Protect Langthorne Park
The Issue
UPDATE - August 2026
This campaign has already made a difference.
Following representations from residents, Waltham Forest Council has confirmed that the small wildlife pond will no longer be removed as part of the current proposals. The Council has also agreed to carry out further consultation before deciding how to proceed with the remaining regeneration plans.
We welcome this positive step and are currently seeking a meeting with the Council to discuss the future of the park. We are also delighted that the Friends of Langthorne Park Regeneration Committee have formally endorsed this campaign.
We support investment in Langthorne Park. Our concern is not whether the park should be improved, but how those improvements are achieved.
Our campaign is now calling on the Council to protect Langthorne Park's distinctive character, invest in restoring and maintaining its landscape and wildlife habitats, and work with residents and the Friends of Langthorne Park to shape future improvements through genuine consultation.
Thank you to everyone who has signed and shared this petition. Your support has already helped secure one important change, and it can help shape what happens next.
The Issue
Waltham Forest Council is planning major changes to Langthorne Park in South Leytonstone as part of the next phase of its regeneration programme:
https://talk.walthamforest.gov.uk/langthornepark
These are not simply routine maintenance works. The Council's own design strategy is built around "simplifying the park", opening up long sightlines and passive surveillance.
In practice, the remaining proposals could involve:
- clearing substantial areas of shrubs and mature planting;
- removing or reducing winding paths and quieter spaces;
- removing decorative railings, fences and boundary features;
- opening up long views across the park; and
- reducing the separation between its different areas.
The result would be a significant change to the character of the park.
Why this matters
Langthorne Park is a much-loved, characterful and unusual local park.
One of its great strengths is that it reveals itself gradually. You do not see the whole park from a single point. Instead, its meandering paths, planting and changes of level create a series of distinct spaces.
There are play areas and picnic tables, open lawns and quieter corners, as well as the more formal ornamental garden with its low hedges, mature shrubs and winding paths. For such a relatively small park, that variety is exceptional.
The Council's design report identifies "simplifying the park", "passive surveillance" and "keeping maintenance costs in check" as important objectives. We understand the need for parks to be safe and affordable to maintain, but these aims should not come at the expense of the qualities that make Langthorne Park distinctive.
If residents want large open landscapes, there are already many excellent options nearby, including Drapers Field, Wanstead Flats, Cathall Green, Leyton Flats and Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
Langthorne Park offers something different: a more intimate, garden-like landscape with distinct spaces and a sense of discovery.
That difference is worth protecting.
Wildlife and Biodiversity
The Council's decision to retain the small wildlife pond is very welcome.
The pond supports an established colony of newts, and frogspawn was recorded there in both 2025 and 2026. It is a small but valuable habitat and should now be protected and enhanced.
More broadly, the park's mature shrubs, trees and varied planting also contribute to biodiversity. Improving ecological value does not have to mean stripping away the existing landscape.
Concerns about the Consultation
The Council has stated that the proposals were informed by public consultation. However, many residents are only now becoming aware of the scale of the changes being considered.
Our Freedom of Information research found that the council's key design principles were substantially set out before the bulk of public engagement took place, and that the survey which followed was answered by a self-selecting group not representative of the local population in age, gender or ethnicity.
We therefore welcome the Council's commitment to consult further. That consultation should genuinely allow local people to say:
- what they value about the existing park
- what they believe needs improving;
- which features should be retained;
- what alternatives they would support; and
- what trade-offs are involved, with a clear explanation of what would be lost as well as gained
What's at Stake
One of the first major elements of the redevelopment has now been completed at the Birch Grove entrance, giving residents a clearer idea of what the Council's design strategy can look like in practice.
The old entrance had become neglected, but neglect is a maintenance problem and can be put right. The new scheme has undoubtedly “simplified” the area. The pergolas, railings and much of the planting that previously defined the area have been removed. It now feels less like the entrance to a green oasis and more like the edge of a supermarket car park.
That matters because the same approach, if repeated across the park, could permanently remove much of its distinctive character.
Neglect can be reversed. Simplification cannot.
The decisions made over the coming months will shape Langthorne Park for decades to come.
How you can help
If you'd like to help protect Langthorne Park, there are three simple things you can do.
Our Freedom of Information research found that some stages of the Council's consultation received fewer than 20 responses. In those cases, a single person's views accounted for more than 5% of all feedback.
If you care about the future of Langthorne Park, your voice genuinely can make a difference.
1. Sign and share this petition
Every signature demonstrates public support and helps raise awareness of the campaign. Please also consider sharing it with friends, family and local community groups.
2. Tell the regeneration team what you think
Email regeneration@walthamforest.gov.uk and ask for your comments to be recorded as feedback for the Langthorne Park regeneration consultation and evaluation.
Whether you support or oppose the current proposals, it is important that your views are formally recorded.
3. Contact your local councillor
Councillors can only represent residents' views if they hear them.
You can find your local councillor and their contact details here: https://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/council-and-elections/your-local-councillors-and-mps/your-local-councillor
Our Call
We ask Waltham Forest Council to work with residents and the Friends of Langthorne Park to develop a revised regeneration programme that builds on the park's existing strengths rather than simplifying them.
Future investment should focus on restoring and maintaining the gardens, mature planting, wildlife habitats and distinctive landscape that already make Langthorne Park special.
Improvements to safety should be achieved through good maintenance, active management and community stewardship, without unnecessarily removing the features that give the park its character.
Please sign this petition and help ensure that Langthorne Park receives the investment it deserves without losing the distinctive character that makes it such a special place.
