Hackney high-rise will ruin our community, say residents

Local resident Della Tinsley with her children, Dexter and Lola Photo: Jamie Elliott

People living near the site of a high rise block proposed for London Fields say the building would be wrong for the area and bad for their quality of life.

Residents around Ellingfort Road and London Lane say the 21 storey block planned by housing association Southern Housing Group (SHG) will bring in too many new residents to an area where local amenities are already overstretched.

“There are long waiting lists for primary schools and it’s almost impossible to register with a doctor around here,” says Della Tinsley, who has two children are aged three and six. “I’ve checked with three local surgeries and one has closed its list and at another you can’t register for at least six months. How will the area cope when all these new people arrive?”

Tinsley claims the height of the tower will affect light in the courtyard where her children play: “We have worked out that it will block out sunlight for at least three hours in the middle of the day.”

She points to a tower block in Richmond Road, which is about five storeys lower than the one proposed by SHG: “That block has had a huge impact on the look and skyline of London Fields which is a lovely recreation area enjoyed by so many people. What SHG is proposing will be more of the same but worse.”

Siobhan Marwell, who along with other residents has formed a campaign group – No Hackney High Rise – says a tall tower could change the whole feel of the neighbourhood: “We have built a really strong settled community here and get on well with our neighbours. But we are worried the flats will be used as buy to lets which will create a more transient population and spoil the community spirit we have worked so hard to build up.”

She is also worried about transport: “Buses into the city, where many of the people in this kind of block are likely to work, are already completely packed. I just don’t think the developer has thought about these kind of things.”

According to Marwell, SHG has told her that its initial plans for the building involve 18 homes for affordable rent and other flats let at intermediate rents or for private sale. However, plans for the development, which includes a number of low rise blocks in addition to the tower, have yet to be submitted to Hackney Council. Residents hope to persuade SHG to give up on the tower block idea before detailed proposals are put to planners later this year.

“We have another pre-planning meeting planned with SHG and we hope they will put forward a new proposal,” says Marwell. “If they persist with the high tower, we will be objecting at the planning stage and taking advice from technical experts. But we would much rather resolve it before it comes to that.”

Marwell insists that this is not simply a case of NIMBYism (not in my back yard): “We are happy with the low rise scheme of three to six storey blocks because we know families and others are desperate for good quality affordable housing in Hackney. It’s the tower block we have a problem with.”

Mike Basquill, Head of Development at Southern Housing Group said: “There was a great deal of positivity from local residents about the plans for a residential development on the site with an element of affordable housing. The current use of the site as industrial units does not enhance the environment, and the proposed development will create a much more attractive neighbourhood.”