Built Environment

Our vision is that Hackney becomes a place where people can afford to live, work, and enjoy their lives in a healthy and inspiring natural environment that  is not obstructed by housing and infrastructure development and is highly valued by Hackney’s residents, businesses, and decision makers. The climate and ecological crisis is having a significant negative impact in Hackney and across the world. Buildings are responsible for 21% of carbon emissions in Hackney. In order to reduce emissions from new buildings we need to consider the materials and processes they are made of, as well as considering whether demolition is necessary by supporting refurbishment and reuse and reduce energy consumption for existing buildings through retrofits.  

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“We have to rethink everything, and we have to do it now”, a quote from Yasmeen Lari, Pakistan’s first woman architect. 

• Planning which serves our needs.  Ensure our council’s planning policies protect local heritage and the character of Hackney’s built environment, keeping the best of the borough’s architecture while being sensitive to climate targets and serving the needs of local people.  

• Build resilient neighbourhoods in order to strengthen the response and adaptation of communities to Climate Change.  Support the development of neighbourhood-based groups working to mitigate climate change within their communities, and for developing a public register of green and built community, cultural and heritage assets, including land and buildings owned by public organisations.

  • Support campaigns that are asking that the UK government put in place a comprehensive national programme to upgrade our homes. Hackney must be part of a national programme to upgrade our homes with clear objectives, an effective policy mix, stable, long-term funding and consumer protection guarantees. This should include all social housing, private rental property as well as home owners.

• Support not-for-profit community powered organisations working to create comfortable homes and reduce fuel poverty  

  • Advising on retrofit to existing homes, helping householders access home energy grants and offering technical advice, advising on best means to insulate buildings and install renewables ie solar photovoltaic, solar thermal panels, air and ground-source heat pumps to help reduce domestic fuel bills and use local supply chains.  

  • Developing community energy groups that put people at the heart of the energy system such as community solar energy as well as organisations like Power for People campaigning for a rapid transition to clean energy for local communities.

  • Supporting the creation of ‘cool pools’ as refuge places from extreme heat. Heat effects people disproportionally - elderly, very young and rough sleepers. 

• Improve links to the natural environment in all development schemes, particularly in areas where there is most environmental degradation. In the design of all buildings consider increasing biodiversity, wildlife and nature, e.g. through green roofs and natural shading.

• Greener and more liveable homes that adopt core principles of neighbourhood design with access to good quality open space and good public transport, schools and health services. Make it easy to exercise and where possible grow food.

  • Ensure provision of a good supply of well-designed social housing to meet the need for local wage-level rents. Ensure Energy Assessments meet ambitious reductions in operational and embodied carbon or at least meet planning requirements as set out in the 2021 London Plan, so it is designed to minimise C02.  Avoid carbon off-setting and build to Passivhaus standards.  

  • Always initially consider adaptive reuse of existing buildings. Where possible refurbish housing rather than demolishing it to save finite resources. Stop further demolish and rebuild schemes. Conduct all refurbishments to highest standards of climate mitigation and adaptation, avoiding overheating in the summer and ensuring sufficient warmth in the winter, keeping fuel bills down.

  • Upgrade existing buildings to reduce energy use and carbon emissions:  Insulate buildings (roofs, walls, floors, window and door frames). Fit windows with at least double-glazing. Use Renewables from naturals sources, e.g. installing photovoltaic and thermal panels, and air and ground-source heat pumps.  

• Take up the circular economy principals in all buildings and the built environment, maximising the re-use and recycling of existing materials, minimising the use of new materials in construction, along with energy and water, and reducing pollution. Include creation of databases digitally coding materials that would enable reuse of waste, e.g. flooring manufacturer who takes back and recycles off-cuts of flooring materials. As far as possible eliminate the use of plastic.

  • Prepare whole life-cycle carbon assessments and calculate C02 emissions for all new construction, whether refurbishment or new build.  Include all emissions from mining, manufacture, transportation, construction, operation, demolition and disposal. 

• Stop any loss of employment space to housing development and gentrification, protect and create workspace fit for small business’ budgets.