A CONTROVERSIAL proposal to build 56 homes on the site of a train station car park looks set to be approved by the council.

Residents of Coolgardie Avenue, Highams Park, are concerned that a mixed development of 47 flats and nine houses, recommended for approval by council officers, will be given the go-ahead at a planning committee meeting on Tuesday.

A petition has been signed by 119 people who fear their road will be overrun by cars parked by commuters and shoppers when the car park closes.

Some residents also concerned about the potential loss of privacy and the destruction of a 700-year-old hedgerow which attracts protected species of beetles and song thrushes.

Coolgardie Road resident Noreen Kemp, 32, said: “People park in our road because the car park is too expensive and it will get worse. And the trains are already overcrowded in the morning and this could get worse.

“I also wonder whether there are enough facilities for children in the area.”

The planning application is a revised version of previous application by Blackmore Building Services (BSS), which withdrew from a previous scheme to build 60 flats, a doctors surgery, and a medical centre on the site in March without explanation.

The number of drivers using the car park has fallen dramatically since the council hiked charges up by 150 per cent, prompting accusations that the increase was designed to smooth the way for a sell-off.

Residents complained that drivers began parking in nearby streets and many are concerned about the situation would be compounded by the new development.

The proposal will be considered at a planning committee meeting on Tuesday at 7.30pm at the Town Hall in Walthamstow.