A PLAN to stop people turning their front gardens into concrete parking spaces is being considered.

Monkhams Avenue, Monkhams Drive, Kings Avenue and Queens Drive in Woodford Green could all be brought into the existing Woodford Broadway conservation area under the proposals.

That would give the council greater powers to enforce planning control relating to the paving over of front gardens.

Figures produced by the RAC show around 80 per cent of Britain’s 26 million houses were built with a front plot.

Almost a third of these plots have been turned into hardstanding - a total area roughly equivalent to 100 Hyde Parks or 72 Olympic Parks.

Under the new conservation proposals it would be harder for homeowners to get rid of their greenery or replace period features on their Edwardian houses.

Monkhams Councillor Michael Stark is backing the extension of the conservation area.

He said: “We were told by English Heritage that the view from the station up Monkhams Drive is one of the most beautiful examples of an Edwardian vista they have seen. We need to ensure it remains that way.

“There are several examples where people have paved over their front gardens and the like and it would be a lot harder to do that under conservation area rules.”

The plan would also require homeowners to ask for permission before chopping down trees in their gardens.

Earlier this year there was anger after the current owner of Clement Attlee’s old house in Monkhams Avenue chopped down a 100-year-old plane tree before the council could slap a preservation order on it.

Monkhams Avenue resident Jennifer Seymour, 80, said: “It is very sad when something like that happens.

“You can go too far with this tree preservation, but there is hardly a front garden left along here now.

“There is such a lot of pressure on parking spaces that a lot of people feel they don’t have a choice but to create their own spaces.”

And Pamela Bridges, 59, who grew up on Kings Avenue, said: “When I was younger there were so many more birds in the gardens, so much more wildlife.

“Extending the conservation area is not just a good idea, it’s an essential one to preserve the look of the area as well as the natural habitat of local wildlife.”

• A public consultation on the extension of the Woodford Broadway conservation area runs until August 6.

A draft appraisal is available to view at www.redbridge.gov.uk or at Woodford Green Library in Snakes Lane West, Woodford Green.