799
The Issue
UPDATE - August 2026
This campaign has already made a difference.
Following representations from residents, Waltham Forest Council has confirmed that the small wildlife pond will no longer be removed as part of the current proposals. The Council has also agreed to carry out further consultation before deciding how to proceed with the remaining regeneration plans.
We welcome this positive step and are currently seeking a meeting with the Council to discuss the future of the park. We are also delighted that the Friends of Langthorne Park Regeneration Committee have formally endorsed this campaign.
We support investment in Langthorne Park. Our concern is not whether the park should be improved, but how those improvements are achieved.
Our campaign is now calling on the Council to protect Langthorne Park's distinctive character, invest in restoring and maintaining its landscape and wildlife habitats, and work with residents and the Friends of Langthorne Park to shape future improvements through genuine consultation.
Thank you to everyone who has signed and shared this petition. Your support has already helped secure one important change, and it can help shape what happens next.
The Issue
Waltham Forest Council is planning major changes to Langthorne Park in South Leytonstone as part of the next phase of its regeneration programme:
https://talk.walthamforest.gov.uk/langthornepark
These are not simply routine maintenance works. The Council's own design strategy is built around "simplifying the park", opening up long sightlines and passive surveillance.
In practice, the remaining proposals could involve:
- clearing substantial areas of shrubs and mature planting;
- removing or reducing winding paths and quieter spaces;
- removing decorative railings, fences and boundary features;
- opening up long views across the park; and
- reducing the separation between its different areas.
The result would be a significant change to the character of the park.
Why this matters
Langthorne Park is a much-loved, characterful and unusual local park.
One of its great strengths is that it reveals itself gradually. You do not see the whole park from a single point. Instead, its meandering paths, planting and changes of level create a series of distinct spaces.
There are play areas and picnic tables, open lawns and quieter corners, as well as the more formal ornamental garden with its low hedges, mature shrubs and winding paths. For such a relatively small park, that variety is exceptional.
The Council's design report identifies "simplifying the park", "passive surveillance" and "keeping maintenance costs in check" as important objectives. We understand the need for parks to be safe and affordable to maintain, but these aims should not come at the expense of the qualities that make Langthorne Park distinctive.
If residents want large open landscapes, there are already many excellent options nearby, including Drapers Field, Wanstead Flats, Cathall Green, Leyton Flats and Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
Langthorne Park offers something different: a more intimate, garden-like landscape with distinct spaces and a sense of discovery.
That difference is worth protecting.
Wildlife and Biodiversity
The Council's decision to retain the small wildlife pond is very welcome.
The pond supports an established colony of newts, and frogspawn was recorded there in both 2025 and 2026. It is a small but valuable habitat and should now be protected and enhanced.
More broadly, the park's mature shrubs, trees and varied planting also contribute to biodiversity. Improving ecological value does not have to mean stripping away the existing landscape.
Concerns about the Consultation
The Council has stated that the proposals were informed by public consultation. However, many residents are only now becoming aware of the scale of the changes being considered.
Our Freedom of Information research found that the council's key design principles were substantially set out before the bulk of public engagement took place, and that the survey which followed was answered by a self-selecting group not representative of the local population in age, gender or ethnicity.
We therefore welcome the Council's commitment to consult further. That consultation should genuinely allow local people to say:
- what they value about the existing park
- what they believe needs improving;
- which features should be retained;
- what alternatives they would support; and
- what trade-offs are involved, with a clear explanation of what would be lost as well as gained
What's at Stake
One of the first major elements of the redevelopment has now been completed at the Birch Grove entrance, giving residents a clearer idea of what the Council's design strategy can look like in practice.
The old entrance had become neglected, but neglect is a maintenance problem and can be put right. The new scheme has undoubtedly “simplified” the area. The pergolas, railings and much of the planting that previously defined the area have been removed. It now feels less like the entrance to a green oasis and more like the edge of a supermarket car park.
That matters because the same approach, if repeated across the park, could permanently remove much of its distinctive character.
Neglect can be reversed. Simplification cannot.
The decisions made over the coming months will shape Langthorne Park for decades to come.
How you can help
If you'd like to help protect Langthorne Park, there are three simple things you can do.
Our Freedom of Information research found that some stages of the Council's consultation received fewer than 20 responses. In those cases, a single person's views accounted for more than 5% of all feedback.
If you care about the future of Langthorne Park, your voice genuinely can make a difference.
1. Sign and share this petition
Every signature demonstrates public support and helps raise awareness of the campaign. Please also consider sharing it with friends, family and local community groups.
2. Tell the regeneration team what you think
Email regeneration@walthamforest.gov.uk and ask for your comments to be recorded as feedback for the Langthorne Park regeneration consultation and evaluation.
Whether you support or oppose the current proposals, it is important that your views are formally recorded.
3. Contact your local councillor
Councillors can only represent residents' views if they hear them.
You can find your local councillor and their contact details here: https://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/council-and-elections/your-local-councillors-and-mps/your-local-councillor
Our Call
We ask Waltham Forest Council to work with residents and the Friends of Langthorne Park to develop a revised regeneration programme that builds on the park's existing strengths rather than simplifying them.
Future investment should focus on restoring and maintaining the gardens, mature planting, wildlife habitats and distinctive landscape that already make Langthorne Park special.
Improvements to safety should be achieved through good maintenance, active management and community stewardship, without unnecessarily removing the features that give the park its character.
Please sign this petition and help ensure that Langthorne Park receives the investment it deserves without losing the distinctive character that makes it such a special place.
The Decision Makers
Supporter Voices
Petition Updates
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Petition created on 21 April 2026