The Barn and Eco Garden at the Eastern Curve
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At the Heart of Hackney since 1967 2011 THE HACKNEY SOCIETY SPACENews and views about Hackney’s built Senvironment Issue 31/32 Winter/Spring 2011 The Barn and Eco Garden at the Eastern Curve contents 01 The Eastern Curve 02 Where shall we all live? 02 Chatsworth Road Neighbourhood Plan 03 Building Watch: The George 03 Building Watch: Clissold Park 03 Love Local Landmarks 04 Entertainment in Hackney 06 Noticeboard 06 News 06 Publications 07 Hackney Design Awards 08 Hackney Society events Once an overgrown strip of MUF Art/Architecture. In 2009 EXYZT Judges of the Hackney Designs Awards abandoned railway land, the constructed and occupied a five-story commented: ‘The barn structure was Eastern Curve is now a tranquil scaffold windmill and bread oven alongside simple and yet very attractive. Its five urban garden. The transformation, a wheat field installation by Agnes Denes separate but open spaces were clearly carried out by MUF Art/ – this was curated by the Barbican and being used in a variety of ways during visited by 12,000 over three weeks. Architecture, landscape architect our visit. Other groups of people were J&L Gibbons and architect From there the Barn evolved as an open- scattered throughout the garden, drinking tea and enjoying the sunshine. The Barn collective EXYZT, was one of the sided structure. Built using recycled and Eco Garden is an excellent example winners of the Hackney Designs materials, it provides protection from the rain and offers flexibility of use. The scheme of how an abandoned piece of land can Awards 2010 (see p07). features a rainwater collection system and be affordably transformed into an asset The Eastern Curve was identified as one furniture made in community workshops that enhances the locality and benefit the of 76 micro-projects in the ‘Making Space onsite. The garden includes growing community. Every inch has a strong sense in Dalston’ project by J&L Gibbons and patches as well as a meadow and trees. of community spirit.’ Where shall we all live? By Vincent Stops The demographers tell us births in London are outstripping deaths, net need and to adopt a more centralist role in migration from inside and outside the UK will continue and household promoting house building. size is decreasing. Add to that the existing un-met need for housing Essentially the purpose of the planning and you arrive at a figure of 33,380 homes that need to be built across process is to provide the framework for housing, social and economic infrastructure London per year up to and beyond various planning horizons, the pre- whilst reducing the impact on the eminent plan being Mayor Johnson’s replacement London Plan now environment. We have choices around approaching adoption. the liveability of our cities, but much of that will be political choices outside the The previous Mayor, Livingstone, and locations are either on rail corridors or in planning process. now Mayor Johnson have committed to town centres with good public transport, plan for these homes within London’s built- allowing a low reliance on private transport. In my view the planners are right. We up areas and to reduce the impact on There will, of course, be numerous other should be building in the most sustainable the environment. development sites not associated with locations and at high densities. We may not all be able to have as much private The strategic planners’ solution is to these areas – windfall as the planners amenity space as we would wish for, promote housing on available ‘brownfield describe them. given the constraints on space and the sites’ – often ex-industrial land – at very Hackney has seen house building at this nature of the sites, but we should not high densities, close to town centres and level for a number of years now and is compromise on design quality, space public transport. doing particularly well, meeting its targets standards and liveability. Finding space for Much of this development will happen in and securing family-sized accommodation. social infrastructure is important, but not east London. Tower Hamlets, Newham Hackney delivered the second highest insurmountable. and Greenwich are pencilled in for the number of affordable homes in London Our approach to transport and the private greatest numbers. Hackney comes a after Tower Hamlets in 2008-09. car is a key consideration. Private transport third down the table in absolute numbers, Nationally, over the longer term the UK is a large consumer of land and has a but high up for a geographically small has failed to build enough housing to meet huge impact on our local and global London borough. the need. The new Government says it environment. If we want to live in one of In Hackney this means 1160 units a year wants to devolve planning to local people, the most densely populated urban areas for the next 20 years with a focus on which, experience suggests, will reduce the in the UK and we want to meet our other Dalston, Hackney Central, Hackney Wick, numbers of planning permissions granted aspirations for liveability and sustainability, Manor House and several of Hackney’s in the short term. In the medium term, the logic is that we have to be prepared own housing estates, most notably however, the Government is likely to have to compromise on universal access to our Woodberry Down. The logic is that these to return to responding to the evidence of own private cars. Chatsworth Road Neighbourhood Plan Chatsworth Road has recently been described as the ‘last of the real prioritising local businesses, encouraging a high streets’. Yet Chatsworth Road – along with the surrounding diversity of people and uses, and ensuring the area is accessible to all modes of neighbourhood – is changing at an unprecedented rate. New people transport. have been moving into the area, new shops have been opening and the re-introduction of the market is well on its way. Some see this as a new approach to community involvement in the planning However, despite all the benefits that (CRTRA), working with urban designer process. Euan Mills says: ‘For the first these changes bring, local residents Euan Mills, has embarked on an ambitious time the community is taking a proactive worry that what attracted them to the task of creating a Chatsworth Road approach to establishing a vision for area in the first place will gradually be Neighbourhood Plan. the area before development pressure undermined. Property prices have becomes overwhelming’. The plan, which will be developed in already escalated, family houses are being partnership with the local community over Over the next few months local traders converted into one-bedroom flats and the next few months, will set out how and residents will see how the plan landlords are expecting higher rents from local residents would like their area to develops and the extent to which they their shops. change in the long-term future, and set might be witnessing an exemplar of local Many residents witnessed what happened out clear principles of how this change empowerment. to the not-so-distant Broadway Market should happen. If you would like to know more about the a few years ago, and the pitfalls that At a presentation on 19 January, the plan, email [email protected] gentrification can bring. CRTRA launched the study and suggested or follow the progress on the CRTRA In response to this, the Chatsworth some emerging ideas of what these website (www.chatsworthroade5.co.uk/) or Road Traders and Residents Association aspirations could be. They included through twitter @chatsworthroad. 02 Building Watch The George Local residents are currently campaigning The proposed redevelopment would see against the redevelopment of The George the pub converted into nine self-contained on the corner of Glyn and Glenarm flats, spelling an end to 130 or more years Roads in Lower Clapton. Although it has as a pub and venue. Several councillors not been operating as a pub for several have voiced their support for retaining the years, the previous occupants regularly building as a pub or community resource ran well-attended weekly folk and jazz and an online petition has raised over 1000 nights and other community activities. It signatures. The consultation period ended is one of the last remaining pub buildings on 26 January. Supporters hope the public in the neighbourhood that has not been campaign will convince the Council to demolished or converted in the past few reject the change of use for the building. years. The pub retains many original To get in touch or sign the petition visit features including the horseshoe bar. http://thegeorgepube5.blogspot.com/ Clissold Park and House Restoration Project The biggest transformation of Clissold Park been removed. Internally, work in more than a century is moving ahead is underway on pipes for central heating following the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and water supplies and on electrical and Big Lottery Fund’s (BLF) £4.46m grant. services, including computer cabling. An The project includes: restoring the Grade internal lift will allow visitors access to the II listed Clissold House; restoring a section whole building. of the New River; extensive maintenance to Work, due for completion in spring 2011, the two park lakes; renovating the animal continues on a new deer enclosure and enclosure; creating a new play and wheels a new sports zone and natural play area. park area; and other improvements to The deer enclosure will provide: additional enhance the overall appearance of space; purpose-built secure fencing; a the park. quiet, secure shelter for the deer; and a Repairs to Clissold House have included a new, improved planting scheme to give new roof, renewal of rainwater pipes and the deer better natural foraging.