In defence of the public realm

Photo: © The Hackney Citizen Ltd

Perhaps our good readers will already have noticed a surreptitious cleaning up of the borough going on, seemingly in time for the 2012 Olympics.

The Council’s Big Tidy Up (our words, not theirs) covers street drinking, betting shops, regeneration, nightlife and public art.

The Council continues to ponder its plan for a borough-wide controlled drinking area (a designated public places order, DPPO), and by mid April it will make an announcement on the results of its consultation on the issue.

Local residents have raised concerns that this initiative is simply a means of sweeping problems under the carpet, either by containment or displacement.

If all goes to plan, the Council’s use of the Sustainable Communities Act will help curtail the number of new betting shops in the borough, thus freeing up a few more business properties for lease for other types of shops.

This will make  some positive difference to many neighbourhoods; however it clearly will not stop people betting. Whilst Hackney may be suffering from some negative effects of gambling, it is also benefiting.

The Old Town Hall in Narroway* may now be a betting shop, but it’s Big Lottery cash that is in part paying for the renovation of Clissold Park.

Local residents’ ongoing outrage regarding the regeneration of Shoreditch has centred most recently on the plans for a hotel on the site of the Foundry.

The current government has had more than a decade to change national planning laws to better take into account the wishes and concerns of local residents and businesses, but has done little to remedy the situation.

The latest target is the iconic Shoreditch club, Plastic People – 13,500 people have joined a campaign against its closure which is being sought by the police and Hackney Council on the grounds of “prevention of public nuisance and of crime and disorder”.

Meanwhile, Hackney Wick artists are worried about their future as Olympics regeneration rolls on.

And the Council’s continuing blitz on graffiti demonstrates its  total failure so far to acknowledge any possible artistic or community value that such art might have, despite public outcry.

Sadly, the powers that be seem devoid of any capability of recognising  possible nuances that might be necessary to protect this aspect of the artistic and cultural backdrop of the East End.

Indeed, the Council’s apparent  preoccupation with appearances and making things look right is stifling the cultural  diversity of the borough that needs space to exist, particularly in the public realm.

* The spring 2010 issue incorrectly states locates the the Old Town Hall on Mare Street, rather than on Narroway