Local boost as Council secures more funding for Woodberry Down

Hackney Council has successfully lobbied the Homes and Community Agency (HCA) for a further £15m to continue building homes on Woodberry Down Estate over the next five years.

The funding was secured after the Council agreed to invest over £16m, with our development partner Berkley Homes putting in more than £30m in to the programme.

As you may have seen from our previous blog update, planning permission for most of the phase 2 Woodberry Down development was granted in January, with a further application due in March.

Going forward this means we have almost half of the 4,600 homes planned for the 20-year regeneration either under construction or due over the next five years. This is an incredible step forward especially in the current climate when developments across the country have come to a halt.

We are proud that we have got this far in what has been a long fight for local residents. We will continue to work hard to make sure the funding delivers outstanding new homes for people in our community.

New planning applications in Brownswood

1.   Applicant: Mr Kayode Olaoye

Application Number: 2010/2651

Application Type  Full Planning Application

Date Received: 21/10/2010

Validation Date: 06/01/2011

Agent: Mr Ibi Ekineh

Agent Tel:

Address:

35-37 Blackstock Road, London N4 2JF

Development Case Officer: Graham Callam

January Update

Council Budget

When the Local Government Finance Settlement was finally announced in December, the Coalition government were reducing Hackney’s formula grant by 11.3% and 7.6% in the years 2011/12 and 2012/13 respectively.

We were one of the worst affected authorities in the country, and together with our neighbours Tower Hamlets and Newham, the worst in London. By contrast those hotspots of deprivation Richmond-upon-Thames, Buckinghamshire and Surrey face reductions of 0.61% or less.

Lobbying on behalf of local government by amongst others Jules Pipe in his capacity as Chair of London Councils, forced the government to introduce transitional measures which would allow them to claim it was only a maximum of 8.9% this year.