September report

Councillors Report – September 2011

£11.5 million for the refurbishment of Kings Crescent Estate

The cabinet meeting on 18th July approved a further £11.5 million to complete the refurbishment of the estate. The first stage includes replacement of lateral mains and corridor lighting, all lifts and then installation of two tier door entry systems. This stage also includes new roofs and windows for Weston and Lemsford Courts. The second stage works include energy efficiency works to all blocks, and retrofitting parts of Datchworth, Theobalds and Bramfield.

The masterplan for the estate has been amended following a further consultation with residents. We received comments back from the GLA which were broadly supportive but had concerns about the proportion of social housing and mix of unit sizes which we share. Officers still hope to submit an outline planning application in the autumn.

Woodberry Down regeneration – new community centre opens

The new Redmond Community Centre was opened on July 22nd by Sir Bob Kerslake, head of the Department of Communities and Local Government. It’s an impressive facility with stunning views over the New River Path and West Reservoir.

As reported previously, the first residents moved into brand new homes in “Reservoir Apartments” in May 2011. A second block, “Watersreach” has now been fully handed over to Genesis HA and is occupied.

The third, “Aqua Apartments” should be handed over by the end of August. And the next “Parkway” is back on schedule to be handed over in November this year. The tower block is now up to it’s full height and the external cladding almost complete.

At 268 Green Lanes the roof has been installed and carpentry work is now complete to rear block. The front block is on schedule. It is also anticipated that both Peak & Petherton will be completely demolished by end of September.

August 2011 riots

One of the outbreaks in London on 8th August was on and around Clarence Road in central Hackney. The council’s cleansing team did an outstanding job to remove virtually all traces overnight. Councillors and officers met with affected residents and business during the days after. However since then there have been no incidents.

In Brownswood, the SNT team provided us with updates on number of arrests and actions taken. The latest figures across Hackney are –
• 142 suspects arrested
• Over 80 charged - majority to court in custody
• 52 warrants applied for since investigation began
• CCTV and information still being researched

There was an increased police presence around Finsbury Park and Manor House during the period. As far as we are aware there were no riot related disturbances. We spoke to shopkeepers on Blackstock Road who reported business as usual. Across Hackney, local councillors have since played a major role in supporting local businesses and celebrating the many positive developments in the area.

School results

Hackney’s school results continue to improve at an astonishing rate. Every secondary or sixth form for which results have been published, got at least 96% of students getting the basic 5 A to E grades. Stoke Newington School, a state comprehensive, helped 23% of its pupils get all A’s and A’stars as opposed to 9% last year.

Although exact figures aren’t available yet, it is also expected that our primary SATs result will exceed national averages for the first time.

St Johns Court Estate

Despite the substantial reduction in government grant for Decent Homes, we have lobbied successfully for the tower block at St Johns to be prioritised in this years programme. However residents in the two low rise blocks remain dissatisfied.

Alexandra National

The latest update is below, overall the build is about 2 weeks behind:
• Siteworks and cages are complete
• Reduced dig and piling has begun on the villa blocks
• The first 20m of the new road are laid
• Tower cranes were due on site on 28 July
• Concrete frame works should have commenced from 1 August

It should eventually provide -
Tenure 1B 2B 3B 4B Total homes
Council rent 18 26 19 4 67
Private sale 18 11 9 4 42

Traffic calming and 20mph zones

We are currently consulting on the implementation of 3 zones which will eventually cover the entire ward – one south of Brownswood Road; one north of Brownswood Road and west of Green Lanes; and one east of Green Lanes (which includes adjacent parts of Lordship ward).

The 2010 Hackney Labour manifesto included in it a commitment to introduce a 20mph speed limit on all residential roads in the borough. This is to make the roads safer for all users, particularly pedestrians and cyclists, hence we have already implemented 20mph across most of the borough. The residential roads in Brownswood ward are next on the list to have 20mph zone implemented on roads where there is speeding.
A seven day speed survey was carried out in Brownswood and indicated that there are speeding issues on some of the roads. As a result, speed humps were proposed for certain locations, including Queen’s Drive. On Queen’s Drive, the speed survey indicated that 85% of traffic had an average speed of 25.3 mph. Police accident records also showed that in the past five years there have been five personal injury accidents involving cars and the most vulnerable road users (two pedestrians, two cyclists and one motorcyclist), two of which resulted in serious injuries.

The existing barriers remain!


Councillors Brian Bell, Oli de Botton and Feryal Demirci