Public refused right to speak at public meeting

Hackney has refused all members of the public the right to speak at the Council "Extraordinary" Planning Committee meeting tomorrow (reported here). The meeting is to allow Rothas Ltd, the developer of a proposed 19-storey tower block on Kingsland High Street, exclusive access to present the merits and benefits of its scheme to the Council's Plannning Committee. The Committee members will then be entitled to discuss and comment on the developers plans. Any member of the public attending must remain silent.

Would Hackney's Mayor Jules Pipe feel he had been stitched up and silenced at the Plannning Committee meeting tomorrow ? 

The Council's Constitution presently forbids lobbying of Planning Committee members before a planning application is formally made and considered. Its policies also enshrine the duty of the Planning Committee to act fairly and impartially as between developers and residents. . A change in Hackney's Constitution requires a vote of all members of the Council. Senior planning officers have persuaded the Committee that its new "pilot scheme for pre-application meetings" with developers is within the rules.

The last time the developer applied for planning permission, with the support and recommendation of Council planning officers, the Planning Committee members threw it out unanimously. The Council hopes that the new "pilot scheme" will avoid such "misunderstandings" in the future.

(Readers will recall our warning last year that, whilst the last application for an 18-storey tower on the site may have been buried, it was not dead. It has now returned to stalk our High Street. Ed)

19-storey tower for Kingsland High Street - Hackney tells public to "remain silent".

Developers' of a 19 storey tower block on Kingsland High St. have been given an unprecedented opportunity to influence the Council's Planning Committee at a meeting, before a formal planning application is made. To avoid allegations of secrecy, the Council has issued a letter to invited members of the public to watch the event live, in the Town Hall, on 17th July at 6:30pm.

This image is of the redesigned proposed tower, on the Peacocks site next to Dalston Kingsland station. The previous version of the tower, was rejected by Hackney's Planning Committee in March 2012. Penthouse apartments are expected to sell at over £1m, there will be fewer affordable homes ( 10% not 13%) and no improvements are now proposed for the station. 

The developer will be permitted 15 minutes to inform the Planning Committee of the merits and benefits of its plans and a further 15 minutes to answer the Committee's questions.

The Council's letter reminds the public, once again, of its "committment to community involvement in the planning process at an early stage" and that invitees are required to follow its rules for the event, which are:
1. You must reman silent
2. You are not allowed to ask questions
3. You are not allowed to give opinions or make pleas

When will the Planning Committee allow members of the public 30 minutes, at a formative stage, to ask questions, provide information and give opinions to the Committee about the developer's plans?

(Former Deputy Mayor, Karen Alcock, is Hackney's Cabinet member for Property and Housing Policy and has declared her employment by the PR company, Four Communications, which promoted the developers previous scheme. Ed)

 

 

Environmental Alert! East London under threat from giant leeches.

Our guest writer, field biologist Clear Hardly, alerts us to evolutionary changes occurring in East London's invertebrates, particularly leeches, which are on the move since the authorities disturbed their ancient habitats in the waterways of Hackney Marshes to develop the 2012 Olympic Park in Stratford.



Hirudo leech: Segmented worm of the Phylum Annelida species, with anterior and posterior suckers, hermaphrodites, it explores the water environment and feeds on its host injecting anti-coagulents to assist predation and, when gorged with blood, it falls away.

 

Hirudo gigantae vulgaris: these huge leeches have emerged from the marshes to become wholly terrestrial in form. They feed on development sites, inject capital and rapaciously extract huge value from their hosts at the expense of future generations. They favour brownfield and, increasingly, greenfield land. When gorged they fall away and move on in search of new opportunities.

"Not to be mistaken for pond life, I urge local communities to keep a wary lookout for Hirudo gigantae vulgaris" said Clear Hardly "particularly around London's East End like Dalston Stoke Newington, Forest Gate and Shoreditch. Even community gardens, sports fields, and common land are no longer safe. When they feed....you bleed! " 

Are we " building the slums of tomorrow" ?

