Hackney to sell Peace Carnival Building for re-development

Hackney Council have been negotiating with Safe Haven for the sale of 15 Dalston Lane, which hosts the Peace Carnival Mural, for re-development along with Farrs at 17-19 Dalston Lane. The sale will be either of the freehold or of a long lease.

Since February the community had been requesting information about the re-development plans whilst they were still at a formative stage, but the plans have continued to be discussed behind closed doors. The developer will finally unveil its scheme to the public on Monday 6th July 4.30 - 7.30pm at 17-19 Dalston Lane. You are entitled to attend and comment on the scheme ( Hope to see you there. Ed.)

The good news is that the scheme, in conjunction with the charity Centerpoint, is planned to provide affordable flats for young people. But the re-development will involve major structural works which will pose risks to the Mural (which is a locally listed building within the Dalston Lane (West) Conservation Area) and to the operation of the Eastern Curve Garden which shares an important boundary with the redevelopment site. We've seen before how heritage buildings in Dalston have been destroyed by schemes designed without sufficient regard to community assets.

The original Georgian terraces of Dalston Lane were sold by Hackney and demolished because it was claimed they couldn't withstand redevelopment for flats and 'open plan' shops. They were re-built in "heritage likeness" with no affordable homes at all.

A community application was made nominating the west wall of 15 Dalston Lane as an Asset of Community Value (ACV). The Council refused the application, claiming that the site remained railway "operational land" ( But the railway operations ceased in 1965 and Hackney bought the land for development in 2009. Ed) and that only a whole building and not a mural wall can be an ACV ( But the Localism Act 2011 expressly allows for a part of a building to be an ACV. Ed.)

The Black History mural wall which Reading Council listed as an ACV in 2017 before later selling the building for residential redevelopment

Although granting the ACV nomination would have affected Hackney Council's property interest in 15 Dalston Lane, it denies it had any conflict of interest by refusing the ACV at a time when it was negotiating the disposal of its building. Faced with a legal challenge to its refusal of the ACV nomination, Hackney offered a mediation process last February but, despite repeated requests, has not even proposed an initial meeting date since then.