are glad that the panel believes the development is broadly positive. When a group of architects get together we are always able to find artistic differences but we believe that our proposals are a sensitive treatment of Elmhurst."

A final decision will be made on the proposals later this year.