Brave New World on Hoxton Street

An ordinary shop at the southern end of De Beauvoir Ward is currently experiencing its very own Shakespearean tragedy as the venue for a six month reworking of the Tempest.

O Brave New World resides at 297 Hoxton Street and the former shop now operates as a bar, library, gallery and theatre.

Its first run of performances are based on Shakespeare's The Tempest in celebration of the famous story's 400th anniversary.  Over a six-month programme the production will focus on six distinctive perspectives and parts of the story, each told in a changing and immersive environment. Between visits you can keep up with characters at home with action-packed videos and online content.

The experience is the brainchild of RETZ, a theatre company who tells stories to their audiences using a number of challenging techniques using performances, film, installations and the web in order to immerse them in the narrative and encourage questioning and a deeper exploration of the story. This creation has been made possible by Hackney Council’s Art in Empty spaces project.

You can find out more here and also get updates on the project through facebook.

De Beauvoir Barclays Bike Station - an update

A number of you have been in contact about the unfinished and unopened Barclay's bike station outside the Britannia Leisure Centre. After failing to get any response from TfL, we wrote to Cllr Feryal Demirci, the relevant Hackney cabinet member, asking for more information. She has now sent use a response which explains the delay and when it's expected to open - its published in full below.


If anyone has any further questions please do get in touch.

Re: De Beauvoir Barclay’s Bike Station

I can confirm that phase 2 of the Cycle Hire Scheme was formally launched on 8^th March 2012, but unfortunately several sites within Hackney are not yet operational – including the station at the junction of Hoxton Street and Pitfield Street.

I understand that delays in organising a power supply to the site have meant that that it cannot yet be opened to the public. Transport for London are responsible for organising the power supply through UK Power Networks, but unfortunately they had to cancel the works on several occasions due to programming and permitting issues – most recently on 9^th March.

The Council has not had any responsibility for undertaking any of the works at this location, and the delivery has been solely the responsibility of TfL. However, the Council is actively pushing TfL for the outstanding sites to be opened as a matter of urgency, and we are currently waiting for TfL to advise on a new programme date for the power supply works.

Streetscene officers who are liaising with TfL have advised me that realistically they expect this station to be operational some time in early April.

I am sorry that I cannot provide a more definitive answer at this stage, but I hope that this information has fully explained the current situation.

Yours sincerely

Cllr Feryal Demirci

Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods

Hackney Homes Leaseholders and Freeholders Surgery

Hackney Homes are holding a special leaseholders and freeholders surgery this Thursday.

This meeting will provide an opportunity for leaseholders and freeholders to speak to staff about services that they receive. This is also a chance to meet other leaseholders and neighbourhood staff and discuss money matters with an independent advisor.

There will be a number of activities on the day aimed at the over 55s including a free health check, massages and bags of fruit to promote healthy eating. Light refreshments will also be provided.

To book an appointment to speak with one of the advisors on the day call 0208 356 2288 or email service.charges@hackneyhomes.org.uk.

The surgery is being held at The Round Chapel Hall, Powerscroft Road, E5 0PU on Thursday 29th March from 1pm until 6pm. The free massage and health checks are taking place between 1pm until 4pm.

A printable flyer for the event is available here.

Come and Talk to the Met Police Commissioner

If you have questions, comments or concerns that you have about policing in Hoxton, you can now speak directly to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Bernard Hogan-Howe, who will be in Hackney on Monday 28 March.  He will be speaking at Stoke Newington School between 7 and 8pm and Hackney residents are invited to share your views.

Places will be limited and allocated on a first come first served basis so if you would like to go, you will need to arrive in plenty of time. 

To get there from De Beauvoir, take route 141 from Southgate Road.  Other buses routes from other parts of Hackney include route 393, 476 and 341. 

St. Peter's Book Sale

St Peter's church on Northchurch Terrace just off De Beauvoir Square will be holding a book sale this Saturday 24th March.
All are welcome to bring or buy books and there will also be a homemade cakes stall.
The sale starts at 10am and continues until 6pm.

Olympics Community Meeting tomorrow

 

Hackney’s 2012 team is hosting another community meeting on 20th March (tomorrow) to update Hackney residents on  local issues relating to the Olympic Games. There will be a particular focus on the following areas:

• Games time
• Transport / parking
• Security
• Park Legacy
• Test events

The meeting will take place on: 20th March 5.00-8.30pm at the Wally Foster Community Centre, Homerton Road, London E9 5QB.

There will also be a Transport and Parking drop in session at the centre organised by LOCOG. This will be from 3.30 – 5pm.

Hackney Weekend - your last chance to register!

Half of the 100,000 free tickets are assigned to Hackney residents like you. You can register here until 11pm on Monday night. Full details can be found here.

Whitmore Estate

This morning from 11 o'clock we'll be out speaking to residents on Whitmore Estate - if you're around please do come and say hello.

If you'd like us to call on you please get in touch using the contact details on the right side of the blog.

Why is De Beauvoir's Barclays bike station still closed?

Five days on from the opening of Hackney and Tower Hamlet's new Barclays bike stations and the station by De Beauvoir's Britannia leisure centre remains firmly closed.

Lacking both bikes and the computer 'tower' it looks like it will remain unusable for the foreseeable future.

We wrote to TfL earlier in the year asking for an opening date and received no response. We had assumed that the opening of the De Beauvoir station would be in line with the other new terminals - that was incorrect.

