Hackney Council asks residents how the borough should look by 2040

Hackney Council wants residents to tell it what they think of the borough now and what they would like it to become by 2040. The consultation, named Hackney is Yours, is open to everyone who lives there.

The council announced the campaign on 14 September. It says the answers will help shape several plans that are still at a very early stage.

What the Hackney is Yours consultation will shape

Two documents matter most. A new borough plan will describe the council’s vision for Hackney in 2040. A revised local plan will steer building and the way land is used for the coming 15 years. The council has also pledged to set up a citizens’ assembly made up of representative groups from the borough’s communities, and says this will hand people more influence over decisions.

Hackney’s mayor, Zoë Garbett, said many residents feel shut out when choices are made about how the borough is run. “We’re changing that,” she said. She pointed to problems people can see around them, including an extreme housing crisis, the high cost of living and gentrification.

Alastair Binnie-Lubbock, who holds the planning brief in the council’s cabinet, said new developments are too often built for developer profit instead of local people. In his view the new local plan should reflect what residents say and give priority to affordable homes, workplaces and community space.

How to take part, and a review that was already due

Two surveys are open. The council says the quicker one takes about three minutes. It asks people what they value about Hackney today and what they would change, as well as what the priorities should be in future. The fuller survey takes roughly 10 minutes and looks in more depth at how the borough should grow. It asks about land use and where new homes and jobs are needed. It also asks where services and public space are lacking. Pop-ups and drop-in sessions are also being held across the borough for anyone who prefers to ask questions face to face.

The local plan review itself is not new. Hackney’s current plan, known as LP33, was agreed at full council in July 2020 and lasts until 2033. A fresh look at a local plan is required at five-year intervals. In August 2024 Hackney hired the consultancy DAC Planning to do that work, which had to be completed by July 2025. It started under the previous Labour administration.