Stamford Hill area action plan

Since 2015, we’ve been working with the Stamford Hill community on the Stamford Hill plan. It’s a dedicated planning document called an area action plan (AAP) for Stamford Hill.

The Stamford Hill plan aims to:

• provide specific guidance on how to make new developments and changes to local spaces, reflecting the unique circumstances of Stamford Hill
• help to overcome the challenges the area faces, now and in the future ensure that changes in Stamford Hill benefit the local community first

Over the last 9 years, we’ve engaged with thousands of local people and groups. We’ve developed a draft area action plan (AAP) that reflects what we’ve heard are the key issues and opportunities. It offers policies and guidance to address these for the next 15 years.

Why we need a Stamford Hill plan

Stamford Hill’s population has grown and the area has become popular to live in. This has increased pressure on housing and on facilities like schools, community spaces, and local spaces.

The Stamford Hill plan aims to help address these challenges and manage change in line with the needs of local people. It will outline how and where to provide new homes. It will also give planning guidance. The guidance will help improve community facilities, shopping centers, and public spaces. This will include identifying specific sites where larger new developments may be possible. It will also include guidance for smaller new developments and changes to existing buildings.

Who we’re working with

The Stamford Hill Community Panel includes community representatives and members of local organisations. They have played a key role in developing the Stamford Hill plan.

This group aims to reflect the demographic, faith, and ethnic makeup of the diverse community in Stamford Hill. The panel advises us on community engagement. They have helped ensure that a range of local views are considered in the policies. They also ensure that consultation reaches a wide audience.

We also set up a project steering group to shape the plan’s delivery. They will also help build support for it in the community.

What’s happened so far

So far we’ve:

• produced a broad range of evidence base studies to understand the needs of the community
• undertaken an 18-month engagement programme including drop-in events, questionnaires, sessions with local schools and workshops covering different themes. Including leisure and social facilities, local businesses, public realm and green spaces, health and wellbeing, housing, education and learning.
• used the huge amount of feedback received to inform Towards a Stamford Hill Plan (PDF 3mb) – an early document setting out a vision for the future of Stamford Hill alongside a series of objectives identified in order to meet this
• consulted on the Towards a Stamford Hill Plan document, with more than 2,000 people giving their views over a period of eight weeks
• used the Towards a Stamford Hill Plan consultation to inform the draft Stamford Hill plan alongside continued engagement with the community, including thematic workshops with schools and other local institutions
• grouped the key challenges and opportunities for Stamford Hill into 6 areas: housing, local enterprise and economy, community wellbeing, design and historic environment, public realm and green infrastructure
• consulted on a draft version of the Stamford Hill area action plan(AAP) through our dedicated consultation website, via email, hard copy questionnaires and a series of drop-in events
•  Regulation 18 consultation on the draft Stamford Hill Area Action Plan:
  ○ draft Stamford Hill AAP – full document (high resolution) (PDF 65mb)
  ○ draft Stamford Hill AAP – full document (low resolution) (PDF 5mb)
  ○ draft Stamford Hill AAP – summary document (PDF 2mb)
  ○ draft Stamford Hill AAP – policies map (PDF 55mb)
  

We have also analysed the feedback on the draft Stamford Hill area action plan, see consultation report – draft Stamford Hill area action plan (google doc).

What’s happening now

Cabinet and full council approved the proposed submission version of the Stamford Hill area action plan for consultation. They did this in the last week of February 2024. This consultation is due to open in early May 2024.

We have also developed a draft Stamford Hill design guide. It is a Supplementary Planning Document that we will consult on alongside the Stamford Hill area action plan.

What’s happening next

Consultation on the Stamford Hill area action plan (Regulation 19 consultation) on the proposed submission documents will open in early May. This will be a six-week consultation period. We will be organising many in-person and online events to gather feedback.

Once the consultation has gone live we will provide further information on how you can get involved in the consultation.

Send an email to planmaking@hackney.gov.uk if you want to join the consultation database. We will email you when the consultation goes live.

Once the consultation period closes, we will record the feedback. We will submit it with the plan to the planning inspectorate for examination.

We seek to adopt this version, subject to that examination, as the future framework for decision making on planning in Stamford Hill alongside the borough-wide local plan 2033.

For more information about the AAP email planmaking@hackney.gov.uk or call 020 8356 8084.

Stamford Hill AAP evidence base

Since the draft Stamford Hill Area Action Plan consultation in 2021 to 2022 we have continued to update and expand the evidence base for the Stamford Hill AAP.

This has helped us develop the draft AAP, by identifying policy options and site guidance for the Stamford Hill AAP.