April 2007 News

Hackney on the up

By Jules Pipe

As directly elected Mayor, my job is to make Hackney a good place for local people to live, work and play. Of course the first job is to identify what exactly it is that makes somewhere a good place to live. While there are lots of studies and statistics that suggest the kind of things that are needed, when all’s said and done, it’s what local people feel they need that should be the deciding factor.

Hackney residents say the five most important elements are plenty of decent and affordable housing, low levels of crime, regeneration schemes, clean streets, and lots of activities for young people.

That’s why the Council has based its plans and priorities on these things and, while I know there is a lot more to be done, this article explains the progress the Council has been making in these areas.

1. More decent and affordable homes

A lot of progress has been made to ensure that there are more decent and affordable homes in Hackney.

In July, Hackney was awarded the largest allocation of money in London to build new homes. The Housing Corporation gave Hackney £121million towards new affordable housing.

On top of this a further £5million is being made available to make improvements to existing homes owned by housing associations.

Hackney Choice was launched last September – a lettings scheme affecting over 10,000 people on the housing waiting and transfer list.

The scheme has allowed people to have more choice and control over where they live.

The Decent Homes programme has had £45million investment over the last year.

This has gone towards improvements on estates, including installation of secure door entry systems, enhanced lighting, lift renewal, energy efficiency and drainage work.

Over the last year 2,368 properties have been made decent externally and 1,500 properties made decent internally.

2. A safer borough

There has been positive feedback from residents about levels of crime. Big improvements have been made in tackling abandoned cars; vandalism; graffiti and deliberate damage to property; and drunken and rowdy behaviour.

Residents are more satisfied due to falling levels of crime. According to the Met Police, crime has been reduced by nearly 28 per cent since 2004. Over the last year, street robbery has fallen by nearly 12 per cent and residential burglary is down over 25 per cent.

Hackney has also benefited from lots of successful developments to help reduce anti-social behaviour. For example, more CCTV cameras have been installed and around the borough which has increased safety.

3. Regeneration schemes

The 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games are bringing significant economic and physical regeneration to Hackney. The Council is working with partners to ensure residents and local business and enterprise benefit from Games-related opportunities.

Of particular significance for our borough is the location of the media centres for 2012 within the Olympic Park at Hackney Wick. These facilities will remain after the Games, providing the opportunity to draw in media and digital industries. This supports our vision for a creative, high specification employment hub for East London.

The media centres will be at the heart of a new neighbourhood at Hackney Wick which will also include affordable new homes, cafes and shops, alongside sports facilities and green spaces.

The Games are also helping the Council drive forward its key priorities including better public transport, new jobs, work for local businesses, new and improved sports facilities, and more participation in sport and culture.

Hackney will be connected to the tube network for the first time via the extension of the East London Line, with new stations at Dalston, Haggerston, Hoxton, Shoreditch and Highbury and Islington by 2010.

The new station at Dalston Junction brings a major opportunity for regeneration, and Hackney Council is working with partners to build a new development opposite the station. This will include homes (with family-sized properties for social rent), shops, restaurants, a new library and public archive, and a central open space for everyone to use.

4. A cleaner, greener borough

Hackney is now the 9th cleanest out of 28 London boroughs, a great improvement from bottom spot in 2003. According to this year’s residents’ survey, satisfaction with street cleanliness and recycling has gone up by 21 per cent – the biggest improvement out of all the London boroughs.

Some green highlights include:

• The introduction of a new, low emission waste fleet, leading to lower missed collection rates
• More ways to recycle and the expansion of compulsory recycling. This has improved recycling rates from less than 1 per cent in 2002 to an average of 18.75 per cent last year
• Achieving an award for being the best cycling borough in London
• Maintaining the popular Stamford Hill and Shoreditch street warden scheme

5. Activities for young people

There have been several successful programmes of activities over the last year.

Highlights include:

• The summer events programme – Hackney Active – which brought together details of over 200 summer activities for young people
• The first ever Discover Young Hackney festival – a two month long event that celebrated the borough’s dynamic arts industry. This gave young people the chance to have a go at activities ranging from set design to creative writing, and learn valuable skills from professionals.

Opportunities for young people are continuing to increase through investment into services.

The Council is on track to rebuild all our secondary schools and five new schools by 2012.

The Petchey Academy opened its doors in Dalston last September and the Bridge Academy in Shoreditch will have its first intake of 180 children in September this year. Also 22 Children's Centres are planned to be in place over the next two years. These will aim to provide a range of high-quality, accessible day-care, education and family support services to the local community.

Educational achievement has gone up, with over 50 per cent of Hackney pupils achieving five good GCSEs last year. This is a 62 per cent improvement on the 2002 results.

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Page updated: 15 Jun 2010