The Hackney Society

Projects

This is our projects section which contains information on current projects and below, our annual report:

Doing it For Ourselves - will assist local groups in developing community-led environmental improvement projects.

Building Blocs - seeks to explore and celebrate the relationship between minority ethnic communities and the local built and natural environment.

St. John at Hackney Churchyard - in partnership with Groundwork Hackney, the consultation report on future regeneration.

Annual Report 1999-2000

Introduction

The Hackney Society exists to involve and support local people in the protection and regeneration of Hackney's built environment and to give local residents a voice in Hackney's planning process. The Society aims to:

encourage and support local involvement in the preservation, development and improvement of Hackney's built environment and architectural heritage.

· inform and empower local people in relation to planning and development issues in Hackney and stimulate debate about the long term vision for Hackney.

· educate by providing high-quality lectures, walks and publications and build links between ordinary residents, planning officials and decision-makers.

· promote high standards of planning and architecture in Hackney and act as an advocate for conservation issues and the built environment.

Hackney Facts

· Hackney has the highest rate of unemployment in Greater London and is one of the most deprived boroughs in England.

· Property prices in the last two years have risen faster in Hackney than any other London borough.

· The number of planning applications in Hackney has risen by 66% in four years and the number of planning applications in Hackney Conservation Areas has nearly trebled in four years (a rise of 285%).

· There are over 1,350 listed buildings in the borough and 175 hectares of the borough are covered by 30 Conservation Areas.

· Hackney has more 'buildings at risk' than any other London borough.

Hackney Society Facts

In the last ten years The Hackney Society has:

· commented on over 1,500 planning applications

· published over 30 titles, produced four major exhibitions and organised over 150 free events

· surveyed all the listed buildings in Hackney

· set up five new Conservation Area Advisory Committees made up of local people

· established a Buildings Trust which has secured over £800,000 investment towards the restoration of the Round Chapel, a Grade II* listed building

Achievements in 1999-2000

Events

· 15 stimulating lectures and events; topics included London Fields Lido, 20th century buildings in Hackney, Hidden Art in Hackney, workhouses in the East End, the history of St. John-at-Hackney Churchyard and protecting street trees

· Guided walks and visits to Harriet Tubman House Museum, the Hackney Buildings Exploratory, the new Hackney Community College Campus in Hoxton, Shoreditch.

· Participation in London Open House weekend

Publications

· Publication of major new book Twentieth Century Buildings in Hackney by Elizabeth Robinson, funded by English Heritage, Hackney Parochial Charities, the Pilgrim Trust and Renaisi

· Four issues of the Society's newsletter, Spaces

· Recognition of 'the Hackney Society's many excellent publications' in the new Buildings of England Guide, London North, and of the 'high standard' of Hackney Society publications by English Heritage

Planning and Conservation

· National award from the Royal Town Planning Institute for a project run jointly with Planning Aid for London, providing training to members of the new Conservation Area Advisory Committees

· Support to the Conservation Area Advisory Committees, which have commented on over 250 planning applications in their second year

· Co-ordination of quarterly Conservation Area Advisory Committee review meetings

· Submission of comments on planning applications for listed buildings and key, strategic sites in the Borough

· Chaired public meeting about future of Stoke Newington Town Hall & Assembly Rooms

· Secured funding for community consultation on the future of St. John-at-Hackney Churchyard

· Organised a public meeting on the Borough's revised Unitary Development Plan

·Collaboration with national images of England project

Work with local groups

· Project work with local primary school as part of Hackney Education Business Partnership's Hidden Art of Hackney Schools Project

· Participation in Living History in Hackney, an education resource fair

· The Society is represented on the Board of Groundwork Hackney and Renaisi, Hackney's regeneration agency

Organisational Development

· Implementation of new Financial Management Action Plan
· update of equal opportunities policy and action plan
· acquisition of new computer equipment
· development of 'green house-keeping' policy
· improvement of monitoring procedures

New Funding & New Projects

The Hackney Society has won new funding for two projects which will start in July 2000. The first, Doing it for Ourselves, will involve the public in practical projects to improve Hackney's historic built environment. Funded through the DETR's Environmental Action Fund and the Bridge House Trust Fund, the project will assist local groups in developing community lead environmental improvement initiatives which will leave a lasting legacy in their neighbourhoods.

The second project, Celebrating Diversity will research and document the contribution of Hackney's minority ethnic and faith communities to the social, economic and cultural development of the Borough. In particular, it will celebrate the lasting unpact these communities have had on the borough's architectural heritage. Funded by English Heritage and Hackney Wick SRB, the project will encourage local groups to get involved and to research their own cultural histories. The Society will work closely with the Hackney Buildings Exploratory and students and staff at Hackney Community College on the project, which will culmmnate in a book and exhibition.

During 2000-2001, the Hackney Society will seek funding for development work to encourage greater public involvement in the local heritage. We hope to improve access to all our services by moving to new shop-front prermses and by developing a web-site. The Society is keen to improve its support to local people and, working closely with other organisations, will seek to provide:
· education and training for local people in planning and regeneration issues · planning advice to Hackney residents and community groups

Equal Opportunities & Access to Services

The Society is committed to ensuring that all sections of the community benefit from the highest possible standards of quality in the service we deliver. The Society seeks to encourage the active participation of all sections of the community in debates about planning, regeneration and the heritage, in particular those groups who are marginalised and excluded from local decision-making processes.All Hackney Society services are free and are available to anyone living or working in the Borough. Information about our services is disseminated through leaflets and Newsletters, which are distributed widely around the Borough.

The Hackney Society
Studio B12
3 Bradbury Street
London N16 8JN
tel 020 754 0212 fax 020 7275 8971
hackneysociety@poptel.org

Committee Members 1999-2000: Emma Rose Flett, Tony Gillett (Trearurer), Patrick Hammill (chair), Ann Jameson (Membership Secretary), Joan Johnstone, Michael Kirkland, Brian Marsh, Greg McNeill, Liz Robinson, Christina Sosanya, Jack Youngmark (Publications Officer)

Development Co-ordinator: Sarah Vaughan-Roberts
Community Historian: Rita Chadha
Development Officer: Andre Joseph

Charity Number 1074596 The Hackney Society is an Amenity Society registered with the Civic Trust

Acknowledgements: The Hackney Society would like to thank the following for their support: all our many volunteers, The Black Planners Association, Bridge House Estates Trust Fund, The CivicTrust, DETR, English Heritage, Groundwork Hackney, Hackney Action of Race Equality, Hackney CVS, Hackney Community Accountancy Project, Hackney Parochial Charities, London Borough of Hackney, Holden Matthews Estate Agents, London Voluntary Service Council, Lord Amhurst of Hackney, National Lottery Charities Board, The Pilgrim Trust, Planning Aid for London, Renaisi.