RESIDENTS fear South Woodford will be carved up once again with traffic chaos if plans for a new high-rise development go ahead.

Proposals to build 200 homes on the Fenchurch Holdings site in the High Road have brought opposition from neighbouring residents who say the development will stick out like a sore thumb.

David Moore, of Hillcrest Road, said: It's a scheme that will change the whole landscape if it's put into effect. It will be the most dramatic change in South Woodford's environment since the North Circular was carved through it.

Mr Moore, who attended a public meeting at South Woodford Library to look at the plans by URL Productions, said residents saw it not so much as an improvement scheme but something that would have a harmful effect on the neighbourhood.

He said: The plan includes leisure facilities with a swimming pool which won't be just for the people living there. There is also a community facility which is said to be a nurseryalso added.

It will dominate the centre of South Woodford, it will be an intruder in an area of low-rise development, sticking out like a sore thumb.

Residents are concerned over the proposed height of the units, which will include a 15-storey block which they claim will tower over the 13-storey buildings of the nearby Queen Mary College.

They also fear that increased trafficflow with this type of housing will make an accident black-spot, the George Lane-High Road junction, worse.

Mr Moore said residents who attended the meeting were disappointed to find that not many people knew about the plans.

He said: Let us hope that the enormity of this scheme catches the interest of more than the dozen people who attended the meeting. The plan has not been approved yet, so our councillors have a lot to think about.

URL Productions planning manager Hanne Puttonen said: We are aware of residents' concerns, especially about the density of the buildings and the traffic impacts. That is why we're holding meetings to consult everybody.

We will take their views and concerns on board and will continue to discuss any problems there are. We hope to hold another meeting soon.

But we do feel that the development will have a positive effect on South Woodford, increase the vitality of the area and add to the essential services it already has to offer.