Colville Estate regeneration gets the go ahead!

The masterplan for the regeneration of Colville Estate was approved at Hackney Council's Planning meeting on July 18th, paving the way for the replacement of existing council homes and the construction of much-needed new housing for the Regents Canal / Hoxton area.

Picture from Flickr

The masterplan - defined jointly by residents, architects and the Council - is for a mixed neighbourhood of almost 900 homes, made up of private, social rented and intermediate properties. The plan is specifically designed to retain the community feel that is so important to 'The Colville',which nestles between Regents Canal and Shoreditch Park, at the South of De Beauvoir Ward.


Over the past year, Colville Estate Tenants and Residents Association (CETRA), Hackney Council's Regeneration Team, Karakusevic Carson Architects and De Beauvoir's Councillors have worked together to put together the proposal.


At the planning meeting, a number of Colville residents, including the CETRA committee, spoke in favour of the proposal as did Cllr Rob Chapman, representing the three De Beauvoir councillors who all believe that the plan balances the residents desire to retain a distinct community feel with the need for the proposal to be self-financing. 


Two tower blocks will replace the existing Harwood Court tower and the finance from the private flats within these and elsewhere on the estate will be used to fund the replacement of the social housing already on the estate. Without the construction of the towers the height of the buildings elsewhere on the new estate would need to be increased very significantly.


The masterplanning process ran alongside the development of the first phase of the regeneration, which has seen the construction of 20 new council houses in the now completed Bridport House.


You can see a couple of images of the masterplan below: 

The above picture shows a model of the overall site - with the masterplan elements in white, and the below picture shows a sketch of a proposed streetview:

You can see more coverage of the approval here, here and here. 


The scheme now moves forward to agree phasing and then to appoint an architect for the detailed design, builders for the construction, and a developer for the private aspects of the scheme.


We realise there are many aspects of the scheme around which people have questions - including leaseholder rights and timescales - so if you do have anything you want answered please do get in touch.

De Beauvoir Councillors call for Cycle Hire scheme to expand to De Beauvoir

The De Beauvoir Councillor are calling on Transport for London to extend the Barclays Cycle Hire scheme to the ward. The scheme has seen thousands of Londoners make journeys across the city centre and we're now asking for it to be brought further into Hackney.

Currently the nearest bike station is at the south of Shoreditch Park with racks also found to the south of Pitfield Street and throughout Shoreditch.

We are calling for the stations to be expanded onto Hoxton Street and the south of the ward, and also into Dalston in order to further expanded the transport options for the ward's residents who currently face increasingly crowded buses and overground trains. A recent Tfl consultation included a proposed site on Pitfield Street.

The bikes, which were devised and set underway by Ken Livingstone during his time as mayor but have colloquially become known as 'Boris bikes', can be used for free for 30 minutes by those who pay an annual
fee, or is £1 for 24 hours for those who aren't members.

We'll be pushing for this in various forums over the next few months - and we'll let you know how we get on!

Shoreditch Festival - this weekend on the Regent's Canal!

This weekend sees for the first time the arrival of Shoreditch Festival on Hackney's Regent's Canal.

A longstanding annual fixture for the local area this year the Festival moves north from Shoreditch Park to the canalside. Tomorrow is the first day of the 'live weekend' when attractions include live music on three stages, boat trips, street dance, food markets, and floating forest and much more.


In De Beauvoir, just east of Whitmore Road you'll find a floating stage, and on the opposite side of the canal, by the Waterhouse Restaurant you'll find a floating cinema and headstart exibition.


On the following weekend the theme is 'exploration' - when London Walks, Heritage Podcasts and the Shoreditch Festival Arts Trail will allow you to explore east London's waterways and see the area in a whole new light.


You can find more details about what's going on on the festival's website, and a map of what's going on can be found here.

Shoreditch Park festivals - your views

In recent years Shoreditch Park has become an increasingly popular site for festivals and other events. This year has already seen three major events take place on the Ply Park area on the eastern side of the park - The Bionic Film Show, the 1234 Festival (see picture above) and Summer Rites.

In previous years we have taken up specific issues relating to the festivals after they have been raised to us by residents - in 2010, we raised issues around toilets and stewarding at 1234.

This year the De Beauvoir Councillors have received far more complaints from residents than we have in previous years. We are currently working through these and ensuring they get a proper response from the Council.

As part of this we would be pleased to hear from other residents who have concerns they want to raise with us, or just want to be kept informed of the progress we are making.

In terms of park events later this year and beyond, there are two key things to highlight - London Oktoberfest and the Shoreditch Park Users Group.

In late September and early October, London Oktoberfest will take place in the park, occuring over two weekends from 22nd September to 2nd October. Due to an oversight by the Council, the De Beauvoir Councillors were only informed of this event last week, with the licence for the event having already been granted at the start of this year. This is obviously a very significant event running over a number of days, and - from where we are now - we are concerned to ensure that its impact upon residents is minimised wherever possible. We will be speaking with the organisers to ensure their plans are clear and well thought out, and that they are aware of residents concerns.

In terms of ensuring future events are well selected and managed, at each park in Hackney, the park users group is a key forum which council officers use to engage residents and ensure their concerns are listened to when park events are proposed. All event proposals are brought in front of the group for consultation. Unfortunately, the Shoreditch Park Users Group recently folded, meaning this channel of communication is currently closed for Shoreditch Park.

The Council are keen to form a new Users Group for Shoreditch Park and have asked the Councillors to seek out residents who might be interested in being a part of the Group. If you are interested please do get in touch.

De Beauvoir Party in the Park 2011 - a great success!

Once again, the De Beauvoir Party in Park was a great success with the De Beauvoir Square thronging with people throughout Saturday afternoon. Thanks to everyone who was involved in organising - and congratulations to the De Beauvoir Association for organising a great event. And, finally, thank you to weather for keeping the rain away for one day at least!

The photos below give a flavour of the day itself:

The Square in all its glory.

The outstanding brass band that provided a musical accompaniment to proceedings.

Thanks to the Fire Service for making an appearance.

And to the police!

Meg Hillier MP and De Beauvoir Councillors Rob, Gulay and Tom at the Party in the Park - enjoying the ice cream and already looking forward to next year.

De Beauvoir Square Party in the Park

De Beauvoir's annual Party in the Park happens tomorrow between 2 and 5 in De Beauvoir Square.

Organised by the De Beauvoir Association, the event welcomes people from across the local area to enjoy fun family activities including face painting, bouncy castles, music and games. However it's not just for children - all ages are welcome, so please do come along and enjoy the afternoon's activities.

The Party in the Park has now been a fixture of De Beauvoir life for a number of years, and this year is set to be as successful as ever. Just fingers crossed the weather clears up...

We look forward to seeing you there!