Stamford Hill Area Action Plan examination

Inspector

Inspector Simon Dean MA MRTPI from the Planning Inspectorate has been appointed by the Secretary of State to carry out the independent examination of the Stamford Hill Area Action Plan.

The Inspector will consider the comments received as part of the Regulation 19 consultation on the Stamford Hill Area Action Plan. They will identify various matters, issues and questions to consider at the Hearing Sessions which will be held during the Examination

The examination process

Visit GOV.UK for guidance and information on local plans from the Planning Inspectorate, including:

• the Local Plan examination process
• the procedure guide for Local Plan examinations
• guidance for Programme Officers during Local Plan examinations
• taking part in Local Plan examinations

Programme Officer

Louise St John Howe has been appointed as the Programme Officer.

The Programme Officer is an independent officer of the examination who:

• works on behalf of the Inspector
• organises and manages the administrative and procedural aspects of the examination process
• acts as the main point of contact for anyone interested in the examination
• liaises between the Inspector, Representors and Hackney Council

Any matters that anyone wishes to raise with the Inspector should be submitted via the Programme Officer.

For information on preparation of the plan, see Stamford Hill Area Action Plan.

Main Modifications consultation

Following the examination hearings of the Stamford Hill Area Action Plan in September 2025, the Inspector issued a post-hearings letter to the council (PDF 509kb).

At the request of the council, the Inspector recommended a number of Main Modifications to the Stamford Hill Area Action Plan. These were put forward for consultation without any prejudice to the Inspector’s final conclusions.

The council consulted on the proposed Main Modifications and the updated Integrated Impact Assessment from 8 December 2025 to 19 February 2026. 

View the documents that were consulted on:

• proposed Main Modifications SHAAP/ED17 (Google Doc)
• updated Integrated Impact Assessment for the Main Modification SHAAP/ED18 (Google Doc)

View the responses to the consultation:

• responses to the Main Modifications with council’s comments - SHAAP/ED21 (Google Sheets)
• original representations made on Citizen Space - SHAAP/ED22 (Google Sheets)
• original representations made by email - SHAAP/ED23 (Google Sheets)
• council’s note on the Main Modifications consultation - SHAAP/ED20 (PDF 76KB)

The Inspector will now consider all the representations made on the proposed Main Modifications before finalising the examination report and recommendations.

There are no more scheduled hearing sessions. However, the Inspector might decide to hold additional hearings to deal with any substantial issues raised in the representations, or to ensure fairness.

Examination library

The full list of evidence base reference documents that support the Stamford Hill Area Action Plan.

See Core documents (google drive).

See Evidence base (google drive)

Examination documents

Correspondence and documents from the Inspector, council and Representors following submission of the Local Plan for examination.

See Examination documents (google drive).

Hearing sessions

Hearing sessions are part of the examination of the Stamford Hill Area Action Plan. Following careful consideration and community feedback, the hearing sessions scheduled to begin on 8 April 2025 were postponed in the interests of ensuring maximum opportunity for participation and fairness. The hearings will now take place over 3 days, opening at 9.30am on Tuesday 9 September to Thursday 11 September 2025. All sessions will be held in person at the Committee Rooms, Hackney Town Hall, Mare Street, London E8 1EA.

The hearing sessions are public meetings, so anyone can attend to listen to the discussions.

If you want to record or film the hearing sessions

Media organisations that want to record or film the event must contact the Planning Inspectorate’s press office in advance. You can email press.office@planninginspectorate.gov.uk or call 0303 444 5004.

You can also contact Duncan Wood, media and external affairs information officer on 0303 444 5337 or 0777 8043 454.

Anyone else who wants to record or film the event using equipment larger than a smartphone, tablet, compact camera or similar must contact the Programme Officer beforehand. This is especially important if you’ll need to move around the venue while filming.

Hearing sessions programme

• Hearing sessions agenda (PDF 53kb)
• Stamford Hill AAP draft programme (Google Doc)
• Stamford Hill AAP draft programme and participants (004) (PDF 122kb)

The Inspector has issued an updated guidance note for the hearings.

The Inspector’s guidance notes on the examination explain:

• how the hearing sessions will be run
• how to register if wishing to take part in the hearing sessions
• how to submit hearing statements

View SHAAP/ED6 – Inspectors guidance notes – 8 May 2025 (PDF 557kb)
View SHAAP/ED4 – Inspector’s guidance notes for the examination – 4 February 2025 (PDF 101kb)
View SHAAP/ED5 – Inspector’s matters, issues and questions – 4 February 2025 (PDF 46kb)

If you’ve made a representation at Regulation 19, when the council invited comments on the version of the Action Plan to be submitted for examination, and your representation seeks a change to the Plan then you have a right to appear and be heard by the Inspector. See paragraphs 26 to 33 in the Inspector’s Guidance Notes for further information on taking part in the hearings.

Representations

Representations received in response to the Regulation 19 consultation on the Stamford Hill Area Action Plan are as follows:

See Representations (google drive)

Hearing statements

The hearing statements submitted in response to the Inspector’s Matters, Issues and Questions for discussion at the hearings can be viewed below.