“Chingford is not in Essex goddamit”

8:59am Wednesday 30th July 2008

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The simmering row about whether Chingford should be in Waltham Forest has been brought back to the boil by a social networking site insisting people stop classing it as Essex. Mhairi Macfarlane spoke to Chingfordians to find out why the matter is so contentious.

TIRED of national newspapers referring to it as “Chingford, Essex”, a resident set up a Facebook group to set the record straight.“Chingford is not in Essex goddamit” has so far attracted 362 members who feel strongly about the boundary.

Its creator George Sotiriou said: “I set it up because I was fed up with people getting it wrong. You say where you are from, and people say it is in Essex. It used to be but it is not now. if it did it would have an Essex postcode and dialling code.”

Mr Sotiriou, 33, a Mac Artworker of The Ridgeway, believes the popularity of the site is because some east Londoners no longer want to be associated with Essex “Many people don’t want to be associated with places in Essex, like Romford or Chigwell, because it has had a negative reputation,“ he said. “I call Chingford the posh east London. But you do get the orange girls coming out of the tanning salons like in Essex.”

It was the creation of the Local Government Act in 1965 that merged Walthamstow, Leyton and Chingford to become the London Borough of Waltham Forest, causing outcry among some residents.

Some living in mock-Tudor homes in north Chingford feel they have more in common with rural Essex, than with densely populated towns like Walthamstow or Leyton, and would like to see it returned to the Essex county.

Local historian David Piggot, 68, of Drysdale Avenue, a founder of Acorn Films, has recorded the former village’s history through the Chingford Newsreel that has been released every year since 1951.

He said: “I have lived in Chingford all my life, and along with so many other Chingfordians, I rue the day when we were forced to become part of a London borough.

“I think the majority of residents would rather be in Essex. They always feel Chingford is the poor relation and that funding goes to other parts of Waltham Forest.”

Despite the row about boundaries, many residents are in agreement about one thing - that they take pride in their town.

Mr Sotiriou said: “I feel very strongly about it because I was born and raised here. I have always liked it because it is a nice place to live.”

Mr Piggot added: “It has grown from an east London suburb but retains its own identity. You can come out of Chingford station and turn left and be in a busy shopping centre, or turn right and be in the heart of Epping Forest.

“There aren’t many places you can say that about in London. Everywhere is changing but it retains its community spirit.”