Whilst we would prefer TfL spent its money holding down bus and tube fares, they have chosen to allocate funds to the bike hire scheme. Therefore, off the back of our pressure, we welcome that they've chosen Hackney to put some of their new stands.

However its very disappointing that they can't deliver on opening the new stations on time. Today we've written to them again asking the reasons for the delay and for a confirmed opening date. We'll let you know once we receive a response.

Burbage Primary School - Consultation on joining Best Start Federation

The Learning Trust is holding a consultation on expanding the local existing Best Start Federation to include Burbage Primary School in the south of De Beauvoir Ward.

The Learning Trust is responsible for delivering educational services to the borough of Hackney.
Under the Education Act 2002, local schools can join together to create a federation. The schools then combine their governing bodies in order to pool resources, share staff expertise, and use budgets more efficiently.


The current Best Start Federation includes London Fields, Woodberry Down, Mandeville and Whitmore Schools. Under the proposal the Burbage School will join the Best Start Federation with these four schools. Whitmore Primary School, on the northern edge of Shoreditch Park, joined the Federation last year.


The consultation document is available to download. (pdf, direct link). To contribute to the consultation online there is a survey at the Learning Trust website.


The Learning Trust website also has further details on their work and responsibilities.

New opportunities for Hackney young people through City Traineeship Programme

The City of London Business Traineeship scheme, spearheaded by the City of London Corporation and delivered by Brokerage Citylink is recruiting 100 paid interns this summer.

These work placements last up to 13 weeks and trainees will have the opportunity to develop skills in various sectors such as banking, insurance, legal and human resources.


The scheme - which aims to increase the links between the City and young people in its neighbouring boroughs - is open only to state school and college students from Hackney, Camden, Islington, Lambeth, Southwark, Tower Hamlets and Westminster.

Places are available to those finishing A levels or equivalent this summer. Applicants will be required to visit Brokerage Citylink, EC2 to complete applications.

The Traineeship 2011 yearbook can be downloaded here. (pdf. direct link, 1.2mb)

All the details on eligibility and how to apply for a place on this scheme are available on the Brokerage Citylink website.
Or call 020 7628 9904.

Map of Planning Applications and Appeals in De Beauvoir Ward

Local writer and web developer Ændrew Rininsland has put together an automatically updating Google Map Wiki for planning permissions in De Beauvoir ward submitted to Hackney Council.

The map is available here and we have placed a link in the 'links' section on the right of the blog for future reference.

Hackney Council's budget and the government's cuts

Last night Hackney Council set its budget for the coming year.

Government grants to Hackney were cut by £38.6m last year – the biggest cut in the whole of London and one of the highest in the UK. This year Hackney sees a further reduction of £17.3m – a total of £55.9m across the two years, one of the highest absolute cuts faced by any Council, and the highest of any Council on a per head basis.

The reductions imposed on Local Government and Hackney in particular, have been presented under the guise of "deficit reduction" but ultimately at the core lies a desire to change, and an attempt to dismantle public sector provision in this country.


The cuts in funding fall hardest on local authority areas in the most deprived areas. Numbers provided by the Communities and Local Government Department show that between 2010/11 and 2012/13 the reduction in spending power per head for Hackney will be £256 compared to just £17 in Wokingham. This is further evidenced in a report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation which confirms that it is the most disadvantaged communities who are shouldering the burden of the cuts both proportionately and in absolute terms.

In the face of this unprecedented reduction to our Government grant, the Council has been faced with having to make difficult decisions about how we can continue to provide high quality services to the people of Hackney.

It is not possible for Hackney to escape the impact of the Government’s spending review, however Hackney’s Labour Councillors and Mayor are determined that, as with last year’s budget, in the forthcoming year the Council will not make cuts to the services received by residents.

For example, there will be no raising of eligibility criteria for homecare for the elderly, no library closures, no closure of children’s centres, and no reduction in the cleanliness of our streets.

Due to prudent financial management over the last ten years and continuing to find new ways to approach our back office support and front line services, we have been able to safeguard front line delivery, coping both with cuts to our grant and additional cost pressures such as the £1m hike in the cost of Hackney’s share of the Freedom Pass which take our budget gap to £25m.

However, we are reaching the limits of this approach. By the end of this coming financial year, any savings that can still be wrung out of the Council’s administrative and back office functions will be dwarfed by the size of further reductions to our Government grant. We will keep looking for more and more efficient ways to do things, but the fact is, in future years, we will not be able to absorb the impact of Government cuts without services being affected. In 2013/14 and 2014/15 we will need to find up to another £40million in savings, and to make some very difficult decisions. Now this years budget has been set, we will be embarking on a wide-ranging consultation with residents to find out your priorities so as to help us make those decisions.


These are challenging times - the cuts we face will limit our ability to continue to invest in the borough in the way we have over recent years. At the same time we as Hackney’s Labour Councillors are determined to make sure that we use the powers that we have to protect frontline services and ensure that the needs of the most vulnerable people in our borough are prioritised.

If you are interested in finding out more, the full budget document – including a statement from Mayor Jules Pipe and the full budget proposals - they can be found here.

In addition, a full Budget FAQ has been posted on Hackney Labour’s website outlining why we are not raising Council Tax and why setting a reduced, legal Budget cannot be avoided.