Campaigners’ research reveals local vision for Morning Lane Tesco site

A wide-ranging survey conducted by Morning Lane People’s Space campaigners has revealed clear demands from residents for what activists called earlier in the year a ‘people’s alternative’ to Hackney Walk’s plans for a residential, office and retail hub on the much-debated Tesco site.

Having captured the views of just over 1,300 people, campaigners are urging Hackney Council, which purchased the land for £55m back in 2017, to have “more ambitious” policies for building council and social housing, as well as to let the current agreement with developers run down.

The reach of the campaign’s consultation leaves the developers’ one, which reached a little over 100 people back in 2017, in the shade.

People’s Space campaigners heard concerns from residents over housing, gentrification, the environment, local business and spaces for children.

They said: “This campaign is not about blocking change. It is about who has control over that change, who is a participant in it and who has change imposed on them.

“It is part of a bigger struggle over Hackney’s future and who can imagine themselves as part of it. We have taken inspiration from other Hackney campaigners, including but not limited to those at Save Ridley Road, London Renters Union, Save Britannia Leisure Centre and Save the Happy Man Tree.

“Overall the survey responses present a positive vision that we will build on in our future campaigning – one in which Morning Lane can be a positive social resource for Hackney, with green space, local services, council housing and community commerce.

“We have often been told that having 50 per cent council housing on this site is impossible. Mark Fisher wrote about how ‘it is easier to imagine an end to the world than an end to capitalism’. For some, it now seems easier to imagine an end to the world than a development in Hackney with 50 per cent council housing.”

According to the campaign, for the over 1,300 people spoken to (90 per cent of whom are Hackney residents and 67 per cent of whom live near to the site), council and social housing came top of the list of things desired on the site, with very few respondents using the term ‘affordable housing’ in the same way as policymakers by, for example, including shared ownership.

Keeping the Tesco on the site was the second most frequent response, with over a quarter of people saying this. The top three most opposed outcomes related to housing, with 37 per cent of respondents opposing unaffordable or luxury housing, 24 per cent corporate or private housing, and 17 per cent raising concerns over the height and size of planned blocks.

The campaign has previously put out warnings to residents of the potential for a scheme which could see a smaller Tesco, blocks up to 19 storeys tall and a proportion of homes to be built at affordable rent as low as 20 per cent, with concerns raised in a previous debate over the impact that large skyscrapers would have on the nearby Grade II-listed Church of St-John-at-Hackney.

The report also notes calls for the space to be used as a green space for the community, citing a call for “a mixed-use real place at ‘gentle density’, thereby creating tree lined streets, green squares and blocks with clear backs and fronts. The challenge is to change the model of development from ‘building units’ to ‘making places’ that improve well-being and work in harmony with nature”.

Others raised the importance of children and youth space including nurseries, childcare and indoor and outdoor playgrounds, with others pointing to the need for counselling, therapy, mental health services and domestic violence support in the area.

Needs identified included support to tackle the impact of racism, citizen’s advice, law centres, debt counselling, employment support,services for homeless people, community cafes and wellness centres, GPs, gyms, swimming pools, leisure centres, skateparks, and “healthy living” and “healthy eating” options.

Hackney Walk presented a vision for spaces for makers in a recent pre-planning meeting, for which Morning Lane People’s Space say they could identify “little enthusiasm” among locals, with more respondents mentioning an affordable market space with stalls.

According to campaigners, experiences of displacement or exclusion through gentrification were a recurring theme among those interviewed, with one respondent saying: “Every place is becoming the same, we’re losing our communities and the things that make each area different and unique. We don’t need more housing for the middle class yuppies, co-working spaces, coffee shops, high street chains, supermarkets.

“We need more local, independent, community- based business and hubs. Places to gather where the income goes directly back into the people that live here.”

Another added: “The community is crying out for homes and the security of a roof over their heads which is genuinely affordable, owned by the council in perpetuity, thereby reducing crime, mental health disorders & physical ailments.”

The report notes the difficulties in finding out information about the deal with Hackney Walk and the council, with a freedom of information request for the agreement’s fees and any anti-money laundering enquiries carried out by the council blocked on the grounds that the disclosure was commercially sensitive.

The council has said that releasing such information could harm its future commercial interests, while also pointing to the recently-adopted Hackney Local Plan 2033, which expects developers to include affordable housing on all developments of any size, aiming for a minimum half of provision of properties to be provided at Hackney living rent levels.

Responding to the report, Hackney Mayor Philip Glanville said: “The council purchased this land because it was a rare opportunity to influence an important development in Hackney Central town centre and we were not going to stand by and let it fall into the hands of the highest bidder or profit-driven private housing developers. It would have been easier not to intervene and simply protest when a development we didn’t like came forward, but we took a tough decision to get involved and buy the site safeguarding a supermarket local people really value.

“By owning the site, we have also set red lines on the minimum amounts of workspace and affordable housing that a new development will need to provide – none of which would have been possible had the council not purchased this land. I have made it clear to everyone involved in the Morning Lane site that I will be fighting for every additional affordable workspace and home from any scheme that comes forward for this important site. We have also ensured public ownership of the site, while ensuring a long-term financial return to the council.

“No-one wants to build more council housing than I do, but with next to no funding for building genuinely affordable homes coming from the Government, the council is left to find the money. Despite this, the Council is using its own land to build thousands of new homes, the majority of which being genuinely affordable homes.

“During the Hackney Central Conversation, we consulted thousands of local people on a shared plan for the future of the town centre which included this site and I am pleased to announce that, next year we will be launching the next phase of the Conversation, with a Hackney Central Community Panel to explore the key issues and themes raised and how they can be addressed and taken forward.

“Residents supported the call for a supermarket, workspace and new homes and I have repeatedly made it clear to the current developers that when they provide their detailed proposals, they will need to undertake a well publicised, resourced and meaningful public consultation, so we can all have our say on the future plans for the site. As I have throughout the process, I welcome the contribution of residents and campaigners to this wider discussion and commit to ensuring that the council will continue to give all local residents and businesses the chance to shape proposals for our town centre.”

The campaign also called on Hackney Walk to engage meaningfully with Hackney residents, workers and shoppers, while also calling for a “rebuilding of trust” with the borough following the misfiring of the Fashion Hub scheme, and for campaigners’ findings to inform future planning.

Responding to these calls, a spokesperson from Hackney Walk Ltd said: “We are aware that there is significant interest in the site locally and we have received a lot of feedback on the proposals.

“We are reviewing this as we continue to look at the proposals for the site. Unfortunately we are not able to say more than this at the current time but we will when we can provide further information.”