Campaigners fighting the building of four new tower blocks and the loss of 80 trees are still hoping the scheme can be halted.

Waltham Forest Council last year granted permission for four tower blocks in an 86,000sq ft extension of The Mall in Walthamstow.

There will be 500 new homes and a new town square, but 80 mature trees will be felled and a children’s playground moved.

Work on the 29-storey blocks is scheduled to begin in 2020 but last month Mount Anvil severed its partnership with Capital & Regional and pulled out.

Members of Save Our Square E17 group gathered on Saturday to call for public support to halt the plans.

Group chairman Nancy Taaffe said: “Now with property developers Mount Anvil pulling out and the combination of factors coming together there is a real possibility that these plans may not go ahead.

“We want people to keep pressing ahead with what we were originally campaigning against, which is the loss of public space and the fact the homes are unaffordable.”

“We want to protect the trees and we feel it is our right to do so.”

The group gathered to ask the public to write Christmas cards to Waltham Forest Council to intervene and stop the trees from being felled.

Passers by made decorations to hang on the trees lining a pathway connecting Walthamstow Central station and the high street.

There were also artists who had made tower block costumes and an arts and crafts area.

Ms Taaffe said: “Even though there was an amber weather warning last Saturday, Save Our Square decided to go ahead with our planned Christmas event in the square.

“The campaign has been out despite the blistering heat and pouring rain, so we decided to carry on in our three year tradition and not cancel.

“We understand it is a busy time of year with a lot of domestic and personal pressures, but we called on people to come and mark it - to pass by and sign a card or pin a decoration and partake in the scene.

“People also brought us mince pies when they came along, which gave us encouragement on this freezing Christmas Saturday.

“It was in part celebratory and in part to inform people not to take a step backwards.”

The event also involved Christmas music and speeches from members of the Save Our Square E17 group, with conservationists from the Walthamstow Wetlands invited.

This event comes two months after an exhibition showcasing photographs, paintings and sculptures from 17 artists showing the benefits of the 81 trees scheduled to be chopped down as part of the regeneration plans was held at Winns Gallery in Lloyd Park, Walthamstow.

Campaigners from Save Our Square E17 are meeting on January 26, at Harmony Hall, with a Sheffield Tree defender and a Stansted 15 defendant speaking in a bid to learn more about successful campaign tactics.

The Stansted 15 were a group of people who locked themselves on to a Titan Airways Boeing 767 secretly chartered by the Home Office, to protest the deportation of 60 migrants to Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

The 15 protesters were convicted of terrorism offences at Chelmsford Crown court last Monday.

Ms Taaffe added: “We have a hell of a lot of stamina and will continue to campaign to save our square and keep the trees standing.”

“Save Our square calls for genuinely affordable housing, and rejects this model which, we believe, has compounded the housing crisis.

“We need council housing not corporate takeover of public spaces.”

Cllr Simon Miller, cabinet member for economic growth and high streets, said: “The current Town Square is not fit for purpose. It is outdated, badly designed, and a magnet for anti-social behaviour. The Mall redevelopment will make better use of the location, and will create a new children’s playground alongside a new area for residents to host their own events in this improved community space. The overall number of trees in Town Square will actually increase when the development is complete, and we are additionally committed to planting five trees across the borough for each removed during the development.

“Last winter we planted 1,600 new trees right across Waltham Forest, bringing the total to over 50,000 for the first time in our history. We are incredibly proud of this as we prepare for this winter’s planting season where we will plant even more trees across the borough, carefully selected by experts for their sustainability and suitability to the area. It shows that we are committed to tackling air pollution and to investing in our trees.

“We have a duty to protect our environment and at the same time to provide jobs for our residents. Economic growth will enable people to make the most of their life chances in Waltham Forest. The Mall redevelopment will provide hundreds of new construction and retail jobs, as well as over 500 new homes and a major boost to our night-time and cultural economy. It will also allow for an upgrade of Walthamstow Central Station, providing step-free access to the Underground and giving people more public transport options so that they can leave their cars at home and further help us reduce air pollution.”