In 2008 Sir Richard Rogers, former government advisor on urban design, coined the phrase "We are building the slums of tomorrow". He made the statement at the height of the debt-fuelled boom. Now, in the age of austerity, are standards improving?

Hackney's Planning Committee approved TfL/Hackney/Taylor Wimpey's Western Curve gated Dalston development  last Wednesday. Is their "public/private partnership" up to standard? 

TfL/Taylor Wimpey's Western Curve Dalston development, before and after the 'improvements'.

Because the development will breach Hackney's government approved Dalston Area Action Plan the Committee were supposed to consider whether those breaches were "required" for financial reasons, whether they will bring "additional significant regeneration benefits" and whether it will be an "exemplar" building. These requirements were not reported to or considered by the Committee when it's members approved planning permission. 

Nor was there evidence that the development will "strengthen and enhance" Dalston town centre's character and identity - in fact quite the reverse, because the "could be anywhere" designs will dominate and overshadow the High Street and its heritage buildings.

Some of the flats, to be packed into TfL/Taylor Wimpey's development, will have between only 0.0% and 3.6% probable sunlight hours annually .This is way below British Standards, and is "Substantial adverse", according to TfL's own consultant's report. The environmental effect of the scheme on our high street, and its heritage assets, will be as bad if not worse. Why are such low standards being allowed?


The Worship of Mammon 1909 by Evelyn de Morgan

“mammon”: (noun) possibly of Aramaic origin, meaning riches. First personified in English as the false god of wealth, avarice and injustice in the mediaeval poem Piers Plowman and later as the fallen angel, Lucifer, in Milton's Paradise Lost.
“mammonistic”: (adjective) consumed by the desire for wealth at the expense of beauty, creativity and the human soul.
"mammonists" : (secretive) the dark forces, including Philistines, pursuing material gain by the obliteration of heritage, identity, culture and sunlight in the name of regeneration, best value, necessity and progress.

TfL will now get a substantial payment for the site from Taylor Wimpey which, in turn, can expect a 20% return on its purchase and development costs. Hackney Council also invested over £1m and will hope for a 20% return too. Dalston loses out.

Sir Richard Rogers said in 2008 "There is something seriously wrong when new houses across the country form rootless estates and could just as well be in Beijing, Buenos Aires or Belfast. These are developments which have no regard for a community's sense of place, belonging or identity. I fear we are building the slums of the tomorrow, but it shouldn't be."
Sir Richard Rogers, Head of the Government's Urban Task Force, that focused on design-led buildings and reform of the planning system to allow greater involvement of residents.
The Independent 29 March 2008

Dalston! If you think the Western Curve development is poor, what do you think of what's coming next? 

Emerging proposals for a re-developed Kingsland Shopping Centre - same amount of shops but with 500 flats above them

Plans for a re-developed Eastern Curve Garden to create a new "shopping circuit"

Revived plans for an 18-storey tower on Peacocks site next to Dalston Kingsland station

D'ya wanna bet? Will TfL's "Western Curve" plans get planning approval?

 

The old Railway Tavern at 13 Dalston Lane, in about 1910, which now is our local bookies

On Wednesday 3rd July Hackney's Planning Committee will consider TfL's application to build 106 flats and shops on Dalston's 'Western Curve'. Will the Committee agree with Hackney officers' recommendations or with the objectors?

 

- it provides "a well defined distinction between the public realm and the private space behind the main building facades"
OR
- it's a privatised enclosure of public land to create a gated community

-  "the level of affordable housing proposed is the maximum amount that can be reasonably achieved on the site" 
OR
 - providing only 9 out of 106 flats for affordable rent is totally inadequate

- "the sites are not suitable for provision of open space"
OR
 - TfL and Hackney have ignored the local community's desire for some green public space on the sites

-  "reduces its mass at sensitive locations to create a more responsive and sculpted form" and causes "no substantial harm to heritage significance"
OR
- the designs are bland, undistinguished and will dominate the High Street and its historic buildings.

