Over recent months I've posted a number of blogs about Dalston development issues here and on the Hackney Unites websites.  Here is an article I've written for the Hackney Society with links to each and a summary of what Hackney Unites is trying to do in mobilising local communities to get a better deal from new developments.  If you want to get involved with their Dalston Futures project fill out the questionnaire attached (and on their website) to join their mailing list for future meetings.  The December meeting was impatient for action so 2014 could be an interesting year.

Regeneration and Planning in Dalston; the people’s manifesto

Hackney Unites was set up in 2009 by “trade unionists, faith groups, BME community and migrant support groups as well as peace activists” according to its website http://www.hackneyunites.org.uk. It is inspired by the US community empowerment movement from which Barack Obama emerged.  Its initial focus here was on challenging racism. But getting local benefit from regeneration investment in Hackney has become such an issue to residents that mobilising residents to demand more has become a priority.

I cannot claim any credit for setting up Hackney Unites other than having my arm twisted to deliver their newspapers.  But when they proposed a Dalston Peoples Festival in July 2013 from 13^th to 20^th July I felt I should be more than a passive supporter. I organised a seminar on Planning issues on the opening Sunday supported by Planning Chair, Cllr Vincent Stops and leading campaign organisations on Planning issues in Dalston.  On the closing Saturday we held a seminar of regeneration issues attended by Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Guy Nicholson, and Head of Regeneration Delivery Andrew Sissons.  In between I organised a series of guided “walks and talks” led and supported by leading Borough and Dalston activists on the themes;

• Respecting our heritage; led by Ray Blackburn, Dalston Conservation Area Advisory Committee

• Sustainable Dalston; led by Russell Miller, Sustainable Hackney

• The Cultural Quarter & the evening economy; Feimatta Conteh (Arcola) & Dan Hawthorn (Dalston Evening Economy Forum)

• Building a shared future; led by the Directors of Hackney Cooperative Development and Bootstrap.

It took ages to get contributors to confirm my records of what they said but eventually I was able to lodge the full report for the week at http://hackneyunites.blogspot.co.uk/.  I have subsequently summarised the points made by participants to form a “greenprint” for Dalston viewable at http://sustainablehackney.org.uk/profiles/blog/list. 

Elsewhere on that site I’ve blogged about Hackney Unites subsequent success in mobilising large attendance at a couple of “Dalston Futures”  open meetings.  Nowhere in Britain can match London for renewal investment.  Nowhere in London matches Dalston as a focus for that investment. It is difficult to defend the architectural quality of developments like Kingsland Shopping Centre and its Matalan carbuncle but at least it respected the traditional Kingsland High Street height line better than recent approvals.

Almost every large site in central Dalston seems to be at some stage of redevelopment at the moment.  Open Dalston have done a great job in publicising development issues over recent years and the challenge for Dalston Futures is to widen that engagement and increase its impact.  As government has reduced Councils’ Planning powers it is more important than ever to mobilise community engagement in determining outcomes that respect our heritage and environment and contribute to a sustainable future.  If you care about Dalston’s future please use the form attached and get engaged.

Peter Snell

2^nd January 2014

DalstonFuturesQuest12-13.pdf