Plans for new homes in Stamford Hill have been labelled a “failure” by local campaign group.
Hackney Council introduced the action plan to address the fast-growing population in Stamford Hill and the need for housing and local facilities such as schools and local spaces.
Dealing with overcrowding
The proposed plan is to build larger family homes to address overcrowding, allow the conversion of houses to flats, and support house extensions with the installation of basements and roof extensions for up to two storeys.
Hackney Planning Watch, a local campaign group, said they “welcome some of the draft plan, such as the emphasis on family homes”, but that they had “serious concerns about some of the key proposals.”
A statement on the Watch’s website said that the council’s plan for Stamford Hill would only add 600 new homes “which would go no way towards meeting the increased need.”
Concerns over green spaces
The community group also raised concerns over the green spaces in the area that would be removed if the council allowed extensions, and the “increased noise, congestion and pollution” that would come from any building work and new schools to the area.
Michael Smithers, a resident of Stamford Hill, was very critical of the council’s action plan. He accused the council of “greenwashing” and said “Hackney Labour have completely lost [his] support”.
A spokesperson for Hackney Planning Watch said: “We fear that the selective and unrepresentative nature of the consultation means that the concerns of many local people have been overlooked, and this could produce the opposite result to that desired and needed.”
The council has written to all residents in Stamford Hill to hear their concerns. Following the consultation, Cllr Guy Nicholson, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Housing Supply, Planning, Culture and Inclusive Economy said: “the response to date already demonstrates just how much passion residents have for the neighbourhood and its future.”
