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Adoption of Hackney Local Plan (2020)

Hackney’s Local Plan was adopted at the London borough’s full council meeting on 22 July 2020.

Hackney Local  Plan 2033 seeks to secure the borough’s economy through future financial cycles as Britain faces life outside the EU. The plan takes account of Brexit but was drafted prior to coronavirus, social distancing and widespread home-working; the planning implications of COVID-19 would need to be addressed in decision-making and any future policy updates.

The Plan was also adopted on the same day that significant changes to the Use Classes Order were published, the Local Plan chapter on Vibrant Town Centres may therefore require early revision.

Perhaps bravely, given the state of UK retail, the Plan seeks 34,000 sq m of new retail and leisure space by 2033 and, in addition, 117,000 sq m of new business floorspace.

Unquestionably one of London’s most vibrant boroughs, Hackney remains a place of great change where 45,000 additional residents are expected during the plan period. This will take the borough’s population to 320,000 (a far cry from the 162,772 found to live there in the 1991 census).

It is now over 30 years since the City’s growth spurt, following 1980s financial deregulation, first began to ripple out to the surrounding areas, and today the average Hackney home costs 17 times the average Hackney salary. The Local Plan identifies housing affordability as the top issue of concern for residents and seeks to deliver 26,250 more units by 2033, boosting the supply of genuinely affordable homes. This would represent a 27% increase in total homes if achieved. Local politicians’ rhetoric on the emergence of the Local Plan has perhaps inevitably focused on reassuring residents that councillors share their concern about the scale and pace of change, and planning policy is a tool to counteract unwelcome market forces.

An area of opportunities

Hackney’s positive approach to growth  means that it is a location of strong opportunity. Mayor of Hackney, Philip Glanville has a thorough understanding of the development process having overseen ambitious projects like the Woodberry Down regeneration while Cabinet Member for Housing, and the new Local Plan reinforces our view that Hackney continues to be an exciting place to deliver new schemes.

Key changes featured in Hackney Local Plan 2033:

  • Appropriate sites for tall buildings will be determined through building heights strategies in Area Action Plans for Hackney’s neighbourhoods. 
  • A new policy on railway arches seeks to protect their continued industrial and light industrial use.
  • Following recent controversies, children’s play space is expected to be open to all communities at any new development.
  • Revised policy wording seeks to prevent over-concentration of new hotels as the council prioritises delivery of new homes.
  • The Mayor of London’s Urban Greening Factor is applied at local level. Minimum expectations mirror interim target scores in the new London Plan.

Housing

  • Hackney joins its neighbours in Islington and Camden in requiring affordable housing contributions from developments of under 10 units (contrary to para 63 of the NPPF).
  • The Plan explicitly supports growth of Build-to-Rent and generally mirrors new London Plan requirements. Yet 50% of homes are expected to be at London Living Rent levels, even on privately owned land.
  • Co-living schemes are also required to deliver 50% of units at London Living Rent levels.

Employment land

  • New office development is directed to the south of the borough: the City Fringe Opportunity Area and existing town centres.
  • Employment-led development, particularly in the south of the borough, will be allowed to include a more varied mix of uses, specifically housing, hotels, community and leisure facilities, and retail uses.
  • Industrial land and floorspace is protected across the borough, with particular industrial designations concentrated in the north of the borough.
  • New major employment and mixed-use development in designated employment areas, the Central Activities Zone and town centres should provide 10% affordable workspace, with the discount on market rents greater in Shoreditch than the rest of the borough.

Town centres

  • A new centre will be created at Clapton through mixed-use development connecting Upper and Lower Clapton Road.
  • Limited expansion of licensed premises in Shoreditch and Dalston is permitted.
  • Street markets and individual shops outside the centres are protected and promoted.

Hackney Local Plan 2033 has replaced Hackney’s Core Strategy (2010), Development Management Local Plan (2015), part of the Site Allocations Local Plan (2016), and all adopted Area Action Plans. New AAPs are already being prepared for Stamford Hill and Shoreditch; and Place Policies are provided  for nine key Hackney neighbourhoods, and will form the basis for AAPs and Masterplans where necessary.

Overall, the adoption of the new Local Plan provides a more up to date and effective mechanism for encouraging and shaping development in Hackney. Our local experience and strategic expertise means we are ready to assist clients to deliver commercially successful schemes under the new policy regime. Please contact Phil D Jones or Oliver Jefferson for more information.

30 July 2020

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