-  the overshadowing "impacts to this (Grade II listed) property are not considered to be significant... because the property is not in residential use 
OR
- the overshadowing of the Grade II listed building, as TfL's consultant's say, is "Substantially Adverse"

 Let Hackney know you views beforeWednesday. Click here NOW

You can read OPEN Dalston's objections here. You can see the TfL's planning application documents here. You can read Hackney's report to its Planning Committee here.

Speak up before its too late! Plans for a Gated Community in Dalston are up for decision.

This is your last chance to comment on plans to build a gated community on Dalston's Western Curve. The Transport for London/Taylor Wimpey plan is expected to be decided by the Hackney Plannning Committee on Wednesday 3rd July. You can read OPEN Dalston's objections here. You can see the TfL planning application documents here.
We urge you to let Hackney know you views here.

 

TfL describes their designs as "sculptural" which "respond" to Dalston. We describe them as bland, overscale, undistinguished and which create a ‘sense of anyplace’ and of ‘out of place’ - NOT a sense of Dalston  

Some Basic Facts:

-  The two sites, northern and southern, front Kingsland High Street in Dalston above TfLs Western Curve rail link from Dalston to Canonbury.
-  All of TfL's public land will be privatised by enclosure within the sites, with no open or green space accessible there to the public- . Dalston is one of the most densely populated wards, and one of the most deficient in green space, in London.
-   Of 106 'units' to be built on the two sites there will only be 9 flats for social rent.  There are some 9,000 overcrowded families with children living in Hackney.
-   The developers are trying to maximise their returns by overscale buildings - at the permanent expense of our local environment. The buildings exceed the heights prescribed by the government approved Dalston Area Action Plan. The new blocks will loom over the surrounding buildings.
-  TfL will be providing no play space for children living in the new development  or locally.
-  TfL's own consultant's report states that the design of the northern block is such that overshadowing will be "Substantially Adverse" for listed and locally listed buildings.
-  The southern block will enclose Ashwin Street and conceal views of the recently restored Reeves and Son building and the Shiloh Church.
- Ashwin Street will become a "shared space" for pedestrians and HGV delivery vehicles ( to do three point turns). The pavement cafe will be overshadowed. 
- Hackney has contributed over £1million to strenthen the tunnels to support taller buildings. Hackney and TfL have both ignored OPEN's Freedom of Information requests for details of their deal.

TfL claims the designs "respond...to the ambitions of the community". ( Do you agree? Let Hackney know. Ed.)

Let Hackney know you views. Do it NOW here.

( PS TfL have cancelled two meetings with OPEN to discuss our alternative scheme for green routes through Dalston. We are losing confidence that TfL and Taylor Wimpey are interested in anyone's views except Mammon. Ed.)

TfL have a history - look at The Slab and Dalston Square.

Dalston Peace Mural to be privatised

Hackney has been advised to sell Dalston's Peace Mural building on a 15 year lease to a private developer who is converting 17-19 Dalston Lane next door into a bar and restaurant, a report to Hackney Council's Cabinet reveals.
 

The Railway Tavern, and the Peace Mural at 15 Dalston Lane, which Hackney bought in 2010

The report states that "the building as a whole is in a very poor state structurally and this will, if not repaired, eventually necessitate demolition. A lease to a commercial operator will enable the Council to repair the building and secure the future of the mural at no cost to the public purse and provide an income.". The Council report acknowledges that there has been no consultation on the proposal to dispose of it.

The Dalston Peace Mural is an iconic cultural landmark and part of a building which Hackney has allowed to become derelict.The structural repairs may include rebuilding the front and rear walls, during which the side wall with the mural could be potentially vunerable and in a precarious state.
 

It seems extraordinary that, without consultation or marketing, Hackney should agree to sell it to a new venture with no apparent trading history, which is associated with Antic Ltd. which recently collapsed reportedly owing £2.6million, which has twice been refused planning permission to develop  the neighbouring site, and which has no known record of building conservation.