A sustainable community, where all citizens take pride in, and take care of Hackney and its environment, for future generations
Making our streets cleaner
Street cleanliness is still one of three top priorities cited by residents, although the number of Hackney residents who feel there is a problem with rubbish or litter in the borough is falling. The Council invested in more street cleansing machines, increased the frequency of street sweeping and strengthened enforcement activity, particularly to tackle graffiti and fly posting. An independent survey confirms that the streets of Hackney are now the cleanest they have ever been.
Making the borough greener
Recycling rates are continuing to increase in Hackney. Last year, 23 per cent of waste was recycled, exceeding our Government target of 20 per cent, and a significant improvement on the one per cent of waste that residents were recycling in 2002.
In 2008, several recycling options were trialled on Hackney’s estates. The results of the trials were analysed and a new estate recycling scheme was rolled out.
A total of seven of Hackney’s parks and open spaces were awarded the nationally-recognised Green Flag award – up from just one in 2006: Clissold, Springfield, Haggerston and Shoreditch parks were re-accredited, with London Fields, Hackney Downs and St John’s Churchyard being recognised for the first time.
Fostering sustainability
The Council is producing its own climate change strategy which will include targets to make the Council and the borough greener. The Sustainable Community Strategy also commits the Council and our partners to becoming greener.
Hackney Council has the lowest carbon emissions of any London borough. We introduced award winning solar powered pay and display machines, which save 72 tonnes of CO2 annually. And we added to our fleet, which is already one of the greenest in Europe, with 12 new low carbon-emission vehicles.
Residents on the Whiston and Goldsmiths estates benefited from energy efficient electricity monitors, plugs and light bulbs, as part of the Green Estates initiative. Meanwhile, Hackney Homes and the Shoreditch Trust completed the first phase of a combined heat and power scheme to reduce CO2 emissions and improve energy efficiency ratings on the Cranston Estate.
Replacement Council buildings, including the Cashiers Office and the new Customer Service Centre being built in Hillman Street, have been awarded ‘very good’ and ‘excellent’ BREEAM ratings - the standard mark used to rate a building’s environmental performance.
We are also on track to have the first BREEAM ‘excellent’ rated primary school in the country.
Switching to greener travel
The number of Council staff cycling to work increased to one in five. There was also a 75 per cent increase in the number of staff walking to work or using public transport, meaning that fewer than a quarter of our staff are now using cars to get to work.
Streetcar, Hackney’s successful car sharing club, supported by the Council, was extended in March 2009 with an additional 59 bays at 30 locations.
The Council became Transport Borough of the Year at Transport for London’s Sustainable Transport awards in March. We also beat off strong competition to win Best London Borough Travel Plan.
Supporting the voluntary sector
Team Hackney was recently judged by Government to be delivering excellence in the way it works with its partners to deliver services which measurably benefit local people. In January 2009, the partnership provided over a million pounds of funding over two years for umbrella organisations including: Hackney Council for Voluntary Service (HCVS), Hackney Voluntary Action, the Hackney Play Association and the Jewish umbrella organisation, Interlink.
In January 2009, Team Hackney representatives and Hackney’s community and voluntary sector signed the Hackney Compact, a written agreement setting out how partners will work together to provide the best services for the people of Hackney.
Restoring vital services
The Council is working with the Shoreditch Trust to re-open Murray Grove Post Office. This will reintroduce a vital service in an area where it is most needed. The project will also look at the possibility of providing other financial services from the Post Office, such as affordable financial products.
Getting involved
In 2008, the Council launched a new e-panel, Hackney Matters, and 2,500 residents joined, agreeing to share their views on a range of local issues with the Council through regular online surveys. What residents told us led to extra investment in the Council’s budget to provide additional street sweeping and enforcement in the areas of greatest concern. The first e-panel, which asked residents about their thoughts on litter and street cleanliness, won an e-media award from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR).
Local Democracy Week 2008 saw the Youth Parliament Elections attracting record numbers of young voters. Almost 3,000 votes were cast, representing 30 per cent of 11-19 year olds in Hackney. Twenty two youth representatives were elected and now play an active role in policy and decision making.
Four neighbourhood youth forums and several club and estate-based forums enable a further 400 young people to get involved. Over the past year, these active young people have delivered an Ambassadors programme, Discover Young Hackney, and peer research into the needs and interests of local young people.
In the months leading up to Local Democracy Week, the Council ran a campaign encouraging people to register to vote. In 2008, 40 per cent more young people joined the electoral register.
Keeping residents informed
Last year, Team Hackney provided funding for 19 new, ward-based editions of the Safer Hackney newsletter. These were first published in March 2009 and will be delivered directly to residents’ homes every two months. The aim of the new, more localised, newsletters, which are produced jointly by the Police and Hackney Council, is to keep residents up to date about policing and community safety in their own area, and to demonstrate how partners work together to make Hackney safer and cleaner.
During 2008, the Council website was redeveloped, making it easier for residents to pay bills and use online services.
Delivering on customer service
Construction of the new Customer Service Centre in Hillman Street continued during 2008 and is on track to open to our residents in 2010.
The centre will provide a single point of access for customers to all Council services, under one roof. The Council is also working with the NHS City and Hackney and the Police to deliver shared front counter services from the Centre.
Seventeen key service delivery organisations in Hackney have signed up to a customer service pledge, known as the Public Service Promise. They have formed a new Customer Service Forum which will ensure that Hackney residents receive a high standard of customer care, seamless advice and signposting from the Council and our partners, wherever and however they choose to access their services.
Page updated: 15 Jun 2010
.