RESIDENTS and visitors to Woodford Green are to be left in no doubt as to where they are once the new village sign is put up.

The hand-carved sign, which is 11.5 feet high and will be made of English oak, was approved by Redbridge Council's Area Two Committee and will go up on the central reservation at the junction of Woodford High Road and Broadmead Road, Woodford Green.

A council spokesperson said: "This superb new sign will be a welcome addition to the local area for residents and all those who visit the area and is another clear indication that area committees do work for the local area that they serve."

The sign, which will be hand carved, hand painted, and gilded in gold leaves on both sides, will feature historic aspects of Woodford Green.

It will depict the forest cattle, the steeple at All Saints Church in Inmans Row and Woodford's most famous politician, Sir Winston Churchill.

The design will also reflect the fact that Woodford Green is a major conservation area and that the grounds on which numerous cricket matches are played every summer are among the oldest in the country.

The initiative to put up the sign followed a suggestion by the Woodford Green Amenity Group, which has put money towards it.

The rest of the funding has come from the discretionary budget of Redbridge Council's Area Two Committee.

Committee chairman Councillor Michael Stark said: "I very much welcome the contribution of the Woodford Green Amenity Group in providing this sign, to which we will be contributing funds. I feel that it will add to the ambience and appearance of the Woodford Green shopping centre."

May 29, 2003 13:00